Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 38:20 – They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. I have big feet. They are not huge or out of proportion with my height, but they are large. In fact my feet are a foot long. Knowing this tidbit of information, I have often used my foot to approximate the length of many things in feet. I can do this because my foot is a foot, and many say that that fact was what led to the unit of length called a “foot” gaining its name. Someone important set the standard for feet with a foot. Are you confused yet? This was the easy part. David, the psalmist behind today’s verse, says, “I follow the thing that good is.” A more direct translation might be “ I follow  good .” In either case you can see that it does  not  say, “I follow the good thing.” Rather David followed the thing whose essence was goodness or the source of all that is good. Jesus said, “… there is  none good but one,  that is , God ” (Matthew 19:17). God only is truly goo

John 16:22    "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." These are the words of the most wonderful Comforter.  He knows our hearts and minds. He shares our joys and He comforts our sorrows. Many wonderful things were spoken of Him in the Old Testament. Let's be reminded of a few of these just now.  "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..."  (Isaiah 61:1) "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness." (Psalm 18:28) The list goes on and on, but in today's text Jesus speaks specifically of His ability to soothe our sorrows. He acknowledges the fact that we all have times of sorrow, disappointment, and discouragement in our lives. But

John 16:8-11     "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  (9)  Of sin, because they believe not on me;  (10)  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;  (11)  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." "He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."  The first thought from here reminds me that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. He is a Person, not an it.  Being a Person, He is capable of action. The Holy Spirit is very active in the lives of every child of God. He is active in comforting, directing, encouraging, instructing, and yes He is active in convicting us of sin in our lives. We sometimes refer to this process as our conscience bothering us.  The reason our conscience does bother us is because the Holy Spirit is speaking to our hearts concerning a matter. As I looked at these verses this morning, I began to pray concer

John 16:7    "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." "It is expedient for you."  If we could have asked the disciples at that very moment about their feelings, I'm sure they would have much preferred Jesus to stay with them rather than to go away.  No doubt their emotions were running high at the moment. Jesus was telling them things that were difficult to understand. In fact, later in this chapter He would tell them that very thing.  "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." (John 16:12)  Jesus promised "another" Comforter, which meant to this point He had been their Comforter. Being in that position with them, He knew what they were capable of handling and what they could not.   A wonderful hymn states, "He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me ther

John 15:26-27    "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:  (27)  And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." Just this week, I was driving down a road where a walking trail crossed the road. The crosswalk is raised and I knew it was there, but I was distracted in my thoughts and hit the raised crosswalk much faster than I should. I was within the speed limit by the way. The bump created quite a jar upon the car and myself.  Again, I knew the crosswalk was there, but at that moment, I was unprepared to drive over the speed bump. It caught me off guard and could have caused damage, but thank the Lord it did not. It's amazing how Jesus is able to prepare His people for life's situations. He had just told these men the world hated Him without a cause and they would be hated as well.  He was preparing them for the b

John 15:18-20    "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  (19)  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.  (20)  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." "If the world hate you..."  My mind is stuck on that phrase and the word "if" in particular.  If the world hates you there is a possibility that the world would love you.  But be assured that is not a compliment in the mind of God and His Word.  If the world loves me, then that says I am thinking, talking, and acting like the world.  The world loves its own.  When the Scriptures speak of "the world", it is telling of an order of life and business that is contrary to the manner prescribed by

John 15:8    "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." I will say from the beginning that we will bounce around in this 15th Chapter this morning.  Our text is concerning the manner in which you and I are to glorify our Heavenly Father. As we glorify our Heavenly Father, we are showing and living our discipleship unto the Lord Jesus Christ. A disciple is one who follows. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must follow His example. His ultimate goal and purpose in life was to glorify His Father in heaven; therefore, in order to be a disciple (follower) of Jesus Christ, our lives are to glorify our Lord. How are we qualified and enabled to be a disciple?  I will use the words of Jesus to answer that question.  "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.  (

Mark 10:52 – And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. Many things have been said about the importance of faith, and it truly is important. Without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6). However, a living faith is what pleases Him. Living faith follows the Lord trusting that wherever He leads will be for our good. When the blind man in Mark 10 is healed by Jesus Christ, he does not run off to tell his family and friends. He does not attribute the miracle to natural causes explaining away the presence of the Son of God. Instead when he immediately received sight, he followed Jesus. Too many times we try to explain away why we see the Light. Maybe we think we are just smart. Maybe we think we had good parents or teachers. Maybe our experiences taught us to believe. On further examination we should see that the Lord gave us those things. If we are blessed in any way, we sho

John 15:4-5    "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  (5)  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Jesus is still sharing with His disciples concerning that which the future holds for them.  Just for a recap, let us think what He has already said. He is going away. He will come again. He's going to the Father's house. He is going to prepare a place for them (for you and for me). If you love me, keep my commandments. I will send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to stand with you and guide you. I'm going to keep my Father's commandment to me. I will show my love for Him and He will show His love for me.  Now He tells the disciples, and us, "Don't try to do this alone."  Stay in my word. Abide in those things that I already have and will now sh

John 14:27-28    "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  (28)  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." John 14:31    "But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." The Bible actually says very little about the eternal heaven. I believe the reason for that is because we would not be able to comprehend its description. Paul gives us a little insight. He said he had "heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (2 Corinthians 12:4)  Paul quoted Isaiah in saying, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

John 14:25-27    "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.  (26)  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  (27)  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Our precious Lord is such a wonderful Saviour! On this night, when He would be betrayed, He spent these last hours teaching and preparing His disciples for that which they would soon be facing.  He had just told them the Holy Ghost would come to stand by them in all their trials of life. Now He is explaining to them how the Holy Spirit would indeed give comfort to them.   To this time, Jesus had been their visual source of comfort. They had walked with Him and talked with Him for over three years. They had observed Him teaching and healing multi

John 14:15-16    "If ye love me, keep my commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" We sometimes are guilty of looking at a particular verse of Scripture without considering the surrounding words. Verse 15 is one that is easy to try to make it stand on its own. And yes, it can stand on its own merit, but Jesus did not stop at verse 15. Another such verse is verse 16. I submit to you that Jesus did not stop at one verse and change subjects to a different subject.  So, what is the connection between the two? Let's consider the two verses together. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  We say that we love Jesus, and we do. We try our best to keep His commandments, but we fail.  Jesus takes the stance of a court of law in presenting this. We fail and we have an adversary who takes our failures to try to accuse us and bring guilt upon us. When there is an adversary

John 14:13-14    "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." Prayer is such a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father.  An earthly king requires a request and consent before giving an audience to anyone who would like to speak to them. Even that is limited to a very few individuals that would warrant being granted to go before the king or anyone of high position.  But as children of God, you and I have been given open access to the very throne of grace. The words of Jesus are constant and ongoing when He spoke, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden..."  As children of the most High God, we have been given a boldness of His grace and love that we can go into His presence. In today's text, Jesus gives us further enlightenment concerning prayer.  Were you taught to include in your prayers these words, "In Jesus' name"?

1 Timothy 6:11 – But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. How do we follow after God? Some might say by faith. Others may say in spirit. Still others may say by listening to your heart. All these methods are good when properly done, but they all leave too much for interpretation. If Almighty God commanded us to follow Him, then He would not leave it to guess work. Thus we trust that the Old and New Testaments tell us  how  to follow Him, obey Him, and  please Him. Jesus consistently instructed disciples to take up their cross and follow Him. How? We must look further into the teachings of Christ and His closest disciples to know. They tell the rest of the story. If we fail to heed instruction, then our hearts, our spirits, and our hearts will not know which way to go.  We will be easily misled and misguided. The words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy are clear, and they echo the teachings of Christ and the New

John 14:4-6    "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  (5)  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?  (6)  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This is a great statement of fact and may be difficult to bring to a conclusion in one devotional writing.  Jesus had just told His disciples that He was going away. He told them He was going to the Father's house. Then He makes the statement of verse four, (in my words) "you know where I am going and you know the way." I'm sure more than one was baffled by this statement, but it was Thomas who spoke up: "Lord, we don't know where you're going and we surely do not know the way."  When Thomas asked this question, he was thinking in terms of how he would get himself to the destination of which Jesus spoke. Quite honestly, people today still think in terms of how they will get

John 14:1-3    "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  (2)  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." We usually hear these passages at funerals. We need to hear them more often, in my opinion. Jesus just gave a promise that He fully intends to keep.  I'm going away and I'm coming back to get you.  Though Jesus has been preparing the disciples for what is about to take place, it seems they have not really understood the things given to them. So, this particular part of the discourse begins with "Let not your heart be troubled." Jesus understood the things that would happen to Him could possibly shake the faith of the strongest of them; therefore, He spends these last hours comforting, instructing, and praying for the

John 13:34-35    "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  (35)  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We sometimes want to set the boundaries as to what identifies a child of God. I'm thankful that it is God's business and not mine. I do not have the ability to look into anyone's heart to see what it contains. Yes, I do understand that there are certain fruits that we, as children of God, are to bear. But I also know that just as there are things in nature that happen which cause a live tree to be unable to bear fruit in any given season, there are times when our lives become unfruitful. I am thankful for this which Paul wrote to Timothy:  "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19)  

John 13:14-17    "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.  (15)  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.  (16)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.  (17)  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." What is the significance of this which Jesus just performed for His disciples?  We saw recently that Jesus was willing, even on the night He was betrayed, to bow down and perform this menial task of the lowly servant.  He was willing to humble Himself as an action of helping these men: one of which would betray Him and the other eleven would run away when the Roman soldiers took Jesus to the judgment hall.  Instead of drawing attention to Himself, He placed Himself as the caregiver for the others. Many of us that observe Communion (the Lord's Supper) observe foot washing as a par

John 13:3-5    "Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; (4) He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. (5) After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded." There are times in life when we feel we have something to prove.  We may think we have to prove it to someone else or, sometimes, we feel we have to prove it to ourselves.  Why does this happen? As a boy, it usually was because someone challenged me - my knowledge, my ability, my strength, my nerves.  I had to prove I was not afraid. I had to prove my worth. By the way, I have no worth outside of Christ. "Jesus, knowing...."  He had absolutely nothing to prove to anyone. He knew He was come from God. He knew He was going to God. He knew all things had been committed unto Him. He had nothing to pr

  1 Corinthians 11:1 – Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Look behind you. Someone is following you. No, I do not mean some nefarious shadowy figure. It is a group of your friends, family and colleagues. There are even some strangers who saw you at the store the other day. They are all following your lead. You may not think of yourself as a leader. Many people don’t. Maybe you are shy or you think your job is not important enough to be considered one that leads others. You, my friend, are wrong. Everyone has followers. Someone observes what you do and they are inspired or encouraged to do what you do. Perhaps your behavior just gives them an excuse to do what they want, or instead seeing you makes them think twice. Human beings are social creatures and we look to others to know what to do. So, you lead others simply by being. Christians should look to Christ of course for their example, but many times we can and should look to other Christians. Whether they are pastors

John 13:1    "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." As we have travelled through this wonderful book of John, we have seen on several occasions where they tried to take Jesus by force, but "His hour had not yet come."  We all know we are only one breath or one heartbeat away from passing into glory, but we do not know when "our hour" will occur.  Jesus knew.  There was nothing that took Him by surprise as He walked upon this earth. In the next few chapters, we will see that He spent these last hours teaching and equipping the disciples concerning what was to come in their own lives. Jesus "loved His own which were in the world."  This is not only talking about those who would become apostles; rather this is the unconditional love of Jesus for all of His people. Think back on

John 12:49-50    "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.  (50)  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." Have you ever read something in the Bible and as the Lord begins to reveal it to you, you suddenly say, "Ah ha! That's it!" ? Well these two verses did that for me this morning.  This isn't the first time Jesus has spoken these thoughts, but for me it hit me right in the heart where it is intended to be. By this time, I hope you are saying, "Well, Steve, what is it you saw in these verses? Are you going to tell us, or not?"  Let me try to explain. In verse 47, Jesus specifically said, "I came not to judge the world." I slipped right past it back in chapter 3, because Jesus said to Nicodemus, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the

John 12:42-43    "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:  (43)  For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." What a sad statement is made about these chief rulers! They believed on Jesus, but did not confess him. Why? They were afraid they would lose their position in society.  They were afraid the Pharisees would reject them. They were afraid they would be "put out of the synagogue." I read these words and my mind fast forwards to a time after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The disciples had been fervent in preaching salvation through Jesus the Christ. They were arrested and placed in prison. But the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and instructed the disciples to "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." (Acts 5:20)  They did as they were i

Psalm 61:8 – So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. What do you do every morning? Do you get a cup of coffee? Take a shower? Brush your teeth? Grab a bite to eat? Hit the gym for a quick workout? We all have habits, but many form without conscious effort. We may chew our nails or drive too fast or eat ice cream when we are upset all out of habits formed years ago. I am sure you can find habits you would like to change around your physical health. We all can. However, we should be more concerned about our spiritual health. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). We need habits of godliness to improve and strengthen our spirit. What kind of habits strengthen the spirit? Paul said, “godliness is profitable,” but how can we be godly? Thankfully the Bible is filled with moral guidance, and the Holy Spirit is given to esta

John 12:32-33    "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.  (33)  This he said, signifying what death he should die." According to God's Word, we understand Jesus to be speaking of His death on the cross. This is not the first time we have seen Jesus speak of His death. Let's do a quick review this morning so we can place this in context. (John 3:14-15)    "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  (15)  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 6:38-40)    "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.  (39)  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.  (40)  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasti

John 12:20-21    "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:  (21)  The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." "Sir, we would see Jesus."  Isn't that a wonderful request? Jesus had come into Jerusalem among a throng of people who wanted even a glimpse of Him. They had praised Him. Others had mocked Him. Still others had sought to kill Him. But these folks came with a heartfelt, sincere request: We want to see Jesus. They did not come with any selfish desires; rather, they simply wanted to see Jesus. Philip then went to Andrew and the two of them took this request to Jesus. At first glance, Jesus' answer did not address their request. But upon further examination, it is evident that Jesus went to the very heart of the matter.  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it