Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 37:4-6    "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  (5)  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  (6)  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." The first six verses of this Psalm speak to us of our relationship and daily walk with the Lord. These verses speak of Trust, Delight, Commitment, and Judgment. Working on these aspects of life brings enlightenment and assurance for us. Verse three tells us to trust in the Lord and we will find satisfaction and contentment. Verse four tells us to delight in the Lord and He will give the desires of our hearts. Verse five tells us to commit our daily walk unto the Lord and He will bring peace and fulfillment. As we do these three things, He strengthens our ability to make proper decisions. Our trust and confidence in the Lord grows as we learn more about Him by studying H...

Psalm 37:1-3    "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.  (2)  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.  (3)  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." I am constantly amazed at the manner in which the Word of God is consistent with the times in which we live.  I definitely do not buy into the thought that is promoted by Satan that the Word of God is outdated. Quite the contrary, the Word of God is contemporary with our times.  Because of a situation beyond my control, I have been exposed to more television than I care to admit.  The mute button is almost worn out because it is pressed each time a political ad is shown. That amounts to about every five to ten minutes.  It would be quite different if the candidates talked about what they plan to do. But instead both sides want to talk about h...

Psalm 36:8-10      "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.  (9)  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.  (10)  O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart." David is speaking of and to a particular group of people.  The effect that is placed upon this group of people is satisfaction of heart and mind. Satisfaction and contentment are two things that are very special and much needed in our lives, wouldn't you think?  With satisfaction and contentment, we find joy and peace.  But who are these people to whom David is speaking of satisfaction?  We find back in verse seven that those who find satisfaction are those who "put their trust under the shadow of thy wings."  It is a very evident truth that this blessing of satisfaction is not found in the thing...

Psalm 36:7    "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." I've expressed before that there are times when I feel like I want to escape all the things that are going on in the world. Quite honestly, I'm sick of both sides of political advertisements that accuse one another. Neither of them say what they are going to do because they are too busy accusing each other and putting one another down.  Yes, I want all that to be over. I want to get away from it because there is no lovingkindness in politics and there is no hope of help from either side.  That's my political statement for the day. Pretty hopeless, isn't it? But wait! There is good news.   Near to the Heart of God by Cleland Boyd McAfee There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. Refrain: O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, ...

Psalm 35:10     "All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?" This is a continuation from the past couple days.  David is reaching out to the Lord, (Lord, please)  "Say to my soul, I am thy salvation." In response to that, he says, "My soul (truly) rejoices in thy salvation."  And now as he reflects back upon the deliverances of the Lord, he asks himself, with great joy and triumph, this question, "Lord, who is like unto thee?"  The progression of our daily walk with the Lord is truly amazing. The more we realize His presence and His help, the closer we draw to the truth of His Person.  We can use Scripture to answer David's question. The Lord Himself answered the question for us.   "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and THERE IS NONE LIKE ME." (Isaiah 46:9) ...

Psalm 35:9    "And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation." Recently, we saw David waiting and longing to hear the voice of the Lord saying to him, "I am thy salvation." (Psalm 35:3)  He then expressed his thoughts concerning those who were persecuting David for no reason.  I will assume the one of whom he was talking about was King Saul.  Because of jealousy, Saul was seeking to destroy David. It seemed he would not be satisfied until David was killed. He took his army out to find David. On at least two occasions, David had the opportunity to slay Saul, but instead he placed his confidence in the Lord and allowed Saul to leave without harm. But if you read verses 4-8 of this 35th Psalm, you will see David was seeking the Lord's help in dealing with his persecutors.  "Let them be confounded. Let them be turned back. Let them be turned to confusion and their determinations be stopped. Let the angel of the Lord persecute them...

Psalm 35:1-3    "Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.  (2)  Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.  (3)  Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." As I read these three verses, my mind goes back to the day of Moses and the children of Israel at the Red Sea.  Enclosed by obstacles that were an impossibility for man to overcome, the Lord stood strong to fight against their enemies.  They were flanked by high cliffs that would be impossible to climb. The Lord made a way and took them between those cliffs. Pharaoh's army was coming behind them. The people of Israel had not been trained to fight. They would surely be overtaken by the accomplished army of Egypt.  The Lord moved the pillar of cloud between Israel and Egypt. It was light for Israel and darkness for Egypt. But still in front of them ...

Psalm 34:18-19    "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (19)  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." A constant reminder for myself and for each one of us, "The LORD is nigh."  He has promised never to leave us and never to be out of "earshot" of us when we cry out to Him.  He is always close by, but it seems He is even so much closer when the heart breaks. It is at that time that we especially need comfort. We need the companionship of our Lord. We need to feel the touch of the Master's hand.  "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart." Aren't you thankful? What causes a broken heart?  There is not an easy explanation for that. When we were children, our hearts would break when we didn't get our own way. Maybe some things never change. Maybe it still applies to us as adults.  But a broken heart left to itse...

Psalm 34:6-8     "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (7) The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (8 ) O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." I think today's writing is just a reminder for myself and each one to simply stop and pay attention to what the Lord says to us. It is a reminder of God's presence and care for each of us. The action of the Lord, as shown in these verses, includes the fact that God hears our prayers, answers our prayers, and delivers us out of all our troubles. Some people may have the misconceived notion that God does not answer every prayer simply because He does not answer them in the way we ask. He does not always deliver us from our troubles nor does He always move troubles away from us.  We will look more at this tomorrow, but consider the three Hebrew children. God did not deliver them from the fire, b...

  A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. Psalm 34:1-4    "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  (2)  My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  (3)  O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.  (4)  I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." This Psalm was written about a time when David found himself in "no man's land".  Saul, out of jealousy, was seeking to kill David. David had fled from Israel and found himself in the land of Gath. He came to Achish, the king of Gath, trying to find help. One of the king's men recognized David as being the one who slew their champion, Goliath.  The king knew that David was fleeing from Saul and made mention of it. It was at that time that David changed his behaviour and acted as though he was a ...

Psalm 33:20-22    "Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.  (21)  For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.  (22)  Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee." Sometimes it seems we spend our entire lives waiting on someone or waiting for something to happen.  The question this morning is concerning our frame of mind while we are waiting.  David said, "Our soul (our mind) waiteth for the LORD."   I am practiced in the art of impatience. I admit I get "antsy" while waiting for something to happen.  The problem with being impatient is that we begin to try to help things along.  We can get into deeper problems when we feel like we have to help things happen.  My helping the situation usually tends to be more of a hindrance than a help. David had concerns for the nation of Israel both while Saul was king and after David, himself, became king.  Ma...

Psalm 33:18-22    "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;  (19)  To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.  (20)  Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.  (21)  For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.  (22)  Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee." It seems that David had some of the same concerns concerning Israel as we have about our nation today. As Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun."  Back in the 16th verse, David spoke concerning the vanity and danger of placing more confidence in men than in God.  No nation is delivered by the strength of a man.  He even went so far to say the weapons of war were vanity when it comes to placing dependence. His wording was this, "An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall ...

Psalm 33:10-13    "The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.  (11)  The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.  (12)  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.  (13)  The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men." The theme of these verses points us toward the LORD.  The LORD overrides the counsel of the heathen. The LORD gives good and right instructions. The LORD is the source of all blessings for any nation. The LORD blesses the people He has chosen. The LORD looks down from heaven and sees what is happening.  The next question that would come to the natural mind would be something like this:  "If the Lord sees and knows, why does He allow things to continue as they are?"  Would that be a fair assessment of what we hear and see from a...

Psalm 33:8    "Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." The first seven verses of this Psalm speak to us of just a few things done by the Lord for which we are to praise Him.  He reminds us that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  It is the goodness of the Lord that allows the sun to rise on a regular schedule every day and sets on a regular schedule. It is the Lord's goodness that secures the four seasons of the year. And may I add, by the Word of the Lord, this shall be until the time our Lord returns to take us all home.   There might be some swings as far as how hot our summers are or how cold our winters are, but be assured the Lord created and sustains and man cannot overthrow or undo what the Lord has done.  It seems that too many have lost that awe of God to think that man could possibly be strong enough to overpower the decrees of God.  "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and h...

Psalm 32:8    "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." Would it be fair to say that many of us expect the Lord to take us by the collar and turn us in the way He wants us to go?  Or, do we expect Him to literally take us by the hand and turn us in His way as our parents did when we were young?  I think most of us, if not all of us, at some point or other have thought of God's direction in that manner.  Remember yesterday, we thought of Elijah and his desire to hear God's voice and direction for his life. He looked to the earthquake to try to hear God's earth shattering voice to tell him what to do. The voice of the Lord wasn't in the earthquake.  He looked to the fire that would destroy anything in his way that would prevent him from following the Lord. The Lord's voice wasn't in the fire. But when he became still before God, there came that small peaceful voice into his heart that told him...

Psalm 32:7    "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah." Do you ever feel like you just want to run away and hide from the world? I think most of us have had that feeling before, or maybe you are going through it just now. When I was a child, I could not understand when I would hear my father say he wanted to just go into the mountains somewhere and escape all the things of the world.  I think I understand it now. There are times with all the things that are going on in society when I would love to just find a cave somewhere and hide from the world.  I think this must have been Elijah's thought when he went to the Juniper tree and sat down. He asked the Lord to just take him home. He was tired of all the confrontations of life. He then went to the cave, but the Lord was there with him also. It seemed he was trying to escape everything.  The Lord asked him, "What are you doing...

Psalm 32:1-2     "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  (2)  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Before these verses mean anything to me, I must first acknowledge that I am a sinner. I cannot say, "I used to be a sinner."  I must acknowledge that I still have that tendency within my carnal mind.  Let's be reminded of the Apostle Paul's words concerning this.  In Romans Chapter 7, Paul was wrestling (along with us as we read it) the fact that he still had to contend with the sin nature that remains within us.  He acknowledges that he hates the sin nature with which he wrestled everyday; yet, the truth is that it remained.  "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." (Romans 7:15) Most of us can identify with that statement.  We make a determination that we are going to do better today t...

Psalm 31:23-24    "O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.  (24)  Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD." Throughout this Psalm, David has spoken of the manner in which the Lord has blessed him in his deepest needs. In fact, this has been his theme through most of the Psalms.  He has said things such as, "The Lord is MY shepherd. He is MY rock, MY strength, My refuge."  It does my heart good to hear David speak these things. It does my heart good to hear children of God speak out concerning the manner in which the Lord has blessed them. It is a source of encouragement for me and for others. But notice the tone of these two verses. He now directs his thoughts away from himself to the needs of others.  He has said, "I will love the Lord."  In today's verse, he directs that thought to others, "O love the LORD, all ye his saint...

Daily Devotion (Video): Morning Light

Psalm 31:21-22    "Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.  (22)  For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee." "Blessed be the LORD." Though this is only part of the verse, the truth contained in these words can stand alone.  The Lord is blessed no matter what is happening in my life at any given moment. God changes not. We are told that great truth in Malachi chapter 3 of the Old Testament and also in Hebrews chapter 13 of the New Testament where we read, "Jesus Christ: the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."  The Unchanging God remains blessed and is worthy of our praise.   It is true that we seem to be more aware of His goodness when we are seeking His blessings upon us; yet, the truth remains that our God IS blessed.  David acknowledged the manifestation of God's goodness upon us in verse 19 o...

Psalm 31:14-15    "But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.  (15)  My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me." "O LORD, Thou art my God."   My God is Jehovah, the Self-Existent One. He is the One and Only True God. All other gods of the world are invented by man and cannot do anything without the assistance of man.  But my God is in the heavens and He does as He pleases. No one can enable Him and no one can help Him and no one can stop Him from doing "his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand." Ask Nebuchadnezzar about that. (Daniel 4:35) This is my God. You and I can take that even farther because in the fullness of time, it was revealed to us just how deep the grace of God has been extended to us. For you see, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. He was made of a woman (virgin), conceived of the Holy Ghost, and...