Devotional Thoughts

Colossians 1:12-14    "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  (13)  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  (14)  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins"    In Romans 5:11, Paul reminds us that we "joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." We have been reconciled back to our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus. I want us to think about the word atonement for a few moments. If I counted correctly, the word is mentioned 80 times in the Old Testament and only once in the New Testament. Most of that 80 times is in the book of Leviticus where the law  and instructions were given to the priests for making the sacrificial offerings unto God. That which I find interesting is in the meanings for the word in the different Testaments.  The word, atoneme

Luke 22:15  "And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:" What a great blessing we have in this verse of Scripture.  We observe the Lord's Supper in remembrance of the atonement that was accomplished through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Paul reminded the Church at Corinth that they were to have proper thoughts of heart and mind when observing this service. He wrote to them the words of our Lord, "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)  The key phrase in those passages are that we are to observe the Lord's Supper, "in remembrance" of Him. But I would like to think about another phrase t

John 12:3    "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." We aren't told explicitly what took place on Wednesday of Jesus' final week before His crucifixion. Some think He took this day to rest. I believe He probably spent much time in communication with our Heavenly Father. We often see Jesus separating Himself from everyone else before He did some major miracle or before a life-changing event for someone. I have no problem believing He spent the day in prayer and possibly even fasting before the day of Passover. I would like for us to think about something that took place when He was in the home of a man named Simon. We saw yesterday that he sat at the table with several people including Lazarus. While he sat at the table, Martha was doing her usual wonderful work of serving the table. Lazarus, I believe, is sitting there in

Matthew 21:14-17    "And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.  (15)  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,  (16)  And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?  (17)  And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there." The chief priests and scribes could not deny the "wonderful things that He did"; yet, their envy of Him was the driving force behind their scheming to kill Jesus. It would seem the only thing that held them back was their fear of the people. But the truth of the matter is that which held them back was the timeline, the schedule, of God. Remember Jesus came as the Lamb of God. As such, He was the ultimate offering that would be ma

Matthew 21:18-19  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. (19)  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away." We continue our thoughts concerning the last week of Jesus' humanity on this earth. His first day was a combination of highs and lows.  The people cried out, "Hosannah!! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Then we see "... The chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did... and were sore displeased." (Matthew 21:15)  He left Jerusalem, went to Bethany, and then came back the next morning. He observed a fig tree as He returned to the city. It was the season when figs should have been on the tree. He went to get some but there were no figs to be found. The tree gave the appearance of being fully productive, but was empty. What can we

Isaiah 50:7    "For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Matthew 16:21    "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Matthew 21:8-11    "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.  (9)  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.  (10)  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?  (11)  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee." From before time began, the Son of God had His heart and mind s

Galatians 2:20-21    "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (21)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." "I am crucified with Christ."  Because of the work of Jesus, I am no longer under the penalty of the law of God. The law is righteous and holy and VERY demanding. God requires perfection and in my flesh, I am far from perfect. God required a perfect sacrifice to be offered as an atonement for sin. Perfection had to be given in place of imperfection. That is why the Israelites had to observe their sacrificial lambs to make sure there were no blemishes in the animal. But, those sacrifices under the law could never take away our sins; rather, they only served to remind the people of their need for a Saviour.  Hence, God, by His grace,

Galatians 2:20-21  "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (21) I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." The Jews became so angry after Paul and Barnabas preached at Antioch that they stoned Paul and drug him out of the city. They assumed he was dead, but "as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city." His life had been so affected by God's grace that he could not cease to preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, buried, and raised again.  He knew the power of Jesus Christ on many different levels; therefore, he continued to preach the grace of God that is found in Christ. He knew the difference Jesus had made in his life. By using the word, frustrate, Paul was saying, "I do not set aside or have a l

Galatians 2:20-21    "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (21)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." I realize I've been on these two verses for several days now, but for me, they are the hinge upon which the entire book swings open. We began the study of Galatians with the verses that tell of the purpose for the Son of God to come to this earth.  In chapter 1:4, we read that Jesus "... gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world." When we come to the end of the book, we will read these words: "... the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Galatians 6:18)  There must be a truth that connects the two thoughts. Jesus came to deliver us from this world, but we need the

Galatians 2:20-21    "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (21)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  I read these two verses and receive so much comfort and encouragement from them. Though they speak of the present time, I can see there was a "then and a when" in my life.  By that, I mean there was a time when I was a stranger without Christ in my life. I can honestly say that I cannot remember a time when I did not love God, but at that time the love was only in my mind. I heard about God. I believed there was a God, but I'm not sure at that point that I believed He actually did anything in my life.

Galatians 2:20-21    "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (21)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." "Christ liveth in me."  We sing many songs concerning the resurrection of Jesus. Especially as we are now approaching Easter, we will hear and sing of His glorious resurrection. We speak of the "Risen Lord" and the "Living Saviour."  The attributes of God consist of His being omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (in all places at all times). Where do we picture Jesus being at this present time?  Yes, we are told He is at the right hand of the Father. But do we understand that He, being God, is also omnipresent?  He lives in me by way of His Holy Spirit.   Paul stated that we are &q

Galatians 1:23-24    "But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.  (24)  And they glorified God in me." In the previous verses, Paul describes his experience of conversion.  "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen..." (Galatians 1:15-16)   I think most of us marvel at the manner in which the Lord Jesus revealed Himself unto Paul (Saul) as he traveled on the road to Damascus.  We might easily wonder why the Lord did not reveal Himself long before that time.  It's easy to get caught up in questions that really have no human answer. Why did He allow Stephen to be stoned at the consent of Saul? Why were men and women taken to prison because of their confessed faith in Jesus Christ? Why were so many others driven from their homes to lands that were completely strange to the

Galatians 1:11-12    "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  (12)  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." "I certify you."  Paul was expressing his deep understanding that the Gospel he preached was not the result of a smooth talking preacher. Rather, the message given by him was received directly from the Lord Jesus Christ.  In the next verses he will speak concerning his experience with the Lord, but his concern was that the Galatians would not be  carried away by those who tried to convince them that their works were necessary in order to get to heaven.  I certify you... I declare strongly unto you... I assure you that my words were not convinced to me through the means of man; rather God, Himself, revealed to me the truth of what Jesus has already accomplished. As a reminder I ask, "What had Jesus already accomplished?  He told us back in verse 4 th

Galatians 1:6    "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel" Galatians 1:10   "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Who called you into the grace of Christ? Jesus gave Himself for our sins "according to the will of the Father." Isaiah prophesied seven hundred years prior to the event, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..." (Isaiah 53:10) It was the will of the Father according to His pleasure to make His Son to be the offering for your sin and mine.  It was His will, His pleasure, His accomplishment, and His calling to bring us to the knowledge of the work of Christ on the cross. It was by His grace and mercy. So why would anyone want to move away from that liberty once it has been revealed? The entire book o

Galatians 1:3-4  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, (4) Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father" I'm not sure that I have anything to add to these verses. By God's amazing grace, Jesus "gave Himself for our sins."  Do we think that basically we are good people who only need a little grace to bring about our atonement? Or do we realize - I mean truly realize - that our natural beings are completely corrupt before the Holy God? If we can see how distinctly different we are from the righteous and Holy Christ, then we can truly rejoice and find peace in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He "gave Himself for our sins." He had no sin; yet He took our sin from us and offered Himself as payment in full for that debt. He did this "according to the will of God and our Father." "Yet it pleased the LORD to brui

Galatians 1:1    "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)" My thoughts run quickly even as I read this first verse. We all have a "what we used to be" in our lives.  You and I have a "what I was" and we have a "what you were" that we have to deal with. I think we can all agree (or maybe at least most of us agree) that if we do not deal with our past in the proper manner, then it will follow us and trouble us for the rest of our lives.  Paul had a past and in that past, we will see in this first chapter that he had regrets, but he also dealt with them. Only you know if there are things in your past that you regret, but we must be careful as to how we deal with them.  As we begin this study of Galatians, we see Paul identifying himself as to what the Lord had made him and also as to what he used to be.  We remember Saul, as he was known at that time, was consenting to th

Psalm 29:4    "The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty." "The voice of the Lord is powerful."  As I think of that statement this morning, I realize there is a greater depth to that truth than I can ever begin to grasp.  Think about this... "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)  There was no physical effort put forth in the creation of this universe. God spoke it. It happened.  As children of God, we spend much time wanting to hear the voice of the Lord. And yet, if we will do as His Word teaches us, we can hear His voice all around.  "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) It seems that we live in a time when it is very difficult to "be still".   There is constant activity all around us. There are constant noises filling our heads trying to pull us in many directions; yet, God says for us to "be still".  There is power and majesty in the voice of th

1 Chronicles 29:18-19    "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:  (19)  And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision." This prayer of David is a wonderful study on the subject of prayer.  He followed the pattern that Jesus would give to His disciples.  His heart was humbled and also filled with joy and gladness. He praised the Lord for His goodness in blessing him to be able to give of his material goods. He praised the Lord for blessing the people with a willing heart to also give of their material things. He saw God's glory manifested in the hearts of the people. To say it was a glorious day would almost be an understatement.  David also asked the Lord to continue to bless the people as t

1 Chronicles 29:18    "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee" We are continuing in David's prayer for his son, Solomon, and the people of Israel as they are beginning the tremendous task of building the temple unto God. This verse intrigues me as I look at the beginning of it.... "  "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel..."  The reason for my intrigue is due to the fact that most times, this is worded as the "... God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob ..."  But in this passage, God chose to use the name, Israel.  I see something very important in those words. We just concluded the study of these three men in the book of Genesis. I will do a very quick recap by inserting the action of God toward these men. He is the God of Promise, Provision, and Transformation. God promised a better place for Abraham. He Provi

1 Chronicles 29:13    "Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name." Yesterday, we looked at Psalm 100:4 concerning our entering the gates of God with thanksgiving and into His courts with our praise. We see David applying this principle as he is honoring God with the substance of material goods that he and the people have brought for the building of the temple. David is acknowledging something that is all too often overlooked in the world: Everything belongs to God. He declares in verse 12, "Both riches and honour come of thee..."  At the risk of repeating myself from an earlier writing, everything good about us comes from God and belongs to Him. Paul would state it in this manner: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)  All good things are of Him; that is, they come from Him and they are to be given back to Him through thanksgiving and praise. As we look back th

Psalm 100:4-5    "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Let's think about our prayers for a moment, and hopefully that moment will change everything about our prayer life. In thinking about my time of prayer this morning, I am stopping to consider my approach.  How devoted am I to God as I begin my prayer? You might wonder where I'm going with these thoughts. Let me use the thoughts of David. "... let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him (God)." (Psalm 33:8) I am reminding myself that I cannot truly get a glimpse of God if I do not hold Him in awe as I approach His throne. One definition of the word, awe, means to shrink. Again, let me use someone else's words to describe what I'm saying. John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

1 Chronicles 29:10-14     "Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.  (11)  Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.  (12)  Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  (13)  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.  (14)  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." These verses really need no other explanation. David, the elders of Israel, and all the people are rejoicing because God is doing a mighty work in their midst