Devotional Thoughts

Isaiah 9:6    "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." This verse is very familiar to all of us. We usually read it on Christmas cards and are usually used as sermon texts around Christmas time. The names of our Lord that are recorded here give us great comfort and encouragement when we take time to meditate upon each one. The Lord willing, we will look at each individual name this week, but this morning I want to look at them generally. Let's look back at verse two of this chapter: "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." We looked at this verse last Friday, but I want us to think about it in terms of today's passage. Isaiah prophesied of a great light that would shine upon the pe

Exodus 8:16-19    "And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said." There is a wonderful consistency in the things the LORD does. We sometimes read it without it impacting us as it should. With every action that Moses undertook in the name of the LORD it began with “And the LORD said (or spake) unto Moses.” Although Moses was responsible for doing as the LORD commanded him, Mos

Exodus 8:12-15    "And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said."   Moses demonstrated great trust in God when he told Pharaoh to choose the time when the frogs would be destroyed (Exodus 8:9-10). Moses also showed great compassion when he agreed to pray to the LORD on Pharaoh’s and Egypt’s behalf. His attitude could just as easily have been “Why should I pray for you to be delivered when you have enslaved my brothers and sisters?” Finally, he showed great faithfulness in going out from Pharaoh and praying for him as he promised. Moses did not wait for the appointed hour to begin to

Isaiah 9:2    "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." It is difficult, to say the least, to walk in a straight line while in total darkness.  My sixth grade elementary class went to Tuckaleechee Caverns in Townsend, Tn. I remember them taking us into this large opening and then turning the lights out. I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. I remember being afraid to even move while in that darkness.  I certainly was glad when they turned the lights back on. I am at the age now that I dread having to get up in the middle of the night and try to find my way in the darkness. There are a couple of "points of light" that I fix my eyes upon and then I can stumble my way back to bed.  One such point is a little blue light that shows a vacuum cleaner is charging. But in the darkness, that tiny blue light gives enough direction and hope that I can aim my

Exodus 8:5-11    "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee,

Isaiah 8:17-20    "And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.  (18)  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.  (19)  And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?  (20)  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." As a reminder, so far in the past couple chapters, we have seen the Lord made a promise and instructed the people to believe Him. Even though they would not ask, God gave them a sign which would come to pass 700 years later. As they were waiting, they were instructed not to make an alliance with the world. And now they are making a commitment: "I will wait upon the Lord ... and I wil

  “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.”  There is a lot of talk about aligning ourselves with different things or people these days. Listen to the candidates running for office; each of them wants you to align yourself with them.  The alignment I’m speaking of is one that I believe is given for our spiritual well-being; our need to align our days to the Lord’s Day. This principle came into existence back in the very beginning of creation. It’s known as the Sabbath. The word “rested” in v. 2 is “shabbath” - or “Sabbath”.  The word “Sabbath” means to cease and desist, and that is what God did at the end of His work. It has come to mean the day in which God’s people would rest from all their works and worship the Lord. Just as God ceased from His labor on the 7th day, He set a pattern for His people to follow.  To insure this,

Exodus 8:1-4    "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants."  The plague of all the water in Egypt becoming blood passed in seven days. The LORD sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh again, telling him to let the children of Israel go that they might serve (worship) God. The LORD’s message was always consistent. He demanded the liberty of His people in order that they might worship. God did not blindside Pharaoh with anything. He turned the water to blood in Pharaoh’s sight. Here, the

Isaiah 8:11-14    "For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,  (12)  Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.  (13)  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  (14)  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." The fear of the enemy had overcome the people. They were so afraid that they did not want to ask a sign of God that His promise would be fulfilled. God told them of the sign in spite of their fear. Fear can cause people to say and do things that they would never do in any other case. The people were so fearful that they planned to join forces with the enemy that would come in like a raging river to completely destroy what the