Devotional Thoughts

James 1:5-8     “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all  men  liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man  is  unstable in all his ways.” Have you ever felt like you were falling short when it comes to wisdom concerning the things of God? Where do we turn when we lack wisdom? The Bible is full of instruction and godly counsel. There are many writers who have left us commentaries and histories which may help shed light on particular practices and situations from Bible times up to our world today. The Internet is an almost inexhaustible source of information. These can all be wonderful resources for us with the Bible at the top of the list. However, we can study all these materials until...

Philippians 4:13     "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." As I look at this verse, I see three distinctive parts: "I can do all things" "Through Christ" "Which strengtheneth me" This verse is very familiar to God's people and it's a favorite for many. It speaks encouragement to our hearts; yet as I see it there is a definite assignment to these words. If my English grammar lessons serve me correctly, I can also speak this verse in this manner: "I can do all things which strengtheneth me through Christ." You see this verse does not give us an unlimited license to do as we please as long as we say it is through Jesus. Rather, those things which strengthen our Christian walk can be done, as we are led by the Spirit of God and strengthened through the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This verse is written in a particular context. I'm going to go back a few verses and hope we take time ...

James 1:1-4      “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” There is a theme present in the writings of the apostles: they all refer to themselves in the beginning as servants. One of the definitions of servant is “devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests (Thayer).” James is here declaring that his devotion is to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. While we may not be apostles, as disciples of Jesus, we should also seek the place of a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever we find to do, we should do it with all our might (Ecc 9:10) to the glory of God. James is writing here to the Jews that were scattered during the persecution of those that followed and dec...

Philippians 4:19     "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Yesterday, we talked about fear. Throughout the Scriptures, we find those words being spoken by God: "Fear not." The basis for being strong and courageous is found in the fact that God has promised to stay with us. Isn't that a blessed promise? But what are some things that might strike fear into the hearts and minds of people? What could possibly cause us to be afraid in certain situations? I will mention a few, but not all of them.  Fear can cause upheaval and unrest in our minds when we are not certain of the outcome of a situation. This can certainly happen when we receive a diagnosis from the doctor. A certain level of fear can enter our minds when we are planning an event and aren't certain if we have enough supplies. What if more people show up than we have planned for? What if we have all this food and nobody shows up? Fear can enter when we...

Galatians 6:17-18     “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ   be   with your spirit. Amen.” Paul has stated his desire for the churches and his confidence in Christ with passion and purpose. He has denounced those that would nullify the grace of Jesus in the lives of the brethren by restoring the bondage of the law. The Galatian brethren have been assured of his love for them, and now he is bringing his letter to a close. There comes a time in certain situations where we have said all we can say about a matter. We must then stand on the truth as it is in Jesus and continue steadfast in our love for the brethren. Our trust must be in Him and Him alone. The word translated as “henceforth” is defined by Strong’s to mean “remaining time.” Paul is saying that for the rest of his life no one should draw near him with this toil (see Strong’s definition of “trouble”). ...

Hebrews 13:5-6      "be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (6) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." We started looking at these verses yesterday. I want to continue with them for today. We talked about contentment yesterday and the fact that it is a learned virtue. Certainly, we are not born with patience or contentment, but understanding the fulness of these verses help us in that area.  Standing on the promises of Christ, my King! Through eternal ages let His praises ring. "Glory in the highest!" I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. We have the precious promise that "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." We have the precious promise that "The Lord is my helper..." Hopefully we have learned that not one single promise of God has ever failed. These promises tell us that not only is...

Galatians 6:14-16     “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace   be   on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” It is our human nature to want to glory in the supposed accomplishments of men. The brethren that came from Jerusalem to trouble the churches at Galatia were no different. It was their desire to glory in coming to these churches and “getting them straightened out (Gal 6:13).” They could not possible help the Galatians with the straw that was in their eye for the timber that was in their own (Mat 7:3-4). Paul had his belly full of glorying in the things of men. He had tried that route personally when he was known as Saul. He had witnessed the effects of this glorying in his own life when ...

Hebrews 13:5-6     "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  (6)  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." I confess that I had these verses in mind when I began this series of writings concerning the promises of God. There are certain passages that quickly come to mind when we feel pressured by the things of life. Being homesick is a terrible malady because it brings a feeling of loneliness into our minds. Quite honestly, you can be in the middle of thousands of people and yet feel alone. There are many occasions where we may feel "out of place" or that "we just don't belong" in that situation. It is at those times that these passages have meant so much to me through the years. The writer of Hebrews talks about covetousness and contentment. One is inborn and the other is acquired. I do...

Galatians 6:11-13     “Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.” It is evident in many of Paul’s letters that he dictated the letter and some brother who was with him wrote down what Paul was saying. Many scholars attribute this to the idea that Paul was afflicted with some type of eye disease. Whatever the case, Paul made a point of calling the Galatian brethren’s attention to the fact that the actual writing of this letter was by his own hand. I believe this was done to impress upon these brothers and sisters Paul’s deep concern for them. His love for them was such that he put aside his own distress in order to instruct and comfort them. He felt a ...

Numbers 14:8-9     "If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. (9)  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not."   We saw the background for this yesterday. Today will be a brief, but very important principle.  Why does God allow storms and struggles in our lives? I'm not going to pretend that I know the fullness of that answer, but I believe at least a partial answer is found in these verses.   "they are bread for us"   First, it is a part of life. Jesus told us, "In this world, you shall have tribulation." But most important, struggles will strengthen.  If we look at them as an opportunity to rest upon the Lord.    "the LORD is with us" He has promised never to leave us. Lean heavily upon Him. Depend upon Him. ...

Galatians 6:9-10     “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all  men,  especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” In the later portion of verse eight, Paul has given us the encouraging truth that “he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” There is a simple truth about sowing and reaping: we cannot sow one day and expect to reap the next. When we sow, it takes time for the “seed” to germinate, grow, and produce a harvest. During this time, there has to be the correct amounts of sun and rain, and the field has to be tended to keep the weeds and pests out. In order to have a good harvest, we must recognize that some things are in God’s hands alone (sun and rain) and other things have been laid out as our responsibility (weeding and pest control). Anyone who has ever had even a small garden knows it takes a lot of...

Numbers 14:8-9     "If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.  (9)  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not." These verses took place when the 12 spies had returned from the land of Canaan. If you remember, they came back with "... a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs." The fruit of the land bare record of that which God had told them. Their initial report was "... surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it."  Things would have proceeded with great success if they had just stopped with that report, but they added their own conclusion to the report. "Nevertheless the people (are) strong that dwell in the land, and the...

Galatians 6:7-8     “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” In the third verse of this chapter, we are told that if we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing, then we deceive ourselves. Now we are told that not to be deceived. The Greek word translated as “not” in this phrase carries the idea of a “qualified negation (see Strong’s)” as opposed to an absolute negation. The negation is qualified in that man has demonstrated his ability to deceive himself. The indication here is that when we deceive ourselves we are, in effect, attempting to mock God. In order for us to deceive ourselves, we must ignore or deny what the Spirit has taught us. This was the condition of the Galatian churches. After having been called by the Spirit into the liberty of Christ, they were...

Philippians 1:6    "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Confidence is a good thing. Being overconfident can lead to trouble. Those two statements refer to a thing called self-confidence.  It's wonderful to have confidence in other people. It's nice to know that when certain people tell you that they are going to do something, you can be confident that they will follow through with that. It seems to me that confidence comes with experience and ability. To use a natural example, I am enjoying the privilege of playing more golf than I've ever played in my life. I'm experiencing the privilege to play on courses that I've never played. As I go each week, I find my confidence wavers quite a bit. It seems if I hit two semi-good shots, then a bad shot will follow that.  My confidence is building slowly, but there is always something that happens that seems to shake me and ta...

Galatians 6:4-6    “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” In the first verses of this chapter, Paul tells us to restore our brother who has slipped. He also cautions us to take heed to ourselves lest we should also slip (v1). We are encouraged to bear one another’s burdens (help each other along-v2), and not to fall into self-righteousness (v3). Part of the trap of self-righteousness is that it requires us to compare ourselves to others. We seldom look at ourselves as an island and think “I am doing well.” Instead we look at ourselves in comparison to those around us. We find others whose sins and shortcomings may be more apparent than our own and decide that we aren’t doing so badly. Even though we help others (“bear ye one another’s burdens”), we must still examine ...

Hebrews 6:17-19     "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  (18)  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  (19)  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" Yesterday, we thought about God's faithfulness to His promises. Today, I want to think about the "anchor of (my) soul" and His name is Jesus.  God was willing to show "unto the heirs of promise the immutability (unchangeability, faithfulness) of his counsel (and He) confirmed it by an oath."  He has given us that wonderful hope (blessed assurance) that anchors our souls. The assurance of that anchor (stability) in our lives is none other than our precious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That hope ...

Galatians 6:1-3    “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” Strong’s defines the word translated as “fault” to mean “a side slip (lapse or deviation), that is, (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression: – fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.” We are all overtaken with faults throughout our lives. Our attention is drawn away from our Redeemer and we deviate from the path He has given us to walk. Yet, when we see another overtaken we want to judge or else compare ourselves to them and say in our hearts “Well, at least I didn’t do that!” This is not the attitude of a true follower of Christ. In the closing verses of chapter five of this book, Paul has described for us what it means to be spiritu...

Hebrews 6:17-19     "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  (18)  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  (19)  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" How many times in your lifetime have you used these two words, "I promise..."? I can't even begin to imagine how many times those words have come out of my mouth. I know God has said, "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:5) I know that is true; yet, too many times I have not always been able to follow through with those promises. It wasn't an intentional thing, but circumstances dictate actions at times. I had good intentions, but was not ...

Galatians 5:25-26     “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” “If we live in the Spirit” seems like a strange phrase. Paul is literally writing to the churches of Galatia and by extension to we who are the church today. How could we not be living in the Spirit? We confuse being born of the Spirit with living in the Spirit. I believe that Nicodemus was born of the Spirit; else he would not have come seeking Jesus (Joh 3:1). He came to Jesus by night signifying that he was still walking in darkness, but he was also seeking understanding. He confessed that Jesus was a Master sent from God, but he had not yet stepped into the light of the truth that this Master was verily the Son of God. Nicodemus was born  of  the Spirit, but he was not yet living  in  the Spirit. Like Nicodemus, we can be born of the Spirit and still be living as a Pharisee. We can ...

Psalm 29:4     "The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty." There are so many applications to this verse. "Let there be light. Noah build an ark. Abram, go to a land where I will show you. Moses strike the rock. Moses speak to the rock. David use your sling to kill Goliath. Stretch forth thine hand. Lazarus, Come forth. I AM HE." These are just a few that show the absolute sovereign power of the Almighty God and His Son, Jesus the Christ. The Holy Spirit brings the voice of the Lord into our hearts each time we read the Word of God. The written words are powerful as He makes applications in our lives. He uses the Word to correct us, to instruct us, to comfort us, and to soothe our weariness as we go through this life. His voice is majestic as we hear Him speak through the blue skies, the clouds, the raindrops, the birds singing, a friend speaking encouragement. "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Psalm 19:1)  Yes, t...

Joshua 1:5     "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." "I AM THAT I AM." Those were the words spoken to Moses as he was being called to bring God's people out of Egypt. "As I was, so I will be."  Those were the words spoken to Joshua when the Lord called him to take the place of Moses. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8) Those are the words spoken to us today. With these words, we can have the same assurance that Moses and Joshua had. But we can go back farther than that, we can have the same assurance that God's power and ability and longevity is now as it was in the very beginning. When we approach the throne of grace, we are going to the very same God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob called upon. We are going to the very same One that David called upon. We are going to the v...

Galatians 5:22-24     “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” In the nineteenth verse of this chapter, Paul has described the works (plural) of the flesh. We often hear verse twenty-two referred to as the fruits (also plural) of the Spirit. While this is common, it is not correct. Paul is not writing to us about a plurality of fruit where the Spirit is concerned. The fruit of the Spirit is singular in nature. There are nine segments that come together to make the  fruit  of the Spirit. When we peel an orange there are several distinct segments, but we do not say we are eating oranges. We are only partaking of the segments of an orange; one singular fruit. Note the definitive way in which Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. He does not talk about what it ought to...

Hebrews 4:9      "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." "I'm tired Boss.  Mostly, I'm tired of people being ugly to each other,"  You probably recognize that line from the movie, "The Green Mile." The giant of a man was just ready to leave this world. There are times when we probably can all identify with that statement.  We get tired physically. We get tired emotionally. There are times when it seems our faith may even begin to waver.  What is it that makes us tired?  Of course, we know the physical tiredness comes from over exertion of the body. But can we see that emotional tiredness comes from an over exertion of our minds and likewise, a wavering faith can come from an approach to life that says, "We must fix every problem that we encounter."  Then we realize, we can't do that. One person referred to that attitude as being a "Fix-it Fox." I know as a pastor, I have been discouraged more than once becau...

Galatians 5:19-21     “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are   these;   Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told   you   in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The carnal actions of man are plainly seen. All we have to do is turn on the television or radio, pick up a newspaper, or get on line. Go to a public place (mall, ball game, restaurant, etc.) and just sit and observe. The tragedies in the world will hit you almost as soon as you do any of these things; reports of shootings, bad drug deals gone worse, racial tensions, foul language, disrespect, and the list goes on. When we do the works of the flesh, Paul says we shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Before we conclude that...