Devotional Thoughts

Romans 2:25-27     “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?” Paul makes a very clear and direct point here to his Jewish audience. They could be circumcised in the flesh and bear the outward mark of the law covenant. Bearing the outward mark did not make them keepers of the law. If they broke the law, then that outward mark was hypocrisy and they were no different than Gentiles who did not have the law. This was a very hard message for the Jews to hear, because they trusted heavily in their interpretation of the law and prophets. In their mind, it was the law (more than God) that made them a special treasu...

Psalm 19:14    "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." This short prayer by David tells us two things. First, to say it kind of gruffly, we can let our mouths overload our brains at times. If we aren't careful, words will come spewing out without any control at all. It's like the little example of toothpaste. There is no putting it back once it's out of the tube. The book of James speaks about the tongue and the difficulty we have in taming it. The second thing this prayer shows us is that we can control our tongue, but only with the help of the Lord. This reminds me that I need to try to make sure that my words are acceptable unto the Lord. I have found this to be a good prayer to begin each day. I haven't perfected the taming of the tongue yet, but this gives me a good start each day. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy...

Romans 2:21-24     “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.” Paul continues to point out to the Jews at Rome how unfaithfully they have handled the world of God. Here he is basically saying to them “How can you claim to teach others when you refuse to learn?” This is something that we, as the ministers of God’s word in the world today, need to be very careful about. We need to pay heed to the words that God gives us to speak to His people: they are for us as much as anyone else. Since Paul has already called their attention to the fact that they are not “practicing what the...

Psalm 19:7     "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." "The law of the Lord is perfect." There really is nothing more to add to this verse other than an exhortation to read and study our Bibles. There is nothing that can be added to it that would make it any better than that which God has given. "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." This that has been given to us is faithful and trustworthy. The word, sure, carries the meaning of a shaking of the right hands. There was a time when a man's handshake was absolute assurance that he would keep his word. In days gone by, even loans at the bank were sealed with shaking hands. A man was as good as his word. For the most part, those times are gone. Now we have to sign our names on 20 different pieces of paper and that isn't always accountable. BUT GOD.... Yes, But God is so much different His Word matures us as...

Locusts had devastated the land. This was a promised curse from God because of the idolatry of Israel. The people were in despair. The animals had no food. There was no green thing that remained. There was no crop to harvest: no grain, no fruit, no vegetables, no olives for oil, no grapes for wine. The effects of the damage brought by the locusts are far-reaching and long-lasting. The drunkards and the priests are in the same predicament: no wine.  In the passage under our consideration in this message, we find one of those familiar verses that we have probably heard, but we may not know the reference. Let us observe the text in chapter two, verses twelve through seventeen.  Joel 2:12-17  "(12) Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." (13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, a...

Romans 2:17-20     “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest   his   will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” Later on in this letter, Paul asks the question “What advantage hath the Jew?” The Jews supposed they were greatly advantaged over other people, but they thought so for the wrong reasons. They had great pride of name and lineage. Moses was their lawgiver, and they were of the seed of Abraham. The Jews took great comfort in knowing what the law had to say. They relied on the law to settle disputes. But more than that, they relied on the law for their justification. Their righteousness, in their minds, stemmed from their ability p...

Psalm 19:1-3   To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  (2)  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. (3)  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." Have you ever been in a conversation where one side or the other was not fully engaged? You find yourself talking and suddenly you realize the other person is not paying one bit of attention to what you are saying? OR, maybe someone is talking to you and suddenly your mind is wandering in the far distance and you have not heard what the other one is saying. That can be a lonely conversation if you are the one who is not heard. Or it can be frustrating if you are the one who has to ask the other person to repeat themselves. What does this have to do with today's verses? I'm glad you asked. God speaks to us on a daily basis concerning His glory, power, wisdom, honor and authorit...

Romans 2:12-16     “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (For not the hearers of the law   are   just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and   their   thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” As we look at these verses of scripture, it may be beneficial to start by looking at the twelfth and sixteenth verses together. These to verses comprise the foundation of what Paul is saying. That is not to say that the parenthetical verses are not important. They may be mor...

Psalm 18:46    "The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted." There are four declarations in this one verse of Scripture. I would like for us to set our hearts and minds on these statements and meditate upon them today. The first declaration is this, "The LORD liveth." He's alive! Yes, He's alive! We do not serve an idol made with man's hands; rather, we love and serve the One Who spoke this universe into existence. We serve the One Who has shown Himself to be alive and active throughout the ages. We serve the One Who LIVES within us. I love that old hymn that says, "You ask me how I know He lives - He lives within my heart!" Throughout time, people have tried to say that God is dead. I will have nothing to do with that falsehood for you see, my God is alive and well and doing just fine. The second statement says, "Blessed be my rock."  He is my rock, my stability, the One upon whom I can lean u...

Romans 2:8-11     “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.” Paul continues to speak here about the result of God’s judgment on men for their behavior here. Those who sought for the glory and honor and immortality of God received the assurance of eternal life (verse 7). However, there were those who did not patiently wait upon the Lord. These showed themselves to be contentious. Those who are contentious work from a place of strife. They are willfully and perversely disbelieving (see Strong’s definition of the word translated as “obey” in this phrase). They do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Therefore they have confidence (...

Romans 2:5-7     “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:” In verse four of this chapter, Paul posed this question: “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” It does not seem to be reasonable that we would despise the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience. Yet, that is exactly what Paul is telling us. We apparently lack the wisdom to understand that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Most of us would argue that we do not value wrath, and we certainly do not want to treasure it up (heap it up like treasure). However, our actions often tell a different story. Paul tells...

Psalm 18:31    "For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?" Who IS God? How would you answer that question? I see that question and I have to wonder, "How do I actually answer that question?" There is another question along that line that makes me think of another question: "What is thy beloved more than another...?" (Song of Solomon 5:9) I look at those questions and begin to give answers such as these: God created heaven and the earth. God saved Noah and his family through the flood. God parted the Red Sea. God gave manna from heaven and water from the rock. God became the man, Jesus, who died on the cross. Jesus was buried but was raised again after three days and three nights.  All of that is true and there is so much more than that, but I believe David was seeking deep inside himself to see what HIS answer would be to that question.  In the Song of Solomon, people were asking the love of Christ to answer the question. What makes your...

Romans 2:1-4     “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” We are clearly taught in Matthew (7:16, 7:20, 12:33) and Luke (6:43-45) that a tree is known by the fruit it bears. Some suppose that in this manner we can determine who is and is not a child of God. The assumption is that if we belong to God we will do good. If we do not do good, then we must not belong to Him. We have only to look to the thief that was crucified with Jesus to see the falla...

Psalm 18:28-30      "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.  (29)  For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.  (30)  As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." "For thou wilt light my candle." Think about that. Jesus told us to, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)  I'm made to wonder as I compare these two thoughts. How can we "let our light shine?"  I'm sitting here and looking out the window. I see two sources of physical light as I do so. I have the manufactured light above my head, but it does not begin to compare with the natural sunlight that is outside my window. Which light does the most good? If I remember my 6th grade science lesson, the electricity that powers this light inside ultimately come...

“ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, " Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these? " He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, " Feed My lambs. " He said to him again a second time, " Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? " He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, " Tend My sheep. " He said to him the third time, " Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? " Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, " Feed My sheep . ”  – John 21:15-17  Do we love Jesus? If you have professed to be a follower of Jesus Christ, confessing with your mouth that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:18) then the answer should be a resounding, “yes!” One, who claims to be a discip...

Romans 1:26-32     “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in   their   knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such th...

Psalm 18:6     "In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears." Aren't you thankful that we love, serve, and belong to the only True and Living God? I'm so thankful that He has given me the understanding that He hears when I call upon His name. I'm reminded of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal. He understood that their gods were only idols made of wood, stone, or metal and formed by man's hands. We will see in the 115th Psalm that those kinds of gods have eyes, ears, hands, and legs; but, they cannot see, hear, hold, nor move about. They must be carried by someone, placed on their little pedestal and then men bow down before them and cry to them. There is no emotion in their idols, but our God is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. Their gods cannot answer, BUT our God... Yes! Our God hears and answers our prayers. Yes, I'm so thankful that He ...

Romans 1:22-25     “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Paul continues to describe the condition of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness (v. 18) in his letter to the church at Rome. They have the characteristic of professing (affirming)  their  wisdom. The true servants of God desire to show forth the wisdom of God rather than laying claim to their own. It is foolish for men to claim to be wise since we proved in the Garden of Eden that we were not even wise enough to obey one simple commandment. The foolishness o...

Psalm 18:1-3    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said..... "I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.  (2)  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  (3)  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." My original thoughts were to try to capture one or two verses from each Psalm and use them as the heart of thought each day. But as I arrive at the 18th Psalm, I realize that my plan was nice, but it won't work for this particular one. This Psalm holds personal meaning to me and there is just too much to try to skim across. I won't go verse by verse, but there are just too many beautiful thoughts and pictures t...

Romans 1:18-21     “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed   it   unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,   even   his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified   him   not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” We do not like to think about God’s wrath. Certainly, from an eternal standpoint, we have no need to ever fear His wrath. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, endured that in our stead on the cross. However, we should never use that as an excuse to partake in ungodliness or unrighteousness. I was never afraid that my ...