Devotional Thoughts

Ezra 6:16-17     "And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,  (17)  And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel." The book of Ezra is a very interesting book to read. There is history contained in the book as the people of Judah had been carried away captive into the land of Babylon.  Many events took place during the 70 years of their captivity including the Persians taking over. Even more important than the history of that time, we read in Ezra 1:1-2, "... the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the...

Romans 10:14-17     “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith   cometh   by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” As we look at these scriptures, we need to remember that Paul is still addressing his concern for his Jewish brethren who have a zeal of God. His heart’s desire is for them to be delivered from pursuing their own righteousness and to submit themselves to the righteousness of God. Paul asks a series of questions in the verses before us. In order to rightly consider these verses, let us first look at Paul’s conclusion. The faith ...

1 Chronicles 29:9    "Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy." We have seen a few passages on each of the subjects of hope and peace and now this week we will be looking at the subject of joy. I'm sure there are differing thoughts on this subject as we sometimes confuse happiness and joy. In my thinking, I relate happiness with a feeling of the mind and joy should be the state of our hearts. The word joy is mentioned 165 times in the Bible whereas the word happy is found 28 times. I know the principle applies that a matter is true even if it is only mentioned once in the Bible. But I also believe the Lord stresses joy in our lives much more than happiness. There are some things that make us happy, if only for a little while. But joy should always be in our hearts no matter the situation that is happening around us. I'm not trying to say it...

Romans 10:10-13     “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” In verse nine of this chapter, Paul gave us a great assurance: there is deliverance in believing and acknowledging that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We must understand that to be able to acknowledge anything about God indicates that God has already begun a work in us. Since God is a spirit (John 4:24), it takes a spiritual mind to recognize Him and His work. The natural man does not receive the things of God because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14). For any man to believe in Jesus Christ with the heart indicates that spiritual life is already present. ...

Psalm 122:6    "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee."   The Lord tells  us that we are to pray for our peace. It is not an automatic thing because we have to deal with our carnal minds. The mind tends to drift to those things which interrupt. We allow those thoughts to remain which stir us to confusion and sometimes even anger.  I realize today's passage is speaking of praying for peace in a city that was often torn apart by war. And it still is to this day. But in order for peace to be in a city or a nation, there must be peace in the hearts and minds of individuals. We read in the book of James chapter 4, verse 1, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" Wars, fighting, battles, arguments - they all come from one, or more, individuals who want to have control or have things going their own way. It seems to me that in order for me to have peace of mind, I mu...

Romans 10:5-9     “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down   from above:)  Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee,   even   in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” When reading this passage of scripture, we must be careful to not treat it as an island. We must consider it in the light of things that Paul has already said before. In the previous chapter, he pointed out that those who had sought righteousness by the law had not attained unto r...

Romans 15:13    "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." This verse is a fascinating verse when you stop to look at it in the context that it is written. Paul quotes from the Old Testament concerning the Gentiles being brought into the blessings of the Lord. In verse 8, Paul speaks of the promises that have been made. In verse 9, he reminds us that we are to glorify the Lord. Paul's purpose was to testify to the Gentiles. He was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. In verse 10, we are to rejoice in that which the Lord has done for us. Verse 11 speaks to  us concerning praise that we are to lift up unto the Lord. Verse 12 tells us that Jesus Christ reigns and rules in His kingdom to both Jew and Gentile. Then we come to the culmination in verse 13. God has promised these things as recorded in the Old Testament and we can experience hope, joy, and peace in believing through...

Romans 10:1-4     “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ   is   the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” In the previous chapter, Paul spoke about a remnant of the Jews that would walk in the righteousness of faith. They had stumbled at the truth that Jesus Christ was God’s anointed for the remission of sins, both of the Jew and of the Gentile. In reading the Acts of the Apostles, it is clearly seen that Paul was grievously persecuted by his Jewish brethren. Paul clearly shows here that, rather than rejoice in the plight of Israel, he held a great desire to see them prosper in the things of God. In this, there is a grea...

Romans 9:30-33     “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because   they sought it   not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Righteousness is described as goodness, integrity, honesty, and innocence, among other things. These are traits that we admire and seek to attain in society. For the believers in Jesus Christ, righteousness is more than a social construct. It is something that we receive from God through Jesus, and is revealed in us by the Holy Spirit. True righteousness is not the result of living a good life. It does not co...

Isaiah 26:3-4    "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  (4)  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" We are constantly bombarded with things that are meant to rob our peace and joy. (Joy is next week's subject.) But it seems every way we turn, there is something that will rob our peace from us if not properly dealt with. A few months ago, I was sitting in a local coffee house enjoying our weekly Bible Study with a group of men. Suddenly, the place began to rumble and shake. It was so sudden and violent that I thought a plane had crashed. It was an earthquake that was centered about 20 miles away. The reason I bring this up just now is because that sudden interruption disturbed the peace of the moment when we were talking about the Lord. It isn't always something so drastic as an earthquake, but daily we are confronted with things - news events, time schedule interruptio...

Romans 9:25-29     “As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass,   that   in the place where it was said unto them, Ye   are   not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut   it   short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.” As we look at the book of the prophet Hosea (Osee), we see God’s judgment against Israel. This was not a threat of eternal banishment, but rather a pronouncement against them for their failure to honor God in their walk. Here, Paul quotes Hos...

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." We continue this morning with our thoughts of peace. Yesterday, we saw that Jesus is indeed our peace. As we read today's verse, we see that He has the authority over our peace. He is the Prince of Peace. We love this verse of Scripture and usually we see it at this time of the year. As with all other Scripture, we should come back to this verse time and time again throughout the year as a reminder that Jesus is the ruler, Lord over our peace. We understand that the child that was born was Jesus. He was born of the virgin named Mary. The son that was given is Jesus, the very Son of God. All authority and power is His both in heaven and in earth. As the Wonderful Counsellor, He has the authority and power to speak peace into our hearts even in the ...

Romans 9:19-24     “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed   it,   Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?  What   if God, willing to shew   his   wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” Have you ever made something with your own hands? If so, there was probably a particular purpose and design that you had in mind. Others might have looked at it and wondered why it was made a certain way. Perhaps they just ...

Romans 9:14-18     “What shall we say then?   Is there   unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then   it is   not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will   have mercy,   and whom he will he hardeneth.” It is often easy for us to forget that God is not man. We want to try and apply the same thought processes and restrictions to Him that we use with each other. It should always be remembered that He has told us He does not think like we do and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Not only are His thoughts and ways not like ours, but the...

Ephesians 2:13-14     "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.  (14)  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" We concluded last week's thoughts on the subject of hope by being reminded that Jesus Christ is the anchor of our soul. He is our hope; that is, He is our blessed assurance that we have eternal life in Him. Not only is He the assurance of our hope, this week we begin by being reminded that "He is our peace." We will talk more about the subject as the week goes on, but this morning I just want us to think about the word, peace. Depending on which dictionary you use, there are many definitions of the word, peace. Some of them include, freedom from disturbance, a state, or period, when there is no war, and another is a period of silence. Yet another definition speaks of having freedom from internal commotion. As I think of this peace, I am ...

Romans 9:10-14     “And not only   this;   but when Rebecca also had conceived by one,   even   by our father Isaac; (For   the children   being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then?   Is there   unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” In the seventh verse of this chapter, Paul references the promise of God made to Abraham that “In Isaac shall thy seed be called (Genesis 21:12).” He begins in this tenth verse with the assurance that these were not just idle words. God had made a decree and He would bring it to pass. In this is manifested the power and purpose of God. Isaac took Rebecca to wife, and she conceived and brought forth twin boys. Before they were brought int...

Titus 1:1-2    "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;  (2)  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" 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" Recently we have been looking at the subject of "Hope." For me, I have been reminded just how important it is for us to have hope and to be able to hold onto it. Most of our thoughts have been concerning hope for God's love, mercy, a...

Romans 9:6-9     “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they  are  not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham,  are they  all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these  are  not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this  is  the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.” In verse two of this chapter, Paul expresses a deep sorrow for his national kinsmen. He goes on to point out all that they had received from God, and still they had failed to recognize God’s only begotten Son. As a nation, they were not enjoying the fulfillment of serving God, but had instead become self-serving. They did not recognize the fullness of the promises of God in Jesus Christ. However, Paul had no intention with this concern to leave the idea th...

Romans 5:3-5     "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;  (4)  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:  (5)  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." To combine Paul's words from Monday and today, "We are saved by hope... And hope maketh not ashamed..." This 5th chapter of Romans begins with the fact that we have peace with God through faith in the finished works of our precious Lord. We believe (our hope in God) is that our home in heaven is secured through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That is settled, but we are still living this life on earth. I'm so thankful that our Lord gave us the gift of faith whereby we can stand strong in the power of His might. That is such a necessary element because we have struggles, trials, and turmoil each day we live. Although we do not look forward to, nor invite, strug...

Romans 9:1-5     “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom   pertaineth   the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service   of God,   and the promises; Whose   are   the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ   came,   who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” In the eighth chapter, Paul concluded with his wonderful assessment that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We should realize that he has not now become concerned with the eternal welfare of his brethren. However, he is very concerned with their failing to lay hold on the kingdom of God in that moment. It was troubling to Paul that his breth...

Psalm 39:4-7     "LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.  (5)  Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.  (6)  Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.  (7)  And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee." "My hope is in thee." I hope you've noticed that everyday's devotion has been on the subject of hope. I go back to Monday's thoughts where Paul reminds us that we are saved by hope. It is a very sad thing when it seems we have no hope of anything better in our lives. Hope keeps us going from day to day. Today's passage speaks of a time when the Psalmist seemed to have lost hope. There was a reason for that happening. From the words written, he had tried to make a d...

Romans 8:37-39     “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the previous two verses, Paul has named a list of things that are common to the human condition. This list included tribulation, persecution, and even death. Now we are being told that none of these things matter in the least. The word “nay” as used here carries the idea of in spite of or in opposition to these things. The world view deems this list to be one of destruction. However, the scripture gives us a very different view of the situation. We are more than conquerors in ALL these things. It is a peculiar situation of those who trust in Christ to be more than conquerors, even in the battles we...