Devotional Thoughts

1 Corinthians 6:1-3     “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” As we read these verses, we see an expectation of how we, as a body of believers, should behave ourselves. The matters that rise between brethren should be “small matters.” We know that the law of land does not allow for the church to try such matters as physical murder, grand larceny, and other large crimes (as viewed by the world). Also, we know that the scriptures tell us in many places that we are to live lawfully as citizens of this world. Matters that arise between brothers and sisters in Christ should not require the intervention of the law of the land. It we are striving to live as His disciples, th...

Psalm 97:1    "The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof." Psalm 97:6-9    "The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.  (7)  Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.  (8)  Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.  (9)  For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods." We read earlier in the Psalms, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." (Psalm 24:7) There are certain things that are absolutes, but we cannot always see them. Sometimes, we have our heads down and focus only on the things of this earth. We rob ourselves of the blessings of the great truths in today's Scriptures when we look around instead of looking up. We rob ourselves of ble...

1 Corinthians 5:12-13     “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” There is a lot of evil in the world. We see it on the news broadcasts, read about it in the paper, and hear it talked about wherever people gather. It is preached about from pulpits and railed against in government halls. Our focus is pulled in many different directions. The simple truth is, evil is not new. In Genesis, chapter six, verse five, we are told “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man  was  great in the earth, and  that  every imagination of the thoughts of his heart  was  only evil continually.” The imagination (purpose) of our carnal nature is  only  evil according to God’s word. This runs contrary to the idea that there is some good in every human being, so will we believe the philosophy of me...

INTRODUCTION   The Apostle Paul has transitioned from his amazing declarations of the doctrines of our salvation in Jesus Christ. He begins this transition in Romans chapter 12. You will, no doubt, remember his detailed discourse on the movements of God regarding the salvation of His chosen people.  Paul began by giving his reader a hint when he addressed what he called “the power of God unto salvation.” Of course, this power of God is “the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Paul then adds a very important statement saying that this power is effective “to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (See Romans 1:16 ).  The apostle then gives the reason for this restriction with respect to the objects of God’s salvation. He focuses the reader’s attention in chapter 3 saying, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Verse 23). He has expounded upon this subject throughout chapters 1:18-3:21-22. It is there in chapter 3:21-22 that the apostle re...

Psalm 96:1-4    "O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.  (2)  Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.  (3)  Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.  (4)  For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods." I placed more Scripture than usual this morning. I probably should take this approach more often because Scripture explains itself. I'm thankful that God ordained preachers to expound upon the Word of God. I don't mean this to sound prideful at all, but I love to preach - When the Lord blesses me to preach. It is a wonderful gift to be able to read the Word of God and sense the Holy Spirit speaking to you concerning the words that you read. I say all that to say: God is very specific and very plain spoken. We tend to make it more difficult than it is. So today, God is saying to us that He created music and we should u...

1 Corinthians 5:9-11     “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” It would appear by the apostle’s words here that the epistle we have as “First Corinthians” is actually not Paul’s first letter to these brethren. The tense of his statement here would indicate that he had previously written a letter to them. In this letter he had admonished them not to company with fornicators. The admonition to “not company” with fornicators carries the idea that these were not people we wanted to be seen hanging out with. We do not want to give the impression that we are partakers in the fornic...

Psalm 95:1-3    "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  (2)  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  (3)  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods." I begin with a very simple statement: Worship is all about God. The Psalmist is instructing us that we are to worship the Lord. We are to engage in that activity. I admit that I do not always know the songs that are used each Sunday, but I can read the words. Even if I do not know the tune, I can read the words and in doing so, I lift my heart and mind toward the Lord of all glory. I believe that, not only does the Lord see our hearts, He hears our hearts. He hears the joy that is in us as we tune our hearts to sing His praise. We are told: "Let us sing.... Let us make a joyful noise.... Let us come before His presence... (again) Let us make a joyful noise.... (Let us understand t...

1 Corinthians 5:6-8     “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” In a previous verse, Paul has already pointed out that the brethren were puffed up (boastful, proud) over a sinful situation. He rebuked them that they had not mourned over the situation rather than trying to put a positive perspective on it. Here he tells them plainly that their boasting (glorying) is not good. As the children of God, we should always remember that unless we are boasting of our Lord and Savior, our boasting is not good either.Even if we are only boasting in ourselves a little or looking the other way just a little, it is going to have big consequences. Our...

Psalm 95:1    "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." "O Come, let us sing unto the LORD." I'll jump ahead a few Psalms to include with these words "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." (Psalm 122:1)  I love to try to sing. I'm so thankful that God placed music within us when He created man. David loved music. I can picture him on the hillsides, looking out across God's creation, and the music flowing from his heart as he would begin to praise the Lord. I think of the manner in which music would calm the soul of King Saul when he would go into one of his raging fits. There have been times in my life when I wanted complete silence. I needed that time to be still before the Lord and allow my mind to think upon good things. There are other times when I want to hear the radio playing while I'm driving down the highway. I enjoy "most types" of mu...

1 Corinthians 5:3-5     “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Although necessity had dictated that Paul physically move on from Corinth, the church there was obviously still much in his thoughts and prayers. Even as pastors today, when the Lord sees fit to move us from one congregation to another we never completely lose some feeling of attachment and spiritual responsibility for each congregation. By God’s grace, Paul was still sufficiently attuned to the Corinthian brethren that he was confident in the matter before him. Paul’s judgement was not only aimed at the man guilty of fornication. He was very concerned wit...

1 Corinthians 5:1     “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” Up until this point, Paul has been dealing with a division among the brethren. This division is one that comes from putting men before God. It does not matter that the men themselves were godly and called of God to minister. Men are never to be honored for that which comes from God: the glory is His alone. While on the one hand they had all this division going on, there was something else taking place in which there seemed to be no great division. Not only was there no division, but there was no real concern over the situation. The situation was a matter of fornication, and fornication to an extent that was unheard of among those that were considered unbelievers an...

Psalm 94:22   "But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge." Life is filled with struggles from the time of birth until the last breath that we take on this earth. Sometimes we struggle physically whether it be arthritis, bursitis, or one of the other "itis" brothers. Sometimes we struggle emotionally whether it be because of our own weakness or something that another has done to us. Sometimes we struggle spiritually because of sin in our lives. But the truth of the matter is that we all have our struggles with which we must deal. Psalm 94 is an example of the writer expressing himself from the depth of his struggle. Earlier in the Psalm, we see him asking the question, "How long, O Lord?" Then we see him being specific in some of the things that troubled him and when we read them, we can identify with his questions. "LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things...

1 Corinthians 4:18-21     “Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God   is   not in word, but in power. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and   in   the spirit of meekness?” Paul demonstrated an intimate knowledge of the children he had begotten through the gospel. Apparently, those that laid claim to Apollos or Peter felt a certain vindication that Paul had written this letter and sent it with Timothy, but had not come himself. They were boastful in their conceit that Paul was not really concerned with them and would not come to exercise any authority. Here Paul lays that notion to rest. As at other times, Paul makes recognition of the fact that his will in this matter was not primary. We never want to fall into a pattern of saying “the Lord willing” ...

Psalm 93:1-5    "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.  (2)  Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.  (3)  The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.  (4)  The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.  (5)  Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever." I read these five verses and my mind begins to go in many different directions. It seems to always come back to the place where I ask myself, "How high do I esteem the Lord, my God?" What thoughts go through my mind when I think of God? How often do I think of Him? Do I think of Him as being the One I can always go to when I am in trouble? There's nothing wrong with that line of thinking u...

1 Corinthians 4:14-17     “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn   you.  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet   have ye   not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” During times of correction, it is easy to lose sight of the love and sacrifice being shown to us. Our feelings are hurt because someone we hold in esteem is finding fault with our behavior. It is unsettling and often embarrassing to us. We may even find ourselves harboring feelings of resentment toward the one doing the correcting. Paul is careful to assure us that his correction is not meant to shame us or belittle us. He calls this a warning, a...

Psalm 92:13-15    "Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.  (14)  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;  (15)  To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God."  What a glorious statement that is!  I see many people now who ask the question, "Why should I go to church?"  Their thought is that they can worship God just as well at home as they can at Church. I will agree that there are times when we worship at home and feel the presence of the Lord. We can worship God in most places that we go. But can we worship Him to the same degree as we do when we are assembled with other people who love the Lord?  I have to say "no" to that question. You may ask me why I answer in that way. Let me use some Scripture to bring us to t...

1 Corinthians 4:11-13     “Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world,   and are   the offscouring of all things unto this day.” Many of the Corinthian brethren thought they were on top of the world. After all, God had sent them some notable apostles and teachers (Paul, Apollos, and Peter). Some of them even remembered that it was to Jesus they owed their allegiance. They considered themselves wise, honorable, and strong among their peers. It seems that they, like us, forgot some of the very basic teachings of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches us that those who would persecute Him will also persecute us (Joh 15:20). The world is still full of men who persecute Jesus from the standpoint ...

1 Corinthians 4:8-10     “Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We   are   fools for Christ’s sake, but ye   are   wise in Christ; we   are   weak, but ye   are   strong; ye   are   honourable, but we   are   despised.” In order to understand the tone of these verses, we must be blessed by God to keep in mind that Paul has been addressing a problem in the church. There were divisions over who had the greatest claim to fame with some giving Paul credit for their gospel salvation while others claimed Apollos or Peter. Some even claimed Christ. Paul’s letter thus far has addressed the foolishness of worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God in a mystery. ...