Devotional Thoughts

1 Samuel 2:1-2     "And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.  (2)  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God." We last saw Hannah praying in the house of God for a child. She promised the Lord that she would lend the child back to Him if He would bless her to have a son. She is now fulfilling that promise. She brought her son, Samuel, to the house of God and presented him to Levi. I wonder what was going through Levi's mind. "How can I take care of this boy? What am I going to do with him?" What a great responsibility was given to him on that day and yet, he accepted the child on behalf of Hannah and the Lord. We will look more into that later, but for now we look at the first two sentences of Hannah's prayer of thanksgiving. We are just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving...

Matthew 14:17-21     " And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.  He said, Bring them hither to me.   And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."   Most of us have had the experience in our lives of realizing that we do not have a sufficiency in ourselves to do what Jesus has commanded us to do. The disciples had looked out on this great multitude of people and asked Jesus to send them away to find food for themselves. Jesus then told His disciples that the multitude did not need to be sent away and commanded that the disciples feed them. The discip...

1 Samuel 1:9-11    "So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.  (10)  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.  (11)  And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." Today we look at another precious lady in the Bible named Hannah. She was married to a man named Elkanah. 1 Samuel 1:2 tells us the reason for Hannah having "bitterness of soul. "And he (Elkanah) had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children." Peninnah would mock Hannah and provoke her to anger and sorrow eve...

Matthew 14:14-16     "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.  And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.  But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat." Upon learning of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus got on a boat and left town. He went to a desert (lonely) place to have some quiet time. People soon discovered that He had left on a boat. While He was crossing the Sea of Galilee, the multitudes from the cities followed on foot. When Jesus stepped out of the ship, He saw a great multitude. The scripture makes it clear that, while there were always those that opposed Him, there were also always great crowds of people that followed Him. Jesus saw this great multitude and was moved with sympathy for th...

Ruth 1:14-17     "And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.  (15)  And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.  (16)  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:  (17)  Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." The book of Ruth is a wonderful love story in the Bible. It begins with a struggle in the homeland of Elimelech and Naomi. "There was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons." The beginning of this story reminds me of the movie, "Grapes of Wrath,"...

Matthew 14:9-13     " And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.   And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities."   Herod (the king under consideration) learned a difficult lesson. It is one that we would do well to heed. Herod was having a good time being celebrated, and it had gone to his head. Without any consideration for the consequences, he made a very public promise to his stepdaughter that she could have anything she wanted as a reward for entertaining him and his guests. It did not matter that he was sorr...