November 2011

30 Nov Devotional Thought – The Promise of Divine Prosperity

"He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:3   At first blush this appears to be an amazing, astounding - almost unbelievable - promise. What a grand incentive for a good man to be, well...good. Think of it. Who wouldn't want the good, godly man to be prosperous? Who wouldn't want such a man to see whatever he touched turn to gold? Who wouldn't think it a good thing for one like the Psalmist describes in the beginning chapter of his hymnbook to be blessed materially, financially, personally?

28 Nov Devotional Thought – God’s Magnificent Mercy

"I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man. . ." Hosea 11:9 It's a very original, unusual, unique statement.  We would have expected something completely and totally different - even from the prophet himself.  He has been expressing in the clearest, starkest, strongest, loudest terms possible his sense of the divine horror of sin.  He has been sharing from the lips of God the most withering, the most scathing denunciations of the evil around man.  With this as a backdrop we would expect that there would follow something like this  - "I will utterly and completely destroy these wicked men.  I will wipe them from the face of the earth and from the memory of all of creation."  But instead there comes this startling statement - "I will not execute the fierceness of My anger. . .For I am God, and not man. . ."

24 Nov Devotional Thought – The Witness of Thanksgiving

“Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.” 2 Samuel 22:50 The first personal declaration of thanksgiving in the Old Testament is one for divine deliverance. It is David’s open acknowledgement of the Lord’s power, provision and protection in the midst of his enemies. In fact, standing just after the Lord’s awesome acts, David shouts and sings of the Almighty’s salvation “among the Gentiles.” He declares that he will “give thanks to the Lord…and make known among the nations what He has done.”

21 Nov Devotional Thought – The Christian’s Responsibility Of Joy

"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You." Psalm 5:11 The Psalmist isn't so much sharing a promise as he is giving a command. He says to those who trust in the Lord that it is not just our responsibility to be joyful, but to make sure that everybody around us knows that we are full of the joy of the Lord as well. In fact, the Psalmist says that its not just our duty to "rejoice," but to "shout for joy." So, then, joyfulness is much more than mere privilege, it is our divine duty.