Devotionals

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.

14 Nov Devotional Thought – The Answer of Anticipation

"And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  Matthew 8:7 There are some answers to prayer which come only as the promise that the prayer will at last be answered. Here we read where the Centurion prayed that his servant would be instantly healed and Jesus' immediate response is, "I will come..." Haven't we experienced much the same thing in our walk with Jesus? We ask of the Lord something that is not immediately granted, yet there is more of an assurance than mere silence. We feel in our heart that there is an answer- an unshakable, undeniable confidance that one day it will be well. The dawn does not come immediately, but its first rays shine forth promising that the rising sun will come.

07 Nov Devotional Thought – Heaven’s Anniversaries

"And of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her." 6  The LORD will record, When He registers the peoples: "This one was born there." Psalm 87:5-6 When I asked Jesus into my heart as a teenage boy, one of the things that I was encouraged to do was to write down the date of my spiritual birthday in the front of my Bible.  I think that in someways, this is the idea, the thought behind, the intention found in these two verse.  It's a remarkably encouraging verse.  The Psalmist indicates that in the future the anniversaries that will be celebrated will be for the righteous - the redeemed.

02 Nov Devotional Thought – Fit For Glory

"By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Hebrews 11:5 Doesn't the end of this verse seem to be a bit anticlimactic? Think about it. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Enoch was taken - translated, raptured - to Heaven, and what a truly tremendous revelation that is. But, for the writer of Hebrews to then add to such an amazing account the fact that before Enoch was taken "he had this testimony, that he pleased God" is no doubt evident and expected. In fact, one could easily say, "Well that makes sense, he got to go to the place of God so surely it is unnecessary to say he had pleased the person of God." Well, actually it isn't superfluous at all. In fact, it is the one thing that is necessary to finish such a fantastic picture.

31 Oct Devotional Thought – Rest And Revelation

"Then he went up from there to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night..." Genesis 26:23-24 Moses says that Isaac went up from the Valley of Gerar to Beersheba, and it was on that very first night that the Lord appeared to him with a wonderful revelation of future blessing. Was this an accident? Was the timing of this divine appearance simply coincidence? Could the Lord have appeared to him the night before he left the Valley of Gerar for Beersheba? No, the timing of the appearance of the Almighty to Isaac not only came when it should, but when it could. The reason is that this was the night that Isaac finally reached his place of rest. Before this night there had been a series of struggles, a succession of quarrels, over the possession of wells that he and his men had dug.