Latest Thoughts of the Day

Michah 6:8

2/27/2021

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

In the context, extravagant ways of gaining God’s favor have been proposed, but God makes it very simple. Build your life on His standard, be concerned for others and not just yourself, and submit to God’s sovereignty in your life. It is simple and even easy, except for what we are in ourselves. We want to establish the standard in our lives. We care about ourselves and not others. We want to call the shots. God’s simple way of pleasing Him goes against everything we are and everything we want. We need to be born again into a living relationship with God. We need the new heart and mind God gives us as we trust in Jesus.

Jonah 2:2

2/26/2021

He said, "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help and you listened to my cry."

Interesting jump fro “He” to “You” in Jonah’s prayer. We get very personal when we are in real distress, and it may be that that is the only place we become real with God. His trials, afflictions and calamities are designed to draw us near, and when thy have helped us spring from third to second person, we have come to where God wants us to be. In fact, we need You today, O Lord. In You we live and move and have our being, and all our hopes are in You. Hear our prayer in this moment and deliver us from whatever stress we are facing. May today’s special struggle draw us close to our Lord Jesus.

Obadiah 9:15

2/25/2021

"The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."

It is not only that God will repay the wicked in weight, but He will repay them in kind. We will ourselves feel what we have inflicted upon others. God will do to us what we did. The desire we all feel that a proper revenge be taken is guaranteed by our God. He who said, “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay” meant what He said, and will bring it about, beginning in this life, but most certainly on the Day of judgment. This frightens us, Lord, when we think what we have done, and we are thankful that Jesus came to make right the debt that we personally owe. He died that we might live. Thank You, Lord Jesus.

Amos 5:13

2/24/2021

Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil.

The national leaders are boasting of their goodness while they are committing terrible cruelty and injustice upon the people. God sees and will judge. But there is a time when the wise thing is to withdraw and keep your mouth shut. God’s judgment on the evil must take its course. It is not helped by our complaints. We watch with sadness, we trust in the Lord’s faithfulness, and we watch the circumstance play out. The prudent man keeps quiet. This is not easy when one lives in a contentious age where everyone is wrangling about everything. We must remember the one who being reviled, reviled not again, who opened not His mouth, who entrusted Himself to God, who judges justly. May the Lord help us, in our day, to respond like our Lord Jesus.

Joel 2:28

2/23/2021

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."

When His kingdom comes as God envisions and intends, there will be a tremendous spiritual activity that will include everyone. Prophets used to be very rare. The glowing experience of the presence of God used to be had only by the few. Spiritual insight and prophetic imagination was limited to individuals who were challenged to lift the vision of everyone else. But in the fulfillment there will be a spiritual energy that touches everyone, each according to his gift. Without distinction, even of gender, the people will experience the wonderful outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. A major change in this direction came at Pentecost. The fullness will be a wonderful spiritual enthusiasm affecting all who have trusted in Jesus.

Hosea 6:5

2/22/2021

Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.

Words only have power if we care about the one who utters them. Sometimes what somebody says cuts us to the heart. Sometimes we really want to please the one who challenges us. Sometimes the words of another really make us think about ourselves. God knows that His words to Israel were sufficient to cut them to the quick. He knows that what He has said is devastating. He knows that we ought to be trembling with amazement and fear. But those who ought to be His people do not even seem to know what is important to Him. He has spoken what was needed. Lord, help us to feel the weight of Your words. Help us to respond like your Son, Jesus.

Daniel 3:17

2/21/2021

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king."

119 years before this event, God had said, “When you walk through the fire you will not be burned.” The men did not know that this was the occasion God meant, but the word was clear and it was worthy of their trust. Surely God was able to save, and it may be He brought these circumstance together to prove it publicly. They were confident in God and fully committed to obey him, no matter what. Lord, we know that you are able to save us in the midst of the most remarkable trial. Perhaps You will glorify yourself in our lives this way. But whether you do in this case or not, we trust in Your Son, Jesus.

Ezekiel 18:20

2/20/2021

The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness f the wicked will be charged against him.

The punishments of Exodus 20 upon the next generation is because the children have taken up the parents’ sins and made them their own. Even there, each person bears the consequence of his own sin. Lord, help us not to blame others and not to excuse ourselves. Thank You that You saw our terrible dilemma and sent rescue through your Son. He did not die for sin in general, but for each of our sins in particular. Help us, Lord, to come to the One You have sent to rescue us from our sin, even Jesus.