Latest Thoughts of the Day

Habakkuk 2:3

4/19/2019

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

What God reveals as a view of future events is not uncertain, even though our perception may be a flash. It will come to pass at the exactly right moment, and will be everything shown in our little preview. God operates outside of time. The little piece we are shown is as if it had happened, though it may take place for us in a thousand years. Prophecy is communication of reality in pieces without reference to time. Lord, help us to believe what You reveal, and build our hope on certainties. Thank You that all is in Your control. We look for the unfolding of Your realities. Help us to see them all emanating from Jesus.

Nahum 2:5

4/18/2019

He summons his picked troops, yet they stumble in the way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place.

150 years before, God had used Jonah to call Nineveh to repentance. They had returned to the same sins, and God sends Nahum, not to call them to repentance, but to declare their final judgment. He pictures in vivid terms the ineffectual defenses falling one by one as the judgment of God descends.
The nation’s special troops stumble. Plan B looks like it will hold, but it doesn’t. It seems like a Tsunami, but it is not a natural disaster. The city is looted before it is destroyed. Nineveh gets from the Lord everything that it deserves. Lord, Your wrath causes us to tremble. Thank You that Jesus took it in our place, that we might be forgiven. May repentance bring us to Jesus.

Micah 2:4

4/17/2019

In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: "We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors."

Micah preached at the time of Isaiah, both to Israel in Samaria and to Judah in Jerusalem. Both have departed from God, and both are in danger of destruction from foreign powers. Israel’s fall will occur in Micah’s day, but Judah will survive for 150 years more. He warns both nations of loss at the hands of cruel invaders. Traitors will betray the countries, while society crumbles. It will be as in a well-know song about the fall of kingdoms. Mockery and ridicule will be a part of the punishment. It was a part of Jesus’ punishment when He suffered in our place. We thank You for enduring this for us, Lord Jesus.

Jonah 2:3

4/16/2019

You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.

Actually, the sailors on the ship hurled Jonah, but Jonah recognizes God’s hand in what they did. When Jonah describes the waves, he calls them God’s waves and breakers. He is trapped in an absolutely inescapable dilemma, and he sees that it is God who has put him there, to deal with him concerning his rebellion to God’s purposes for him. It takes a miracle, but God responds to Jonah’s repentance with remarkable deliverance. In our day does God ever send swirling catastrophe upon His own to awaken them to their rebellion? Can a person be trapped by his own rebellion into a place from which there is no escape? Let such a person repent and call upon the Lord Jesus!

Obadiah 20

4/15/2019

The company of Israelit exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land, as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Shephared will possess the towns of the Negev.

The regions here mentioned had been captured from the Israelites, and they had not been able by force to retake them. But a part of God’s restoration of His people will be the return of these captive lands. God will extend and establish control over lands long forfeited, as He exalts His people once more. Lord, the enemy has come in like a flood to our land, and we have not been able to regain the lost ground. Would You move in mighty revival to restore what is ours and bring glory to Your Great Name? Our attempts are ineffectual. Your power is irresistible. Move in our midst to draw many to seek Your Son Jesus

Amos 2:5

4/14/2019

I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.

Scripture clearly tells us that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive for the things done in the body. Jesus tells us that even our idle words will be under God’s scrutiny in that Great day. Paul speaks of some being saved, but “so as by fire” with the fruit of all their labors consumed. God hates sin wherever He finds it, and He speaks very strongly in the book of Amos. For three or four sins one nation after another will suffer His wrath—and Judah is no exception. Lord, we are thankful to be testimonies to Your forgiving Grace, but we long to be trophies of Your triumph. Cleanse us and restore us to your service. We surrender our fortresses, conquered by the grace that is in Jesus.

Joel 1:20

4/13/2019

Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.

National disaster has come upon Israel as a wake-up call. His terrible judgment threatens them for their apostasy from Him. It will be far worse than the natural disasters that have befallen them. Repent, O Israel, lest what is coming upon you should come. What Israel had already experienced had robbed them of their livelihood and even taken from the wild beasts their accustomed food and drink. Paul talks about the earth suffering as in childbirth because of the sins of men. Lord, help us to see that our sin has cursed the whole earth, and that our only refuge is the God who Yourself has brought upon us this calamity. Help us to recognize our sin and flee to the One You have provided, even Jesus.

Hosea 2:9

4/12/2019

Therefore I will take away my gain when it appears, and my new sine when it is ready. I will take back my woll and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness.

God pictures His people as a harlot that has sold herself to foreign rulers, thinking that what God has given her is actually the hire of her prostitution. What God has graciously given has been received as a gift from her lovers. Therefore God says that He will take it away, leaving her desolate. He will take away His grain, His wine, His wool and His linen. Lord, what we have is actually Yours, and it is well for You to expect us to give You the glory. We deserve that You should take it away, for we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Help us stay close to our Provider, Jesus.