Latest Thoughts of the Day

Joel 1:7

5/23/2026

It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees.. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white,

God identifies with His people enough to call their vines His. He joins them in a kind of lamentation. It is certainly easy for every person to lament with Israel over the natural calamity that has ruined them. But what about the spiritual danger that threatens, as it were, at the very door? An invading army does not destroy vegetation, but it destroys everything else with an equal devastation. If Israel continues on its present course, destruction analogous to invading locusts is crouching to descend. God has sent the locusts as a warning and as a means of drawing the nation to Himself. If they do not learn, they will perish. Is our latest personal tragedy from God, to draw us to Jesus?

Hosea 1:7

5/22/2026

Yet I will show love to the house of Judah and will save them not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and orsemen, but by the Lord their God.

Often in Bible history the Lord used human armaments to bring about His purposes. As it will turn out, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, will be utterly destroyed by the invading Assyrian army. When the same army turns against Judah, God will send His angel of death to destroy 136,000 in a single night. There is no way that Hosea can understand that God is making reference to this intention. It is spoken eleven years before the event. It speaks to us of the astonishing sovereignty of God, and of the way He is able to accomplish His will. We thank You, Lord, for saving us, not by armies, but by the blood of Your Son, Jesus.

Daniel 1:7

5/21/2026

The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Mananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego

The suffixes on all of these Jewish names pointed to God, either “el” of “ia”. The job of the director in Babylon was to utterly change the identities of these young captives and make them to be what the Babylonian society wanted its bright young men to be. The new name did not stick to Daniel, but we have come to know the others by what their Babylonian names. In all these cases, what we really remember about these young men is their character. Daniel was protected in the lions’ den. The three young men wouldn’t bow, and, as it turned out, wouldn’t burn. May the Lord help us to trust Him with a courage like theirs, looking back even as they looked forward to Jesus.

Ezekiel 1:7

5/20/2026

Their legs were straight, their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished brass.

Later on we will learn that these creatures have four faces, facing each direction, but that they move straight forward. We are clearly dealing with creatures that do not fit into our world and cannot be understood by our reckoning. Ezekiel is faced with an impression generated by the creatures that he saw, and we are faced with an impression of what he meant when he described them. We are even farther removed than Ezekiel because we have never examined calf feet and don’t know the impression they would cause. The place God wants us seems to be amazement and astonishment and awesome respect. And it seems that that kind of response was at times what the disciples felt concerning our Lord. We receive glimpses of glory from the man, Jesus.

Lamentations 1:7

5/19/2026

In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, thee was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction

Poor Jerusalem! They remember how much they have lost and they feel very sorry for themselves. But they forget the warnings with tears and earnest pleas that characterized the very life’s blood of Jeremiah for year after year before the disaster. They would not hear and they would not obey; and now they are very sad. Help us, Lord, to learn from the terrible testimony of the people of God. He that exalts himself will be humbled. The wicked will not prosper. He that is often rebuked will suddenly be destroyed. Help us to take heed from their terrible experience and turn to Jesus.

Jeremiah 1:7

5/18/2026

But the Lord said to me, "Do not say,'I am only a child'. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

Jeremiah complained of inability to do what God had commanded, and God said,”Don’t talk like that!” God intended to use Jeremiah’s weakness as much as his strength. God is able to work repentance and faith in a man’s heart; and He is able to work stubbornness and resistance If God’s purpose is to display judgment. It was clear what God expected of Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s expectations were not a very big part of the considerations. Perhaps many struggles come not from God’s expectations but from ours as we serve Him. Help us, Lord, not to be influenced by our expectations. Help us look to You for Your will. Our personal happiness will always be to embrace the will of Jesus.

Isaiah 1:7

5/17/2026

Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

When Isaiah began his ministry, Israel was fairly prosperous and fairly stable, with threats on many sides, but things basically under control. Isaiah could see the cracks, however, and there were many ways in which enemy influences had made their way into the fabric of Israel’s society. He paints a word-picture of what he sees in Israelite society, and he is alarmed because destruction has already come for all practical purposes. It would not be difficult to view our country in this way at this time. Isaiah would live to see many of his prophecies fulfilled. Help us, Lord, to see how desolate we are. Much that threatens us has already occurred in our present society. Help us seek refuge in Jesus.

Song of Songs 1:7

5/16/2026

Tell me, you Whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?

Can I call you on your lunch hour? I could go to the same lunch room and view you from afar, but my desire is something more personal and more exclusively between me and you. The believer longs for personal fellowship, real contact with the Beloved One. Not just one of an elite group of close acquaintances, but personal sharing on informal occasions. We long for this, Lord Jesus. Enable us to draw near. Walk with us and talk with us and tell us we are Your own. May the Joy we share as we tarry there be something no one else can know. Solomon captures what we feel about you, Lord Jesus.