Latest Thoughts of the Day

1 Peter 2:5

1/19/2021

...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Our getting the picture of what God has made us in Christ requires mixed metaphors. We have the stability, the mutual support, the permanence of stones in a building. But we have the living spiritual worship of priests of the Most High God. And these, not by turns, but constantly and without interruption. My responsibility to fellow-Christians is to keep them strong and united, and to lift their spirits to worship. Lord, help me to promote the stability and strength of my brethren, and help me encourage them in the worship of our God! May I be kept by the power of God unto salvation. May I be filled by the Spirit, that I may offer continual spiritual worship to Jesus!

James 2:2

1/18/2021

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

James poses a very clear and plausible example of a real challenge. Why are we impressed by certain people? What personal gain do we hope for in dealing with them? Why do we treat them as more important than those without this qualification? The main issue is what other people think of us, but the message we convey is the opposite of what we want. We become known as one who caters to the rich. Better by far for us to forget about ourselves and really see others as equally valuable in God’s sight. Thank You, Lord, for alerting us to this problem. Help us get ourselves out of the way. Remind us of Your point-of-view, and make ours more like that of Jesus.

Hebrews 2:16

1/17/2021

For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.

God’s offer of redemption comes not to fallen angels, but to men. God did not want us to perish, so He sent His son to live for us and die for us, that we may not perish but have eternal life. Angels are sent by God to minister to the heirs of salvation. Why these things should be true is not told us. What is there in the heart of God that He desires to display by this arrangement? We have questions that humble us, but the response that God expects of us is humble submission to his plan, and embracing of His Son, offered for our salvation. We are amazed and we are thankful that God in His mercy sent His Son to rescue us from certain condemnation. We praise You for Your love, Lord Jesus.

Philemon 6

1/16/2021

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

In sharing our faith with others, we encounter questions we never thought of. We find objections that wouldn’t have occurred. We see working the very attitudes that we saw in ourselves but never realized the implications. We better understand the Gospel as we try to make it clear to another person who thinks differently from us and who is moved by slightly different motives and fears. Paul includes this as a reason why he hopes Philemon will share the gospel with others. We see more of what we have in Christ when we offer Him to others. Lord, help us to share with more and more people the things we have experienced as we have sought to draw near to Jesus.

Titus 2:14

1/15/2021

...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Lord Jesus , if you have done this for us, we want to cooperate where we can with what you are doing. Help us to distance ourselves from all wickedness. Purify us in the blood shed on Calvary for us, and make us clean from all sin. Witness with our spirits that we are truly Yours. Help us really to want to do good wherever we may. We agree with the law of God in our inner person. Help us daily with the other law we find in our members, pulling us in a direction we do not wish to go. Deliver us from the body of this death and refine our love and commitment to You, Lord Jesus.

2 Timothy2:12

1/14/2021

If wwe endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;

On several occasions Paul quotes what must have been early songs or choruses that put together doctrine like our confessions do. By quoting these, the words quoted become the word of God as Paul includes them in his inspired epistle. We have a catchy phrase that reminds us of truths that protect our souls. Jesus had said to us, “If you deny me, My father in heaven will deny you. There is no question that our safety lies in clinging to Jesus. But we serve a God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, and no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand. How can we deny the one who loved us? Help us, Lord, to endure and reign with Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:10

1/13/2021

...but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

Not how you look, but how you live. Paul is not against a woman looking nice, but if her clothes and jewelry are the most important things anyone notices, the balance has been lost and Jesus is not being glorified in her life. What kind of attitude does she have toward life? Is she a complainer? Does she absolutely have to get her own way? Does she really do anyone any good, or is she basically out for herself? These are questions that come to mind when we think about Paul’s words. And as far as attitude and usefulness are concerned, they apply to men as well. Image is not everything. Actions toward others are what matter. Jesus came not to look nice, but to do good. Help us to be like You, Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 2:8

1/12/2021

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendof of His coming.

The world as we know it will come to a dramatic end when God is finished with what He is doing. It is a mistake to think of history as simply a series of events with no particular purpose or goal. The goal is clear in God’s eyes, and He already knows the way He will raise up the Antichrist to facilitate His winding things up. We are not told these things so that we can busy ourselves guessing about whether they will happen in our time. Such details as we have assure us of the certainty of God’s purposes for this world, and remind us that He has everything under control. Help us hope in You, Lord Jesus!