Latest Thoughts of the Day

Haggai 1:7

6/1/2026

This is what the Lord Almighty says, "Give careful thought to your ways."

The Jews who returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple and the city walls have gotten distracted by immediate personal needs and discouraged by the work demand. They keep putting off the work they came so far to do, and everything that has to be done first is taking more and more time. Haggai is sent by God to point out the connection between serving God sacrificially and receiving from God all that they need. God’s hand may be seen as much in crop failure as in crop success. Why should God reward the half-hearted service they are giving Him? Both Haggai and Malachi challenge the people to make the Lord’s work a priority and witness the delight He has to prosper His people. Think about it. Re-focus the priorities and draw near to Jesus.

Zephaniah 1:7

5/30/2026

Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated those He has invited.

Zephaniah was the key prophet who lifted the vision of good king Josiah to restore the true worship of God in the Temple. The early verses of this book deal with God’s dreadful judgment upon Israel being like a formal feast where the Lord has consecrated the guests for slaughter. The orderly majesty becomes the more frightening when one sees that God is talking about the severe punishment of His own people. Josiah was a young man of sixteen when he was moved with a passion to destroy idolatry and restore the true worship of God. May his zeal inspire us as we look around our own lives and see glaring idolatry and tolerated sin! Lord, turn our eyes upon Jesus!

Habakkuk 1:7

5/29/2026

They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law unto themselves and they promote their own honor.

God is describing the powerful pagan nation that He is raising up to bring judgment upon His own people, the Jews. Habakkuk has challenged God concerning the evil he sees in Israel and God is answering with a description of the means He will use to address the problem. It will set off a turmoil within Habakkuk’s soul, but eventually Habakkuk will reach a wonderful peace and trust. We will watch Habakkuk pass through this transition, and we will rejoice in the peace that God gives him in looking ahead to Jesus. Lord, help us to observe this transition in Habakkuk’s life and relate it to our own lives in a way that draws us close to You. We know that when it comes to hope, we look to Jesus.

Nahum 1:7

5/28/2026

The lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.

Nahum will go on to speak of the utter destruction He will bring upon Assyria, which has exalted itself in the presence of God and is the instrument of utter destruction to the northern kingdom and a terrifying threat to the Jews. But in all His zeal to punish His enemies, God remains a tender shelter to those who put their trust in Him. Lord, we long for the vindication of Your Great Name and the utter overcoming of those who rise up against Yo[, but we rejoice with trembling. We know that the reason you, the thrice-holy God may show the love you do to us is entirely and completely because of Your becoming man and living and dying for us. Our Refuge and our only Hope is Jesus.

Micah 1:7

5/27/2026

All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will desroy all her images, since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used,

The northern kingdom of Israel had grown rich in their interchange with the idolaters of the nations, but God regards their wealth as the wages of a prostitute. He is planning to turn Israel over to destruction at the hand of Assyria, as it were recycling this income of prostitutes to be used for wicked idolatry once again, before His ultimate destruction of that system. At any point Israel could turn to Him, but they will not turn. Ultimately, Israel will fall utterly and be cleared out of the way as the purposes of God focus more and more on the inevitable coming of Jesus.

Jonah 1:7

5/26/2026

Then the sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah.

The sailors by no means are believers in the sovereign God of the Bible, who rules all things after the council of His will and ordains whatsoever comes to pass. They have a strange unfounded confidence in the casting of lots, that it will somehow reveal the truth that men are hiding. The theological implications are interesting, but they are not thinking so deeply—they are desperate. And the Sovereign God uses their superstition to promote the accomplishment of His will for Jonah. He alone knows His purposes in the lives of every individual on board. God is always doing much more than we see. But we do see His hand, and it is the Hand of Jesus.

Obadiah 7

5/25/2026

All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.

God is declaring his judgment upon Edom, bringing before His mind centuries of enmity between Jacob and Esau. Finally the enmity is resolved by the destruction of the nation itself forever. In bringing about this destruction, God will empower all their enemies, turn all their friends against them and even cause those who are dearest to work against them to their ruin. It will not simply be a strong army that wipes them out. All will turn against them and they will feel the force of all. Of course, this is the very thing that each one of us deserves. We have been enemies to God. We deserve judgment. But for us, He sent Jesus.