Latest Thoughts of the Day

2 Corinthians 1:15

1/28/2026

Because I was confident of this I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.

Detractors were accusing Paul of fickleness because he changed his plans. But what could he do? In the providence of God special needs show themselves and one simply can’t always do what one desires. In this case, there were circumstances at Corinth that actually made it wise not to come at the particular time Paul originally thought. Paul really believed that God was directing his course, and obedience to God may not always mean that we do what we intended to do. Who is running our lives, anyway? Paul is teaching us how to regard our own plans in light of what we discover God to be doing. The pattern of our lives is not our faithfulness, but His. Help us, Lord, in planning and doing, to glorify Jesus.

I Corinthians 1:15

1/27/2026

...so that no one can say that you were baptized into my name.

One of the things troubling the church in Corinth is loyalty to one teacher rather than another, with believers forming themselves into parties. Paul is actually glad that he did not personally baptize more individuals, so that any tendency toward making number of people baptized a selling-point for a particular teacher. Paul is concerned that baptism as an institution maintain the focus not on the preacher, but on Jesus Himself. If the focus of a church remains on Christ, the distracting power of preachers is diminished. Tozer affirmed that a hundred pianos tuned to the same tuning fork would also be in tune with one another. Paul’s hope is to bring about something like this. Unite our congregation, Lord. Send Your Holy Spirit to reveal to each one of us the glory of Jesus.

Romans 1:15

1/26/2026

That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

Paul refers in this passage to “Greeks and non-Greeks” the way he in other places speaks of “Jews and non-Jews”. The concepts are interchangeable, so much has Paul become an international man. He has gifts as an Apostle that he longs to impart to believers at Rome, and he looks to Rome as a launching pad for ministry farther afield. For many years Rome itself has drawn his heart . And he knows that his ministry to them will be no different than it has been to men and women, boys and girls in every part of the Roman world. He has been called to make known the wonders of salvation to the far reaches of the Earth. By His grace, God has called Paul to preach the Lord Jesus.

Acts 1:15

1/25/2026

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

Peter had denied Jesus three times, but Jesus had publicly restored him when He asked him three times if he loved Him. Peter’s natural leadership qualities were recognized and employed by Jesus, and Peter took the initiative at this time to lead them in choosing a successor for Judas Iscariot. Some have pointed out that it occurred before the Holy Spirit was given. But we see God’s wisdom in using the occasion to outline the qualifications of an Apostle for us. Those who want to affirm apostleship in the church today must either ignore this passage or change the meaning of the word “apostle”. We see here, even before Pentecost, the guidance that the church was given by its living Head. We see the care and love of our Lord Jesus.

John 1:15

1/24/2026

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me, because he was before me.

John grew up around Jerusalem, but mostly in the wilderness. Did he ever meet his cousin, Jesus, who lived a hundred miles away in Galilee? If so, it would be on a visit of Jesus' family to the Temple on festivals. But he did not recognize Jesus as Messiah until the Spirit stirred him to a public revelation of the fact, at about the time that Jesus’ public ministry began. Now he saw the Son of God for who He was, and he declares that this is the One he had been talking about. Did John know that he was six months older than Jesus? In any case, it didn’t matter. He who was from of Old was Jesus.

Luke 1:15

1/23/2026

...for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Zechariah is hearing these words from the Angel Gabriel as he stands before the incense altar in the holy place of the Temple. He will not be able to speak them to anyone for nearly a year, because the words he is about to say to Gabriel will bring on the judgment of silence until they are fulfilled. But, no doubt, in his months of silence, he wrote down what the angel had said, that Luke may one day be able to record it for us. And the words of the angel became parental instructions for Zechariah and Elizabeth, as this miraculous child was born. The child’s anointing came at the voice of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Mark 1:15

1/22/2026

...and saying, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the gospel."

Jesus needed to undergo the formal temptation of the devil and John the Baptist needed to be removed from the scene for Jesus to seize the day and announce the coming of His kingdom. And the challenge that He presented as He began His preaching ministry was that men must repent and believe the gospel. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is no way for men to save themselves. There is no way for anyone to understand anything Jesus will teach without turning from your own way of doing things and doing it His way. Repent and believe is Jesus’ way of teaching, and it will continue to be until we get to heaven. No need any for more repentance there—only Jesus!

Matthew 1:15

1/21/2026

...and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan the father of Jacob,...

This Jacob was the grandfather of Joseph, the husband of Mary. We know that Joseph and Mary were poor people because they could only afford doves as the sacrifice when Jesus was presented to the Temple. And carpenter was certainly not an exalted societal position. But all these men were significant because they descended from Abraham and on the way down, through David. The Jews were keeping track of the line of David because they expected the Messiah to descend from that line. All the records were lost when Titus destroyed the Jewish Temple in seventy A.D. But they were not needed anymore because Jesus had come. Great numbers of Jews will receive their Messiah one day, but it will be the One who has already come. It will be Jesus.