Latest Thoughts of the Day

Malachi 3:3

10/25/2026

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.

Malachi has spoken words of rebuke to the Levites exactly because they have grown lax in quality control as far as sacrifices are concerned. But it is more than a matter of the priests getting their act under control. They need to be a different kind of man. God is in the business of molding men, and He is able to bring men to repentance and faith. God wonderfully controls the difficult challenges of our lives to make us feel a genuine need for Him. We are made willing to part with that which harms our walk with God . Grief, loss, and sorrow are often His tools. Use them on us, Lord Jesus.

Zechariah 3:1

10/24/2026

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.

God is displaying a wonderful picture of redemption, of God becoming the advocate of His sinful people and making them righteous in His and their own eyes by clothing them with a new garment, and defending them as a burning stick snatched from the fire. God takes the initiative to advocate on behalf of the people and to grant to them the righteousness required to stand in His presence. The picture is drawn in simple and straight-forward terms, easy to understand and encouraging to contemplate. Thank You, Lord, that You have undertaken to make us clean in Your presence. We know You have done this through the Person of Your Son, who lived , died, and rose again for us. Thank You, Jesus.

Haggai 2:19

10/23/2026

Is there any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not bourn fruit/ "From this day on I will bless you."

People can’t but have noticed that all their efforts to prosper agriculturally have met only diminishing returns. Does the prophet sense that at last they have made the obvious connection between pursuing God’s purposes and prospering in every other area of life? Do they now see? Is that why he can say, “From this day on I will bless You”? The point is really being made for us. There is always a connection between serving God and prospering in our personal lives. We can waste a lot of time trying to make things work according to our personal plans. Help us, Lord, to remember and to draw near in trust to Jesus.

Zephaniah 3:1

10/22/2026

Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled.

God is in the process of raising up Josiah to react against the wickedness of Judah, to destroy idols and cleanse the Temple and to generate a true revival among the people of God. He speaks here of the terrible pollution of the people of God, beginning with the ordinary citizen, and rising to condemn the leaders, the prophets, the judges, the officials. All are guilty. All are called to repentance. But Zephaniah turns his eyes to the glorious end that God has in view for those who repent. The book finishes with glorious worship in exuberant joy. God will bless their efforts to reform, and He will gather His people to praise. Sin will be done away with, forgiveness will be received. We are reminded of the joy set before Him that moved and empowered our Lord Jesus.

Habakkuk 2:17

10/21/2026

The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed man's blood, you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

Although God will use the wicked and powerful army of Babylon to take captive His people in punishment for their sin, He will most certainly punish the Babylonians for the delight they took in cruelty and destruction. Without restraint they would give themselves to lay waste Jerusalem and all of Israel. Women, children, and even their animals would be heartlessly wiped out, with even the fields and forests destroyed. But God declares that He will take notice of these details, and in His righteous judgment, He will repay. Complete retribution will be enacted for every sin. Even for ours. Our hope and our deliverance come to us from the life and death of Jesus.

Nahum 3:6

10/20/2026

I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.

The belligerent wickedness of the Assyrians will lead them to boast of their power and glory at the very gates of Jerusalem and to face a loss of 136,000 soldiers in a single night, when the Angel of Death passes through. This is but the beginning of Assyria’s utter destruction, eventually coming when invading armies break through Nineveh’s defenses and bring dreadful destruction on that great city. Assyria is humiliated publicly, and a multitude of nations rejoice to take their part in heaping filth upon that wicked land. 100 years before the leaders of Nineveh repented and found mercy because of the purposes God has for mankind through the Person of His Son. God’s anger is turned away from us today because of the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus,

Micah 3:9

10/19/2026

Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you ulers of the house of Israel. who despise justice and distort all that is right

Utter destruction by a foreign power is the ultimate judgement that God will bring upon Israel, when they are destroyed and taken into captivity to Babylon. Micah warns against this judgment, 150 years before it actually takes place. Micah perceives the corruption of the leadership in the nation of Israel and is wise enough to recognize that it cannot but bring judgment from a holy God. Micah sees the judgment as a prophet of God and appeals in such a way as to display God’s appeal to a straying people. That this judgement will most certainly come is because the leaders harden their hearts to Micah’s appeal and refuse to change their ways. We are warned of God’s coming judgment. The day of grace will be over with the coming of Jesus.

Jonah 3:7

10/18/2026

Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh "By the decree of the king and his nobles, do not let any man orbeast. herd or flock taste anything; do not let them eat or drink"

The inhabitants of Nineveh are scared stiff. They believe the message of this strange preacher, and they have heard enough of the reputation of the God of Israel to hope that, even though He didn’t say so, He might be willing to relent. They really believed and they genuinely responded , from the top of the society to the bottom. And God accepted their repentance enough to spare them destruction for many years. Jonah did not want them to be spared, but it was the sovereign will of Jonah’s God. Some thought of the mercy and grace of God was somehow in their minds. They pinned their hopes on the hint of Jesus.