Daily Devotional 3-3-2022
Rom 11:33-36 CSB Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! (34) For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (35) And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? (36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. As Paul ended his discussion on the revelation of God’s righteousness in His sovereign choice, he burst forth in a doxology of praise to God. He exclaimed, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! The plan of God for the salvation of all people demonstrates God’s infinite knowledge and His ability to use it wisely. God has revealed some of His judgments and His paths (“ways”) so that…
Daily Devotional 12-7-2021
1Pe 4:19 CSB So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good. Believers could be sure that they were being called on to suffer according to God’s will even if, having committed no crimes, they were suffering solely because they bore Christ’s name. Peter encouraged suffering saints to endure through the exercise of Christlike faith. Just as Christ trusted Himself to His Father who judges justly, so should believers commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Daily Devotional 11-27-2021
Isa 54:5-6 Indeed, your husband is your Maker—his name is the LORD of Armies—and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of the whole earth. (6) For the LORD has called you, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” says your God. The Lord will regather Israel the way a man would take back his wife. The nation need have no fear of disgrace, for she will no longer be desolate and helpless like a widow. God, like a husband, will take back Israel, His wife. He is the Lord Almighty… the Holy One of Israel, her Redeemer, and in His uniqueness He is the God of all the earth, that is, its Creator and Sustainer. The Lord had deserted His people for a brief moment. Though not stated here, Isaiah had given the…
Daily Devotional 11-11-2021
Rom 9:16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. The apostle now faces up to a serious theological problem. If God made promises to Israel as His chosen earthly people, how can this be squared with Israel’s present rejection and with the Gentiles being brought into the place of blessing? Paul insists that this does not indicate any breach of promise on God’s part. He goes on to show that God has always had a sovereign election process based upon promise and not just on lineal descent. Just because a person is born into the nation of Israel does not mean that he is an heir to the promises. Within the nation of Israel, God has a true, believing remnant.
Daily Devotional 10-19-2021
Exo 31:3 I have filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every craft God appointed gifted artisans, Bezalel and Aholiab, to construct the tabernacle and all its furniture. They supervised other workers in this holy task. The repetition of “I” in this paragraph shows that with the divine command there is divine enablement. The Lord appoints His workers, endows them with ability and talent, and gives them a work to do for His glory. The work is all the Lord’s, but He accomplishes it through human instrumentality, then rewards His agents.
Daily Devotional 9-15-2021
Php 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now Paul adds what is perhaps the best-known and best-loved verse in this entire chapter. We should notice that this promise follows the description of their faithful stewardship. In other words, because they had given of their material resources to God, even to the point where their own livelihood was endangered, God would supply their every need. How easy it is to take this verse out of context and use it as a soft pillow for Christians who are squandering their money on themselves with seldom a thought for the work of God! “That’s all right. God will supply all your need.”
Daily Devotional 28-8-2021
Eph 3:8-9 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, (9) and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. Two infinitives state Paul’s functioning in this ministry. First, he was to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Second, he was to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery. Though Paul ministered to both Jews and Gentiles, he was especially designated as the apostle “to the Gentiles”. The Gentiles can know something of the riches of Christ’s. Yet Christ’s fathomless spiritual wealth can never be fully comprehended. Paul was to disclose publicly to everyone, not just the Ephesians this stewardship of God’s sacred secret. This secret had been hidden in God, the Creator of the universe. Even before creating all things…
Daily Devotional 8-11-2021
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The Corinthians were urged to stand firm in the apostles’ teaching, unmoved by the denials of false teachers. This certainty, especially concerning the Resurrection, provided an impetus to faithful service since labor in the resurrected Lord is not futile.
Daily Devotion 7-13-2021
Mat 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The impossibility of living for God and for money is stated here in terms of masters and slaves. No one can serve two masters. One will inevitably take precedence in his loyalty and obedience. So it is with God and mammon. They present rival claims and a choice must be made. Either we must put God first and reject the rule of materialism or we must live for temporal things and refuse God’s claim on our lives.
Daily Devotional June 14, 2021
Ecc 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Ecc 10:1-3 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. (2) The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. (3) Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are. Meanwhile, Solomon said in Proverbs Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. In Eccl 1:18 Solomon refers to worldly wisdom, while Prov 1:7 Solomon refers to Godly Knowledge and Wisdom. Eccl 10:1-3 contrasts between Godly Wisdom against foolishness of worldly wisdom. The tie between “wisdom,” “knowledge,” and the “fear of the LORD” suggests that “knowledge” is more than mere information but centers in the comprehension of God’s will and…