Morning Devotional January 31, 2019

Psalm 147:16-18

“He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 30, 2019

Job 38:28-30

“28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.”

O what a wonderous and glorious God we serve!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 29, 2019

1 Peter 5:10

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 28, 2019

Jeremiah 33:3

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 27, 2019

Psalm 103:11-12

“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 26, 2019

Haggai 1:5-6

“5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”

In Haggai's day the people were more concerned with the care of their own houses than they were with rebuilding the House of God. They had done much work but it was of little value to the Lord.

Many today are more concerned with their life on this earth than they are with their life after we leave this earth. Many will amass unto themselves great houses and fine cars and will store up an abundance of food and closets full of beautiful clothes and earn wages most never dreamed possible. Yet, they often forget the One who gave them all this. They make no time for their Heavenly Father who provided them the wage that brought to them the means by which all the other things are possible. They only seek to gain more, but all in vain.

O child of God, “Consider your ways” today. Are you building your own kingdom here or are you preparing for the Lord's Kingdom to come?

Church member, are you more concerned with building up your own possessions to the glory of self rather than seeing the Lord's church built up to the glory of Jesus Christ? Consider the spiritual ramifications of each. “Consider your ways” today.

Follow Christ!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 25, 2019

Mark 9:24

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

And Oh how we constantly need help with our unbelief!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 24, 2019

John 14:15

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Why do we find it so difficult to follow our Lord's commandments? Even the simplest of commands He gives we falter and fail. And yet He still loves us. A lesson that would do us some good to learn for ourselves. But, wouldn't that in itself mean we would have to keep our Lord's commandments?

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 23, 2019

Romans 5:8

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 22, 2019

Acts 20:28-30

“28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

In this passage we see Paul's warning to the Elders of the church at Ephesus. He gave similar warnings in his letters to Timothy and Titus when he was teaching them and preparing those two brethren for the ministry. It is a hard cold fact that there were in that day and in every time since those who seek to kill and destroy the Lord's churches. Sadly those Paul refers to here and in other of his writings are from within the churches themselves. Men who seek self glorification or fame and fortune. Men who will teach enough truth to captivate the people and draw them to themselves while all the time slowly interjecting doctrine contrary to God's Word. Until they have drawn away God's very elect out of a true church into a den of thieves.

As Pastors and Elders we must be on guard of such. Our Lord commanded and Paul and others in the New Testament taught we must feed the churches of God the truth of God's Word and only that truth that is within His Word. When we prepare our sermons and lessons we must seek Christ from His Word and not from some false prophet whose goal is to add to his self proclaimed realm. Commentaries and dictionaries and other resources can be a help if they are from those whose taught truth. But we must be cautious and ever mindful of those who have written and preached false doctrine. Many a writer claiming to proclaim truth, with a little research, have been found to be false teaches and drawing the Lord's people away from the truth for self profit and self glorification.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 21, 2019

Proverbs 31:21

“She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 20, 2019

Isaiah 55:10-11

“10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

As I sit and watch the snow fall this morning my thoughts went to these verses in God's Word. A little study in agriculture and horticulture tells us that certain plants require a certain amount of cold weather to produce their fruit and seed in the Spring. We see in verse 10 that God gives the rain and the snow for a reason. As He does with all things. Even though we commonly think on the dangers of thunderstorms and flooding and the snow and ice and the cold weather, God has created these things for a good reason. Rain and snow are given to us to water the earth so that the plants God created will grow, bud, and produce the food we eat.

So it is with God's Word mentioned in verse 11. God gave us His Word to preach His gospel to a lost and dying world. And it will not return unto Him void. God uses the preaching of His Word to call His elect to Himself. God sends a man to plant the seed and to cultivate the land. But only God can bring the rain and the snow. Only God can control the increase of the harvest. Notice it says “but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” God gave His Word for a reason and it will accomplish exactly what He sent it to accomplish. And, NO, man does not have a say in this matter. God uses man to spread His gospel to the whole world. But it is not man who does the calling nor the saving. Man is just the messenger. It is the Holy Spirit of God who does the calling and the saving through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 19, 2019

James 5:16

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 18, 2019

Colossians 3:17

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 17, 2019

Micah 6:8

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 16, 2019

John 13:12-17

“12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 15, 2019

John 15:13

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 14, 2019

Psalm 34:4

“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 13, 2019

Colossians 4:2-6

“2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 12, 2019

Job 37:5-14

“5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.

7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.

8 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places.

9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.

10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.

11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:

12 And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.

13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.

14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.”

As I sit and watch the snow falling here this morning my thoughts go to the beauty of God's creation He has permitted me to see so far in my life time. Oh, and what glorious sites and views I have beheld!!! From the Eastern Seaboard and beautiful Mountains of Appalachia to the Desert Southwest and the Rocky Mountains grand. From the Gulf of Mexico and the sites, sounds, and smells of the open market place in Juarez, Mexico to the northern side of the Boreal Forest and the beauty of southern edge Canada's Northwest Territory. All the places in between I have been blessed to visit. A week long trip I made to Honolulu, Hawaii many years ago and the beauty of the tropics. All these places with their varying types and styles of beauty still stirs amazement in me of the creation of our God!!!

Yesterday we watched the birds gathering the food at the feeders our oldest daughter put out on the back porch. It still amazes me how our God has given even the birds insight to the coming weather change and causes them to prepare.

In our day when people seem to be in a rush and at a run in everything they do and as we catch ourselves in that same mode it is good for us as God's people to heed the words God gave to Job; “stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 11, 2019

Hebrews 6:10-12

“10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

As a pastor it is a glorious thing to serve a people who have a great labour of love toward myself and my family and to see them work this love toward each other. And to know they do it out of their love of our Lord.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 10, 2019

Genesis 4:7

“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

Do you have a desire to worship God in spirit and in truth or is your desire to worship as Cain, to worship after your own works and not after how God commanded?

Follow not after your own wants and desires but rather follow Christ and His commandments. For in them is truth and life.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 9, 2019

Luke 4:8

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 8, 2019

Psalm 37:4

“Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 7, 2019

Matthew 6:6

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 6, 2019

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 5, 2019

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

“ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God” not just the parts we like. Not just the pretty parts. Not just the parts that apply to our enemy or those that justify our actions. But ALL!!!

Praise God His Word is infallible!!! Praise God His Word is profitable to “the man of God” “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”!!! Praise God He has “thoroughly furnished” His men with His inspired Word!!! Now we must use it and preach it and teach it as our God provided and not for our own purpose and schemes.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 4, 2019

John 15:7

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

We must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayers. Without His guiding our request to our Heavenly Father they are all in vain. It had always amazed me how God's children think they can live like the devil and beg God for some selfish want they have while never a thought of repenting of their sin first. It is not us who puts the stipulations on our prayers but our Lord who expects us to come humbly before Him, seeking His face, and following His commandments. Should He expect anything less?

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 3, 2019

Psalm 119:127

“Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”

Where is your love for the Lord today? Do you love Him enough to want to follow His commandments or are your eyes set on the “fine gold” of this world? If you love Him as you claim, follow do His commandments and flee the lust of this life.

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional January 1st, 2019

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Praise ye the Lord!!!