Latest Thoughts of the Day

Deuteronlmy 34:7

11/22/2024

Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone

Moses’ ministry to the people of God was over. He had served them faithfully as a leader for forty years. His strength and his eyesight were not gone, so he could have continued longer, but it was time for a change as the people of God actually began to enter the promised land, and God has decided that it is time for Moses to go up into the mountains, to die and to be buried by God. To be sure, the official reason that Moses may not enter the promised land is that He publicly dishonored God in the desert, providing water for God’s people, But we see God’s wise hand in transferring leadership from Moses to Joshua, and we see in him a picture of Jesus.

Numbers 36:7

11/21/2024

No inheritance in Israel is to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers.

The general failure of the Israelites to obey the commands of their God prevented many of the blessed consequences of obedience from being manifested in their actual experience. Genuine order and stability, peace and prosperity are the result of doing things God’s way. The daughters of Zelophehad had presented the case that made clear God’s purposes with regard to inheritance of women when there was no male heir. God’s intention was to preserve something that was eventually lost forever. How many rich blessings have we forfeited in our lives because we have let slip opportunities for careful obedience? Because of our sin we are forced time and again to “make do” with something less that God’s best for us. Help us, Lord, to obey Jesus.

Leviticus 27:17

11/20/2024

If he dedicates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.

Every fiftieth year land must return to those who originally were given it. A certain rate has been determined concerning the value of the land and the return one who arranges to use it must pay. If the arrangement is made during the Year of Jubilee the full 50-year value is collected. If some years have passed, a shorter time is ahead, and the amount of money is proportionally less. God is organizing finances and ownership in the nation He is establishing. All areas of life are to be directed by God. We are to make our financial decisions in light of His Word. Help us, Lord, to count carefully, that everything we do may be done to the glory of God. We live, move, and have our being in Jesus.

Exodus 40:19

11/19/2024

Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord had commanded him.

After much preparation and with great ceremony, all the pieces of the tabernacle were assembled in their place. Moses carefully oversaw the entire process, as a kind of “moving in” preparation for God Himself to enter. And when all was done, God did enter in power, manifesting Himself in the Shekinah glory, and making clear to all that this was the place over which the cloud of His presence would hover. It was a special day when God entered our lives, to dwell in us as mini-temples. There was a cleansing by the blood of Jesus, a putting in order the building by repentance and faith, a dedication of our lives to serve the Lord. We are each one a dwelling-place of God through our Lord Jesus.

Genesis 50:13

11/18/2024

...they carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, with the field.

Jacob was buried by his sons in the cave of Machpelah, in the land of Canaan, where his grandfather, Abraham and his father, Isaac had been buried. The site today is beneath a building that has over the centuries served as a church or a mosque, depending on who was in power. The political situation remains tense, since both Arabs and Jews look to Abraham as the father of their race. The most important descendant of Jacob is the most important man who ever lived on earth. All who have believed on Him have become sons of Abraham and heirs of God’s promises. All who are saved are looking to Jesus.

Revelation 22:13

11/17/2024

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

In this passage Jesus Christ claims absolute authority and unique control over all things that were and are and are yet to come. He affirms His being God Himself, that from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things. Paul had claimed this on His behalf. Here He claims it for Himself. And we do well to bow in worship and adoration, and to believe the glorious declaration that He has made. We do not shrink back at acknowledging Jesus as God. We leave no room for other opinions. We love those who remain in darkness, but we pray for them that God will open their eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. From the least to the greatest of us, we worship Jesus.

Jude 25

11/16/2024

...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

We see His beauty, we tremble at His greatness, we are sobered by His power and we bow before His rule. We love Him, but not with petty, changeable affection. Our deepest soul is committed before this God to love and serve Him for time and eternity. We connect with all those who have gone before, we join hands with all who are living today, and we look with hope on the culmination of all God’s purposes in the worship and adoration of all His redeemed creatures. Each of us a tiny dot in the long line of His worshippers, we rejoice to take our part and give the little bit that is our all to Him. We gladly bear our part, Lord Jesus.

3 John 11

11/15/2024

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

The bottom line is how I treat other people. We either imitate people who do good to others or we imitate people who do evil. We either pretend to be Christians or we pretend not to be. No action or thought is ever original with us. We have learned how to act toward others. God would have us take that seriously and act like we should act, whatever our inward state or frame-of-mind. We sinners make choices concerning how we will deal with other people. A true Christian honestly wants to do it right. Help us, Lord! Forgive us when we act contrary to the new nature You have given. Help us pursue likeness to Jesus.