| Latest Thoughts of the Day |
| Habakkuk 2:1 |
| 2/22/2025 |
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
As we read, we are embarrassed for Habakkuk, as he sounds self-righteous and arrogant, as if he has God in a corner. The gentle kindness with which God responds amazes us. “You have misunderstood, Habakkuk. The dealing with sin that your heart has desired will come, but it will be directed to you and to my people. I will use this wicked nation to chastise my own people. You will be decimated, that you may learn to honor me.” God knows how to deal with the foolishness of His people. Help us, Lord, to humble ourselves before You and to seek refuge in Your mercy in the face of Your wrath. Our hope is Jesus.
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| Nahum 2:1 |
| 2/21/2025 |
An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress; watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength!
The proud nation that believed itself invincible is about to be dismantled and utterly destroyed. God had allowed them to chastise the ten tribes and to obliterate the nation of Israel. They imagine that this means they will have the same success with Judah, but there is the occasion that 186,000 soldiers will be slain by God’s angel of death. Nahum is mocking Nineveh. “Get ready for utter defeat!’ “Marshall all your forces, and fall before the Lord of Hosts!” Are there men today who think they are ready to take on God? Let them put on their proud armor and march boldly to face Him! He mocks himself who apart from repentance and faith thinks to face the God of Heaven and Earth. Sinful mankind’s only hope is Jesus.
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| Micah 4:1 |
| 2/20/2025 |
In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream into it.
The spiritual fulfillment of this prophecy is so clear that it is hard to imagine any literal or physical fulfillment to even be necessary. Truly it is to the worship of Jehovah God that people of every tribe and kindred and nation and language are turned when they come to Jesus. He is exalted above all, and He gathers to Himself a multitude that no man can number. We who know the Lord do right now in these last days feel ourselves to be marching to Zion. The prophecy is fulfilled on earth even today, and the united hope of God’s people everywhere is to behold the face of our Lord. We look to You, Lord Jesus.
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| Jonah 4:1 |
| 2/19/2025 |
But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.
Jonah had refused to obey God in going to Nineveh because he knew God to be a God of mercy, and he did not want Him to be merciful to the people in that city. There was too much bad blood between Israel and Nineveh for it to be just swept away through any kind of forgiveness. But God thought differently, and He determined that Jonah and all the rest of us should learn something in this interchange. God is sovereign in His mercy. God is sovereign in His use of means. Help us, Lord, to love those whom You love. Help us to surrender ourselves to Your service. Help us willingly to go wherever You have in mind to use us to make known the Gospel. You sent Your Son to find us. Thank You for coming, Lord Jesus.
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| Obadiah 10 |
| 2/18/2025 |
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.
Feuding parties always blame the other guy, but God remembers the details and holds the guilty responsible for their actions. Esau had been like Cain, not valuing God, selfish, proud and resentful. Cain’s hatred came to a sudden expression and his brother was dead. Esau encouraged resentment and resistence and enmity that lasted thousands of years. But not forever. God would judge this enmity and bring to a final end the line of Esau, now called Edom. Are there disputes and enmities that we nurture and promote and encourage? Are we sure we are right, and do we propagate our attitudes? If we are wrong, may He show us. If we are right, may He set things right. The One who has made it right for us is Jesus.
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| Amos 5:1 |
| 2/17/2025 |
Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you.
“Listen up, Friends, I have bad news for you!” This may paraphrase the intent of verse 1. The same phrase is used elsewhere in the book of Amos. God sees the calamity that is soon to follow and He draws near to warn the people, lest they utterly perish. Judgment is inevitable, but God does not look forward to it with joy. He is sad, and He delivers a lamentation even as He speaks. Lord, we know that You are satisfied with the rightness of the judgment You bring upon us, but we remember that You have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but in our turning from our sin and living. Help us recognize Your sadness in the pronouncement of Your judgment, and touch us afresh with the love of Jesus.
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| Joel 2:1 |
| 2/16/2025 |
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand--
The priests were responsible to warn the people of approaching danger and make them as ready as they could be. Here they are to speak, not of an opposing army, but of God’s judgment in the form of a dreadful horde of locusts, poised by God to descend upon them. Joel describes them as he would a regular army of marauding soldiers. By nature, we tend to regard natural disasters and calamities as “bad luck”, not even considering whether God is saying something to us. The terrible fires in California may be an example. No one asks what God might be saying to us in these things. Help us to think about this, Lord Jesus.
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| Hosea 7:1 |
| 2/15/2025 |
Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria are revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in hte streets
The corruption is so widespread that any attempt to touch it at the center triggers repercussions even to the periphery. Petty crime oozes forth when major crime is threatened, so great is the fundamental dishonesty of the people of Israel. God is building a case against His people that can only result in complete annihilation. Nevertheless, this will not come for over two hundred years. God’s longsuffering and mercy amaze us. We see His heart reach out. We hear His words of appeal. We marvel at His patience. We bow to His judgment. Lord, help us in all of this to see the amazing patience and the wonderful mercy of our Lord Jesus.
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| Daniel 6:1 |
| 2/15/2025 |
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
The narrative goes on to say that these satraps were overseen by three men, one of whom was Daniel, and that Daniel’s remarkable ability made it likely that Daniel would end up second ruler of the kingdom. The officials he was displacing grew in animosity to Daniel and tried to find an area where he could be accused of wrongdoing. Failing in this, they would seek to make Daniel’s religion the cause of his downfall. All this will lead to the incident of the lion’s den, and Daniel’s ultimate vindication over his enemies. We see the hand of God in all these things and we rejoice to watch history progress toward the coming into the world of the Son of God. The Sovereign God is working all things in order to give to the world Jesus.
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