Latest Thoughts of the Day

I John 2:5

2/12/2026

But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him, This is how we know we are in Him.

One of the down-to-earth experiential effects of being born-again is a personal desire to obey God. We really want to do His will. We begin to be frustrated with old habits because they draw us away from what we have come to sincerely desire. It begins to be a struggle that Paul describes as carrying around a body of death. Thank You, Lord, for begetting us again to a new kind of life. Evidence of its reality is the fact that we really do want to love and serve God with all our hearts. We no longer look for ways to disobey You and avoid the consequences. We obey because we want to. This is Your gracious and wonderful work in us, Lord Jesus.

2 Peter 1:15

2/11/2026

And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

To his very death Peter was aware of his unique experience in knowing Christ. Jesus had called him personally, dealt with him specifically, revealed some things individually, and included Peter especially. God had used his testimony of Christ in powerful ways in the lives of those who heard. His letters could in some ways capture these things, and he wanted very much that they should. Peter wrote to encourage, to challenge, to warn, to comfort. Even how he wrote was affected, as he made it a point to repeat things that oughtn’t to be missed. Of course, we know that God did what Peter longed that He would. His letters have been preserved, and we know God the better for what Peter tells us about Jesus.

I Peter 1:15

2/10/2026

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.

Peter is speaking in a very down-to-earth way about getting our act together and getting busy with our commitment to live like real Christians. He is seeking to establish in us a mind-set. A coach reminds the team of their strengths and weaknesses, challenges them to focus their energy and give it all they have. And this is like what Peter is doing here. The Holy God wants us to be holy. He has done what is needed to equip us. He is Himself our example. Unlike a human coach, He is able actually to augment our efforts with a power that will actually make the difference. Capture our hearts with this vision, Lord! You have made us want it. Give us what we need actually to do it for Jesus.

James 1:15

2/9/2026

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Every sin starts with a desire and ends in death. Often we are able to jump off the train before it picks up speed, but if we stay on, we die. This is why God is so concerned with our thoughts. A momentum is initiated when we desire that which is against God’s will which makes it harder and harder to escape. Proverbs 24:9 tells us that “the thought of foolishness is sin” because there is nothing to stop the progression of iniquity unless something stops it. It is like the first law of motion in this. Lord, help us to be sensitive to the slightest deviation in our devotion to You. Selfishness is ever on the rise. Unbelief lurks. Enlighten our lives with the love of Jesus.

Hebrews 2:1

2/8/2026

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Instruction by angels was taken very seriously in the Old Testament, and serious consequences came by neglecting their messages. How much more when God Himself speaks to us in the person of His Son? “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it” convey a weakness we see in ourselves. We need to pay special attention to the message God gives us in sending His Son into the world. The message that carries through the whole book of Hebrews is a challenge not to drift from faithful allegiance to the person of Jesus Himself. God is soon to remove the Temple and all it represents from Jerusalem, but there are strong leaders among the Jews who are urging people to hold out. This epistle challenges us to hold fast to Jesus.

Philemon 15

2/7/2026

Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good--

Onesimus had stolen from his master and become a runaway slave. Of course, the other slaves were watching to see what the master would do. He had made his way to Paul and under Paul’s influence had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is sending him back to make things right with Philemon, the master. It is not hard for Paul to see God’s hand in this and to speak of it all as if God is doing it, but that is a stretch right now for Philemon. Paul’s letter is trying to help Philemon view it all from God’s perspective. Paul’s writings often help us in this way. Right now, Lord, what do we need to see from Your perspective? Help us, Lord Jesus.

Titus 1:15

2/6/2026

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

A heart that loves God and sincerely wants His will to be done views everything in life as working toward that end. While desiring to keep free from evil, one realizes that God uses even bad things to accomplish good in the lives of His people. In this sense, all things are pure. But a heart at enmity to God misinterprets everything and attributes false motives to everything God does. There is no thankfulness, no cooperation, no pursuit of right goals. Lord, deliver us from evil and help us every day to walk with You. You have granted us a new heart that loves Your word and desires that Your kingdom come. Our hearts yearn, “Amen, come Lord Jesus!

2 Timothy 1:15

2/5/2026

You know that everyone in the province of
Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

At the beginning of the next chapter, Paul will say, “You, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ…” True friends and compatriots do well to consider together what they are up against. Timothy and Paul are in this together, helping one another to bear the losses and disappointments, dismissing those who have dismissed them, supporting and encouraging with words and actions. Has God reserved for us some friends who will stick with us no matter what? Let us thank God together for one another. Let us review the situation and seek out mutual encouragement. Let us pray for one another, trusting that it is the Lord Himself who brings us to this trial. As Jonathan did for David, let us help one another to trust in Jesus.