Latest Thoughts of the Day

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.

I Timothy 1:15

2/4/2026

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.

The Son of God existed for all eternity in the presence of God the Father, but in the fullness of time He came to the earth with the expressed purpose of rescuing men from their sins. This reality has struck Paul’s imagination at this moment, and he breaks forth in wonder, love and praise. He is emotionally struck by his own personal need of forgiveness. In light of the special blessings and opportunities his personal life had been given, Paul sees his personal sin as heinous in the extreme. He can imagine no greater sin than he himself has committed. It is good for us, too, to praise God vocally and specifically for the personal mercy we have received from His Son, Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

2/3/2026

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

The Christians in Thessalonica have stirred themselves up with worries about the end times. Self-appointed spokespersons have spoken as if they knew whereof they spoke. Paul urges Christians to cool it. Certain things will not be able to be missed. A decided rebellion will be evident. A charismatic individual will rise to popularity. We will all know, “This is it!” Paul wants us to leave those things in God’s hands and to go about the important business of serving King Jesus. Living in fellowship with the Lord and His people and serving all men, especially believers as we are able, is what we can do to honor God in our generation. This is how to please Jesus.

I Thessalonians 2:5

2/2/2026

You know we never used flattery, not did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.

Just as Paul could remember with joy his first encounter with the Thessalonians, they could remember the way he had behaved himself among them. He did not try to manipulate them. He did not flatter and he did not hide his own selfish motives. Paul’s excitement over the Thessalonian reaction to his first visit included details they could not but remember, too. He was and he continues to be sincere, honest and straight-forward in his dealings with them. The reason Paul is affirming so strongly the sincerity of his love is that there are detractors seeking to undermine his relationship with the people of Thessalonica. We know such spiritual struggles in our midst, Lord. Keep us loyal to one another as we devote ourselves to Jesus.

Colossians 1:15

2/1/2026

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

The One who laid down His life to redeem us from our sins occupies the place of ultimate and absolute authority in all of God’s creation. It was He who brought everything into being, who sustains it every moment and who is directing it all to its final glorious destiny. Central to all that God is doing in the universe He has made is what He is doing on earth and nowhere else in the universe. The One who directs all things determined to assume finite limitations in order to display His glory in a unique way. Paul is excited to see the center and the circumference of reality focused all upon Christ. Lord God, we worship you as the beginning, the middle and the end of all that exists. We worship You, Lord Jesus.

Philippians 1:15

1/31/2026

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but other out of good will.

If a man thinks of himself as making a career choice to be a preacher and developing the skill to impress people with his effectiveness, his motives for preaching are mixed. He is serving Christ, but he is also serving himself. Paul does not simply write such preachers off. Some Christian teaching can be stimulating and helpful in a way that it would not be without really careful and earnest work. Maintaining a standard of excellence in thought and expression satisfies a longing for clear thought that many Christians cannot produce on their own. We are helped to think by listening to those who think well. A speaker’s personal motives may be used by God, and we give all the glory to Him. The most important thing is knowing Jesus.

Ephesians 1:15

1/30/2026

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,...

These are not things you do in order to be a Christian, but things that are present in you if you have been born again. Knowing Christ is an experience that begins to govern every aspect of our being at the moment that we encounter Him. It happens when it “dawns upon us” that He is real and that He really loves us. At the same time it “dawns upon us” that we have brothers and sisters that feel the same way that we do about Him, and we love those people, wherever they are. When we run across someone who loves Jesus, we find ourselves automatically loving that person. These are supernatural changes we have experience in our lives because of coming to know Jesus.

Galatians 1:15

1/29/2026

But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by Hi grace was pleased...

Paul’s life before God got hold of him was still in God’s direct and purposeful control. Brought into the world by God’s specific plan, sustained by His purposeful power, called and transformed at God’s special moment, Paul was directed by God from the very beginning of his existence. Paul will go on to speak of God’s call in time and space having nothing to do with other people and their designs for Paul’s life. Paul’s place in the hierarchy of His church was not because he worked to rise in the ranks. God took hold of him, and placed him where God wanted him to be. Paul exercised whatever authority he had because it had been entrusted to Him by the Lord of heaven and earth. In everything, Paul served Jesus.