Thought for the Day

Matthew 27:45-50 (45) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. (46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (47) Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. (48) And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. (49) The rest said, ...

James 5:1-6 (1) Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped a...

(2TI 3:8) Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. Paul, in context (2TI 3:1-9), is giving Timothy specifics about the perilous times of the last days which would be partly marked by endlessly educated religious creeps that prey on women (2TI 3:5-7). They would also resist the truth of the gospel after the manner of Jannes and Jambres who withstood Moses, per our text. There has been much speculation ov...

Judges 20:1-6 (1) Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. (2) And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. (3) (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, ...

Genesis 29:32-35 (32) And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. (33) And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. (34) And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons...

(Genesis 8:22) While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. My calendar tells me that April 22 is Earth Day, the genesis of which was in 1970 at a time when (according to Wikipedia's article on “Earth Day”) global cooling was the environmental “crisis du jour.” How things have changed (viewpoints, that is, not earth's fate)! There are legitimate concerns about the environment, not from the standpoint of humans violating a...

(Acts 10:38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Today's text is from Peter's preaching to the household of Cornelius, who shortly became the first uncircumcised man accepted into full fellowship of the reformed church of the living God (HEB 9:10 c/w 1TI 3:15). The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile had been taken away by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (EP...

1 Samuel 13:19-22 (19) Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: (20) But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. (21) Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. (22) So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor sp...

(Genesis 13:11) Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Lot was hardly a model Christian. Peter tells us that he was a just and righteous man (2PE 2:7-8) but you would be hard pressed to conclude that from his conduct and choices in life. Our text today is speaking of the time when Lot made his ill-fated decision to choose the environs of Sodom, a bountiful place, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the ...

(Daniel 6:23) Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. (Daniel 6:24) And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom...

(Proverbs 14:4) Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. Wisdom here speaks of one of the axioms of an imperfect world: if we are to make advantage of life, there will be certain unpleasantries to deal with but they are worth it. We must consider the trouble/benefit ratio of virtually every venture. Few are the “win/win” issues of life; almost all things are compromises. There may be less hassle in renting a car than owning and maintaining one, but the ...

Numbers 17:1-13 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. (3) And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. (4) And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimon...

Esther 3:5-7 (5) And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. (6) And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. (7) In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and fr...

1 Samuel 5:1-12 (1) And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. (2) When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. (3) And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. (4) And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground...

(Matthew 20:17) And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, (Matthew 20:18) Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, (Matthew 20:19) And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. This is the third time that Christ prophesied to His disciples of His impending appointm...

Matthew 22:37-40 (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ in today's text were in response to a lawyer tempting Him with a question, “...Master, which is the great commandment of the law?” (M...

(The following is a re-post of an earlier meditation) Proverbs 1:13-14. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: In the context of these words, Solomon is warning against being enticed to join hands with the wicked in their secretive (see PRO 1:11) plundering enterprise. It is revealing that these wicked conspirators ('Conspire' meaning “to combine privily for an unlawful or evil purpose...” [O.E.D.]) espouse a b...

Judges 6:28-31 (28) And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. (29) And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. (30) Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal,...

Exodus 12:1-2 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, (2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. These words were uttered at the time when God was completing His awful judgments on Egypt, the oppressive enemy of natural Israel, whose deliverance was imminent. One last terrible plague would come upon Egypt which would finally facilitate Israel's release: the death of the firstborn in Egypt (EXO ...

(Revelation 11:10) And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. The Book of Revelation is rich with intriguing figures that have profound spiritual significance. In the eleventh chapter are described two powerful witnesses of God whose testimony serves as a torment to men. There has been much speculation as to the identity of these two witnesses and some have suggested...

(1 Kings 10:4) And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, (1 Kings 10:5) And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. The queen of Sheba was overwhelmed by Solomon. His royal apparel would no doubt have been exquisite also. The Lord Jesus Christ alluded to Solomon's c...

The festive occasion known as Halloween is now taken for granted. It is a time of curious, rather morbid activities for children and adults alike when some of the darkest themes of a sin-burdened creation are exhumed from history's graveyard for public display and for the profit of carnal merchants who promote the entire affair. Yet how many people (especially Bible-believers) have given honest, serious consideration to the nature of this seasonal celebration? Following is a summary of the reasons why ou...

Matthew 11:7-9 (7) And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? (8) But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. (9) But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. John the Baptist had just sent disciples to Jesus Christ for confirmation that He was indeed the Messiah of pro...

(Exodus 37:23) And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold. This chapter of Exodus details the building of the furnishings of the O.T. tabernacle by a fellow named Bezaleel (EXO 37:1), a man whom God filled “...with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (EXO 31:2-3) even as Jesus Christ being so filled makes us His workmanship (EPH 2:10) and is able to make us “...throughly furnished unto all ...

(Revelation 21:21) And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. In REV 21:10-27 the apostle John was shown “...the great city, the holy Jerusalem...” which is the eternal city of God in heaven, elsewhere called “...the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem...” (HEB 12:22) and “...Jerusalem which is above...” (GAL 4:26). That place of glory is surrounded by a wall that is foursquare with thr...