Ezekiel 28-31 THOUGHT FOR TODAY, September 5, 2019 “POWER CORRUPTS” In giving instructions for the appointing of elders, Paul warned, “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6). The condemnation is not by the devil, but the same condemnation the devil suffered. In Chapter 28, Ezekiel prophesied against the prince of Tyre….Keep Reading

Ezekiel 20-21 THOUGHT FOR TODAY, September 2, 2019 “PREACHING WITH A BROKEN HEART” God always has a remnant, an imperfect one, but one through whom he accomplishes his purpose. In chapters 18 & 19, God has made it clear that the nation was guilty and would be punished. The righteous ones would suffer with the guilty, but they would not be guilty themselves. He reaffirms this: “The word of the…Keep Reading

1 Thessalonians 4:11 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, September 2, 2019 “…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands…” Labor day, the unofficial end of summer, is here again. Today we honor the ones who labor by the sweat of the brow to make a living; and we pray for the many that have lost their place in the fields…Keep Reading

Luke 13:8 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 31, 2019 “And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.” It was my second appointment (The Graham Circuit). Mr. and Mrs. Cravens were wonderful neighbors; he was a retired Funeral Home Owner. We both had gardens in our back yard, and one day he asked me if I would help him get…Keep Reading

Ezekiel 16-17 THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 31, 2019 “THE GUILT OF SODOM” Ask anyone with a superficial knowledge of the Scriptures, “What was the guilt of Sodom?” and the answer will probably be “HOMOSEXUALITY!” They were guilty of this sin, but they were guilty of sins that have been much more common throughout the ages. Ezekiel 16 is about God’s faithless bride who, he said, was more evil than the…Keep Reading

Proverbs 15:13 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 30, 2019 “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.” We were riding the elevator to the top floor of a tall hotel in Nashville to look out at the city. Just as the door was about to close, a woman jumped on. She was frustrated and trying to go down to the ground level…Keep Reading

Ezekiel 13-15 THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 30, 2019 “WHITEWASHING TRUTH”

Acts 21:14 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 29, 2019 “… we gave up and said, The Lord’s will be done.” Letting go has always been a problem for me. The expression, “Let Go and Let God” is easier said than done for many of us. We once called it surrendering to God; but surrender sounds like defeat. I am defeated; I’m a sinner who can’t save myself and I’m troubled with…Keep Reading

Hebrews 12:2 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 28, 2019 “UNFINISHED” She was sitting in a small chair, skin weathered from the sun, making and selling her baskets as we drove along the streets in one of Italy’s hilltop towns. We couldn’t resist the urge to stop, admire and purchase one of her baskets. You can imagine her surprise when in addition, we wanted the one that she had just started. People…Keep Reading

Isaiah 13-17 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 28, 2019 “GOD’S HAND IN HISTORY” I remember the day that it happened. I was just a boy riding in our family car. There was a church on the side of the road that was abandoned with tall grass and broken windows. There was sadness because of the condition of that church. It was as though that house of God was crying for help….Keep Reading

Ezekiel 1-4 THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 27, 2019 “SPEAKERS AND LISTENERS, BEWARE!” Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C. with ten thousand other captives and King Jehoiachin. He was in Babylon for five years before God called him. He was a contemporary of both Daniel and Jeremiah. Much of his work is symbolic, conveying spiritual truths. It is not my purpose to explain all these symbols. As Wayne Jackson…Keep Reading

John 6:68 DEVOTION FOR TODAY, August 27, 2019 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” I have long appreciated the late Peter Marshall’s sermon, “The Keeper of the Springs.” He described a quaint town by a stream where the citizens shared a serene life. On the mountain above town lived a man called the keeper of the springs. He was paid a token amount…Keep Reading