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But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. —1 Corinthians 9:15 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Paul was careful not to take support from the...

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. —Genesis 9:16 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... I don't know about you, but I'm a very visual person. I truly...

[Moses reminds the Israelites of his reaction to seeing the golden calf by saying] "And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes." —Deuteronomy 9:17 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Anger, frustration, disappointment, and loss of...

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to...

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new...

[In his defense before the Sanhedrin, Stephen said,] "And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you're just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn't get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who...

Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 4:8 NIV Key Thought Scripture is not a collection of nice sayings left for us to ponder and do with them as we wish. It claims to be the message...

For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were...

Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. —Ephesians 4:30 MESSAGE Key Thought "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God"! That's the way some...

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 5:19 NLT Key Thought Have you ever been in the mood to kick up your heels, have some good ol' clean fun, and whoop and holler a little bit, but have found yourself in a formal situation where such behavior would not be tolerated? We feel...

"Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies." —Psalms 5:8 Evening Thought Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of Christ. Men will forgive a thousand faults in others, but they will magnify the most trivial offence in the followers of Jesus. Instead of...

"I will sing of mercy and judgment." —Psalms 101:1 Evening Thought Faith triumphs in trial. When reason is thrust into the inner prison, with her feet made fast in the stocks, faith makes the dungeon walls ring with her merry notes as she cries, "I will sing of mercy and of judgment. Unto...

"This man receiveth sinners." —Luke 15:2 Evening Thought Observe the condescension of this fact. This Man, who towers above all other men, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners-this Man receiveth sinners. This Man, who is no other than the eternal God, before whom angels veil...

"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." —Psalms 32:5 Evening Thought David's grief for sin was bitter. Its effects were visible upon his outward frame: "his bones...

"A people near unto him." —Psalms 148:14 Evening Thought The dispensation of the old covenant was that of distance. When God appeared even to his servant Moses, he said, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet"; and when he manifested himself upon Mount Sinai, to his own...

"Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?" —Job 7:12 Evening Thought This was a strange question for Job to ask of the Lord. He felt himself to be too insignificant to be so strictly watched and chastened, and he hoped that he was not so unruly as to need to be so...

"Encourage him." —Deuteronomy 1:38 Evening Thought God employs his people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, "Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan-go, encourage him." God never works needless miracles; if his purposes can be accomplished by...

"Be ye separate." —2 Corinthians 6:17 Morning Thought The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, "to live," should be "Christ." Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to...

"God is jealous." —Nahum 1:2 Morning Thought Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did he choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another. Did he buy you with his own blood? He cannot endure that you should think that you are your own, or that you belong to this...

"Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also filleth the pools." —Psalms 84:6 Morning Thought This teaches us that the comfort obtained by a one may often prove serviceable to another; just as wells would be used by the company who came after. We read some book full...