THINKING GOD’S THOUGHTS
Today’s Reading: Matthew 16-17
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
An hour drive north of the Sea of Galilee is Caesarea Philippi, also known as Banias. Here you can view the remnants of the Temple of Pan. It was here that Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter's answer to that question is today's key verse.
Key Verse: Matthew 16:16
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Six verses later Peter actually rebuked Jesus. Jesus tried again and again to tell His disciples that He would be killed and would rise again. For some reason He could not penetrate their preconceived beliefs in the Christ who would overthrow the Romans and establish Israel as a sovereign state. So Peter moved from thinking the thoughts of the Father to thinking his own thoughts, receiving this response from Jesus, “Get behind Me Satan.” Peter’s mind was the battleground in the war between the Father, God and the liar, Satan. To which voice will you listen? How do you know which voice is truth? The answer is to know God’s thoughts as revealed in His Word. This is the very reason this two-year journey through God’s written Word is so important!
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Please, Holy Spirit, do for me as Jesus promised. Guide me “into all Truth.” Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Sixty years ago I rented a hall in a northern Ontario village and began a Sunday School for my public school students and others. People began to regard me as a minister. For example, a lady named May, about 70, showed up at my door and announced, “Win (her railroad-engineer husband) is dead. I want you to take his funeral.” I said, “I’ll find a minister.” “No” she said, “He told me that you were the only who prayed with him, and if you don’t do it, I will just stick him in the ground without a service.” I stood in front of the coffin in May’s little cottage and said something like this, “We don’t know why God would take Win.” Actually Win was 85 and had a heart condition. After the burial, in my room I confessed that I didn’t know God’s Word well and I took my Bible, opened it, and placed it on my head, saying to God, “With Your Teacher, the Holy Spirit, I will learn to think Your thoughts, and I will then be able to speak with assurance.” Then I went to Bible College and set out on a lifetime commitment to know God’s thoughts. In the first month at the college I was required to memorize 50 Scripture verses. I walked up and down the corridor outside my room hugging my Bible. It became so precious to me.
Daily learning His thoughts,
David
P.S. I visited our daughter Elaine Stacey last evening and she produced the very Bible that I mentioned above. It was a gift to me for Christmas 1952, less than a month after I had made my lifetime decision to follow Christ. I remember that it was falling apart after constant use for years, and I bought a new one. Some time later Elaine asked for my old Bible. She keeps it in a prominent place on a table in her living room.
Praise God, David, praise God! Awesome photo!! God’s continued blessings to all saints, today. Please pray for immediate divine medical intervention for my back. Thank you, saints!
Watched 100 Huntley Street today, and heard you are on all day, tomorrow, David Mainse. So looking forward to seeing you for the whole show! God bless you, fine sir!
Dear Heavenly Father, I bring our dear sister in Christ before you as she has asked for prayer for medical intervention regarding the excruciating pain she suffers from in her back. We know and trust that You Lord as the Great Physician and I pray Beverlee will feel your loving healing arms around her. In the Mighty Name of Jesus.
Amen
Amen!
Dear heavenly Father, we praise your Holy Name. We thank you for Beverlee. We thank you for your precious love, and we ask that you bless Beverlee with good health and give her a strong and healthy back free from pain. Amen
Glory to God Mr. Mainse, You look great !
God Bless !
Diane 🙂
I appreciate how our Bible becomes even more personalized over time as we read, highlight and mark passages which stand out for us. Someday, I hope to see your Bible, David. My bible has thin pages. When I bought it thirty years ago, I thought in time the pages might get thicker. Funny enough, they are now a little thicker with highlighter and ink. At least they are not torn. Have a great day everyone!
Keep wearing out Bibles! Keep moving scriptures from the page to your heart.
Amen
It’s good to see you looking so well David. I am so thankful for your blog which stresses the importance of reading God’s Word each and every day. I pray that the Word would become more precious and meaningful to me each day. You inspire us. Thank you!
Thank you Father, Son and Holy Ghost for the sacrifices that were made to bring us your Word.
What a precious picture of you cradling your Bible David M.! May God bless you continually!
Watched 100 Huntley St. yesterday and Mark Hitchcock, author of “Blood Moons Rising” explained about the mark of the beast. He thinks the anti-Christ will turn out to have the name that the numbers 666 refer to. The letters in the Greek and Hebrew alphabet apparently have numerical value so the man’s name will add up to the numbers 666.
My parents gave us a bible well over 40 years ago on the first Christmas after our marriage. I still have it too. Thanks for sharing your early memories Rev. DM.
God bless.
I was in the process of being “found” by God– I was watching Huntley Street, but struggling with the message I was hearing. I was deep into occult practices and I literally felt torn between two forces that were fighting within–and in the middle of this I suddenly developed a great desire to read the Bible. I didn’t even own a Bible–the closest thing I had was a New Testament given to my father when he became a Canadian citizen— so I began with that. That Christmas I asked for a Bible for my present– that was in 87 and I been reading the Word ever since. Needless to say the Lord won and accepted Him as my Lord Savior shortly after getting my Bible.
Praise God! Amen!
Thank you Father for your servant David Mainse. Father you miraculously healed him. You gave David new drive and purpose to continue Your work in and through him. Praise you Father!
Christ Jesus blessed His disciples and gave them the same ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. In Christ they were able to do these miracles. For those who believe this is true today as it was then but have yet to receive healing, I encourage you to order the book “The Essential Guide to Healing” by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark available at the crossroads 360 book store. That should increase your faith and when that is done, I encourage you to seek out Randy Clark and sit in on one of his Faith Healing Revival meetings. When the Holy Spirit is present Miracles happen! Praise the Living God! Amen and Amen!
Precious precious children of God seek out the Will of The Holy Spirit alive and in you… For His Honour and His Glory! Amen!
Here’s one of Randy Clark’s upcoming revival meetings in Florida:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfbCm5pYrf4
Thank you so much for this devo and blog! I have so been blessed by going through God’s word this way!
I thank and praise God for you and for your healing and continue to pray
for you and thank Him for you and yours!! I just read many of the responses for Myles. They are so good! Have you thought about putting them in book form for other children (of all ages) to learn from and be blessed. Thank you again for this
“Fresh baked bread daily”!
This is great! I think it might be my favorite picture so far. 🙂 God Bless you! By Gods grace, I want to be like this for my family too!
God bless you David. I thank God for your healing and your solid commitment to
Him. You inspire me to start memorizing more scriptures.i would like to know
Which are the 50 you memorized, then I would use that as an assignment.At
79 that might be a challenge.
Hi David, How precious the photo of you hugging your bible,it really is like hugging Jesus. l love my bible so much, at times l have been known to hug and kiss it.Ha! Ha! We are so blessed! Beverley l prayed right away when l read your desparate appeal for healing for your back, l trust you are relieved from that nasty pain that has been plaguing you. Thank you Jesus for hearing Beverley’s request. What a beautiful sunny day here in Ontario, blessings everyone!
Thanks, Christine for healing prayers. Please pray for God’s hand in medical intervention.
Dear Rev. David M.
How grateful I am to see how The Lord has healed you making you able to do His Work and each of us being so uplifted to bring others to Christ.
Will be looking forward to watching you tomorrow morning on 100 Huntley street.
I join all my brothers and sisters in Christ in bringing to The Cross our sister Beverlee Kay , may The Holy Spirit bring full and complete healing all in The Name Of The One And Only Jesus Christ , Amen and Amen .
Thank you Helen Dzurko for encouraging me by your enthusiasm to memorize more scriptures especially to support and inspire all those who are unsaved.
Have a blessed day everyone .
xoxoxo Carole
Thank you David Mainse for emphasizing the importance of reading the bible daily: For it is where we find guidance and strength in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us and intercedes for us when we don’t know what we ought to pray:
Romans 8:27: And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the Will of God.
Thank you Holy Spirit for teaching and guiding me into all truth today and always.
I, too, love this picture of you hugging your first Bible,David.
I also want this to be the picture of me…I just have a problem,? ;-)….. I have many Bibles on the go at one time. Each one is a favorite for different reasons….they are different versions.Anyway, thanks for this blog David. I look forward to it each day and eagerly look for the photos to see if any remind me of our trip to Israel with you, Norma Jean, Ron and Ann , and Jason, your Grandson-in-Love [as Norma Jean addresses “inlaws”], Elena [your grandchild] and her husband Justin last November 2013. This blog also helps me read the Word EVERY day. God bless you all. And Thank you Lord for David’s good health.
Amen!
I have an urgent prayer request for the 50+ people in Mpeketoni town in Lamu County in the coastal region in Kenya, who were gunned down and murdered this week. Their homes, banks, police stations, gas stations, buildings all burnt to the ground by the militia in political conflict. Please pray for the people there, saints, who have been devastated, for protection of the Free Methodist Churches, and for God’s power and divine intervention. I have just bowed down on my knees in prayer to You, crying out in anguish, Oh mighty and powerful, God. Please help the people in Kenya!! In Jesus Name, amen.
Lord God, there is conflict all over the world. We praise You and thank You that we live in comfort and peace. We may not be able to physically help those who are suffering, but we can help them spiritually. We pray for those who are suffering and their families. Lord, be with them, comfort them, show them your overwhelming love and peace. In this world we will have trouble, help us to be of good cheer, because You have overcome the world.
Sherry, your prayers are so beautiful, beyond what words can express. Thank you, for praying for our brothers and sisters in need across the globe, and for your loving prayers for me. God bless you, dear sister-in-Christ!
Mr. Mainse, I just wanted to tell you how much I love listening to you speak, no matter what the subject. You are truly an inspiring person. And, I also wanted to tell you that I can so relate to you when you talk about losing your mom at the age of 12. I was 13 when my mom suddenly passed away, while I was at school. I somehow knew that I would never see her again, when I left, and said ‘Bye Mom’, it was as though there was a glass between us. That was many years ago. I remember standing in our garden a few days later and thinking ‘Mom could not have loved me, cause she up and died. I don’t know if every child feels this way when they lose a parent, but I felt this way (at least at the beginning). It is an awful difficult way to start out on our life journey, losing your mother at such a young age. I also love watching ‘Amazing Grace’. I could listen to 10 in a row (instead of 3). Keep up the good work, and God Bless! Thank you for today’s prayer on the Holy Spirit.