A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

And here I am struggling with an old 486DX with Windows 95. 

What's that??     

[Shammu]

What's that??     

You know exactaly what that is brother.  It will be another month and a half, for I get another computer. 

[Soldier4Christ]

You know exactaly what that is brother.  It will be another month and a half, for I get another computer. 

I thought those things left with the dinosaurs.   

Month and half??   

[Shammu]

I thought those things left with the dinosaurs.   

Month and half??   

Yup........ 

[Soldier4Christ]

The Pleasure of the Lord


"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand" (Isaiah 53:10).

The very concept of God having pleasure in things that take place on Earth staggers the imagination. Most amazing of all is the revelation that it pleased Him to put His own Son through a terrible, bruising death, as the tremendous Messianic prophecy of our text reveals.

Nevertheless, this was the only possible way whereby "the pleasure of the Lord" could be accomplished in the redeemed lives of lost men and women, whom He had created for eternal fellowship with the tri-une God. "For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation" (Psalm 149:4).

Five times we read in the New Testament that God the Father spoke from heaven assuring us that He was "well pleased" with His "beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; II Peter 1:17). "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him!" This is almost impossible to understand, but had it not been so, none of us ever could have been saved. The Lord Jesus Himself has confirmed to His own "little flock" that "it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

Thus, not only have we been created "for thy pleasure" (Revelation 4:11), but also we have been "predestinated . . . unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" (Ephesians 1:5). This is far beyond our comprehension, so we merely rest in the great truth that "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). We know that "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him" (Psalm 147:11), and we rejoice with thanksgiving!

[Soldier4Christ]

Ever Onward (#19940915)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).

Steady advancement in the Christian life is a sure sign of true salvation. The Bible constantly instructs us to “go on unto perfection” (Hebrews 6:1). We should press on in the following areas: “From faith to faith” (Romans 1:17). The whole process of salvation is begun by faith and is to continue by faith. “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Colossians 1:23). “From strength to strength” (Psalm 84:7). Many times the Christian passes “through the valley of Baca” (Psalm 84:6); that is, the valley of weeping. Yet he can go from strength to strength. The thought is, ever stronger, never fainting. Also, the promise is that we go THROUGH the valley of tears. We do not stay there forever. “From glory to glory” (II Corinthians 3:18). The work of transforming us into the image of Christ is a glorious work accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is because of this excellent work of the Spirit that we can go from one degree of splendor to another. “Grace for grace” (John 1:16). Here we see the law of displacement and replacement in action. Yesterday’s grace is displaced and replaced with fresh grace for today. Whatever the trial, God supplies us with one grace after another, and His grace is sufficient for us (II Corinthians 12:9). “The savor of death unto death; and . . . life unto life” (II Corinthians 2:16). To be a savor of Christ is an awesome privilege. We can be a fatal odor, the smell of doom, or a vital fragrance, living and fresh. We wonder with Paul, “And who is sufficient for these things?” NPS

[Soldier4Christ]

By Nature (#19940916)
by Paul G. Humber, M.S.

“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3).

Many Christians are under the mistaken notion that children are innocent, but the Scriptures teach differently: “The LORD said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imaginations of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Our text indicates that we are “by nature the children of wrath.”

Why are the Scriptures so negative about our natures? Wouldn’t it be nicer if they painted a more positive picture? The answer is that it is far better to be realistically true than idealistically false. When do we ever have to teach children to be selfish and disobedient? It comes naturally—like weeds in a garden. The real task is teaching children to be others-centered, honest, and obedient. True, they have the desirable quality of trustfulness, and the Lord would have us trust Him similarly. But this does not mean that children are innocent.

The same Lord who made our delightful children, Himself became a little child one day, so that He could go to a cross and save a fallen world. Yes, the Bible gives the bad news about our nature, but it also presents the good news about the love and mercy of our God.

Some parents may hold off telling their children about sin and their need for Jesus until they think they, the children, really need Him. The fact is, however, that children need this knowledge from the start. May each of us resolve to teach our children, the sooner the better, of this saving mercy. PGH

[Soldier4Christ]

The Promise Of Liberty (#19940917)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (II Peter 2:19).

This chapter consists of a strong denunciation of false teachers. They are, among other things, sensuous, beguiling, covetous, and accursed (v.14). They desire personal wealth (vv.15,16), but their message is empty, and even destructive, and will be judged (v.17), appealing to the pride and lusts of their hearers (v.18).

In our text we see that the false teachers promise. Promises are cheap; they cost nothing. Satan first revealed himself to mankind with a promise: “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), and later attempted to seduce the Son of God with “all the kingdoms of the world” (Matthew 4:. Empty promises are Satan’s golden hook, and many are the foolish ones who take the bait.

In this case, the false teachers promise liberty to act without the shackles of responsibility and moral law. But they themselves are “servants of corruption,” slaves of a most abhorrent mentality. And who are they to offer liberty? These are indeed “great swelling words of vanity” (v.18), for slaves cannot rightly offer liberty.

How is this promise kept? bondage. Bondage to the one or the attitude which has overcome. The liberty that sin promises is slavery, and the greater the sinner, the greater the bondage to the sin. There is perhaps no more wretched a state than to be in bondage to abject corruption in the name of liberty. It is a bondage of the spirit; a captivity of the soul. Of all states of slavery, it is the most lasting.

On the other hand, through grace we can “stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,” with no need to be “entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Most High (#19940918)
by Connie J. Horn

“I will praise the LORD according go His righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high” (Psalm 7:17).

“Most high” is translated from one Hebrew word that means “the supreme.” In the discourse between Melchizedek (“priest of the most High God”) and Abram, this description occurs twice: “the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:18,19). Psalm 83 is a long imprecation against the enemies of God to the end “that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth” (83:18). Nebuchadnezzar gave testimony after dwelling “with the beasts of the field”: “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:32,34).

Israel “tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not His testimonies” (Psalm 78:56). “Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help” (Psalm 107:11,12). Contrast this with, “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:9,10).

It is noteworthy that the New Testament records that even the demons recognize Jesus’ supremacy. “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most High God?” (Mark 5:7). For those of us who have received God’s grace, “it is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (Psalm 92:1). “I will cry unto God most High; unto God that performeth all things for me” (Psalm 57:2). CJH

[Soldier4Christ]

Blessed Assurance (#19940919)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17).

As expressed in the old gospel hymn, the “blessed assurance, Jesus is mine” is a “foretaste of glory divine.” According to our text, this “assurance for ever,” together with true peace of soul and quietness of spirit, are products of the “work of righteousness.”

The New Testament exposition of genuine righteousness makes it clear that we who have received Christ’s work of righteousness by faith have been “made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21). “To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

Thus, salvation is the priceless possession of those to whom Christ’s work of righteousness has been imputed, through faith. On the other hand, the assurance of salvation, accompanied by quietness and peace of heart, is “experienced” only by saved believers who practice the work of righteousness in their daily walk with the Lord. If we truly have salvation, then we ought to manifest the “things that accompany salvation . . . . For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His name . . . . And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end” (Hebrews 6:9–11).

We can, indeed, know that we are saved simply through faith in His work and His word (e.g., I John 5:13). Nevertheless, to know that one’s faith itself is genuine, God has given us this test of faith. “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (I John 2:3). This is surely blessed assurance, a foretaste of glory divine! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Spirit, Soul, Body (#19940920)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

The threefold nature of mankind reflects, to a degree, the triune nature of the Godhead. Just as each member of the triune God is complete and wholly God, yet distinct, so each aspect of mankind is also the whole, yet distinct. The body of man comprises the entire man, yet all is alive, with certain emotions, desires, and propensities; and yet again, the total man is endowed with a spiritual, eternal nature, somehow reflecting the image of God.

These three reflect the three great creative acts of God during creation week, identified by the three usages of the Hebrew word bara, or create. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); i.e., physical material. Later, certain of this physical material was granted consciousness (1:21), the “soul” which man shares with animals. On the sixth day, man was created as a spiritual being “in the image of God” (1:27), setting him qualitatively distinct from the animals, though he shares body and soul with the animals.

As in our text, when the “God of peace” sets about the task of sanctifying representatives of sinful, fallen mankind, restoring such ones to a measure of Christlikeness, He does so in the order mentioned, beginning with a spiritual awakening. Then, through the transformed spirit, the soul is reached, and finally the body, with its appetites and lusts.

The wisdom of man says just the opposite, claiming the inner man can be improved by changing outside influences, a mentality all too often reflected even in evangelistic efforts. God’s way is to start with the inner man—the root of the problem—and then affect the outer man. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Practicing Theology (#19940921)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24).

If God is to honor David’s request to “Search me . . . know me . . . try me . . . see me . . . and lead me,” He would have to possess omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. David fully recognized these three non-moral attributes in this psalm.

For example, he describes the omniscience, or all-knowingness, of God in verses 1–6. In this section we have such statements as, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me . . . thou knowest . . . thou understandest . . . Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” He stood amazed in the presence of one who knew everything about him.

Then in verses 7–12 he gives reference to the omnipresence of God; that is, that He is everywhere present at the same time. “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” He dramatically shows that God is everywhere. He is in heaven and in hell; in the uttermost parts of the sea; in the light and in the darkness. We cannot hide from God.

Last, but not least, he proclaims in verses 13–16 God’s omnipotence (all-power) as is seen in the formation of a child in his mother’s womb. “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

These three truths, that God is all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful, caused David to pray the above prayer at the end of the psalm. His correct theology was made practical by his prayer. Since God is omniscient, He can search us; since God is omnipresent, He can try us; and since God is omnipotent, He can lead us in the way everlasting. NPS

[Soldier4Christ]

King Of The Trees (#19940922)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us” (Judges 9:.

This strange parable, told by Gideon’s youngest son, Jotham, focused on the chaotic conditions in Israel after the death of Gideon who had led them in a brief spiritual revival after his defeat of the Midianites. One son of Gideon, Abimelech, had slain all his 70 halfbrothers in order to take the “kingdom” for himself (even though Gideon had refused to be made a king while he was alive), and then had led the people back into gross idolatry.

In the parable, the olive tree and the fig tree and the vine (productive, fruit-bearing plants taken later to symbolize the nation Israel) had refused to be made king, preferring to “serve God and man” in the fruit-bearing roles for which they were created (v.9). But the bramble had no such compunction (Judges 9:15), threatening, in fact, to destroy the other trees if they did not submit to his rule.

This parable was fulfilled explicitly in Abimelech’s short and lethal reign of three years before he was slain, taking thousands with him into godless graves. In principle, this same parable has seen many later fulfillments, as ungodly men suddenly find that God has allowed an even more ungodly ruler to arise and lead them into destruction, “that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

The ultimate fulfillment will come when the most vicious king of all will arise, “speaking . . . blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months” (Revelation 13:5). He also, like the rest, will be destroyed by the true King, the Lamb, for the Lamb alone is “King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Mixed With Faith (#19940923)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).

Throughout the earlier chapters of this book, the author compares Christ and His finished work (which brings salvation by grace through faith) to Moses and the Old Testament legal code, and details the catastrophic results of unbelief. The Jewish people of the day had, of course, rejected this message of faith in Christ and reaped the consequences.

But, the gospel had been preached both to the Jew and the Gentile, as our text teaches, with great results among the Gentiles. Evidently the hearing of the preached word (logos) had been “mixed with faith” among the Gentiles, but not among most of the Jews.

The Greek word from which “mixed” is translated is only used twice in the New Testament, the other used to describe the necessary amalgamation of various members of the body in making up the whole. “But God hath tempered [same word] the body together” (I Corinthians 12:24).

Outside of the New Testament the word refers primarily to the process by which an animal utilizes food for nutritive purposes. Through the chewing in the mouth, digestion in the stomach, and absorption in the bowels, the food is not only thoroughly “mixed,” but to the mixture are added many bodily fluids and functions which extract nutrition from the food and apply it to bodily health and growth.

What an analogy! The message of the gospel can be acknowledged and agreed to, but unless the hearer mixes the hearing of truth with believing faith, integrating heart and head, praying over, meditating on, and incorporating into practice these vital truths, they will “not profit them.” Spiritual health and growth will not result. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Ashamed Or Assured (#19940924)
by Kenneth B. Cumming, Ph.D.

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (II Timothy 1:12).

Suffering abounds without discrimination! On all sides we hear of sickness, abuse, accidents, and other calamities. In our immaturity we think Christians shouldn’t have to suffer. We are God’s children and ought to be treated better by our Father than those around us. Nevertheless, the assaults keep coming, and we have little peace.

Paul was called to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In doing so, he too suffered in many ways—sickness, abuse, imprisonment. Yet, he was not ashamed of his calling or of the treatment he had to endure. For he had received of God power, love, and a sound mind for the job at hand (II Timothy 1:7). His was a holy calling according to Jesus’ own purpose and grace and was given before the world was formed (II Timothy 1:9). He was assured rather than ashamed.

The reasons Paul gave for his assurance in what he was doing was that, first, he knew personally the one in whom he believed. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Secondly, Paul was persuaded that God was able to deliver on His promises. “For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:28). “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14,15).

May we be fully committed to Him, in spite of sufferings, “against that day.” KBC