A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

The Linen Cloths (#19941010)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:40).

The Jews of Jesus’ day prepared bodies for burial in a much different fashion than we do today. In our text the word “wound” actually means “to bind, tie, or wind,” and bodies were tightly rolled up in long strips of linen cloth. Parallel passages in Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, and Luke 23:53 employ words derived from the Greek hellisso, meaning “to coil,” from which we get our word “helix.”

The tightness of the winding can be inferred from the raising of Lazarus from the dead. After Christ had called him back to life, “he that was dead came forth, bound [same word as ‘wound’] hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44).

On resurrection morning, after hearing the news of the missing body of Christ, Peter and John ran to the sepulcher. “Peter . . . went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped [same word as in our text] together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple . . . and he saw, and believed” (John 20:6–8).

John recognized, as we should, that only a miracle could account for the state of these linen clothes. If thieves had stolen the body, they would either have taken the clothes, or the clothes would have been strewn around, not lying in the same location and shape as they had been when the body was present. Previously, John “knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (v.9), but when he saw the linen clothes he “believed.”

Christ miraculously rose from the dead. John believed; we have his eyewitness testimony. Can we do less? JDM

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The Finished Work (#19941011)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this” (Psalm 22:31).

This is the last verse of Psalm 22, the marvelous prophecy that describes so graphically the sufferings of Christ on the cross, a thousand years before the fulfillment. The preceding verse promises that this great event will, literally, “be told about the LORD every generation.” Fathers would tell it to their children, teachers to their students, generation after generation declaring His righteousness. “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts,” (Psalm 145:4).

This prophecy has been wonderfully fulfilled for almost 2000 years as each generation of Christians tells the next generation the old, old story of “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (I Peter 1:11), both of which are graphically foretold here in the 22nd psalm.

But this final verse especially stresses the fact that the work has been completed. Its last word, “this,” is not in the original Hebrew, so the final statement actually should read “He hath finished!” The most glorious aspect of the gospel message is that He has accomplished all that was needed to assure eternal salvation to every one who would “remember and turn unto the LORD” (v.27).

This last great prophecy was fulfilled when He cried out as He was dying on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Just as He had, long ago, pronounced that “the heavens and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1), completing His great work of creation, so on the cross He had finished the still greater work of redemption. What is left for us to do? Nothing, for He has finished it all! There is nothing we can do, either to create the world, or to save our souls. We can only receive, in thanksgiving, what He has done. HMM

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The God Of Heaven (#19941012)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9).

It was by these words that the prophet Jonah identified himself to the merchants of Tarshish as he was fleeing on their ship from the presence of the Lord. This special title, “the God of heaven,” seems generally to have been used by the Jews when they were talking to men of other religions, stressing that their God was no mere tribal deity, but the true God who had created the very heavens.

The title was first used by Abraham, speaking to his servant: “And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth . . .” (Genesis 24:3). At this time, the nation of Israel existed only in the promise of this God of heaven.

It also appears frequently in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, first in the decree of Cyrus the Persian: “The LORD God of heaven . . . hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:2). Even though the Persians followed lesser gods, Cyrus knew that the one God of heaven was the Creator. The name then reappears several times in the book of Daniel, who was living in the palace of the heathen king of Babylon. Its final Old Testament occurrence is Daniel 2:44: “The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.”

In the New Testament it occurs only twice, both in Revelation. In one instance, John writes that the ungodly nations “blasphemed the God of heaven”; in the other, he says they “gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 16:11; 11:13). In our own witnessing today, especially to those who don’t know or believe the Bible, it is also good to stress that our God is not just the God of Judaeo-Christian tradition, but the Creator of all things. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

In (#19941013)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law” (I Corinthians 9:21).

The preaching of the gospel weighed heavily on Paul, and in this passage (vv.5–23), as well as surrounding chapters (8:1–11:1), he explained the lengths to which he would go to be able to preach and to avoid being a stumblingblock to potential hearers. Since he closes the section with the exhortation, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (11:1), we would do well to observe his methods.

The message of the work of Christ Jesus burned within Paul. “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (v.16). He would preach willingly or unwillingly (v.17), for no financial gain (v.18) or personal glory (v.16), but be had to preach. “I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more” (v.19), he said. He would even make himself acceptable to the Jews (v.20) by not breaking their law, even though he knew he was no longer bound by it.

In our text, Paul explains his approach to the Gentile, those who were “without law.” He could not behave in a licentious, sinful, lawless manner, for God’s holy nature demands holiness. The Greek word anomos, translated four times in this verse as “without law,” is contrasted in the parenthetic comment to ennomos, “under the law.” Paul was not lawless. Even though not under the Mosaic law, he had voluntarily, out of a heart of love for the Savior, placed himself under a set of new and better restraints, that of the law of Christ, “that I might by all means save some” (v.22).

Christians of today have, to a great extent, benefited from Paul’s unquenchable thirst for souls. He had partaken of the sweet fruits of the gospel and preached “that I might be partaker thereof with you” (v.23). Should we not willingly follow his example? JDM

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A Dramatic False Conclusion (#19941014)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars” (I Samuel 23:7).

David, during his wanderings from King Saul, utterly destroyed the Philistines at Keilah and delivered the inhabitants from sure death. Saul, feeling that David was now trapped in the city, began to gather his army to besiege Keilah and capture David. At this point, David, through intercessory prayer, once again received God’s protection and escaped. “And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand” (I Samuel 23:14).

In verse 7, Saul gave God the credit for delivering David into his hand, but in verse 14, God did just the opposite by protecting David from Saul.

Saul had come to a dramatic false conclusion that God was on his side. Nothing was further from the truth. In desperation, Saul put God’s name on his own evil will, possibly hoping that the Lord, who had long since departed from him, was now back. He even said it out loud, trying to convince the people of Israel.

The ultimate false conclusion is found in John 16:2, “Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” Saul reasoned that God desired him to kill David. The rulers of Israel crucified Christ thinking they were doing God a service. Likewise, the blood of the martyrs was shed by those who thought God was with them.

Paul established his reputation by killing Christians in the name of God (Acts 9:1–5). He was a “blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but (he) obtained mercy . . . . And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 1:13,14).

May we, as true believers, never put God’s name on our own human will! NPS

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The Works Of The Lord (#19941015)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Praise ye the LORD. I Will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

The first phrase of this majestic psalm of praise, “Praise ye the LORD,” translates the compound Hebrew word, “Hallelujah.” The psalm in its entirety boasts about the works of the Lord (i.e., Jehovah) in various realms.

The psalmist promises to praise the Lord with his entire being, wholeheartedly extolling His works. He will do so in two spheres. First, in “the assembly of the upright,” where “assembly” refers to an intimate circle of friends of like faith. Secondly, in the larger “congregation” called together for that purpose.

The next three verses identify some of the praiseworthy acts of God, each verse employing a different word for “works.” The word translated “works” in verse two usually refers to God’s “great” handiwork in creation, well suited for careful study (i.e., “sought out”), bringing “pleasure” to all those who recognize that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). (Incidentally, this verse two of Psalm 111 is inscribed on the entrance to the famous Cavendish Physics Laboratory in Cambridge.)

The word for “work” in verse three implies an ongoing practice and carries the connotation of His providential acts. He reigns in righteousness, honor, and glory over all His creation.

Finally, the phrase “wonderful works” (v.4) usually refers to God’s great redemptive acts on behalf of His people Israel (vv.5,6,9), as well as all those that put their trust in Him (see Psalm 107:8,15, 21,31, for example). Surely “the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.”

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: . . . His praise endureth for ever” (v.10). JDM

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Ancient Times (#19941016)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times” (Psalm 77:5).

The Bible provides for us a fascinating perspective on the passage of time. Three thousand years ago, the psalmist was seeking to understand God’s ways in HIS time, and each new generation seems to think that it is the “new wave,” leading the world out of its past darkness into a new age of enlightenment.

There is need for scientific research, of course (in fact, this is implied in the “dominion mandate” of Genesis 1:26–28), but we need to keep in mind that true science is really “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” The results of our scientific “discoveries” should always be to glorify the Creator and to draw men closer to Him, not lead them away from Him.

The same is true of history. We are merely the children of the ancient patriarchs, and our moral natures are the same as theirs, all contaminated by inherent sinfulness and the need for divine salvation. God dealt with them as He does with us, so that every later generation needs to study and learn from the generations of ancient times and from God’s inspired histories of them in the earliest books of the Bible—especially Genesis, as well as Exodus, Job, and other ancient books. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

God is the same today as He was in Eden, on Mount Ararat, in Babel, and Canaan, and Sinai, and Calvary. “LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:1,2). HMM

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The Glorious Gospel (#19941017)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust” (I Timothy 1:11).

In the opening chapter of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, his “son in the faith” (v.2), Paul gives various instructions concerning the proper teaching of doctrine, “which was committed to (his) trust,” and which now Paul was passing on to his followers. He took great care to charge Timothy to “hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 1:13, and elsewhere). Before launching into a testimony and defense of God’s grace in salvation (vv.12–17), Paul gives stern warning against false doctrines and false teachers (vv.3–11). These teachers, “having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to he teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm” (vv.6,7). He even lists various sinful characteristics and actions of these false teachers (vv.9,10), covering basically the same ground as the Ten Commandments.

The things in this list, Paul claims, are “contrary to sound [literally healthy, wholesome] doctrine.” This doctrine, which is “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,” is held up as the standard by which we evaluate any teaching or attitude, not a manmade system of ethics or code of conduct.

This glorious gospel, the good news, proclaiming the entire person and work of the great Creator/Redeemer Jesus Christ, must be the basis for all “sound” teaching and lifestyle. Paul later wrote that these “wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and. . . the doctrine which is according to godliness” (I Timothy 6:3) bring spiritual health, while any contrary teaching brings spiritual poverty and disease (v4). “From such withdraw thyself” (v.5). JDM

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Where Are The Nine? (#19941018)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17).

Ten lepers, hopeless and incurable, had come to Jesus, begging for His help, and He had miraculously healed them. All ten should have fallen down to worship and thank Him, but only one praised God and thanked Jesus for His marvelous deliverance, while the others rushed away.

We are at first amazed at such ingratitude, until we realize that not more than 10% of even those people who know about Christ ever stop to give Him thanks for His innumerable blessings—life, freedom, food, shelter, health, family, and especially easy access to the Bible and His gracious offer of salvation—far greater in value than the gift of special healing received by the ten lepers.

The thankful leper received a much greeter gift than all the others. “Thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19). They had received an outward cleansing of the body, he an inward cleansing of the soul! These beautiful words spoken by Christ are found four other times in the New Testament (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 8:48), plus two other times where the word for “made whole” is translated “saved” (Luke 7:50; 18:42). This word (Greek sozo) occurs many other times. For example: “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25).

Ten lepers were healed, but only one was saved, and the proof of his salvation, received through genuine faith in Christ, was his gratitude, giving glory to God. The primary evidence of being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) is that the one so controlled by God’s regenerating Spirit will be “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Those who are not thankful to their saving Lord are the 90% who have not been made whole. HMM

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The Redeemed Of The Lord (#19941019)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psalm 107:2).

This hymn of praise for God’s providence centers around four examples of God’s deliverance from particular problems. The four situations are as follows: lost travelers who are out of provisions far from a city (vv.4,5), prisoners imprisoned for their own rebelliousness (vv.1–12), those who have been brought to physical illness due to their sin (vv.17,18), and sailors who face shipwreck on stormy seas (vv.23–27). In each case, the individuals prayed for deliverance which resulted in God’s miraculous rescue and a response of praise.

This cycle reminds us of the pattern during the time of the Judges when “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Due to their rebelliousness, God brought the people of Israel into captivity over and over again. Each time, in the midst of their oppression, they cried unto the lord, who raised up a judge and empowered him to vanquish the enemy and free the people.

The exact same pattern can he found in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple. He recognized man’s tendency to rebel and forget the Lord’s provision when things are going well, thus eliciting God’s judgment. But God has always used times of trouble to bring men and women back to Himself. He is a God of grace and mercy and love, desiring to forgive and restore those who repent and call to Him for deliverance (II Kings .

The same truth applies today. We still tend to rebel, and He remains long-suffering, willing to forgive and restore upon repentance. “The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7). JDM

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The Same Mind (#19941020)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (I Corinthians 1:10).

The days of the early church were the days of its greatest power because they were days of its greatest unity. “They, continuing daily with one accord . . . and singleness of heart.” “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: . . . and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 2:46; 4:32,33). It was not long, however, before divisions, contentions, and schisms crept in. Therefore, the New Testament contains many exhortations toward a restoration of the unity—and thus the power—of the early church. Note the following examples:

“Be of the same mind one toward another” (Romans 12:16). “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God” (Romans 15:5,6). “Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (II Corinthians 13:11). “. . . stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (I Peter 3:.

Real unity, of course, must be both “the unity of the Spirit” and “the unity of the faith” (Ephesians 4:3,13), and “the same mind” must be nothing less than the mind of Christ. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). HMM

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Delight In The Will Of God (#19941021)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“I delight to do thy will, 0 my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:.

This remarkable testimony of David is actually also a Messianic prophecy, fulfilled completely only in Christ. Only as Messiah could He truly say: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me;” and, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me;” “The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me” (John 4:34; 6:38; 10:25). “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith:. . . Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, 0 God” (Hebrews 10:5, 7).

His heart was attuned perfectly to the will of God because God’s law was written thereon, “not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (II Corinthians 3:3). Even in the most trying circumstances to which any man could ever be subjected, He could pray: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

By the indwelling Spirit of God, we also must seek to make the will of God our greatest delight. We are saved solely by grace, but this is not to deliver us from the burdensome constraints of God’s holy law; as in the case of Christ Himself, He places His law in our hearts in order to enable us to love His law. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16).

Then we learn, like the psalmist, not to resist His will, but to love His will and to delight in His law. “0 how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. . . . Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. . . . I have longed for thy salvation, 0 LORD; and thy law is my delight” (Psalm 119:97,111,174). HMM

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The Believer's Source Of Peace (#19941022)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

If we have experienced peace with God (Romans 5:1), we should avail ourselves of the peace of God in our text. The peace of God is given to quiet the state of our hearts because of circumstances. Our peace is conditioned on the Lord’s presence: “The Lord is at hand,” or near by (Philippians 4:5), making it possible to “rejoice in the Lord alway” (v.4). Obedience in the following areas will produce the desired peace we desperately need. Pray right: “Be careful [anxious] for nothing” (v.6). The thought is, don’t worry or be anxious, not even in one thing! Worry destroys peace; prayer builds confidence. “In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (vv.6,7). God’s keeping power brings peace to the heart (seat of our emotions) and to the mind (seat of our intellect). We surely need peace in both areas. Think right: That is, have your mind set on the right things. Give careful reflection to that which is “true . . . honest . . . just . . . pure . . . lovely . . . good report . . . think on these things” (v.. Peace comes when our mind and heart are set on the right things and the right person (Christ). Be careful: what you think, you will eventually become! Do right: “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do” (v.9). Paul’s example of doing right should encourage us to think and do in the right way also. If we pray right, think right, and do right, we will then feel right, because the “God of peace” is with us (v.9). NPS

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God (#19941023)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that He might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:20).

One of the most bitter complaints of critics against the Bible is its portrayal of the severity of God, especially in His command to Moses to destroy all the Canaanites. “When the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee: thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them” (Deuteronomy 7:2). This seems more severe than ever when we read in our text that God Himself hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that Joshua could destroy them.

But the notion that God is merely a kindly grandfather figure is a self-serving figment of man’s sinful imagination. The New Testament reminds us that “our God is a consuming fire,” and “the wages of sin is death” (Hebrews 12:29; Romans 6:23), and God doesn’t change. “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 1:7,8).

As far as the Canaanites were concerned, God had given them 400 years to repent (Genesis 15:13–16), but each new generation had gone further away from God than the one before, and they were practicing (as archaeology has revealed) every form of debauchery known to man. It was an act of mercy by God toward all those who would come in contact with them in future generations to decree their destruction now. They had already irrevocably hardened their hearts toward God, so God now hardened their hearts against Israel. Thinking they could destroy God’s people, they only hastened their well-deserved end. HMM

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Cleopas (#19941024)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto Him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?” (Luke 24:18).

It is interesting that Christ’s first two appearances after His resurrection were to women. The fourth, and most extended appearance, was His visit with Cleopas and another unnamed disciple (Luke 24:13–35).

None of these people were His apostles, but all were among His most devoted followers.

The intimate conversation described with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus becomes even more touching when we suddenly realize that the disciple with Cleopas was his wife! We gather this from the following list. “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25). The one who walked home with Cleopas that day and who shared their dinner with the Lord could have been none other than his wife. Cleopas took the lead in the conversation, but both obviously were devoted disciples, though concerned and confused over the death of their master.

Strangely, however, “their eyes were holden that they should not know Him,” even though they could say later: “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:16,32). Recognition finally came when, “as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them” (Luke 24:30). Probably, as He offered them the bread they saw the scars in His hands, and knew in their hearts that none but Jesus bore such scars!

And so with us. When we suddenly realize the Lord Jesus died for us, and rose again, our lives also are forever changed, like those of Cleopas and his beloved wife. HMM