A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Parable Of The Star (#19941222)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth” (Numbers 24:17).

A parable is not an illustrative story, as most people think, but a “dark saying” (note Psalm 78:2) designed to reveal some hidden truth only to those who are prepared to understand (note Jesus’ assertion in Matthew 13:10–17).

The first reference in the Bible to parables is in connection with the seven parables of the false prophet Balaam (Numbers 23:7,18; 24:3,15,20,21,23). The central parable of these seven verses is the one in our text speaking of a mysterious Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre out of Israel, both the Star and the Sceptre representing a great person coming in the far future, destined both to guide and to rule all nations.

The wise men of the East somehow recognized His star rising, and came seeking the King. The star they saw, appearing perhaps in one of the constellations long associated by ancient peoples with the primeval promise of a coming redeemer/king—was but a type of the true “bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16) and the “day star” that one day shall “arise in your hearts” (II Peter 1:19), that “light of the world” (John 8:12) who would be “the light of life” for all people who follow Him in faith.

He is also the Sceptre, the King of all kings, that “rod of iron” by which all nations must one day be ruled (Revelation 19:15) in righteousness. The babe in Bethlehem became the suffering servant on the cross, then rose from the grave like a bright and morning star out of the darkness and will also very soon be acknowledged as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:15). HMM

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The Incarnate Christ (#19941223)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9).

How important it was for Jesus Christ to become incarnate. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same” (Hebrews 2:14). “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “A body has thou prepared for me” (Hebrews 10:5). “God was manifest in the flesh” (I Timothy 3:16).

Building upon Christ’s incarnation, the writer of Hebrews states five reasons why it was necessary for Christ to come. That He might “taste death for every man” (2:9). The main purpose in Christ’s coming was to go to the cross and bear the sin of the world, providing salvation for all who believe. Christ tasted death to the fullest so that we who were under the sentence of death could go free. That He might bring “many sons unto glory” (2:10), Christ was made perfect through suffering that He could lead us into heaven itself. We have the assurance that as we follow Him, He will take us into God’s glorious presence. That He might “destroy the devil and deliver the saints” (2:15). The devil’s power was brought to naught through the death of Christ. Those who have trusted Christ are no longer in bondage to death’s fearful grip. “That He might be a merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17). As our great high priest, Christ continually represents us before the throne of God, “ever living to make intercession for (us)” (Hebrews 7:25). Our salvation is secure. That He might run to our aid and give us help. “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted” (2:18). He knows exactly what it is like to go through painful sufferings, both physically and spiritually. Therefore, when we go through the fires of testing, He is at our side to give comfort and strength. NPS

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Wonderful Counsellor (#19941224)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

This magnificent verse, used so often on Christmas cards, is a splendid prophecy of the divine/human nature of the coming Messiah. He would be born as a child, like every other human being, but He would also be given as a Son at the same time, with the giver clearly being God Himself. “He gave His only begotten Son!” (John 3:16).

The name of this God/man offers further testimony. At the introduction of this prophecy, God had named Him Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). Now He is given a series of names, all of which are needed to express His full identity. It is likely the first two names should be considered one name: He is our “Wonderful Counsellor” (the punctuation marks have been added to our translations, but the combined term is more in keeping with the structure of the other names).

This “child,” amazingly, is also “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father,” stressing His absolute and eternal deity, as well as His omnipotence and the unity of the Father and the Son in the Triune Godhead. Finally, as “The Prince of Peace,” it is only He that can unite the warring factions of mankind and bring true world peace. This stresses His humanity, but also His perfect and effective humanity.

Also, in His human nature, He is our “Wonderful Counsellor,” our perfect Example and infallible Teacher. He both shows and tells us what to believe and how to live, and He is never wrong, for in Him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and “in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:3,9). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Virgin Birth (#19941225)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

This has been a hotly disputed verse as unbelievers for two thousand years have tried to undermine the vital doctrine of the unique sinlessness of Christ. Without the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus, not only is His mother Mary made to be an impure woman, but also Jesus is deprived of His intrinsic deity, being born with the sin-nature inherited from Adam. He could not really be our sin-bearing Savior since He would thus be sinful also.

Because of this intrinsic importance of the virgin birth to the very essence of Christianity, liberals and other opponents of the truth have long argued that the Hebrew almah should be translated “young woman,” instead of “virgin.” This is utterly wrong, of course. There would be no “sign” in a “young woman conceiving,” and it would be blasphemous to name an ordinary child Immanuel (“God with us”), clearly implying divine incarnation in man.

Even if almah could legitimately be thus translated none of its seven occurrences in the Old Testament require any meaning other than “virgin.” The issue is settled for all who believe the Bible by the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to use parthenos (a Greek word which can only mean “virgin”) when he translated and quoted Isaiah 7:14 (see Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child . . . .”). Actually, both Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23 support the use of the definite article (“Behold, the virgin . . .”) in this great prophecy. God has, indeed, “sent forth His Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4), and only of a woman, fulfilling the primeval promise of “the seed of the woman” who would someday bring deliverance from Satan and sin and death (Genesis 3:15). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Blood Of The Lamb (#19941226)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

This is the last reference in the Bible to the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; here it is the overcoming blood, enabling believers to withstand the deceptions and accusations of Satan.

There are at least 43 references to the blood of Christ in the New Testament, all testifying to its great importance in the salvation and daily life of the believer. Judas the betrayer spoke of it as “innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4), and Peter called it “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:19). It is the cleansing blood in I John 1:7 and the washing blood in Revelation 1:5, stressing that it removes the guilt of our sins.

Paul calls it the purchasing blood in Acts 20:28 and the redeeming blood twice (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; see also I Peter 1:18,19; Revelation 5:9), thus declaring the shedding of His blood to be the very price of our salvation. Therefore, it is also the justifying blood (Romans 5:9) and the peacemaking blood (Colossians 1:20). Its efficacy does not end with our salvation, however, for it is also the sanctifying blood (Hebrews 13:12). There is infinite and eternal power in the blood of Christ, for it is “the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20).

The first reference in the New Testament to His blood stresses this aspect. Jesus said at the last supper: “This is my blood of the new testament [same as ‘covenant’], which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Let no one, therefore, ever count the “blood of the covenant . . . an unholy thing” (Hebrews 10:29), for the blood of Christ is forever innocent, infinitely precious, perfectly justifying, always cleansing, and fully sanctifying. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Man In The Glory (#19941227)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

This familiar message of the angels to the disciples as they watched Christ ascend into heaven reveals three vital truths. First, the Lord Jesus retained His human body, though now immortalized and glorified, as He returned to heaven. Second, heaven is a real place in the physical universe, because Christ, in His physical body, is now dwelling there, at the right hand of the Father. Third, He is going to come again to Earth in the same body.

This means that there is, indeed, now a great Man in the glory! It is significant that no New Testament writer details the appearance of Christ’s physical human body here on the earth.

But we do have a detailed description of His present appearance in glory! John saw Him, there on the Isle of Patmos, and it was like this: “I saw . . . one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength” (Revelation 1:12–16).

John, who saw Him in His glory, has also assured us that “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2), and our present vile bodies shall be transformed “like unto His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

A Non (#19941228)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Speaking primarily to new Gentile believers, Paul welcomes them into the body of Christ, made up of all true believers, either Jew or Gentile. Each new member enjoys full privileges and benefits given to all “saints,” those “of the household of God.” “For our conversation [lit., citizenship, same root word as in our text] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Regarding our former state, Christ declared: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44). However, we have broken with this former alliance and transferred our allegiance to “God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ” (II Corinthians 5:18). “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (v.17).

Our function as non-citizens still living to a degree in our prior realm is revealed, for “God . . . hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (v.18). God is in the business of reconciling others who are now estranged back to Himself, and even though He could do it all Himself, without any help from His feeble creation, He has in His grace given us a part in this blessed work. The work will involve a struggle, for our warfare is against the ruler of this world and his henchmen, but we will, through His enablement, be victorious (Ephesians 6:10–18).

“Now then (since) we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (II Corinthians 5:20). Let us be about this blessed business. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Lord Our Maker (#19941229)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker” (Psalm 95:6).

In the first chapter of Genesis we are told that God was to “make man in our image,” and also that He “created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:26,27). Similarly on the seventh day, God “rested from all His work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3).

God is, therefore, both Creator and Maker of all things, including the image of God in man. These two terms are not synonymous, though they sometimes seem to be used interchangeably. “Creation” is calling into existence entities which previously had no existence. No one except God is ever the subject of the verb create. The work of making, on the other hand, is that of organizing created entities into complex systems.

It is interesting that God is called “Creator” five times in the Bible, whereas He is called “Maker” sixteen times. God created His image in men and women, but He also made them in that image. That is, He called into existence the spiritual component of man’s nature, not shared in any degree by the animals. He also organized the basic material elements into complex human bodies, the most highly organized systems in the universe, and these were made in that image that God Himself would one day assume when He became an incarnate human being. In this way He is both creator and maker of His image in each person.

That image has been marred because of sin, but through the work of Christ, we have been “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10), and our bodies will “be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). Created and newly created, made and remade, let us humbly kneel before the Lord our maker and creator. HMM

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When God's Longsuffering Ends (#19941230)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (I Thessalonians 2:16).

One of the attributes of God is that He is longsuffering. At least ten times in the Bible He is said to be longsuffering, plus at least six times when He is described as slow to anger.

But there are limits. God endured over 1500 years of increasing wickedness in the antediluvian world before He finally said: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3); then He still waited another 120 years before He sent the world-destroying deluge to cleanse the earth.

He delayed giving the promised land to Abraham and his seed for four hundred years, because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:13–16), but the command eventually was given to Moses and Joshua to take the land and destroy them all (Deuteronomy 20:17).

In the case of the Jews about whom Paul was writing in our text, they not only had slain their prophets and crucified Christ (see I Thessalonians 2:15), but now were trying to keep the gospel of Christ from being brought, not just to themselves, but even to the Gentiles, so their iniquity, like that of the Amorites, was almost full. Not many years hence, their temple and city would be destroyed and their people scattered all over the world for 1900 years.

One wonders how much longer God will be patient with America. Our schools, our government, our whole society seems ever more determined to stamp out the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and soon God must visit His wrath upon us as well. Today, however, “the Lord is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). His offer of salvation and eternal life is still freely available to each individual who will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Harvest Is Past (#19941231)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20).

This moving lament from the “weeping prophet” denotes the ending of another sad year in Judah’s decline as the prophet is grieving over her still unrepentant state. God had issued repeated warnings through Jeremiah and other prophets, but it was to almost no avail, and now they were on the verge of being deported into Babylon as slaves and prisoners. Once they had been one of the greatest kingdoms in the world, but they had gone after the false gods of evolutionary pantheism and the corresponding idolatrous, immoral practices associated with this system, and now they were nearing the end, still unsaved.

God does not change, and one fears that “Christian” America is fast approaching similar rejection by the God who has blessed her so abundantly. At this year’s end—despite all the blessings we still enjoy—the moral and spiritual condition of America, perhaps even of evangelical Christianity in America, seems to have plunged deeper than ever into the morass of compromise and open ridicule of God’s truth and godly life-styles. God has been calling us to repentance through the preaching of the word and various judgments (drugs, AIDS, etc.), but to no avail. The year is ended, and America is not saved! “The LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1,2).

The individual believer may not be able to change the face of America, but he should do what he can—thanking God for past blessings, confessing and repenting his own sins, doing all he can in his own sphere of influence to honor the Lord in all things. HMM

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All Things New (#19950101)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5).

The coming of a new year is a good time to consider that glorious time to come when Christ will make everything new again. In the present age, all things “shall wax old as doth a garment” (Hebrews 1:11) under the bondage of the universal law of decay and death; indeed “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22).

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:13). There, in the “New Jerusalem,” we shall each have “a new name” and sing “a new song” (Revelation 21:2; 2:17; 5:9). We shall have new bodies, “fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21), and a new dwelling place, prepared by Christ Himself among the “many mansions” in His “Father’s house” (John 14:2).

And all the old and dying things will be completely and forever gone. “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).

What a “Happy New Year” that will be! In the meantime, we have His “new covenant” and have each been made “a new creature” in Christ (Hebrews 12:24; Galatians 6:14). Since all His words “are true and faithful,” we know His promises are sure. Therefore, already, “old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” through faith in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). HMM

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Everlasting Father (#19950102)
by Paul G. Humber, M.S.

“. . . and His name shall be called . . . . The everlasting Father . . .” (Isaiah 9:6).

Christ’s being called everlasting Father should not clash with the doctrine of the Triune God. Jesus referred to His Father over and over again, attesting to distinctions within the Godhead. The Second Person, God the Son, should not be confused with God the Father. Nevertheless, Jesus should be called everlasting Father because the title belongs to Him, the Messiah. It refers to His everlasting fatherhood in relation to those He came to heal and save.

Not only did the Lord Jesus heal, but He addressed a suffering woman with “Daughter, be of good comfort” (Matthew 9:22) and a paralyzed man with “Son, be of good cheer” (v.2). He took children into His arms as a father might and called disciples “children” (Mark 10:24). He also said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (Revelation 3:19).

In the chapter prophesying Messiah’s death and resurrection, Isaiah wrote that “He shall see His seed” (Isaiah 53:10). The author of Hebrews applied another verse in Isaiah to the Lord Jesus when he wrote, “Behold I and the children which God hath given me” (Hebrews 2:13; cf. Isaiah 8:18).

When reading about the Lord in the Old Testament, let us include the Lord Jesus. Jesus made it clear that the Old Testament testified about Him (John 5:39). When we read in Psalm 103:13, for example, that “as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him,” let us view this also as referring to our “everlasting Father”—the Lord Jesus.

There can never be a better revelation of God the Father than Jesus, God the Son. He is “the brightness” of God’s glory “and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3), and He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Let us, therefore, honor Him with the same honor we give our loving heavenly Father (John 5:23)! PGH

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Praise At The Incarnation (#19950103)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David” (Luke 1:68,69).

These words of praise, uttered by Zacharias the priest at the birth of John the Baptist, comprise one of seven great doxologies given by men and women in connection with the entrance of the Savior into the human family. Even before was the testimony of His mother Mary in her Magnificat: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46,47).

But the first was uttered by Elizabeth: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb . . . . And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 1:42,45).

Then, when Christ was born, there were the shepherds who, after seeing Him, “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:20). Eight days later, at His circumcision in Jerusalem, the aged prophet Simeon “blessed God, and said . . . mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:28,30–32). The prophetess Anna “gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

Finally, perhaps two years later, Gentile wise men, after a long journey from the east,“fell down and worshipped Him” (Matthew 2:11). Humble Jewish shepherds and great Gentile scholars joined with priest and prophet and three godly women to praise the Lord for the gift of His Son and to worship Him. Can we do any less? HMM

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Searching For God (#19950104)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

These are days when few people seem satisfied. Everyone seems to be searching for something—for riches, power, health, adventure, fame, peace, conquests, escape. Shamefully, even few Christians seem to realize that the permanent fulfillment or redirection of such desires can only be found in the Lord, the one who created them and designed them to operate in a particular, satisfying way.

While it is true that in an ultimate sense “there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11) for salvation outside of the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Christian, and indeed the entire human race, is enjoined again and again to seek God. Note the following passages of encouragement.

“If from thence [i.e., captivity due to disobedience] thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). “If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever” (I Chronicles 28:9). “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee” (Psalm 63:1). “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17). “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

As in our text, our search should be for God and His characteristics. All of man’s desires will either be fulfilled or reoriented as we find Him, and according to the several verses quoted, we will find Him if we truly seek Him. JDM

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Proverb's Promises (#19950105)
by Connie J. Horn

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

The above verse has often been quoted as a proof text for the necessity of salvation as a prerequisite to true knowledge, and rightly so. But how does one arrive at this “fear of the LORD”? The purpose of Proverbs is stated thus: “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:2–4).

Early in its chapters the foundation for its promise of wisdom is laid: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words” (2:1), “incline thine ear” (2:2); “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding” (2:3); “If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasurers” (2:4); and “Hide my commandments with thee” (2:1).

When these requirements are met—reading the word, listening to its precepts, praying for wisdom, diligent study, memorization, and meditation—“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (2:5), and “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (9:10).

Thus on this sure foundation are built the promises of Proverbs. “He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly” (2:7); “He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints” (2:. Discretion shall preserve thee (2:11); understanding shall keep thee (2:11); we are delivered from the way of the evil man (2:12). We will walk in the . . . way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous (2:20). “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep [guard] my commandments: For length of days [this is actually a reference to eternal life. Note Psalm 23:6—‘I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever’], and long life, and peace shall they add to thee” (Proverbs 3:1,2). CJH