A Daily Devotional

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Jeremiah and Inspiration


"Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:9).

Contained within the books of the Old Testament are nearly three thousand claims to its precise trustworthiness. Over and over again, the various authors claim to be communicating the very words of God.

A number of such claims were recorded by Jeremiah in his book. As we see in our text, Jeremiah was somewhat discouraged with the lack of response to his ministry. But, just as he decided to refrain from passing on God's Word to the people, he felt an inner burning, recognizing that these words were much too important to ignore. These words had come from God Himself!

On other occasions, he heard the words of God directly, and was commanded to pass them on with precision. "Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not [literally `to shave,' or `to lessen in effect'] a word" (Jeremiah 26:2). This straightforward teaching of verbal inspiration is applied to the written accounts, as well: "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book" (Jeremiah 30:1-2).

This book, which throughout contains such strong condemnation of falsehood, and which was written over a period of more than two thousand years by numerous authors, yet, without any contradiction between these writers, surely is the Word of the eternal, Holy God. It is the information our Creator knows we need.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Lord Jehovah


"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation" (Isaiah 12:2).

The English name, usually written Lord in the English Bibles, stems from the Hebrew word, Yahweh, the meaning of which cannot be fully put into words. Although scholars differ (some even claiming there is no real meaning to the word at all), the consensus is that it seems to be a compound of the three tenses of the Hebrew verb "to be," implying the ever living nature of God to which Christ was referring when He said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:. Note also the similar implications in God's announcement of Himself to Moses: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14).

On forty-nine special occasions (seven times seven) the name Jehovah is contracted to Jah. Many consider this to be an abbreviation of Jehovah, but no satisfactory explanation as to why it is so used has been offered. Perhaps a better suggestion is that this name is the present tense of the verb "to be," and therefore the name Jah emphasizes the present activity of the Lord. In nearly all occurrences, the passages are strengthened by noting the present work of God. The first usage of the term Jah is found in Miriam's Song upon deliverance from Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation" (Exodus 15:2).

On several occasions, such as in our text, we see that the two names are combined, celebrating both the present and future deliveries of "Jah Jehovah." "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4).

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Sealed by the Holy Spirit


"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).

From very ancient times it has been the custom to confirm and guarantee an agreed-on purchase by sealing the contract with a seal which could only be broken by the buyer when he was ready to take possession of his purchase.

The marvelous transaction seen by John at God's throne in heaven was in reference to this practice. There, only the Lamb is found worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll on which is recorded the title to the whole creation. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the , and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" (Revelation 5:9). The purchase price had been paid on Calvary, and the resurrected Lamb had come to claim His possession.

And we are part of that possession! The price has been paid for our redemption from sin's bondage, but we have not yet entered on the inheritance which our great Redeemer has promised us. In the meantime, our individual title deed, as it were, has been sealed by none other than the Holy Spirit. He is not only the seal, but also the "earnest" -- that is, the down payment, the earnest money -- who guarantees the total "redemption of the purchased possession."

His personal presence in our lives is our assurance that the full promise will be fulfilled, and we are urged to "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). He "hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (II Cor-inthians 1:22).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Face of Jesus Christ


"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor-inthians 4:6).

The light that shines in the soul of a lost sinner when he first comes to know Jesus Christ can only be compared to the light that Christ called forth on Day One of Creation Week. We met this God of glory spiritually when we first beheld in our hearts the face of Jesus Christ.

But the face of Jesus Christ was not always deemed so glorious. We read of a time when ungodly men "did spit in His face" (Matthew 26:67), then took a blindfold "to cover His face" (Mark 14:65) and finally, with a rain of terrible blows "struck Him on the face" (Luke 22:64). Once His "countenance as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars" (Song of Solomon 5:15), but when they finished their assault, "His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14).

"The face of the Lord is against them that do evil"
(I Peter 3:12), however, and the time is coming very soon when all those who have turned their faces from Him will call "to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:16). When finally they will have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in all its consuming strength, not even the world itself could stand, "from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away" (Revelation 20:11).

For those who have looked on Him in faith, however, this will not be a time of judgment, but blessing, for "they shall see His face" (Revelation 22:4). The face of Jesus Christ, fierce as devouring fire to those He must judge, is glorious in beauty and love to those who believe.

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Offering Willingly


"Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy" (I Chronicles 29:9).

As the people brought gifts for the construction of the temple in Jerusalem, it is mentioned no less than six times in this chapter that their offerings were willing offerings (once in verses 6 and 14, twice each in verses 9 and 17). In fact, they were not only willing, but also joyful in their giving.

Joyful giving is not the usual response to a fundraising effort for a religious cause. The great proliferation of causes today -- not only for churches but for multi-church or para-church projects, usually associated with high-pressure solicitations by professional money-raisers, has developed a growing cynicism in Christians toward all such appeals.

That is not the way it should be, "for God loveth a cheerful giver" (II Corinthians 9:7). The churches of Macedonia, though going through "a great trial of affliction" and in "deep poverty" nevertheless "abounded unto the riches of their liberality" and they did so in "the abundance of their joy"
(II Corinthians 8:2). What made the difference was that they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (II Corinthians 8:5).

No doubt another vital factor leading to the joyful offerings of the people for the building of the temple was the example set by David's great personal joyful generosity followed by that of all the other leaders of Israel (I Chronicles 29:3-8). This encouraged the people also to give "with perfect heart" (see text verse). They had evidently, like the Philippians of Macedonia, also first given themselves to the Lord. David had led them by example, not coercion, reminding himself and his people as he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving that "all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee" (I Chronicles 29:14).

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Our Rock of Salvation


"He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Here in the song of Moses, which God instructed him to write for the children of Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land (note Deuteronomy 31:19), is the first of at least 40 references in the Bible to God as the Rock. There are four others just in this song. In verse 15, He is the "Rock of [Israel's] salvation." In verse 18, He is "the Rock that begat thee." See also verses 30 and 31.

Note some of the other wonderful metaphors picturing God as our great foundation stone. He is "my strong rock" in Psalm 31:2, and "the rock that is higher than I" in Psalm 61:2. In Psalm 62:7, He is "the rock of my strength" and "the rock of my refuge" in Psalm 94:22. The prophet Isaiah calls Him "a great rock in a weary land" and "the rock whence ye are hewn" (Isaiah 32:2; 51:1).

During the wilderness wanderings, the Israelites were supplied continually with water from the rock, and the apostle Paul tells us "that spiritual Rock that followed them . . . was Christ" (I Corinthians 10:4). And, of course, Christ told His disciples that Peter's confession of Himself as the "Son of the living God" was the Rock upon which He would build His church (Matthew 16:16,18).

But to unbelievers He is "The stone which the builders rejected" (Matthew 21:42), "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word" (I Peter 2:. "Therefore," said Jesus, "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24-25).

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Preaching the Resurrection


"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33).

There are multitudes today who believe that Christ's resurrection was a "spiritual" resurrection, insisting that the idea of a dead body returning to life after three days in the grave is completely unscientific and impossible.

This was not what the apostles preached with great grace and great power, however. They would hardly have been excited about any kind of spiritual resurrection, since everyone -- both Jews and the pagan Gentiles -- believed in life after death. If that was their message, no one would have doubted, and no one would have cared. Even when the disciples saw the resurrected Christ, they first "supposed that they had seen a spirit" (Luke 24:37). Christ even had to urge them to "handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39).

When the disciples finally became convinced of His bodily resurrection, they were quickly transformed into courageous evangelists, willing even to die in support of their glorious message of salvation. The resurrection was, indeed, contrary to scientific law and all human experience, and this very fact proved to them that their Lord was Himself the divine lawgiver and Author of all human experience. All other founders and leaders of human religions, ancient or modern, are themselves subject to death, but He alone has triumphed over death. Only the Creator of life can conquer death, and the resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is Creator, as well as Savior.

Therefore, when we today, like the apostles of old, proclaim the resurrection of Christ, we know that His name is above every name, and this enables us also to witness with great power, in great grace.

[Soldier4Christ]

Christian Metaphors


 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).

The Christian believer and his characteristics are described in terms of many colorful metaphors in the Bible. In our text, Christ calls us "my sheep," and has also said: "I am the good shepherd, . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). If we are truly His sheep, then we will surely follow Him, receiving safety, peace, and nourishment.

He has also said: "Ye are the salt of the earth: . . . Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). We are therefore expected to bring the salt of preservation and joy to a bland, tasteless, and otherwise decaying world, and the light of salvation to a dark, sinful world.

In another beautiful metaphor, the Lord Jesus has likened us to fruitful branches: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15:5).

The apostle Paul compares us variously to soldiers, to athletes, and to farmers: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. . . . if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits" (II Timothy 2:3,5,6).

With regard to our Christian life and witness, Christ said we must be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). The apostle Paul compares us to individual members in a great body (I Corinthians 12:27). Peter says we, "as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house," and also are like "a royal priesthood" (I Peter 2:5,9) to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

There are many other beautiful and meaningful figures of speech in the New Testament, all of which help us to appreciate the richness and fruitfulness of the Christian life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Multitudes in Hell


 "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword" (Ezekiel 32:21).

The subject of hell is largely ignored today, even by evangelical teachers and pastors. This is a tragic mistake because multitudes are there already, and multitudes living today will soon be there. It is good to preach the love of God, but God also commands us: "Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire" (Jude 23).

The Lord, through Ezekiel, has given us a graphic picture of those in earlier ages who are now in Hades, awaiting the final judgment. The great Pharaoh of Egypt, along with his countrymen, had practiced the Egyptian religion with all its complex concepts and rituals, but religion, in itself, will not keep one from hell. When Pharaoh died and had "gone down" to "hell" (actually, this word in the Old Testament is sheol, equivalent to the Greek, Hades, a great pit deep in the core of the earth), he found many there already from the centuries before him. Some specifically named (Ezekiel 32:22-30) are Asshur, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, and Zidon, each with their multitudes. Esau, Jacob's brother, was also there (same as Edom). These, significantly, come from all three original branches of Noah's family. All had come from a godly ancestor, but that did not save them. "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but . . . worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:21,25).

All of these individuals whose final end is explained in Scripture verifies the warning of Christ: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matthew 7:13). Only those who worship the true Creator, receiving Christ as personal Savior from sin, will be saved.

[Soldier4Christ]

Leviathan



"In that day the Lord with His sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).

There is a remarkable animal called a "leviathan," described in the direct words of God in chapter 41 of Job. It is surprising that most modern expositors call this animal merely a crocodile. Our text plainly calls it a "piercing serpent . . . the dragon that is in the sea." He is also said to "play" in the "great and wide sea" (Psalm 104:25-26). God's description in Job 41 says "a flame goeth out of his mouth" (v.21), and "he maketh the deep to boil like a pot" (v.31). The entire description is awesome! Whatever a leviathan might have been, it was not a crocodile!

In fact, there is no animal living today which fits the description. Therefore, it is an extinct animal, almost certainly a great marine reptile with "terrible teeth" and "scales" (vv.14-15) still surviving in the oceans of Job's day, evidently one of the fearsome reptiles that gave rise to the worldwide tales of great sea dragons, before they became extinct.

But that is not all. In ending His discourse, God called leviathan "a king over all the children of pride" (Job 41:34), so the animal is also symbolic of Satan, whose challenge to God instigated Job's strange trials. He is "the great dragon . . . that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). Perhaps, therefore, the mysterious and notorious extinction of the dinosaurs is a secular prophecy of the coming Day of Judgment, when God "shall punish leviathan" (Isaiah 27:1), and the "devil that deceived them" will be "cast into the lake of fire . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

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What the Creator Requires

"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?" (Deuteronomy 10:12).

In the final weeks before his death, Moses gathered the people of Israel together for a final look back at God's miraculous provision for the nation and a restatement of the Law. He repeated the Ten Commandments and reminded them of their supernatural origin (chapter 5). He charged them to remember the Law and to pass it on to their children, for God Himself had entrusted it to them (chapter 6). He insisted that they utterly destroy the enemies of God in the land, for their holy and special status as the people of God would be in jeopardy if they didn't (chapter 7). The longest section of the speech consisted of a command to remember their unique history: how God had supernaturally intervened for them on so many occasions (8:1-10:11).

Finally, Moses brought them to a time of commitment, charging them, in our text, to fear, obey, love, and serve the "Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Even the commandments were "for their good" (v.13); they were not merely petty or malicious. In fact, throughout the lengthy lecture, Moses had several times adjured the people to love their Lord with their entire being (see vv. 6:5; 7:9; 10:20; 11:1,13,22).

And why not? "Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is" (10:14). The God who placed His sovereign mark on Israel (v.15) deserved their total devotion, obedience, and service.

Does not the Creator God, who has done so much more for us than He had done even for Israel, deserve our total devotion, obedience, and service?

[Soldier4Christ]

God's Tear Bottle



"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:.

This is a remarkable insight into the tender heart of our heavenly Father. He has a tear bottle -- in fact, perhaps a tear bottle for each of His wandering children.

Ancient "tear bottles" (or wineskins) have actually been excavated by archaeologists in Israel. These vessels were used to catch and preserve the owner's tears during times of grief or extreme pressure. This psalm was actually written by David when he was being pursued by Saul on one side and surrounded by Philistines in the city of Goliath on the other. David apparently not only had his own tear bottle, but also believed that God somehow was also storing up David's personal tears in His own heavenly bottle of tears.

There is a touching story in the earthly ministry of Jesus that provides another example: "Behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, . . . and anointed them with the ointment" (Luke 7:37-38).

The ointment was obviously not the same as the tears, but followed the washing by tears. Some scholars think these tears came from her bottle, which was emptied on His feet and used to wash them. Others think that those tear bottles that have been found actually contained the collected tears of mourners at a burial site.

In any case, God does know all our wanderings and sorrows and all our tears, and stores them up somewhere. Perhaps it is also a metaphor for His "book of remembrance," which is being "written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name" (Malachi 3:16).

[Soldier4Christ]

Origin of the Races



 "These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood" (Genesis 10:32).

This is the concluding verse of the tenth chapter of Genesis, known as "The Table of Nations." It tells us that all the original nations of the world were formed from the descendants of Noah. The basis of this worldwide division was their dispersion at Babel (Genesis 11:9), "every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations" (Genesis 10:5; see also 10:20 and 10:31). Lest anyone think this list of original nations is simply folklore, he should remember that William F. Albright, probably the greatest archaeologist of the twentieth century, called it "an astonishingly accurate document." Many ethnologists still speak of Japhetic, Hamitic, and Semitic peoples and languages.

But what about the origin of races? One searches the Bible in vain for this information, for neither the word nor the concept of "race" appears in the Bible at all! There is no such thing as a race--except the human race! Skin color and other supposed racial characteristics are mere recombinations of innate genetic factors, originally created in Adam and Eve to permit development of different family characteristics as the human race was commanded to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1).

"Race" is strictly an evolutionary concept used by Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel, and the other nineteenth-century evolutionists to rationalize their white racism. But from the beginning it was not so! "God that made the world and all things therein; . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:24,26). "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?" (Malachi 2:10).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Ages To Come



“That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

People may ridicule Christians for believing in “pie in the sky bye and bye,” but the sober truth is that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Why should we get enamored with the philosophies and projects of this present world, when the Scriptures tell us that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and that both the wisdom and “the princes of this world” are going to “come to nought” (I Corinthians 3:19; 2:6).

Anyway, should we not “lay up for (our)selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20), instead of foolishly “supposing that gain is godliness” (I Timothy 6:5). Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world” (Galations 1:4), not to make us more comfortable living in it. In fact, “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life . . . passeth away: . . . but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:16,17).

God has not promised us pie in the sky, but He has promised to show us “the exceeding riches of His grace.” He has assured us that there will be “glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” (Ephesians 3:21). “And 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).

Therefore, like Moses, we choose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season,” for we have “respect unto the recompense of the reward” (Hebrews 11:25,26).

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Labor And Profit

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

One of the inequities of human life seems to be that there is no dependable relationship between the diligence with which one labors and the reward he receives for that labor. Some men may work hard all their lives, yet live in poverty; the “idle rich,” on the other hand, may inherit their wealth.

The trouble is that perfect equity can never be achieved in such matters while man’s entire dominion is in bondage to sin and death, under God’s curse (Genesis 3:17–20). As long as one’s goals and motives in working are only “under the sun,” there is bound to be “vanity and vexation of spirit,” no matter what his current economic and social status may be. The accounts are not to be settled in the fallible ledgers kept here on earth, but in God’s books.

“Labor not for the meat which perisheth,” said the Lord, “but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (John 6:27). To bondslaves, Paul said, “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23,24).

It is important to remember that, when all accounts are settled at His judgment seat, the “profit” we receive is not based on quantity, but quality, of services rendered. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it . . . and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (I Corinthians 3:13).

Not “how much,” but “what sort!” There is little profit under the sun, but, if we are “abounding in the work of the Lord . . . (our) labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).