A Daily Devotional

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In The Night (#19951031)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“Thou hast visited me in the night.” (Psalm 17:3).

Whenever one cannot sleep, because of pain, illness, or distress, night hours are the loneliest and hardest to bear. Darkness closes in and time seems to stand still. At that point we all become like the mariners on the soon-to-be ship-wrecked vessel who “wished for the day” (Acts 27:29).

Believers can use these night seasons to advantage if they realize that the Lord is with them. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5); “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139:12). We should look for the Lord’s comfort, grace and strength as He visits us in the night. Much can be accomplished through personal prayer and fellowship with the Lord. Many do their best praying in the quietness of the night.

Unbelievers have much to fear about God visiting them in the night. Judas, “then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night” (John 13:30). He went out into a spiritual night that never ended. The five foolish virgins were unprepared at midnight when the bridegroom came and were shut out (Matthew 25:1–12). God said to the rich fool, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:20). The Bible speaks of “outer darkness” where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30), and “the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 13).

Depending on our spiritual condition, the Lord’s visitation in the night can be either bitter or sweet! Receiving Christ as Savior is the only safeguard from eternal darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). NPS

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The Mighty Hand Of God (#19951101)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever” (Joshua 4:24).

The testimony of Joshua to the children of Israel as they entered the promised land reminded them of the tremendous strength in the mighty hand of God, whom they should fear and trust forever. This is only one of about 20 references in the Scriptures to God’s mighty hand. Moses had often recalled how “the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:.

The first reference to God’s mighty hand is in Jacob’s dying prophecy concerning Joseph. “His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24).

Like those of Joseph, our hands also can be strong when they are placed in the mighty hands of God. Some may note that this is only a figure of speech, for God is Spirit and has no physical hands. Yes, but “He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9). God indeed is God of the mighty hand!

The final reference to God’s mighty hand and the only specific reference in the New Testament is in the Apostle Peter’s exhortation to humility. “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:5,6). Our human might is only a vapor but “in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4).

Jesus said, concerning His followers: “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). HMM

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The Indwelling Christ (#19951102)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And they glorified God in me” (Galatians 1:24).

One of the greatest doctrines of the Christian faith is the amazing truth that the Lord Jesus Christ indwells each believer, through His Holy Spirit. “Christ liveth in me,” said the Apostle Paul (Galatians 2:20) and, since that was true experientially as well as doctrinally, he could invite people to see Christ and hear Christ and follow Christ by seeing and hearing and following him. This might seem incredibly arrogant if it were not real.

He could say, for example, that “it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, To reveal His Son in me” (Galatians 1:15,16). And he could say, as in our text, that those who heard him “glorified God in me.” He also commanded: “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

The Lord could say to His disciples: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), and no one thinks it inappropriate, because He fully manifested the heavenly Father in word and deed. Similarly, Paul said that “the truth of Christ is in me” and referred to “Christ speaking in me” (II Corinthians 11:10; 13:3), noting that Christ was “mighty in me toward the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:.

This was not boasting, for Paul acknowledged that “in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18). Still, he was bold to exhort: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).

Now the same Spirit of Christ who dwelled in Paul also indwells all true Christians, for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9). We should be able to say with Paul, in practice as well as theory, that “Christ liveth in me.” HMM

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Emblems Of The Holy Spirit (#19951103)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him” (Matthew 3:16).

There are several beautiful symbols of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. The first is that of the dove, here mentioned in the very first New Testament reference to the Spirit. It was the dove, of course, that first assured Noah that the earth had risen out of the death waters of the great Flood, just as Christ now rose up out of the baptismal waters to receive the dove-like Spirit.

The water itself is also an emblem of the Spirit in its cleansing efficacy and life-sustaining virtue. Jesus said: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This could also be translated “born of water, even the Spirit.” When He promised “rivers of living water” to those who believed on Him, “this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive” (John 7:38,39).

Then, there is the wind—sometimes a gentle breeze, sometimes a mighty hurricane—and this also symbolizes the Holy Spirit. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:.

John the Baptist said: “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh. . . . He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit is God; “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). The Spirit of God is a gentle dove and living water; He is the blowing wind, and a consuming fire; He is our “Comforter” (John 14:26), “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17), and “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2). HMM

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He Gave Himself (#19951104)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).

There can never be a greater gift than this. Our Lord Jesus Christ not only has given us forgiveness and salvation and all spiritual blessings, He gave Himself! The pure, glorious Son of God gave Himself, substituting Himself in our place to suffer the righteous judgment of God on our sins.

Six times this wonderful affirmation is found in God’s word. The first is in our text, assuring us that, when He gave Himself, He paid the price to deliver us from this present evil world into the eternal world to come.

Then, in the next occurrence, this promise is made intensely personal. Christ “loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The gift Christ gave is more than the world could ever give.

The supremely sacrificial nature of His gift is then emphasized. “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). The sacrifice has brought us to Himself, for “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; . . . That He might present it to Himself a glorious church” (Ephesians 5:25,27).

The offering was sufficient to pay for the redemption of all sin, as He “gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:6). This ransom is not merely to redeem us from the penalty of sin at the judgment, however, but also from the power of sin in our lives, and this is the testimony of the final occurrence of this great declaration. Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). HMM

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Jesus Sees And Cares (#19951105)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19).

What the Father sees, the Son sees, and what the Father does, the Son does, for “I and My Father are one,” said the Lord Jesus (John 10:30). God sees everything, of course, for “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3), but it is noteworthy that there are just seven occasions where John’s gospel stresses specifically that Jesus saw a particular event and then took special action to do something about it.

At Jesus’ baptism, two seekers followed Him and “Jesus turned, and saw them following” (John 1:38). He invited them to come and they followed Him from that day on. Nathanael, a devout Jew, also followed Him when Jesus said: “When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee” (v.48).

There was an incurable cripple at a pool and “when Jesus saw him lie,” He said: “Rise, . . . and immediately the man was made whole” (5:8,9). There was a hungry multitude: “Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him,” and He prayed, and soon “they were filled” (6:5,12).

Next, Jesus “saw a man which was blind from his birth,” and soon the once-sightless man could testify, “whereas I was blind, now I see” (9:1,25). Not only the lame and blind, but also the grieving came to His attention. When Mary’s brother Lazarus died, Jesus “saw her weeping.” Then “Jesus wept” and soon “he that was dead came forth” (11:33,35,44). Finally, even while Christ was dying on the cross, He “saw His mother” and provided for her care (19:26).

Jesus sees those who hurt, or grieve, or hunger, and He cares. For, after all, He is our Father. HMM

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The "i Will's" Of (#19951106)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:41).

When the Lord Jesus makes a promise, that promise is sure to be fulfilled. When He made the above promise to the leper, “immediately the leprosy departed from him” (Mark 1:42). The promise may not always be carried out as rapidly as this, but it will come.

Look at some of the wonderful “I will”s of Christ. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) is His promise to all His true disciples (that is, those who follow Him). But first they must come to Him, and to those who come He promises: “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

Another gracious promise to all who come: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He also promises special love to those who obey Him. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, . . . shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).

There is a tremendous promise in John 14:13: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” He even emphasized it in the next verse: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

He has also promised to come back again, and we can be certain He will do as He said: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). But probably the greatest of all His promises was given in His intercessory prayer. “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory” (John 17:24). HMM

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The Sin Of Sodom (#19951107)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous” (Genesis 18:20).

These are strange times when men “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). This has never been more obvious than in the sudden respectability of the ancient sin of the Sodomites, whose very name has been identified for thousands of years with the vice of homosexuality. Although human attitudes may change, God does not change, and His evaluation of sin remains the same. “With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

We do well, therefore, to remind people today of what God has said about the sin of Sodom. Not only was it “great” and “grievous,” as God said to Abraham, but also “wicked” and “exceeding” (Genesis 13:13), as well as “iniquitous” (Genesis 19:15). It was later called “bitter” (Deuteronomy 32:32), “flagrant” (Isaiah 3:9), and “horrible” (Jeremiah 23:14). In the New Testament period it was still called by Peter “ungodly,” “filthy,” and “unlawful” (II Peter 2:6–8).

Paul called the same sin “unclean,” “vile,” and “unseemly” (Romans 1:24,26,27), and those who practice it are called “dogs” in both Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 23:17,18; Revelation 22:15).

Nevertheless we, like God, must love the sinner while hating the sin. Like any other sin, this can be forgiven and cleansed, and conquered by the grace of God. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:9–11). HMM

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Smiting The Rock (#19951108)
by Paul G. Humber, M.S.

“And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head” (Matthew 27:30).

Mockers clothed the Lord Jesus in scarlet and put a crown of thorns on Him. A reed was used to smite Him on the head. Creator Christ was bearing the curse to set rebellious creatures free. The thorns remind us of the curse, but the reed points to a less familiar portion of Scripture.

The people of Israel had been thirsting in the wilderness and demanded water from Moses. Moses, afraid for his life, prayed to the Lord (cf. Exodus 17:1–4). The Israelite leader, instructed to go “before the people” and to take with him “the elders of Israel,” also was to carry the rod of judgment previously used to smite the Nile (Exodus 17:5).

Symbolically on trial, the Lord stood “upon the rock” (v.6), and Moses was instructed to “smite the rock” that water might come out and provide drink for the thirsting people (v.6). Paul tells us that the “Rock was Christ” (I Corinthians 10:4). The image of a rod coming down upon the Lord previews the smiting and the crucifixion that followed.

Bearing punishment at least symbolically in the wilderness hundreds of years prior, Jehovah Jesus bore the reed in the flesh, just after having been “scourged” (Matthew 27:26). More than mere water came out from Him while hanging on a cross, however. The people in the wilderness thirsted again, but a “well of water, springing up into everlasting life” flowed from Calvary (cf. John 4:14).

Mockers and grumblers all, we are unworthy of such love. Our natural response to mocking and injustice is to return in like kind, but the Lord restrained His power and bore our sin. He returned good for evil, love for hate. His tenderness and patience extend to the present moment. Yes, He will return to judge the world. In the meantime, may we bow in humble adoration and worship Him for all eternity. PGH

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Jesus In The Book Of Hebrews (#19951109)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession” (Hebrews 4:14).

The name “Jesus” seldom appears by itself in the New Testament epistles, nearly always being joined with “Christ” or “Lord” or both. The book of Hebrews is an exception, however, because here “Jesus” occurs alone eight times and only five times in combination. Evidently the Hebrew Christians to whom the epistle was written needed a better appreciation of just who the man Jesus really was. More than merely a great teacher, more even than their long-awaited Messiah, He was Jesus the Son of God, He was “even Jesus, made an high priest for ever” (Hebrews 6:20).

Furthermore, “we see Jesus, who was made a little lower then the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). Also “was Jesus made a surety of a better testament” (Hebrews 7:22). Therefore, we may have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). Thus Jesus is our sacrifice, our surety, and our way to God, as well as eternal high priest and only Son of God. We can look “unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He is also our mediator and sanctifier of our souls. We have “come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God. . . . And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 12:22–24). Lastly, our chief incentive to a life dedicated to Christ is that “Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Hebrews 13:12–14). HMM

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The Eternal Word (#19951110)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:.

A New Testament equivalent of our text reads, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Mark 13:31). The concept expressed within is found in many Scriptural passages. This oft-repeated theme bears our attention. In our text and the two prior verses, Isaiah sets up a stark contrast between the temporal nature of all of creation, including mankind, and the unfailing, incorruptible word of God. “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass” (Isaiah 40:6,7).

Just before quoting Isaiah 40:6–8, Peter writes: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (I Peter 1:23). This incorruptible seed produces “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4).

Men and women today tend to have a high view of themselves, their worth, and their accomplishments. And in some respects, just as the beautiful flower is the crowning glory of the plant kingdom, human achievements are not necessarily insignificant. But no matter what their human quality, all are transitory. Any brief expression of “goodness” will quickly fade and be forgotten, especially on the scale of eternity.

How much more important to concern ourselves with that which is eternal, not subject to decay or defilement—“the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” As Paul, may we be “holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain” (Philippians 2:16). JDM

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Faith In All The Ages (#19951111)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets” (Hebrews 11:32).

Hebrews 11 is a thrilling catalog of the faithful servants of God in all the ancient ages. There were Abel, Enoch, and Noah before the Flood; then Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in the patriarchal age, followed by Moses, Joshua, and Rahab in the time of the exodus and conquest. Finally, our text above summarizes the periods of the judges (Gedeon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah), and the kings (Samuel, David), and the prophets.

All these were men and women of great faith, though each had to endure great testings. They, as the writer says, “stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword . . . had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder . . . destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Hebrews 11:33–37).

In every age, men and women of faith were—more often than not—despised and persecuted by the world (even by the religious world!), but the Bible notes, parenthetically, that it was they “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). In God’s sight, they all “obtained a good report through faith” (Hebrews 11:39), and this is worth more than all the world, for it is the entrance into a far better and eternal world.

Note that faith is not a sentimental wishfulness, but a strong confidence in God and His word, through Jesus Christ, who is Himself “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Like those of past ages, we can also “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1), through the faith He offers us. HMM

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Even As Others (#19951112)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“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).

In the epistle to the Ephesians, there are seven significant similes with the two components of the comparison connected by the pungent phrase, “even as.” The first is our text, comparing our past life to that of the ungodly world around us. The second speaks of the unity of our calling in Christ. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4).

First a past life of sin, then called by the Spirit into the body of Christ and eternal hope. The next simile tells of the forgiveness received when we hear His calling and begin a transformed life. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

The last four all speak of the beautiful analogy of the love of husbands and wives to the love of Christ for His church.

“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23).

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:29).

“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love His wife even as himself” (Ephesians 5:33).

The wonderful experience of beginning and living a life in Christ exhausts all the resources and riches of human language, as illustrated by these seven beautiful similes. HMM

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Holy Conversation (#19951113)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (II Peter 3:11).

The picturesque phrase, “holy conversation,” occurs only twice in the New Testament—both in Peter’s epistles—one in his very first chapter, I Peter 1:15; the other in our text for the day. The other is, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” This distinctive King James rendering does not really mean “clean speech,” but assumes the older, more precise meaning of “conversation”—namely “behavior”—especially behavior which involves other people. The Greek word translated “holy” primarily implies “dedicated to God.” Thus, holy conversation simply means living in such a way that our entire manner of life is oriented to honor God and to influence other people to honor Him.

These two exhortations of Peter tell us why we should live this way. The first incentive is simply the holiness of God Himself: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16). We have become children of God through faith in Christ, and we should therefore behave “as obedient children, not fashioning [ourselves] according to the former lusts in [our] ignorance” (I Peter 1:14).

The second incentive given just before the words of our text is the ever-imminent return of Christ, following which, eventually, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (II Peter 3:10). Incentives, both past and future, are thus given for holy living in the present!

Eight of the thirteen occurrences of “conversation” (Greek, anastrophe) are in Peter’s epistles, stressing his vital concern that Christians ought to demonstrate “all holy conversation and godliness” in their lives. HMM

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Born Again By The Word Of (#19951114)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (I Peter 1:23).

Our rebirth into the family of God is quite unlike our natural birth. All human birth and, indeed, due to the universal curse placed on all creation (Romans 8:20–22) at the time of Adam’s rebellion (Genesis 3), all plant (I Peter 1:24) and animal reproduction as well is “of corruptible seed,” withering and dying.

Our spirits, however, if we have availed ourselves of God’s free offer of eternal life through the death of His dear Son, have been reborn of “incorruptible” seed, not subject to decay or death. The agent which brought about this transformation is the incorruptible “word of the Lord [which] endureth for ever” (v.25).

This “word” is modified by two descriptives, both of which are emphatic in the Greek. First, it liveth; i.e., it actually possesses life. His sacrificial death yields our eternal life. Note the precious truth: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Secondly, the word of God abideth (same word as endureth in verse 25) forever. There are two emphases here: One is on the quality of the word; i.e., it will never change nor lose its relevance. The other is on the self-perpetuating nature of the word. It so consists of life that it is able to give life.

“This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (I Peter 1:25), by which we are born again to incorruptibility and immortality. “That by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (II Peter 1:4). JDM