A Daily Devotional

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Fallow Ground

"For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns" (Jeremiah 4:3).

Fallow ground is ground that has been plowed and readied for sowing, but then is withheld and allowed to lie useless and unproductive. God, through His prophet, had to rebuke His people, not only because they had left their prepared ground unused, but because they were actually sowing their seed on thorn-choked ground. That is, they were turning to idols and forsaking God.

The word "fallow" occurs one other time in the Bible and to the same effect: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12). It is poor stewardship and a bad testimony, at best, for the people of God to ignore His righteousness and fail to cultivate His grace in their lives, choosing instead the philosophies and pleasures of the ungodly world around them.

Now, if the ancient Israelites had much unfruitful fallow ground in their lives, many modern Christians are still more blameworthy, for we have far greater opportunities and privileges than the people of ancient Israel.

Most of all, we have the complete Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit, yet our lives are even more cluttered with the thorny ground of worldliness and paganism than theirs. We urgently need to break up our fallow ground, to sow righteousness, and reap mercy.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8).

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Prepare to Meet Thy God

"Because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12).

In this fourth chapter of his book, Amos, the shepherd of Tekoa, lays out an awful indictment. In verses 2-3 he had prophesied of impending military failure before Israel's enemies and of future captivity: "the days shall come upon you, that He |God| will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks." In the fourth and fifth verses Amos sarcastically invites them to offer polluted sacrifices in their sacred cities: "Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression. . . ." Gilgal was the first campground upon entering the Promised Land, where the Passover was celebrated. Bethel was Israel's religious center, where their king Jeroboam had erected an idolatrous altar. These references highlighted their spiritual failure.

But Amos also reminded his contemporaries that God had tried to warn them by famine and hunger (v.6); drought and unpredictable natural disaster (vv.7-8); pest and crop disease (v.9); disease and death (vv.10-11).

The refrain comes back after each of these verses "yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." The conclusion of this indictment comes in our text verse. God will bring these people face to face to give an account: "Prepare to meet thy God."

Even so, many people today prepare for business appointments, family holiday reunions, and social engagements of every sort. Yet they are woefully unprepared to meet their God. No command could be more appropriate or timely: "Prepare to meet thy God." Why should we invest our energy preparing for mere physical encounters when the God that "formeth the mountains" and "declareth unto man what is His thought" (v.13) is soon to call us before Him?

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Our Living Lord

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19).

We who believe on Christ have the promise of everlasting life because He lives, and we see Him by faith. Christ Himself is "our life" (Colossians 3:4), in fact.

He is the very sustainer of our life. He is both the "living water" (John 4:10) which is "springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14), and "the living bread which came down from heaven"; such wonderful bread "that a man may eat thereof, and not die" (John 6:50-51).

Not only does Christ give us His living bread and living water, but also He provides Himself as the living way to God. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh" (Hebrews 10:19-20).

He is also the solid foundation on which we build our lives, and that very foundation is vibrant with life. "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house" (I Peter 2:4-5). Our spiritual lives are built on a living stone, nourished on living bread and living water while entering by a living way into the presence of the living God!

He "hath begotten us again unto a lively hope |same as `living hope'| by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Peter 1:3-4). "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). All this is ours through our loving, living Lord!

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Judgment in the New Testament

"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (II Thessalonians 1:8-9).

Many critics have decried what they contend is the Bible's inconsistency. The Old Testament is a harsh indictment of human sin and warning of coming divine judgment, they say, whereas the New Testament stresses God's grace and love.

The fact is, however, that the Old Testament contains numerous testimonies of the love and merciful loving-kindness of God (e.g., Psalm 103). Similarly, the most striking and fearsome warnings and prophecies of judgment to come are found in the New Testament. The above text for the day is an example, with its revelation of the coming eternal separation from God of all who reject Christ and His saving gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself uttered more warnings of future hell than anyone else recorded in either Testament. He said, for example, that those "On the left hand" will be commanded to "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Jude spoke of ungodly men "to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 13).

And, of course, the very last book of the New Testament, written by John, the disciple who stressed God's love more than any other writer, focuses especially and in detail on the coming period of God's judgment on a rebellious world. The climax of these warnings is Revelation 20:15: "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." God's grace and full forgiveness are free to all who receive Christ, but certain judgment will come to all who refuse.

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Born of God

"If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him" (I John 2:29).

This is the first of seven occurrences of the phrase "born of God," or "born of Him," in the little epistle of First John. If anyone wishes to know how to recognize one who has truly been "born again," these seven descriptors are available for that purpose.

The first such test, in our text, is that such a person is one "that doeth righteousness." The second and third are found in I John 3:9. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." That is, he will not practice sin because God's own nature has been implanted in him.

Another evidence is genuine love. "Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God" (I John 4:7). Still another is genuine faith in Christ, which in turn produces genuine love. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him" (I John 5:1).

Those who are truly born again will not be permanently defeated by the world. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:4-5).

Finally, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (I John 5:18).

The term "born again" is being used very loosely these days, and we need to realize that true regeneration is a permanent, life-transforming miracle accomplished by God Himself in a believer's life.

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Creation and United Prayer

"And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is" (Acts 4:24).

When Christians can unite in acknowledging God as true omnipotent Creator (as did the early disciples), then they can pray in confidence, in spite of all the "threatenings" of those who are "gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ" (Acts 4:26,29). The God who called the infinite cosmos into existence with all its creatures can easily handle those who would seek to thwart His will.

But Christians do not speak with one accord today, even on this most basic of all truths, the fact of creation. Instead, many choose to dissemble and equivocate and compromise, inventing such self-contradictory concepts as theistic evolution, progressive creation, process creation, and such like, wistfully seeking approval from those who deny that the God of the Bible created all things and thereby doing great harm to the faith of many. Like the men-pleasers of old who "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43), they seek academic approval rather than Biblical authority and scientific factuality. Being of one accord with the intellectual establishment carries more weight than unity with Christian brethren who believe the Bible means what it says.

Nevertheless, when the Christians in any given place do pray with one accord, united on the basic truth of special creation as the foundation of all other truth, then the results will be as it was for the disciples cited in our text. "And when they had prayed . . . they spake the word of God with boldness . . . and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:31,33). There can be no real Christian unity until there is one accord on the foundation of Christian unity.

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Liberty and the Word of God

"And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts" (Psalm 119:45).

July 4th is called Independence Day in the United States because on this date over 230 years ago the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the message went out to "proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10). Political and national liberties were mainly in view at the time, but these also included religious liberty, the most important freedom of all, for it involves the issue of everlasting life in heaven or in hell. Soon afterwards, for the first time in history, the principle of freedom of religion was incorporated into the nation's constitution via the Bill of Rights, and the entire nation has been uniquely blessed as a result all these years.

True liberty of religion, however, necessarily depends on free access to the Word of God, so that all citizens can learn the plan of God for His creation and their own personal lives. The Lord Jesus said: "If ye continue in my word, then . . . ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).

That is, true freedom results from continued study of the Scriptures and obedience to them. As long as one is a slave to his own desires, he cannot know true liberty. But God's Word promises that "sin shall not have dominion over you" (Romans 6:14), and Jesus said: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

The word "liberty" in our text verse conveys this idea of great enlargement of activity and understanding, greater liberty than one could ever know if he does not "seek thy precepts"! "Thy commandment," the psalmist testified, "is exceeding broad" (Psalm 119:96). We are greatly privileged in this nation, and we are responsible to use our liberty wisely and faithfully in obedience to the Word of God.

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Ask What Ye Will

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

The precious promise in this verse has been an inspiration to the faithful down through the centuries. It becomes even more amazing when attention is paid to the original Greek language in which it was written.

Abiding implies a close personal fellowship with someone; in this case, the personal, loving Lord Jesus: "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love" (v.9). Such an abiding on our part will be evidenced by obedience, love for Him, and for the brethren, and joy (vv.10-14). Our minds and hearts will be in total harmony with His, guided by such a walk and His words.

"Ye shall ask" does not carry the proper force in English. This is a command, in the imperative mode in Greek -- a challenge, if you will. He challenges us to "ask what ye will" (literally, "whatever ye desire") and see Him faithful. Desire speaks of something different than need, indeed it speaks of an "inclination." He is not afraid we will ask for selfish inclinations, for if we "abide" in Him, our desires are His desires, and we will naturally ask for those things which glorify Him. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" (v..

Notice the word "done," which in Greek stems from the word meaning "to come into existence." God will answer our unselfish prayers, even if He has to transcend natural law or even create something to do so. He even challenges us to "ask" without hesitation, as implied by the Greek construction.

If we meet the condition of "abiding" in Him, as a branch "abides" in the vine (vv.1-5), He will place in us the desire to bring forth much fruit (v.5) to His glory and to our everlasting delight.

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Christ Our Leader

"For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10).

The Lord never asks us to go anywhere that He has not gone before. He is the captain (literally, the "leader") of our salvation, and we only need follow our divine leader. The same word is used in Hebrews 12:2, where we are exhorted to be "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps" (I Peter 2:21). "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince |same word| and a Savior . . ." (Acts 5:31).

The same wonderful truth appears under various figures. He is our Shepherd, for instance, and He says: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28). He also illumines our path. "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). He guides us along the way by His indwelling Holy Spirit. "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. . . . and He will show you things to come" (John 16:13).

With such a dauntless leader, a perfect example, a loving Shepherd, a clear light, and an infallible guide, we are (or should be) happy to follow Him, even if the way sometimes seems steep and hard.

He is the goal and prize at the end of the journey. For Him, Paul said, "I have suffered the loss of all things . . . that I may win Christ . . . forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8,13-14).

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For Us

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:.

"Christian" liberals for many generations have scoffed at the Biblical doctrine that the death of Christ could serve as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. Like all other religions, their form of religion assumes that each person is responsible for his own salvation, which must somehow be earned by his own good deeds and religious observances. Some have a very rigid code of ethics, some talk of mental attitudes which ascend to higher planes through meditation, some emphasize only love, others simply feel that the good must somehow outweigh the bad. All rely on human abilities to gain salvation.

Nevertheless, the Bible clearly teaches that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) and, as our text emphasizes, "Christ died for us." This pungent phrase, "for us," appears repeatedly in the New Testament. Listen to this refrain:

"|God| spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32). "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (I Corinthians 5:7). "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2). "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). "Christ also suffered for us" (I Peter 2:21). "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16).

Hereby we perceive His great love for us! He was delivered up for us, sacrificed for us, made a curse for us; He gave Himself for us, suffered for us, and laid down His life for us. We were helpless, lost in sin, altogether unable to pay for our sins, but "Christ died for our sins" (I Corinthians 15:3), and we are saved!

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Never Forsaken

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

The promise that God will never leave nor forsake His people occurs often in Scripture. It was given here through Moses to the children of Israel as they were preparing to enter the land promised long ago to Abraham. Two verses later, it was then repeated personally for Joshua, who was to be their leader in the coming battles.

Essentially the same promise had been made to Jacob as he began to assume his God-ordained role. "Behold, I am with thee," God had said, ". . . for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (Genesis 28:15). It was again repeated directly to Joshua by God. "As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Joshua 1:5).

David passed on the same promise to Solomon as he became responsible for the kingdom and for building the great temple. ". . . |God| will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord" (I Chronicles 28:20). "I the God of Israel will not forsake them" (Isaiah 41:17) was the Lord's promise still later to the faithful Israelites.

And we can rejoice today in this same wonderful promise. "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6). This remarkable verse has five negatives in the Greek, so that it could even be rendered literally as something like: "I will never, never leave thee, and never, never, never forsake thee." Surely this is one of the greatest of God's "exceeding great and precious promises" (II Peter 1:4).

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Take Heed

"And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you" (Mark 13:5).

In the account of Christ's great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives, as recorded in Mark chapter 13, the Lord Jesus warns us no less than four times to "take heed!" This fourfold admonition (Mark 13:5,9,23,33) must be important and demands our attention!

First of all, our text warns us not to be deceived by human claims of spiritual authority and prophetic insights, for there would come many deceptive teachers claiming to be the returning Christ. When Christ does return, all His saints will know beyond question, for they shall all "meet the Lord in the air" (I Thessalonians 4:17).

His second warning tells us to be prepared for persecutions (Mark 13:9), for "In the world ye shall have tribulation," and "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (John 16:33; II Timothy 3:12).

His third admonition warns of false christs and false prophets who will even "show signs and wonders" (Mark 13:22-23). Many will be deceived unless they remember that neither prophecies nor exorcisms nor other wonderful works suffice for acceptance by Christ, if those who perform them are "work|ers of| iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23).

The fourth "take heed" is a sober warning against trying to predict the time of His return. "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is" (Mark 13:33). Such a warning is pointless if certain prophesied events must take place first, for then there would be no need to watch for Him. In the same discourse, as reported by Luke, Jesus gave a final such warning, speaking of this very danger. "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged . . . with . . . cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares" (Luke 21:34).

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Created to Rule the Day

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also" (Genesis 1:16).

It seems that throughout history, mankind has ignored or distorted the purpose for which God created the sun. Many cultures have even worshiped the sun, teaching that the sun was the source of all being, even human life. Temples were built in its honor, human sacrifices were made to appease it, whole civilizations were dedicated to its worship.

The nation Israel, which had lived among sun-worshiping Egyptians for centuries, were warned not to "lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and . . . |see| the sun, and . . . be driven to worship" (Deuteronomy 4:19) under penalty of death, "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 4:24).

One of mankind's primary purposes is to worship God, but the sun was created by God for man's benefit. He is a God of grace and desires to "freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32).

The purpose of the sun is no mystery. Its Creator says that along with the moon and stars it is "to divide the day from the night . . . and . . . be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years . . . to give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:14-15).

There will come a time, however, when the sun will no longer be needed by God's people, for in our eternal home "there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light" (Revelation 22:5). "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23).

Best of all, we shall be with Him.

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The Voice of the Lord

"The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty" (Psalm 29:4).

This solemn phrase, "The voice of the Lord," occurs seven times in Psalm 29, centered especially on the awful judgment of the great Flood in the days of Noah. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters" (v.3). It occurs many other times in the Old Testament as well, with a wide variety of applications and circumstances.

The very first time it occurs, however (and this is also the first occurrence of "voice" in the Bible, indicating thereby that it is God's voice -- not man's -- which we must hear if we seek guidance for life), is in the Garden of Eden immediately after man brought sin into the world. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden. . . . And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:8-9). Mankind is lost and separated from God, but God calls unto each of us, as He did to Adam, and we desperately need to hear His voice if our lives are to be fulfilled and spiritually fruitful.

In contrast to this scene of alienation, the final occurrence of a "voice" in the Bible is a beautiful scene of reconciliation when God again speaks to lost mankind, this time in glorious restoration of that broken fellowship. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Revelation 21:3).

To hear His voice then, however, we must first hear His voice now, through His Word. Jesus said: "He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life. . . . the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:24-25).

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A Gift for the Lord

"And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Numbers 18:6).

God knew that the high priest, Aaron, and his two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, could not do the heavy work associated with the sacrificial system of the tabernacle alone. Thus He commanded Moses, "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him" (Numbers 3:6). The Levites were to be assistants, aiding Aaron in the service of the tabernacle. These individuals were beautifully described "as a gift for the Lord" (above text). They were called to serve, with their service being looked upon by God as a precious gift. Even though the calling of Aaron and the Levites differed in a number of ways, their unity of service brought glory to God.

Even so it is today. All believers belong to the Church, the Body of Christ. "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (I Corinthians 12:27). All members are necessary, but not all members hold the same office. Some, like Aaron, are given the special calling to be missionaries, evangelists, or pastor/teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Others, like the Levites, are called to serve, in whatever way possible, in the local church; aiding and assisting those "that have the rule over you" (Hebrews 13:17). But together, this unity of service should produce a great efficiency to the Body of Christ. "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:16).

It is indeed a great privilege to be considered "a gift for the Lord" to do service for Him.