A Daily Devotional

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The Patriarchs

"And He gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs" (Acts 7:8 ).

The word "patriarch" comes directly from the Greek and means "First father." Thus the patriarchs begotten by Jacob were the first fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Genesis patriarchs are types of all fathers. Adam was the patriarch of the human family. Through his sin, death came into the world, and death was first mentioned when God warned Adam he would die (Genesis 2:17).

But if Adam is the dying father, Noah can be called the righteous father. The word "just" (or righteous) is first used where it says "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (first mention of grace), and then "Noah was a just man" (Genesis 6:8-9).

Abraham is the believing father, for "he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). This is the first mention of "believe." Abraham is thus a type of all who are justified by faith. The first mention of sowing (symbolic of witnessing) is with Isaac, the sowing father. "Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him" (Genesis 26:12; compare Matthew 13:23).

Jacob was named Israel because "as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" (Genesis 32:28). A single Hebrew word, only used here, is translated "power as a prince." Jacob, able to prevail in prayer with the angel of the Lord, is the powerful father.

These are the honored patriarchs "of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came" (Romans 9:5). May all who are fathers today, like they, be believing, righteous, sowing fathers, powerful with God and men.

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The Grace of Being Content

"And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (I Timothy 6:.

The last of God's Ten Commandments -- and probably the most difficult to obey -- deals with the sin of covetousness. "Thou shalt not covet . . . any thing that is thy neighbor's" (Exodus 20:17). "Take heed, and beware of covetousness" warned the Lord Jesus, "for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). This warning introduced His parable of the rich man whom God called a fool. "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21).

And how does one become rich toward God? "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . . . Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. . . . seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:20,25,33).

We Christians -- especially in an affluent society such as ours -- all too easily fall into the trap of being possessed by our possessions, and may even think these possessions are somehow God's reward for our "godliness." But Paul says those who suppose "that gain is godliness" are "destitute of the truth." We need to remember that in God's sight "godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Timothy 6:5-6). And with Paul, we should strive to be able to say sincerely that "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).

God has promised to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19), if we are faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us. Therefore, God's Word commands: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).

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Asking and Receiving

"For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Matthew 7:.

The tremendous resource of prayer is far too much neglected by far too many Christians. If nothing is standing between us and the Lord to keep us from asking effectively (sin, unbelief, selfish motives, etc.), then God has promised to act when we ask, either giving us our request or something better. Note just a few of the many promises to those who ask:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

"Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

"How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" (Luke 11:13).

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (I John 3:22).

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him" (I John 5:14-15).

"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14).

"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).

Obviously there are conditions. These marvelous promises assume that those who ask are abiding in His commandments, truly desiring His will, having His priorities, thinking His thoughts, and are asking in faith and in His name.

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Son of God

"Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4).

It is noteworthy that the identification of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is directly associated with His resurrection from the dead. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:26), and since only God Himself can conquer death, Christ's bodily resurrection is the conclusive affirmation of His unique deity: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Many others have claimed divine sonship, but all are dead -- only Christ validated that claim by defeating death. "God . . . hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee" (Acts 13:33). "Death is swallowed up in victory . . . . through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:54,57).

Jesus is explicitly called "the Son of God" about 44 times in the New Testament, only half as often as He is called "Son of man." Nevertheless, this great truth is clearly taught in numerous other ways than by the use of the title itself. It is so important that there is no salvation for the one who denies it. Jesus said plainly, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).

Because He lives, we who believe on His name will also live forever! "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? . . . He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (I John 5:5,12,13).

Jesus Is God

Jesus is called God or referred to by titles or descriptions that are exclusively reserved for God over 100 times in the Bible both in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. We see the deity of Jesus as being God before His birth on earth. We see references of Him being God as He was born and walked on earth.

There is no doubt that He was, is and always will be God.

While here on earth He was both fully man and fully God. No other can lay to that claim.

Son of God, Son of man, and very God. He is great indeed!

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Jesus Christ -- Our Hope

"This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck" (I Timothy 1:18-19).

Paul had been entrusted with the gospel of Jesus Christ by Christ Himself (vv.1,12-16), and he did not take this fact lightly when it was time to pass on the job of guarding and propagating the truth to others.

In our text, following his praise to God for giving him such a function, Paul now "charges" Timothy to follow in his footsteps. The word "commit" finds usage in banking vocabulary and implies a deposit of something of great value. Timothy was to continue to teach the valuable, life-changing truth of the gospel in love (v.5) while guarding the flock against the teaching of false teachers (v.3).

Paul had not found such a responsibility to be easy. In our text he reminds Timothy of this fact, encouraging him to "war a good warfare." Note the two weapons of Timothy's warfare mentioned here. First, faith, which, while not specified, certainly implies faith in God and Christ's atoning sacrifice, and faith that this cause is just and right. Second, a good conscience, yielding a life and ministry free from both controlling sin and the guilt of that sin. Such a conscience comes from a lifestyle brought into submission to God's Word. In fact, this couplet -- faith and a good conscience -- is said to be "the end of the commandment" (v.5), along with love.

Some (v.19) had abandoned these vital weapons to the "shipwreck" of their own faith and the faith of their followers. Nevertheless, such weapons, properly used, are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (II Corinthians 10:4).

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The Only Way

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

This is surely one of the best-known, best-loved, most important, clearest, yet most profound verses in the Bible. There is no other way to come to God except through Christ; no other truth than that which is founded and centered on Christ; no other eternal life except the life of Christ imparted to the believer, through faith in Christ.

All who teach otherwise are "thieves and robbers" of the soul, for Jesus said: "I am the door" (John 10:8-9). There is no other door to heaven, and no other Shepherd of the sheep. He is the only "light of the world" (John 8:12) to illumine a world otherwise blackened by sin, "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 Corinthians 4:6).

He is "that bread of life . . . the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever" (John 6:48,51), and there is no other such life-sustaining eternal food for the hungry soul.

Likewise, He is the "living water." "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37-38). No other water satisfies. He is also the one "true vine" in whom we must abide for fruit-producing life. He said, "for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:1,5).

The Scriptures have made it abundantly plain that there is "none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

There is no other way, the Lord Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient way, and the perfect way, to God. It is not that He shows the way; He is the way, and all who want to come, can come to God through Him.

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Our Hiding Place

"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock" (Psalm 27:5).

There are times in the life of each believer when the trials become overwhelming and the whole world seems to be falling apart. Without the Lord, it would be impossible to escape, but with the Lord there can be safety and restoration, for He can be our precious hiding place until the storm is done.

There are many gracious promises to this effect in His Word, and we need only to claim them to experience them. The "pavilion" in our text is best understood as the tent of the commander-in-chief, well-protected and away from the battlefront. Surely we are safe there. "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psalm 31:20). There is a wonderful Messianic promise in Isaiah 32:2: "And a man |that Man is Christ!| shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

There, sheltered from the storm, our gracious Lord gives comfort and sweet counsel, until we are able to face the tempest victoriously. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2).

One of the most beautiful of these promises introduces David's great song of deliverance: "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Savior; thou savest me from violence" (II Samuel 22:2-3).

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The Names of the Men

"And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur" (Numbers 1:5).

These are the first entries in several long lists of names here in the book of Numbers -- all names of men in the twelve tribes of Israel. We know nothing about most of these men except their names, so it is natural to wonder why God had Moses include them in the inspired Scriptures.

In fact, this is one of the objections that skeptics and liberals have raised against the doctrine of verbal inspiration of the Bible. What possible spiritual or doctrinal or practical purpose could be accomplished through these lists of names for any future readers of the Bible?

And there are, indeed, many such lists of names. For example, the first nine chapters of I Chronicles consist almost entirely of names. Then there are the lists in Ezra 2; Ezra 10; Nehemiah 7, 11, and 12; Romans 16; and others.

Information is included about some of these people, of course, and even the meaning of the names may warrant speculation about their parents' hopes for the children.

But there is also another very cogent reason for God to have included all these names of relatively less significant people in His book. He wants to assure us that He is interested not only in the Abrahams, Daniels, Pauls, and other great men in His kingdom, but also in the Elizurs and Shedeurs and Bills and Kates in His spiritual family.

There are many millions of names "written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27), and the heavenly Lamb -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- is also the Good Shepherd that "calleth His own sheep by name" (John 10:3). The names in His book here on earth are an assurance that He knows and calls us by each of our names in His book in heaven.

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Moral or Sanctimonious

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" (Luke 6:41).

This rhetorical question by the Lord Jesus incisively points out a sin common among most Christians -- the sin of sanctimoniousness, committed in the good name of morality. It is easy to criticize fellow Christians for their moral or ethical deficiencies while simultaneously justifying one's self for the same or worse defects. "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things" (Romans 2:1).

True morality is generated internally from a heart of gratitude and love for the Lord and His Word, then manifested externally in a godly life of non-self-centered service. Sanctimoniousness is generated from a heart of pride and is manifested in a critical spirit. Morality judges one's self; sanctimoniousness judges others.

This inconsistency afflicts all of us to some degree, so we need to be especially alert to its outcropping in our own lives. We must condemn sin, of course, but we must at least be as concerned to correct it in ourselves as we are in others. "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10).

And if, indeed, we do see a mote -- or even a beam -- in a brother's eye, one that really needs to be removed for the Lord's sake and that of His testimony, the best procedure is not one of sanctimonious rebuke, but of gentle and empathetic edification. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1).

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Our Hope

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope" (I Timothy 1:1).

Paul, in his opening salutation to Timothy, makes it clear that the Christian's hope is not just in Christ, but is Christ! In the New Testament, the term "hope" does not refer to some vague wish, but to a confident expectation of something (or someone) sure to come. It focuses especially on the promised return of Christ to complete His great work of redemption.

It is specifically called the blessed hope: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). It is also a living hope, for God the Father "hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (I Peter 1:3).

Furthermore, since Christ is our hope, it is a saving hope. "For we are saved by hope" (Romans 8:24). It is a glorious and joyful hope. It recognizes the present truth of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27), so that we "rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).

It is not a blind hope but a reasonable hope, one founded on solid evidence, and every believer must "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (I Peter 3:15).

Finally, this hope of the imminent coming of Christ, when at last "we shall be like Him," is a purifying hope, for "every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:2-3). It also is a stabilizing hope, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:19). In every way, God "hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (II Thessalonians 2:16).

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Called before Birth

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him" (Galatians 1:15-16).

There is great mystery here. Paul was the human writer of much of the New Testament, yet he also claimed divine inspiration. "I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12).

It was only a short time before, however, that Paul had been bitterly opposing that gospel. "Beyond measure," he said, "I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it" (Galatians 1:13). Eventually, he was converted and began to preach "the faith which once he destroyed" (Galatians 1:23). Yet, during all his years of fighting God's truth, he had already been separated unto God, and called by His grace even before he was born, as our text reveals. His teachers in the synagogue, his studies under Gamaliel, even his anti-Christian crusades, were all being orchestrated by God to develop Paul into the unique person he would be, the great Christian whom God could use to write much of His own written Word. Paul's epistles were thus truly his epistles, derived from his own experience, research, study, reasoning, and concerns. At the same time, they came out as God's Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, free from error and perfectly conveyed from God to man, because God had Himself ordained and planned all Paul's experiences and abilities, and had implanted all these concerns in his heart.

And so it was with all the human writers of the Bible. God's Word (like Christ Himself) is both human and divine, yet meeting all our needs. This is mysterious indeed, but well within the capabilities of our omnipotent and gracious Creator.

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Abide

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

As recorded in John 14-16, many of Christ's last words to His disciples as He was about to leave them regarded abiding. The word meno occurs 18 times in this discourse and is translated not only "abide," but also "remain," "dwell," "continue," and "be present." Let us look at what He told them about abiding while He was "yet present" (14:25) with them.

First: "the Father . . . dwelleth in me" (14:10), "I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (v.11). That is, they are one and the same, inseparably abiding together, giving great power to those believing on Him (v.12).

Furthermore, the very Spirit of God, the "Comforter," will "abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive . . . but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (vv.16-17). "I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (v.20).

Abiding in Him, as we see in our text and in verse 7 (as opposed to the tragic end of those who "abide not" |v.6|), brings forth much fruit, and that fruit shall "remain" (v.16).

There is one requirement -- that we keep His commandments (14:23 and 15:10), and if we do so, we will "continue" and "abide" in His love (vv.9-10). "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (v.11).

Not only are we to abide while in this world, but throughout eternity. "In my Father's house are many mansions |same root word, meaning abiding places|: . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (14:2-3).

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Four Commands

"Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (I Peter 2:17).

Our text today gives four commands for believers to obey, each of which is difficult, but nonetheless "is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" (v.15). It comes in a lengthy passage (2:11-3:12) which discusses the matter of authority and a Christian's proper response to it. Ponder each command:

Honor all men. This could be translated, "Give honor to all." While the verb is the same as in the last command, its verb tense is not the same, here indicating a continued, conscious choice to do this, while honoring "the king" indicates the development of a lifestyle of showing respect to civil authority. Evidently our day-to-day encounters with sinful "men" require us to be continually choosing to regard them with honor and dignity. "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Love the brotherhood. Our agape love -- God's kind of unselfish, undeserved love -- should extend, on a habitual basis as seen in the verb tense, to all believers. "See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (I Peter 1:22).

Fear God. A lifestyle marked by a reverential fear of God is in mind here. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil" (Proverbs 3:7), etc.

Honor the king. As mentioned above, this is to be a life's commitment, continually recognizing the God-given authority of human government (I Peter 2:1-14).

"Having your conversation |i.e., manner of life| honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation" (v.12).

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Eternal Things

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (II Corinthians 4:18).

One of the most difficult handicaps for a Christian to overcome is spiritual nearsightedness. It is easy to see temporal things, but hard to think on eternal things.

Paul, however, in the midst of an extremely busy and difficult temporal life, somehow did manage to keep his sights on that eternal life to which he was called. The wonderful redemptio/n which Christ purchased for us with His blood is nothing less than "eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12); and therefore "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Consequently, as joint-heirs with Him, "they which are called . . . receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15). He is, surely, the "God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus" (I Peter 5:10) and has there provided for us "everlasting habitations" (Luke 16:9).

All of these eternal things -- eternal redemption, eternal salvation, eternal inheritance, eternal habitations, and eternal glory -- are of infinitely greater value than the temporal things which crowd our minds and limit our goals. They are all a part of the wonderful eternal life we have already received through faith in Christ. It is significant that the phrase "eternal life" (or "everlasting life," which is the same Greek phrase) occurs no less than 44 times in the New Testament. God speaks of it often, and so should we!

The very first eternal thing mentioned in the Bible is the "everlasting covenant" God has made with all men (Genesis 9:16). The last is the "everlasting gospel" to be preached to all men (Revelation 14:6).

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Conformity

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).

One of the greatest dangers facing Christians is the temptation to become conformed to the things of the world around them, thus destroying their testimony for the Lord. We are specifically commanded, in fact: "Be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). One cannot serve two masters, and the great privilege of the believer is the privilege of becoming conformed, not to a dying world, but to the living Christ.

But first we must be conformed to His death, dying to the world and its standards. The greatest desire of the apostle Paul was to "win Christ. . . . That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death" (Philippians 3:8,10).

Death is far from the end, however. When Christ returns, He "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). In this verse, the Greek for "fashioned like" is the same as "conformed to." These corruptible, dying bodies we now live in will one day be changed. As Christ rose from the dead, we also shall rise, and our bodies, like His, will be alive for evermore.

Even that wonderful prospect is not the best of it, however. Not only will our bodies be incorruptible like His, but we shall be like Him -- like Him in holiness, like Him in love, like Him in wisdom. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him" (I John 3:2). In the words of our text, we are actually predestined to be conformed to the very image of the Son of God!