A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

The Faith Of Our Mothers


“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also” (II Timothy 1:5).

The “dearly beloved son” (v.2) of the Apostle Paul, was a young disciple whose strong and sincere Christian faith was due, more than anything else, to the lives and teachings of a godly mother and grandmother. As Paul wrote to Timothy, in his last letter, “from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 3:15).

Timothy’s mother was a Christian Jew (Acts 16:1), but his father was a Greek who evidently was not a believer. In the ideal Christian home, the father is to assume spiritual leadership (Ephesians 5:22,25; 6:4), but countless fathers, for some reason, are either unable or unwilling to do this. Many have been the homes where a mother or grandmother, usually by default, has had to assume this all-important responsibility, and the Christian world owes these godly women a great debt of gratitude. The writer himself was raised in such a home, and much of his own concern for the Word of God is due to the concerned dedication of a Christian mother and two Christian grandmothers.

It is significant that the fifth of God’s Ten Commandments requires children to honor their parents, and it is the only one of the ten which carries a special promise: “Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2,3). Every godly parent is worthy of real honor, every day—not just once each year. And when a Christian mother, like Timothy’s mother, must assume all the responsibility for leading her children in the ways of God, she deserves very special praise.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Beginning Of Creation



“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6).

These words of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to settle once and for all, for those who take His words seriously, the controversial question of the age of the earth. The earth was created essentially at the same time, He said, as the creation of Adam and Eve. Christ was quoting from Genesis 1:27: “. . . male and female created He them.” This greatest of God’s creative works was “from the beginning of the creation,” not 18 billion years after the beginning of the creation, as modern old-earth advocates allege.

One can understand why atheists believe in evolution and an almost infinitely old universe, for they really have no other alternative. One who believes in a personal God, on the other hand, only dishonors God if he believes such humanistic speculations rather than God’s Word. God is omniscient and omnipotent, as well as loving and merciful, and He would never do anything like this. The great ages assumed by evolutionary geologists supposedly involved billions of years of suffering and dying by billions of animals before man ever evolved. Surely this would have been the most inefficient, wasteful, and cruel method that ever could have been devised for “creating” human beings. Since man’s creation was God’s main purpose, there is no conceivable reason why He would waste billions of years in such a meaningless charade as this before getting to the point. In fact, the only reason He took six days was to serve as a pattern for man’s work week (Exodus 20:8–11).

In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ was not only a creationist, but was, Himself, the Creator of all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; etc.). Therefore, He is the best possible witness as to when He created man and woman, and He said it was “from the beginning of the creation!”

[Soldier4Christ]

The Unjust Steward


“And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:.

This parable of the unjust steward has perplexed many Christians, for it seems to indicate that the Lord approved of dishonesty. “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (v.9), also seems to contradict verse 13, when He said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

The apparent contradiction vanishes, however, when we realize Christ was not commending the dishonesty of the steward, but his accute business sense and concern for the future. Neither does the Lord approve of greed or covetousness, but He does exhort believers to be as prudent in investing their money for the eternal future as shrewd worldlings are in feathering their earthly nests. Sad to say, it is common experience that, by this measure, “the children of this world” do conduct their affairs “in this generation” far more shrewdly than “the children of light.” Even more sadly, the latter often even try to follow the example of the ungodly in “laying up for themselves treasures upon earth,” rather than “treasures in heaven” (see Matthew 6:19,20).

The Lord would exhort us, on the other hand, to use our money (“the mammon of unrighteousness”) to make true friends, “that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations” (v.9). The “unjust steward” was trying to insure his own earthly future, hoping to make temporal friends by bribing them with money that was not even his own.

How much wiser it is for us to use whatever money the Lord has entrusted to us to make true friends, helping to bring them to Christ and building them up in the faith. Then, when we “fail” from this life, we shall enjoy their fellowship and gratitude in the “everlasting habitations” of eternity.

[Soldier4Christ]

In A Moment Of Time


“And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5).

It is interesting that there are just three “moments” mentioned in the New Testament, and that there are three different Greek words so translated, each used one time only in the Bible. Furthermore, each of these three “moments” is used in a context which is anticipatory of the future.

First of all, Satan tempted Jesus by flashing before His eyes a vision of the whole world, offering it to Him immediately, without His having to endure the cross, if He would rule it for the devil. Here the Greek word for “moment” is stigme, meaning a “point,” like a period after a sentence. In an infinite “time line,” it would be just a dot on the line, a “point” in time. Satan’s apparent dominion over this world, though it lasts six thousand years or so, is only a moment compared to eternity, and Jesus knew this was a poor bargain.

One day, in fact, He will return to reclaim the world from Satan. At that great day, “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (I Corinthians 15:51,52). In this passage, the unique word is atomos, meaning an indivisible particle. That is, in an “atom of time,” too instantaneous to measure, we shall be changed to be like Him in “His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Right now, however, our bodies are weak and easily beset with pain and sickness. Nevertheless, we are assured that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Corinthians 4:17). The word here is parautika, referring specifically to the present moment. What we must endure “here and now” is so brief compared to the eternity “then and there” that it is not even “worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

[Soldier4Christ]

Heaven Opened


“And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:51).

In Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:12), angels were ascending and descending on a great ladder between earth and heaven. Christ promised a future reality, in which He, Himself, would be the ladder to the opened heaven.

But that was to be “hereafter.” Until Christ came to die and rise again, heaven was closed, for nothing unclean could enter there, and death had “passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Even those who died in faith could only be “comforted” in “Abraham’s bosom” deep “in the heart of the earth” (Luke 16:22,25; Matthew 12:40), because “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

Then Christ died and rose again “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). In His spirit, “He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth” and “when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:8,9), leading all pre-Calvary saints with Him into heaven. Then was fulfilled the wonderful scene predicted in Psalm 24:7, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”

Since that wonderful day, when Christ ascended back to heaven, “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:. Heaven someday will even receive our resurrected bodies. John prophesied it this way: “I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice . . . said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Revelation 4:1). Heaven thenceforth will be open eternally to all the redeemed. “The gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:25).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Poetry Of God


“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

The word “poem” is derived from the Greek poiema. Used only twice in the New Testament, it refers to great works of God, Himself. Thus, God is the divine poet who has created two great masterpieces—artistic creations of marvelous intricacy and surpassing beauty.

The first is the entire physical universe: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). In this key verse, poiema is translated “things that are made.” Everything in the universe, animate and inanimate, constitutes a marvelous product of God’s creative forethought and inventive skill. If a beautiful poem requires a poet to create it, so much the more does the complex cosmic Poem of the universe demand a great Poet of consummate wisdom and infinite power. The rejection of the Poet and the message of the Poem not only leaves one “without excuse” (v.20), but facing “the wrath of God” (v.18).

Yet an even more amazing poem is the work of transforming redemption accomplished in a lost soul saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:. For then it is we, ourselves, who become His poem! This also is a great creative masterpiece, for “we are His workmanship (same word, Greek poiema), created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” A life once dead in sin, now born again and walking in good works—this is God’s greatest poetic masterpiece of all!

Both the mighty universe and the soul made new in Christ are special creations of God, and both manifest His greatness and His love. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15) of grace.

[Soldier4Christ]

In Time Of Trouble


“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).

In this psalm of praise, David expresses his confidence in the Lord, even though “the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh” (v.2). In spite of the danger, he looks to God for safety. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (v.1). Why did God preserve David? The answer is at least twofold:

First, David had a heart for God. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple” (v.4). “Thy face, LORD, will I seek” (v.. “Teach me thy way, O LORD” (v.11).

The second reason is the nature of God, Himself. God, by His very nature, hates evil and extends grace toward His own. He is pictured here as a warrior conquering the evil enemies of David. His laws forbid their actions; His gospel robbed these evildoers of their grip; His final kingdom will be rid of them. Until God’s justice, His gospel and His purpose all fail, we can be sure that He will act.

In our text, David is hidden in the Lord’s “pavilion.” The word, which literally means a protective covering, was used for the tent of the commander-in-chief. Here, with the commander-in-chief, is the most fortified, guarded, and safe area of the battleground. If the pavilion falls, the battle is lost, and God has failed. Hidden in His pavilion, we are as safe as He. He sees to it that we are not frightened (v.13) amid the din of battle, and we shall share in the ultimate victory.

In this world, we have tumultuous war; in the next, unbroken peace. Assured of the outcome, we can “wait on the LORD: (and) be of good courage” (v.14).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Indwelling Trinity


“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).

One of the great doctrines of Christianity is the doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, who lives in the heart of each believer who trusts in Christ for salvation. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?” (I Corinthians 6:19).

At the same time, God is one God, so all three persons of the Godhead must, through the Spirit, likewise indwell the believer. Note Paul’s prayer for the believers in the Ephesian church (Ephesians 3:14–19).

   1. That He would grant you . . . to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). This request acknowledges the indwelling Spirit. Christ also prayed for this: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter . . . the Spirit of truth . . . for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16,17).
   2.

      That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17), that we might “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (v.19). Here is the indwelling Son. This is also revealed in Galatians 2:20 (“Christ liveth in me”) and Colossians 1:27 (“Christ in you, the hope of glory”).
   3.

      That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). This can only refer to the indwelling Father, as well as the entire tri-unity of the Godhead. Can this indwelling be ours? Note also that the entire prayer was addressed in the first place to “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:14). This, likewise, is a reflection of Christ’s promise: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). “Filled with all the fulness of God!” What a wonderful privilege—and responsibility—is ours.

[Soldier4Christ]

Easy Believism And True Faith


“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:47,48).

The above commandment is a part of Christ’s Great Commission, and it is important to note that “repentance” was to be preached along with “remission of sins,” both of them “in His name.” The fact that “repentance . . . in His name” is essentially synonymous with “believing in Him,” is evident from Peter’s message to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ home: “Through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Repentance and faith are like two sides of the same coin; one cannot exist without the other. True repentance (the transformation of one’s mind in its entire attitude toward God, submitting to His sovereign holiness and hatred of sin) is essentially synonymous with true faith (full commitment to, and trust in, the person and work of God’s Son as one’s Creator, Redeemer, and personal Savior).

The problem is that what has become known as “easy believism” is widespread among Christian “soul winners,” and multitudes have become “professing Christians,” simply on the basis of a mental and verbal, least-common denominator “statement of faith,” and/or some kind of “conversion experience,” all of which are meaningless without genuine repentance. Repeating a prayer at the end of a gospel tract does not save, if it consists merely of words.

Repentance is not merely sorrow for past sins, but a complete change of mind, and this can only be proved real (even to the believer himself) by a changed life. Both Jews and Gentiles “should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20), and this should be paramount in our witnessing as well.

[Soldier4Christ]

Babes In Christ


“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (I Corinthians 14:20).

The Christian life is entered by the new birth, so that everyone who is genuinely born again must begin as a spiritual babe. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children,” said the Lord Jesus, “ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Furthermore, they should continue to be as innocent children insofar as “malice” (Greek kakia, literally meaning “wickedness” or “evil”) is concerned. This is an attribute which should diminish, not grow, in a believer.

The sad truth, however, is that many born-again Christians remain spiritual babes in attributes which should characterize strong men and women of God. Paul equated the term “babes in Christ” with carnality, characterized by “envying, and strife, and divisions” (I Corinthians 3:1,3). Paul also speaks of those Christians as “children” who are “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). He urges each one to be “speaking the truth in love,” so that we “may grow up into Him (Christ) in all things” (Ephesians 4:15).

Spiritual growth, of course, can come only through spiritual food and spiritual exercise. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Peter 2:2). “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

Christians should become mature, both in understanding and in behavior. The last reference to growth in the Bible applies to each Christian: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Duty Of Rejoicing


“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee” (Psalm 5:11).

It may seem strange to think of rejoicing as a Christian duty, but the Scriptures do contain many commands to rejoice, and many of these are given in circumstances of grief or danger, as is the case of our beautiful text verse.

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), Paul wrote from a Roman dungeon. In the upper room, the night before He was to die on a cross, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). And then He said: “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (John 16:2). But then He said again: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

If David could rejoice while fleeing from murderous enemies, if Paul could rejoice while chained unjustly in a Roman prison, if the disciples could experience fulness of joy while facing martyrdom, and if the Lord Himself, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2), then our Christian duty of rejoicing in all circumstances may not be such an unseemly command after all.

We can rejoice, as our text reminds us, “because thou defendest them.” Furthermore, He, Himself, provides the joy, for “the fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy” (Galatians 5:22). It is not that the Christian will never know sorrow, for Christ Himself was “a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3). But He also was a man of joy and, in Him, we can be like Him—“as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (II Corinthians 6:10).

[Soldier4Christ]

Christian Freedom


“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

Liberty has always been a cherished concept to Americans, ever since the patriotic call of Patrick Henry for liberty or death. It was also a burning issue with the Jews at the time of Christ, chafing under Roman rule as they were. Many early Christians were actually slaves, or even in prison for their faith. All those in bondage have longed to be free, and wars and revolutions have been fought to gain their freedoms.

But the worst bondage of all is slavery to sin. No army can free a man from sin, and if he dies in sin, he will continue in bondage forever. Among the last words of the Bible are these: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still” (Revelation 22:11).

It is only Christ who can set a sinner free. Christ died for our sins, and through faith in Him we receive full pardon and liberty. “Our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. . . . Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:6,7,18).

There is no greater or truer freedom than freedom in Christ. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Because of Christ, the very creation itself, now groaning and travailing in pain under the curse of sin, one day soon “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

In Christ we now have freedom to live unto righteousness. “Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22).

[Soldier4Christ]

How Long?


"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10).

This poignant cry has often been raised by suffering believers anxious to see the Lord work on their behalf. It was often recorded in Scripture under such circumstances, first in Psalm 6:3 and last of all in our text above (see also Psalm 74:10; 90:13; Zechariah 1:12; etc.).

The cry in our text is from "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held" (Revelation 6:9). The context would indicate that these souls are of those who will die under future persecutions, but the principle surely applies to the martyrs of every age. When they were slain, it was only their physical bodies which died, while their souls live on in heaven, aware of events on Earth. This truth, in fact, applies to all who die trusting in Christ as their Savior.

All of these men and women, both while yet alive in the body and also later when "absent from the body, and . . . present with the Lord" (II Corinthians 5: have longed for the day when Christ will come to complete "the redemption of the purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:14) and when finally God will answer the age-long prayers of His people as they prayed: "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

For several generations now, Christians have been asking (even singing!) the great question of our text: "How long, O Lord?"

The signs of His soon coming multiply, yet we still wait. Nevertheless, He has promised to return, and His Word is true and sure. He will come -- perhaps today! "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37).

[Soldier4Christ]

Paradoxes Of The Christian Life


“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise” (I Corinthians 3:18).

The true Christian life is so uniquely different from the life of the natural man that its characteristics must often be expressed in terms of paradoxical contrasts. For example, as our text emphasizes, that which passes for “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (I Corinthians 3:19).

This profound truth has many implications for us as Christians. “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” says the Lord. “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Corinthians 12:9). Thus, to be strong, we must be weak, and to be lifted high, we must stoop low, for “he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). Not only so, but “whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:27).

Note especially II Corinthians 6:8–10: “. . . as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

All such ascriptions apply, first of all and most of all, to Christ Himself, our perfect example: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (II Corinthians 8:9).

Thus, “if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (II Timothy 2:11,12). “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). All such descriptions may seem paradoxical, but they are real and true.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Stars Also


“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).

On the fourth day of Creation Week, God made the two lights for day and night, and then—almost like an afterthought—“He made the stars also.” Nothing, of course, is an afterthought with God, but this emphasizes the relative importance of these parts of His creation. Whether or not the earth is the geographical center of the universe, Earth is the center of God’s interest in the universe. This is where He created man and woman in His own image, and where He will reign over His creation in the ages to come.

The primary purpose of the stars, as well as the sun and moon, was “to divide the day from the night; and . . . to be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and . . . to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:14,15). They could not fulfill these functions, of course, if their light could not be seen on the earth, so we can be sure that these heavenly bodies and their light rays were created—like Adam and Eve—“full-grown,” in a state of functioning maturity.

All that can be known scientifically about the stars must be determined from their light intensity and spectra. (Their distances can be measured geometrically only to about 300 light-years.) Any other information—any greater distances, size, temperature, etc.—must be derived by inference, based on some theory of stellar evolution.

Although the stars all look alike (even through a telescope, they all appear as mere points of light), these calculations have shown that each one is unique, as revealed long ago in Scripture: “One star differeth from another star in glory” (I Corinthians 15:41). Those who believe can learn more about them in the ages to come, for “they that be wise shall shine . . . as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).