A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Walking in the Midst of the Sea

"But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left." (Exodus 14:29)

Liberal theologians, always seeking naturalistic explanations for biblical miracles, have attempted to explain this Red Sea crossing as a shallow fording of what they call the "Reed Sea," at the extreme northern end of the Red Sea. The biblical description, however, is clearly of a mighty miracle--not merely of a wind driving the shallow waters seaward. Instead, it describes a great path opened up through deep waters, supernaturally restrained as a wall on both sides of the wide freeway, deep enough to drown all the hosts of Pharaoh when the waters later collapsed.

The crossing was, of course, over a narrow northern arm of the Red Sea, enabling the Israelites to cross into the wilderness of Shur (Exodus 15:22), but it was nevertheless a great miracle. Such a miracle required nothing less than the creative power of God, creating some unknown force, or energy, powerful enough to hold the deep waters as stationary walls against the force of gravity which was straining mightily to bring them down.

Later generations always looked back on this event as the great proof of God’s divine call of Israel. The "song of Moses," composed after the deliverance, noted that "the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea" (Exodus 15:.

Fifteen centuries later, the Apostle Paul recalled the mighty miracle in these words: "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; . . . Now all these things . . . are written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:1, 11).

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Why Did Christ Die?

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)

This passage is often considered the defining passage of the gospel, stating the great truth that Christ died for our sins, then was buried (thus stressing that His resurrection was a physical resurrection, not just spiritual), and then rose again. As such, it is interesting that verse 1 which introduces it ("I declare unto you the gospel") contains the central mention of the more than 100 times the Greek word for "gospel" occurs in the New Testament.

However, it does not say why Christ died for our sins. It was not just to pay for our salvation and make us happy. There are, in fact, numerous references to His substitutionary death which do give us further insight into just why Christ died for us and our salvation.

For example, "he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). And consider Galatians 1:4 in which Paul tells us that Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world."

Peter’s testimony and explanation was that the Lord Jesus "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). John said: "|God| loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John 4:10, 11).

There are many other verses to the same affect. Christ did not die merely to save our souls, but to empower us to live in a way that would glorify God right here on earth.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Sin of the Devil

"Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." (Exodus 18:11)

This is the first mention in the Bible of the sin of pride, and it appropriately refers to the primeval sin of the "gods"--that is, the supposed deities of the heathen.

Led by Lucifer, a great host of the created angels had rebelled against their Creator, seeking also to be "gods" like Him. Lucifer, later to be called Satan (i.e., "adversary"), thought he could become the highest of all. "O Lucifer . . . thou hast said in thine heart, I will . . . exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell . . ." (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Satan's sin--and that of the other self-proclaimed "gods"--was that of "being lifted up with pride . . . the condemnation of the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6). But they shall all, with him, eventually "be brought down to hell," and the "everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).

This was also the sin of Adam and Eve, for Satan had seduced them with the promise "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5).

It is also the sin of all humanists and evolutionary pantheists, from Adam's day to our day, for they seek to do away with God and make "gods" out of "corruptible man." They have "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:23, 25).

But "pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Our Lord of creation is "above all gods," even in that "thing wherein they dealt proudly." The sin of pride was the very first sin and is still the most difficult sin to overcome, but "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).

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Christ in Suffering and Triumph

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:

In the final book of the Bible occur seven great "I am" assertions by the glorified Christ, all speaking of His ultimate victory. However, in the Book of Psalms occur seven vastly different "I am" statements by Christ, all speaking prophetically of His sufferings. These are in four of the wonderfully fulfilled Messianic psalms, all written 1,000 years before Christ, yet each psalm cited in the New Testament is fulfilled by Christ.

"But I am a worm, and no man" (Psalm 22:6, comparing Christ to a mother "scarlet worm" who dies that her young may live, and in so doing gives off a scarlet fluid which protects and nourishes her young).

"I am poor and needy" (Psalm 40:17).

"I am . . . a stranger unto my brethren" (Psalm 69:.

"I am full of heaviness" (Psalm 69:20).

"I am poor and sorrowful" (Psalm 69:29).

"I . . . am as a sparrow alone upon the house top" (Psalm 102:7).

"I am withered like grass" (Psalm 102:11).

In contrast to these lonely sufferings of Christ, there are the glories that shall follow. The first of the seven "I am's" of Revelation is our text above, and four of the others proclaim the same great truth (Revelation 1:11, 17; 21:6; 22:13).

The self-existing One, the "I am," Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who created all things (Alpha), will one day triumph and make all things new, forever (Omega). Listen to the other two wonderful testimonies: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18). "I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16).

[Soldier4Christ]

A Still, Small Voice

"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." (1 Kings 19:12)

Elijah was in hiding for his life, even though God had spectacularly answered his prayer with fire from heaven. Jezebel, however, had not been intimidated by Elijah’s victory and swore she would kill him. He fell into such depression that he wanted to die. If Jezebel could not be impressed with fire from heaven, how could Elijah ever hope to defeat her and her armies? Not even an angel could remove his doubts.

But then was sent "a great and strong wind," and "after the wind an earthquake" (1 Kings 19:11). But the Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. God finally reached Elijah with "a still small voice," and that voice assured him that God was well in control of all circumstances. Similarly, Moses told the children of Israel, as they faced the Red Sea: "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD" (Exodus 14:13).

It was prophesied of the Lord Jesus that "he shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street." Nevertheless, it was also promised, "he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth" (Isaiah 42:2, 4; see also Matthew 12:19, 20).

In our human impatience, we think God should always move immediately in great strength. Unless there are large numbers of converts and displays of power, we grow discouraged, like Elijah. But God more often speaks in a still, small voice and works in a quiet way. "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, . . . And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:18, 21).

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When God Repents

"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (1 Samuel 15:29)

There are a number of Scriptures that speak of God repenting. For example, in the days before the great Flood, "it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth" (Genesis 6:6). In the same chapter containing our text, God said: "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments" (1 Samuel 15:11). Yet the Scriptures plainly teach that God changes not. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent" (Numbers 23:19). Bible critics have made much of this apparent "contradiction" in the Bible.

There is no contradiction, of course. The words translated "repent" in both Old and New Testaments are used of actions which indicate outwardly that a "change of mind" has occurred inwardly. It is precisely because God does not repent concerning evil, that His actions will change toward man when man truly repents (this human "repentance" can go either way; changing from good to evil, or vice versa), and God will respond accordingly, since He cannot change His own mind toward evil.

Thus, He said concerning national repentance: "If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them" (Jeremiah 18:. That is, if the nation truly repents, then God will change His own projected course of action. He seems outwardly to "repent," specifically because He cannot repent in His inward attitude toward good and evil.

God has greatly blessed America in the past, but America’s people have drastically changed in recent years. Can the time be long coming when God must say: "It repenteth me that I have so favored this apostate nation?"

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Too Hard for God?

"Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:14)

This rhetorical question posed to Abraham by the Lord was in response to Sarah's doubts concerning His promise that they would have a son. It would, indeed, require a biological miracle, for both were much too old for this to happen otherwise. With God, however, all things are possible, and He can, and will, fulfill every promise, even if a miracle is required.

This same rhetorical question was asked of the prophet Jeremiah. "Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:26, 27). The One who created all flesh, who raises up kings and puts them down, could surely fulfill His promise to restore Israel to its homeland when the set time was come.

But Jeremiah had already confessed his faith in God's omnipotence. "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jeremiah 32:17). The God who called the mighty universe into being would not fail to keep His promise and fulfill His will.

Actually, the word translated "hard" in these verses is more commonly rendered "wonderful," or "marvelous," or an equivalent adjective, referring usually to something miraculous that could only be accomplished by God. For example; "marvelous things did he . . . in the land of Egypt" (Psalm 78:12). "For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone" (Psalm 86:10).

The first occurrence of the word (Hebrew, pala), however, is in our text for today. There is nothing--no thing--too hard for the Lord, and we should never doubt His word!

[Soldier4Christ]

That Old Serpent

"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:2)

This prophetic vision given to John leaves no doubt as to the identity of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. That "old serpent" (literally, "that primeval serpent") who deceived our first parents into rebelling against the word of God, is none other than the Devil, or Satan, often viewed in Scripture as typified by a "great dragon" (Revelation 12:9), the fearsome animal of ancient times; probably the dinosaur.

His ultimate doom is sure--he will be bound a thousand years, then finally "cast into the lake of fire . . . tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). At present, however, he is not bound, for "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:. We must be sober and vigilant, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).

His devices are manifold, but all are deceptive (he was the most "subtle" of all God’s creatures, Genesis 3:1), malevolent, and designed to turn us away from the true Christ. "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

He is a great deceiver. He can appear as a fire-breathing dragon or a roaring lion, deceiving us into fearing and obeying him instead of God. He can also be "transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), deceiving us into trusting the "feigned words" of his "false teachers" (2 Peter 2:3, 1) instead of the Holy Scriptures of the God of creation. Our recourse against his deceptions is to "put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).

[Soldier4Christ]

Hiding from God

"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known." (Matthew 10:26)

The psalmist knew that hiding from God was a fruitless enterprise. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" (Psalm 139:7). He also knew (and described in various graphic passages such as Psalm 51) that it was his sin that drove him to try to hide from God and which erected a wall of separation between him and God.

It has never been any different. The very first human sin led the very first humans to hide from God. "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:.

Earlier, they had tried to hide their nakedness, newly understood because of their sin. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (v. 7). There is no hiding of sin. "O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee" (Psalm 69:5). Nor is there a covering for sin other than the shed blood of the innocent for the guilty (Revelation 7:14; cf. Genesis 3:7).

Unfortunately, unless they accept God’s solution, men and women will continue hiding from God. In fact, there will come a time when "the kings of the earth . . . and every bondman |will say| . . . to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:15, 16).

How much better to acknowledge and repent of our sins, and say with David: "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:9, 10).

[Soldier4Christ]

Good Courage

"Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them." (Joshua 1:6)

This admonition to be strong and of "good courage" (Hebrew, amass) is given some ten times in the Old Testament, plus another nine times using a different word (chasaq). The first occurrence of amass is in Deuteronomy 3:28 where it is translated "strengthen": "But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see."

Christians today surely need good courage to face a dangerous world with all its temptations and intimidations, but nothing today could compare to the challenge facing Joshua. Trying to lead a nondescript multitude of "stiffnecked" desert nomads into a land of giants and walled cities would surely require courage beyond anything we could imagine today.

But Joshua had access to invincible resources, and so do we. "Be strong and of a good courage," God told him: "Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:9).

Giants and walled cities are no match for the children of God when He goes with them, for "if God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

God did go with Joshua, and the Israelites defeated the giants, destroyed the walled cities, and took the land. And we have the same promise today, for "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). Courage is really another name for faith, and "what he had promised, he was able also to perform" (Romans 4:21).

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Remember the Day of Rest

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." (Exodus 20:8-10)

The Hebrew word for "remember" actually means to "mark," or "set aside." The Israelites didn't need to be told to "remember" the sabbath, because all nations had been keeping time in weeks ever since creation (Genesis 2:13). (Note the references to the sabbath in the sending of God's manna, prior to the giving of this commandment |Exodus 16:23-29|). But they did need to be reminded to mark it as a holy or rest day, as God had done in that first week.

The Hebrew word for "sabbath" does not mean "Saturday" any more than it means "Sunday." It means, simply, "rest," or "intermission." The institution of the sabbath (that is, one day out of every seven days to be "set aside" as a day of rest, worship, and remembrance of the Creator) was "made for man" and his good (Mark 2:27). It was even of benefit to the animals used by man (note the mention of "cattle" in the commandment). It had been a pattern observed since the completion of God's six days of creation and making all things at the very beginning of world history (note Genesis 2:13; Exodus 20:11).

It is still appropriate today, as well. "There remaineth therefore a rest |that is, 'a sabbath-keeping'| to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). All men have a deep need to remember their Creator and His completed work of creation at least once each week, as well as His completed work of salvation--especially in these days when both of these finished works are so widely denied or ignored.

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Things of the World

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." (1 John 2:15)

We must be wary of the world's "things," because we are "in the world" not "of the world" (John 17:11-16). The command in our text is that we are not to love the world or its things, not that we should remain blissfully ignorant of them. We are to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).

There are big things of the world like nations and kingdoms (Matthew 4:8; Luke 12:30) as well as cares and riches (Mark 4:19) which can sap our focus and drain our loyalties. And there are "rudiments" and "elements" (Colossians 2:20; Galatians 4:3) that can twist our thinking and "spoil" us (Colossians 2:.

We are warned that friendship with the worldly lifestyle and that which espouses the "things" of the world, makes us an "enemy of God" (James 4:4). That is because such people embrace the "spirit of the world" and not "the spirit which is of God" (1 Corinthians 2:12). Those people speak about the things of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

God's people may be "base" and "weak"--even "foolish" in the eyes of the world (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). Since the great Creator God has chosen us out of the world (John 15:19), it should not surprise us that the world "hates" those who belong to the Lord Jesus (John 17:14). Hence, the ungodly passions that drive the ungodly behavior of the world, "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16).

Those passions and the people who embrace them will "pass away." But "he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:17).

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How to Pray

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

Jesus promised that "whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you" (John 16:23). This condition for answered prayer and its resulting fullness of joy is not just a formula with which to end a prayer. "In my name" implies representing Him and what He stands for, so that our prayer could truly be His prayer as well.

For example, our prayer must be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14,15).

We need also to recognize that God's great purpose in creation is of higher priority than our own personal desires, so this should be of first order in our prayers. Jesus said: "When ye pray, say, Our Father. . . . Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth" (Luke 11:2). We can also pray for our own needs, of course, especially for God to "deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4), the closing request in His model prayer.

It is good to seek God's wisdom in all our decisions and undertakings, so that we can be confident we are indeed in His will, but our request for such guidance must be sincere and in willingness to act on His answer. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. . . . But let him ask in faith" (James 1:5,6). And it should be obvious that the request be made with a clear conscience before God. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).

But when we are indeed confident that we are praying "in His name" with all that this implies, then we should pray earnestly, for "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16), and when the answer comes--as it will, in God's time--then our joy indeed will be full!

[Soldier4Christ]

The Gift of Labor

"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Genesis 2:15)

When God first created man, He gave him work to do. Although "the LORD God planted a garden" for man (Genesis 2:, it was up to man to take care of it if he would continue to eat its fruits. Thus, having to labor for one's living is not a divine punishment for man's sin as people sometimes interpret it, but rather a divine benefit for man's good.

Similarly, even in the new earth, when sin and suffering will be gone forever, there will still be work to do. "There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Revelation 22:3).

We don't know yet what our assignments will be there, but they will somehow be commensurate with our faithfulness in serving the Lord here. "My reward is with me," says the Lord Jesus, "to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 22:12).

It is, therefore, a God-given privilege to be able to do useful work, whether that work consists of preaching God's Word or improving God's world. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do" (whether being paid for it or not), "do it with thy might; for there is no work . . . in the grave, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). As Jesus said, "the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9:4).

No matter what the job may be that has been provided for us to do, it is important to remember and obey the admonition: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23-24) and "your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

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"I AM" in the Pentateuch

"And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." (Genesis 15:7)

There are seven "I am's" in the Book of Genesis. The first is a beautiful figure of speech ("I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" |Genesis 15:1|), but the others are all names and titles of God. The first of these is in our text above, identifying Jehovah Himself (the LORD) with the "I am."

The next is Genesis 17:1: "I am the Almighty God." The Hebrew here is El Shaddai ("God the nourishing sustainer"), also found in 35:11. Next is in 26:24: "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee." Then, "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac" (28:13). "I am the God of Bethel" (31:13). Beth-el means "the house of God." Finally, God says: "I am God, the God of thy father" (46:3).

In Exodus there are 21 places where God says: "I am." Most of these are merely variations of the different names of God as noted above in the "I am's" of Genesis, but six do give new insight. The first, of course, is the great assertion of Exodus 3:14 where God identifies Himself as "I AM THAT I AM." The others: "I am the LORD in the midst of the earth" (8:22); "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (15:26); "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God" (20:5); "For I am gracious" (22:27); "I am the LORD that doth sanctify you" (31:13).

In the remaining books of the Pentateuch, the phrase, "I am the LORD your God," occurs very frequently, but there are two important new "I am's." "I am holy" occurs six times (e.g., Leviticus 11:45) and "I am thy part and thine inheritance" is recorded in Numbers 18:20. The great theme of all these claims and names of God is that the mighty God of time and space is also a caring, personal God. We can trust Him, and He cares for us.