A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Delight in the Lord
 
"Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalm 37:4)
 
Psalm 37 provides cures for the fretting (Hebrew charah, "anger") that comes in a spiritual battle. These emotions explode from the heart of the righteous saint against those who would dare lift up their hand against the Lord.
 
This beautiful promise and command insists that we luxuriate in our Lord. He is the Lord of inexhaustible riches (Philippians 4:19) and His inexpressible power is at work in His children (Ephesians 3:20).
 
Isaiah records God’s rhetorical question: "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness" (Isaiah 55:2). God reminded Israel that the day was coming when they would "be delighted with the abundance of |Jerusalem’s| glory" (Isaiah 66:11).
 
Jesus also said, "How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11).
 
When we trust the Lord to give us what we need, is it any wonder that He who knows all and owns all will give us the desires of our hearts? If we long for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, why should we marvel when the King of kings grants our desires?
 
The delight that we have in the work and ministry of the Lord is the key to His answering our "effectual fervent prayer" (James 5:16).
 
Simply stated, a human heart that is aligned with the beat of the Divine heart will receive God’s bountiful answers (Deuteronomy 5:29).

[Soldier4Christ]

Answered by a Word from God
 
"And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions." (Matthew 22:46)
 
The two dominant sects among the Jews at the time of Christ were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Although both of these believed in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, they both refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
 
A climactic confrontation occurred during His final week in Jerusalem. Each group tried to trap Him into a compromising doctrinal argument. To the Sadducees, who rejected the doctrine of resurrections, He said: "Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:31-32). This exposition silenced the Sadducees.
 
"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence" (Matthew 22:34), they then tried to trip Him up. He turned the tables on them by a reference to the 110th Psalm, asking how David could call the Messiah Lord if He was David's son (Matthew 22:45). As our text indicates, they also were unable to respond.
 
It is most significant that each group was silenced with one single word from the Scriptures. To the Sadducees, the word was "am" ("I am the God of Abraham" |v. 32|), indicating that Abraham was still living. To the Pharisees, the word was "Lord" ("The LORD said unto my Lord" |v. 44|; that is, "Jehovah said unto Adonai"), proving that the Messiah was both human and divine, descended from David but also David's Lord. Christ's argumentation was based in each case on the determinative authority of just one word in the Scriptures. For Christ the Scriptures were inerrant, and of full and final authority, and they could not answer His claims without rejecting the Scriptures which they professed to believe.

[Soldier4Christ]

All the Lonely People
 
"I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)
 
This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. To be all alone, not knowing where to find refuge from problems that bear heavily at times--this is the lot of many lonely people.
 
Sometimes, of course, one's feelings of loneliness may be because of unconfessed sin, as when David lamented after his crime of adultery and murder: "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me" (Psalm 32:3-4). Outwardly silent, but inwardly roaring--that's the way it is when a believer tries to rationalize and hide his sin from God and man. The remedy in such a case is obvious: "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah" (Psalm 32:5).
 
When the problem is not one of unconfessed sin, the Lord is always there to comfort and guide, if we ask Him. Following the sad complaint of our text, David made a statement of hope and faith. "The righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me" (Psalm 142:7).
 
There was a time, in fact, when the Lord Himself was all alone. When He was arrested, "then all the disciples forsook him, and fled" (Matthew 26:56). But that was not the worst of it. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). Jesus died all alone on the cross--the loneliest and most forsaken person in all human history--as even His heavenly Father had to abandon Him, when He took our sins and died for us. Thus, He understands our own need, and is always there. "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted |or 'tested'|, he is able to succor them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).

[Soldier4Christ]

Feeding on Truth or Wind
 
"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." (Psalm 37:3)
 
Although there are many promises in Scripture to the effect that the Lord will provide material sustenance to those who are faithful to Him (Matthew 6:33), this particular verse evidently refers to an even more blessed promise. The word translated "verily" is better rendered by "truth," so the latter part of the verse could best be given as: "thou shalt be fed on the truth." That is, the spiritual life of the one who trusts in Christ will be fed and sustained by truth.
 
In contrast, the unbeliever feeds on that which is not true. The one "who hath formed a god" (Isaiah 44:10) for himself will soon taste bitterness on his tongue. "He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah 44:20). Those who trust in human deliverance will be like Israel depending on Egypt and Assyria. "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation" (Hosea 12:1). The diet of false prophets is more bitter still. "Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall" (Jeremiah 23:15).
 
Wind and ashes, wormwood and gall; such is the spiritual food of those who reject the truth of the Word of God.
 
To the believer, however, the Scriptures are as much a daily need for the soul as bread for the body. As Job said long ago: "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). Moses testified as follows: "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 8:3).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Perfections of God
 
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
 
Since God is Creator of the universe, all that He does is right, and all He says is truth, by definition. The world He created was perfected; the Word He inscripturated is perfect; every work He accomplishes is perfect; all the ways He follows are perfect, and the will He reveals is perfect.
 
His perfect world: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Of course, because of sin, the creation is now groaning in pain, but it was perfect as it came from God in the beginning. It will again be perfect in the ages to come, when God makes "all things new" (Revelation 21:5).
 
His perfect Word: "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul" (Psalm 19:7). God has given us His inspired Word, providing perfect guidance for every need, "that the man of God may be perfect" (2 Timothy 3:17).
 
His perfect works: "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4). Not only His work in creation but also His works of redemption and reconciliation--all His works throughout history.
 
His perfect ways: "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him" (Psalm 18:30). His ways may not be our ways (Isaiah 55:9), but always, they are the best ways.
 
His perfect will: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that . . . perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2). His will is invariably right.
 
Thus God is our standard of perfection, and we must never set a lower standard for ourselves. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect".

[Soldier4Christ]

Coming In and Going Out
 
"And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd." (Numbers 27:15-17)
 
The Lord answered Moses' request in these verses by designating Joshua to lead the children of Israel. Joshua would be their new "pastor" (or "shepherd"), guiding and protecting them in all their ways. In reality, of course, the Lord Himself was their shepherd (Psalm 23:1) while Moses and Joshua had been undershepherds.
 
The name Joshua, of course, is the same as Jesus, and Joshua, as undershepherd, is a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ, "that great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20). Jesus said: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9). The shepherd of the sheep is also the door of the sheep, taking his own stand in the very entrance to the fold. The sheep cannot leave the fold, nor intruders enter the fold, because he is there at the door of the fold. The sheep come into the fold for rest and fellowship, as well as for salvation, then they go out of the fold for work and service.
 
Joshua was the shepherd of Israel, but Jesus is our own Good Shepherd, who "giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). "Other sheep I have," He said, "which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd" (John 10:16). All who are truly "the sheep of his pasture" should "enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise" (Psalm 100:3-4) each day before venturing out, with Him, into the world.

[Soldier4Christ]

Alive in Heaven
 
"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings 2:11)
 
This remarkable event--the translation of Elijah alive into heaven, without dying--was altogether miraculous, but it really happened! Among other things, it assures us that heaven is a real place in this created universe, for Elijah is still there in his physical body, still alive, to this very day.
 
The prophet Enoch, who had also served God in a time of deep apostasy, had likewise been taken into heaven without dying (that is, into the "third heaven," beyond the starry heaven, where God's throne is), as recorded in Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5. Enoch's prophecies, addressed to the entire world of mankind, were given at approximately the midpoint of the period from Adam to Abraham, whereas those of Elijah, addressed only to Israel, were given at essentially the midpoint of the time from Abraham to Christ. Both were caught up alive into heaven before their ministries were finished. It is possible that they will return again to earth as God's "two witnesses" who will prophesy to both Jews and Gentiles in the last days (note Malachi 4:5-6; Revelation 11:3-12), then finally to be slain and resurrected.
 
In any case, there will also be one entire generation of believers who will--like Enoch and Elijah--be caught up alive into heaven. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
 
This could very well be our generation! And "when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

[Soldier4Christ]

What to Do
 
"But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Joshua 22:5)
 
This exhortation by Joshua to the tribes that would be living east of the Jordan, away from the tabernacle and most of their brethren, is still of relevance today--especially to those whose ministry requires them to live far away from some central place of Christian teaching and fellowship. It is given in six parts, each beginning with an infinitive ("to . . ."), and expresses a key aspect of our relation to God.
 
We should give diligent heed to:
 
"Do the commandment and the law." That is, be careful to obey the Word of God.
 
"Love the Lord thy God." This, according to Christ, is "the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38). We must give first priority to the worship of God.
 
"Walk in all his ways." The day-by-day words and deeds of the believer should always be consistent with the nature of God, whether or not there are specific references governing each one in Scripture. Our behavior should be characteristic of the ways of God.
 
"Keep his commandments." The essential meaning of the Hebrew word here for "keep" is to guard! We are to defend His Word against its enemies, fighting the war of God.
 
"Cleave unto him." We should stay in such close communion with Him that we can always know and follow the will of God.
 
"Serve him." As we are faithful in the foregoing duties, we are then able, wholeheartedly, to serve in His name and to do the work of God.

[Soldier4Christ]

Four Cosmologies
 
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Peter 3:13)
 
The cosmos consists of "all things"--every system, every structure, every organism, every process, everything--in heaven and in earth. Cosmology is the system and study of the whole cosmos. In his final epistle, the apostle Peter outlines four different cosmologies. One is false, the other three are each true, but at different times in history.
 
The false cosmology is that of evolutionary uniformitarianism, the doctrine taught by latter-day intellectuals who will scoff: "Where is the promise of his coming? . . . all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4). But this is altogether wrong! The first cosmos--the heavens and the earth which were "of old . . . the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (2 Peter 3:5-6). The primeval cosmos, in which "every thing that he had made . . . was very good" (Genesis 1:31), was destroyed in the waters of the great Flood.
 
The present cosmos, "the heavens and the earth, which are now . . . reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7). This "present evil world" (Galatians 1:4) was to last many a long year, but "the day of the Lord will come . . . in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise . . . the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10).
 
But then, out of the ashes of the old corrupt world, so to speak, God will make a new and incorruptible world. "We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13).
 
That cosmos will continue forever! "The new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 66:22).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Steadfast Faith of Joseph and Mary
 
"There was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7)
 
Those familiar with the Christmas story, known by multiplied millions around the world, often make the small incident of no vacancies at the inn something of a cute product of the trip to Bethlehem.
 
Few in the United States have ever been stranded without shelter for a short time--let alone have had to give birth in an animal pen. Most of us will never have to know just how isolated and abandoned Joseph and Mary must have felt that first Christmas Eve.
 
Both of them knew that this Child would be "Son of the Highest" (Luke 1:32). Both of them had had personal visits from the Chief Angel, Gabriel. Both of them knew that the Father of this Son was none other than the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). And both of them had willingly obeyed God's instruction (Matthew 1:24 and Luke 1:38). They had every human right to expect "special treatment" and recognition for their faith and obedience.
 
Instead, however, the false rumors that had troubled Joseph about Mary's infidelity (Matthew 1:18-19) continued to swirl around them, and the long trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem only added to the plight of their social ostracism and poverty. The Bible does not tell us how long they were looking for shelter--we are only told that "while they were there" (Luke 2:6) Mary had to deliver the Child in a manger.
 
Until the shepherds came with their wonderful story of the angelic chorus, Joseph and Mary had no word of verification in addition to no room for their rest. And although they were in a house (Matthew 2:11) when the wise men came, nearly two years had gone by (Matthew 2:16) before they received the gifts that would sustain them for several years in Egypt.
 
Remember these two wonderful saints this holiday for their steadfast faith and unwavering obedience.

[Soldier4Christ]

What We Celebrate at Christmas
 
"And he |Joseph| knew her |Mary| not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." (Matthew 1:25)
 
The actual birthday of Jesus was sometime in the fall (September or October), rather than in December. The date is of lesser consequence, however, than the reason for the celebration (Isaiah 1:18). Heaven itself celebrated the birth (Luke 2:8-14). And after the shepherds got over their fear, they couldn’t stop telling the news.
 
Then there were the wise men from the east who came to worship the one "born king of the Jews" (Matthew 2:1-2). They got there well after the birth, having put their lives on hold, and willingly gave of their time and treasures to honor this great King while they rejoiced with "exceeding great joy" (Matthew 2:10). Surely all Christians should worship and rejoice as well as open our treasuries when we celebrate Christ’s birth.
 
But if we just focus on the birth, we may miss the greatest reason for the commemoration. After all, there was nothing uncommon about the physical process. But the conception, now that was miraculous (Luke 1:35)! The eternal "Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The great Creator and Son of God, "foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20), submitted to the will of the Father and "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7). That was why heaven celebrated.
 
Counting back nine months from around September puts us pretty close to the end of the previous December. Perhaps our sovereign God has orchestrated events so that we would celebrate the real miracle of the conception: "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

[Soldier4Christ]

Ten Thousand
 
"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." (Revelation 5:11)
 
The number of God's holy angels is truly "innumerable" (Hebrews 12:22). John "beheld" so many angels at God's throne that he could not attempt to count them, but simply tried to express their immense multitudes by saying there were "myriads of myriads" and "chiliads of chiliads" (in New Testament Greek, a "chiliad" was the arithmetical term for "thousand" and "myriad" for "ten thousand," but both terms were often used to mean merely a great number).
 
The same Greek word occurs in Jude, verse 14: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints." These "holy ones" may also be angels, but it is even more likely (in view of 1 Thessalonians 3:13, Revelation 19:8-14, and other Scriptures) that these are redeemed men and women whose spirits had gone to be with Christ when they died in previous generations (Philippians 1:21-23; 1 Corinthians 5:.
 
A parallel usage occurs in the Old Testament where the Hebrew word rbabah can mean either "ten thousand," specifically, or merely a very great number. It first occurs in God's great promise to Israel, conditioned upon their faithfulness to Him: "And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight" (Leviticus 26:--a promise more than literally fulfilled, for example, when Gideon's 300 men routed a Midianite army of 135,000 (Judges 7:6, 8:10).
 
But, whether speaking of the armies of faithful Israel, the redeemed of all the ages, or the great host of angels in heaven, the greatest superlatives must apply to Christ Himself, for He is "the chiefest among ten thousand. . . . he is altogether lovely" (Song of Solomon 5:10-16).

[Soldier4Christ]

He Doth Devise Means
 
"For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him." (2 Samuel 14:14)
 
These words of the "wise woman of Tekoah," spoken to King David concerning Absalom, his son, were wiser than she knew, for they reflect a principle of human experience that affects us all. Human life must eventually deteriorate and die; this declension cannot be reversed any more than water poured down on the ground can be "un-poured" up into the cup again.
 
This principle is the famous law of entropy ("in-turning"). Physical systems wear out; biological organisms get old and die; societies and empires fall and vanish. All these phenomena are local expressions of God's universal curse on man and all his dominion (Genesis 3:14-19). It applies to everything, without exception.
 
However, the very existence of the law of entropy points to a Creator, because systems that are wearing out must first have been made new, and beings that die must first have been given life. The very idea of a universal naturalistic evolution of all things into more complex systems is contrary to all real scientific data and is contradicted by all human experience.
 
Nevertheless, the God who created all things can surely "devise means" by which the law of decay can be set aside. Solar energy and the hydrologic cycle can raise the spilled water; the sinful life can be purified by God's grace and the blood of Christ; and the dead can be revived by the resurrection life of Christ. Someday the curse itself will be removed when God creates new heavens and a new earth, and the whole creation "shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).

[Soldier4Christ]

One Another
 
"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." (1 Thessalonians 4:9)
 
The Christian life involves both individual accountability and interpersonal involvement. Each of us is individually responsible for maintaining the right sort of relationship to others, especially others in our Christian fellowship.
 
A beautiful Greek word is allelon, often translated "one another." For example, we are commanded: "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). Furthermore, we are to "be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5), "in honour preferring one another" (Romans 12:10).
 
There are many other such admonitions, all built around the beautiful phrase "one another." Although we have indeed "been called unto liberty," we are nevertheless to "serve one another" (Galatians 5:13). We are also to "exhort one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13) and to "consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works" (Hebrews 10:24). "Use hospitality one to another without grudging" (1 Peter 4:9). We are told: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
 
In times of sorrow, Christians are admonished to "comfort one another" (1 Thessalonians 4:18). "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and "pray one for another" (James 5:16).
 
But by far the most frequently repeated admonition is that in our text: "Love one another!" There are no less than 15 times where this command is given in the New Testament. Most significantly of all, it is Christ's own "new commandment. . . . By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Abounding Life
December 29, 2008
 
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:
 
Jesus said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). This well-known promise is sometimes misapplied, being interpreted to mean that the Christian life would normally be a life of material prosperity, popularity, and happiness. The words "abundantly," "abounding," and similar terms are all based on the same Greek word, which does, indeed, mean "abundant." But it can apply to sorrow, as well as happiness.
 
The Christian life, as our text indicates, should be abundant in good works, for the simple reason that God's saving and keeping grace has been manifested abundantly toward us. Having been "stablished in the faith," we are to be "abounding therein" (Colossians 2:7). Christians, of course, should also "abound in love." "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
 
But the Christian may also experience much sorrow and difficulty in his life. Paul was a classic example: ". . . in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft" (2 Corinthians 11:23). One may also abound in poverty. For the Christians at Philippi, for example, "in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality" (2 Corinthians 8:2). An abundance of suffering for the believer can always be overbalanced by God's abounding grace. "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5). Our God of all grace "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20).