A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Lessons from the Rich Fool
 
"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20)
 
This sobering verse gives, in a nutshell, God's evaluation of people whose dominating concern is the accumulation of material possessions. Such a person is, by the Lord's own testimony, a fool.
 
But before the man in this parable became a covetous fool, he first became a self-centered clod, interested only in his own desires. In the verses comprising his monologue (Luke 12:17-19), he used the personal pronouns "I" and "my" no less than eleven times, and then even addressed himself using the pronoun "thou" or "thine" twice more.
 
"My" is the devil's pronoun. It was Satan who first said "I." "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer's primeval, self-seeking covetousness brought rebellion and sin into the angelic host, and then into the human family. Ever since his fall he has used this deadly sin of self-centeredness to keep men away from God and to lead them into all kinds of other overpowering sins.
 
In the case of the rich man, his pampering of self had led him into a life of such greed and covetousness that he was still concerned only with his own personal comfort ("eating and drinking") right up to the day of his death. He "thought within himself" (Luke 12:17), giving no thought whatever to God's will or the fact that all his possessions really belonged to God. Multitudes over the ages have been overtaken by this same sin of self-centered covetousness, perhaps never more pervasively than in modern America, even among American Christians. To anyone of such covetous spirit, the day may soon come when the Lord will say: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Hardness of Heart
 
"Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." (Mark 16:14)
 
Apparently many people--even Christians--are afflicted with "spiritual cardiosclerosis" (hardening of the heart), for there are some forty references in the Bible to this malady. The first was in reference to Egypt's unbelieving Pharaoh. Concerning him, God told Moses: "I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go" (Exodus 4:21).
 
But when the children of Israel did escape Pharaoh's persecutions, they also contracted this debilitating attitude: "Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work" (Psalm 95:8-9).
 
Even the very disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were rebuked by Him for their hardness of heart. In spite of the Old Testament prophecies, and in spite of His own repeated promise that He would rise from the dead, the disciples forsook Him and fled into hiding when He was arrested. Some were even skeptical about the first reports of His resurrection until they saw Him for themselves. His rebuke (see our text) essentially equated their unbelief with "hardness of heart" (Greek, sklerokardia).
 
If this heart of hardness and unbelief could attack the eleven disciples, it could surely happen to us, if we allow it. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. . . . But exhort one another daily . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. . . . To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Hebrews 3:12-13,15). Instead, we should heed Christ's first great commandment: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" (Matthew 22:37). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Scripture Songs
 
"Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:19)
 
The book of Psalms was essentially a song book for Old and New Testament Jews, while other songs are scattered throughout Scripture written by a variety of prophets and leaders. Our text tells us that the Lord commanded Moses and Joshua to write aspects of the Law and details of God's dealings with the nation, as well as His promise of judgment, should they disobey--in a song.
 
This song would serve several functions. First, it would be a memory device. "It shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed" (v. 21). Those who have been around good church music probably know many portions of Scripture set to music, including the grand old hymns of the faith which are frequently conglomerates of many verses around a doctrinal theme. Many of us probably have memorized without trying, and maybe without realizing it, many, many Scripture verses. In fact, this may be the very best way to build biblical principles into the lives of our children.
 
The second function of Moses' song would be to convict those in disobedience (32:7, 47, etc.). As with the people of Israel, our hearts should be receptive to the teachings contained within the songs that we know.
 
Unfortunately, Israel seldom listened, even to those songs they had memorized. Thus, the third and evidently primary function of this song was to "testify against them as a witness" (31:21). Much of this song carefully explains their coming apostasy and inevitable judgment. No doubt many remembered this song and its message with tears as they marched into captivity, unable to charge God with unfaithfulness. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Nests in the Ark
 
"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." (Genesis 6:14)
 
Details surrounding the story of Noah and the Flood have long caused laymen and theologians alike to stumble and compromise.
 
None could argue that the wording was not clear. God had commanded Noah to build a wooden boat of huge dimensions and to take on board representatives of land-dwelling, air-breathing animals. The Flood, Scripture reveals, devastated the entire world. But nineteenth-century theologians, pressed on by Hutton, Lyell, and others proposing the new uniformitarian interpretation of earth history, became convinced that the scriptural account must be understood in a figurative sense. Their twentieth-century counterparts repeat this error, promulgating the non-biblical idea that the Flood was only local.
 
Some have wondered how Noah could gather all the animals, but the Bible simply says they "went in two and two unto Noah into the ark" (7:9), evidently migrating to the location on God’s command.
 
Their care while on the Ark has also been raised as a problem. But, in all likelihood, the animals entered a state of semi-dormancy, as nearly all of their descendants do today when faced with danger over which they have no control and from which they cannot flee.
 
Scripture supports this idea in our text: The word "rooms," which is more properly translated "nests" everywhere else in Scripture, implies a small place to sleep or nestle, rather than a large cage. The job of caring for the animals may have been difficult, but our gracious God would have seen to it that it was possible. Questions like these are no cause for compromise. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Precious Blood
 
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)
 
The concept of the shed blood of Christ offered in substitutionary sacrifice for guilty and condemned sinners is profoundly offensive to the modern mind. Even many evangelicals who believe in the concept doctrinally, usually de-emphasize it in their pulpits and classroom ministries. But it is still in the Bible and is inestimably important.
 
Our lost souls could never have been redeemed ("bought back") from hell by all the silver and gold in the universe. The blood of Christ, however, is infinitely "precious" (i.e., "valuable" or "costly") because it was the life ("the life of the flesh is in the blood"--Leviticus 17:11) of the very Creator of life! Its shedding on the altar of divine sacrifice was, therefore, eminently sufficient "to make an atonement |or ‘covering’| for |our| souls."
 
The blood is not only a covering, however. Its cleansing and life-giving powers purge our sins and make us righteous before a holy God. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). The application of the blood to our souls becomes effective, of course, only "through faith in his blood" (Romans 3:25).
 
Not only is the precious blood able to blot out past sins, but "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). It is sufficiently powerful to overcome every attack of the wicked one. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12:11). Finally, its efficacy is eternal and will never lose its power, for it is "the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13:20). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Now Is the Time
 
"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
 
There are many wonderful things that we as Christians are looking forward to in the ages to come, when the earth and our bodies are made new and the entire beautiful creation of God is open to us for all eternity. But there are also many wonderful privileges that belong to us right now as well.
 
First of all, our eternal salvation is here and now, for this is the time acceptable to God in which to receive His great salvation through faith in Christ. No one will ever be saved in the ages of eternity, for all who enjoy His salvation then will have received it now.
 
Those who have salvation now also have been set free from condemnation (or "judgment") now. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" (Colossians 1:21-22).
 
Not only do we now have the assurance of eternal salvation, but we also have all necessary provisions for a happy, fruitful, victorious life in this present age. "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20).
 
Now, because all these doctrines are present realities, we have full confidence that all God’s yet-to-be-realized promises are also true. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God . . . but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Lively Hope
 
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3)
 
This verse contains several enlightening words:
 
Blessed: The word in Greek means to be well spoken of, or praised. According to. This does not say that we are blessed according to the extent of His mercy, but rather, that He was impelled by His "abundant mercy" to save us.
 
Begotten: A child is begotten of parents and is of the same nature as its parents. We are begotten into God's family by the work of Christ. Again. There are two possible concepts which are attached to the term "born again"--born "the second time," or born "from above." In our text, the term used is literally born "the second time," but the Father mentioned is God. We are indeed born "the second time," and that "from above."
 
Lively: The word is in the form of a verbal adjective, having all the descriptive power of an adjective and all the active power of a verb. A "lively" hope is more than a hope that is living; it is actively alive. Hope. We hope, not in the sense of desiring something to come to pass, but in the confident assurance of something which certainly shall come to pass. We may "lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast" (Hebrews 6:18-19). We shall follow Christ in life everlasting.
 
Resurrection: It may seem strange to think we are born again "by the resurrection," but this was the instrument God used to bring about His purpose. In a real sense, Christ was "born again" with a glorified body when He arose from the dead. Since He is "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), many will follow, "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Futile Wrath of Man
 
"Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." (Psalm 76:10)
 
One of the most amazing anomalies in human life is the oft-repeated testimony to God's grace and power unwittingly rendered by men who would dethrone Him if they could. Biblical examples are numerous.
 
Joseph's brothers hated him and sold him into slavery, but "God meant it unto good . . . to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). Haman tried to destroy the Jews in the days of Queen Esther; but instead their leader, Mordecai, was elevated to prime minister, and Haman was hanged upon his own gallows. Daniel's enemies maneuvered him into the lions' den, but these enemies themselves were later devoured by the animals, and King Darius decreed "that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever" (Daniel 6:26).
 
In the awful hour of Satan and the powers of darkness, Jesus died on the cross, but "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15). "Why did the heathen rage? . . . the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ." Their plans turned to frustration and rage because all they could do was "whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:25-26, 28).
 
Let men be ever so bitter against God and hateful to His people. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, and the more His enemies rage, the more will God be glorified. The wrath of man can never prevail against the Lord. It will either be restrained in due season or will be turned into praise, for "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Title 'Christian'
 
"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16)
 
The word "Christian" occurs only three times in Scripture and seems to have changed in its meaning from first to last. In the first instance, "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). The name merely identified them as followers of Christ with no reproach intended.
 
The second usage was some years later, by which time the term was evidently well known, even among unbelievers. After Paul had witnessed to him, "Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). A more literal translation which renders the sentence "Do you try in such a short time to make a Christian of me?" indicates an air of superiority or incredulity in Agrippa's voice. It would take more than a short testimony to make a Christian of him.
 
As the years went by, the church began to be plagued by persecution. Our text indicates that even the name "Christian" was by then regarded with contempt and reproach. But Peter tells us that there is no shame involved in the name "Christian" or in following Christ. Peter, no doubt, recalled the shame he felt for denying the name of Christ, but he also recalled with thankfulness how that even though the Jewish council had "beaten them" and "commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:40), he and the other apostles departed "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" (v. 41).
 
Furthermore, we can "glorify God on this behalf," or "in this name." This implies more than just praising the name. We can glorify God in what we do--in how we live in that name. We can certainly also bring dishonor to the title "Christian" by our actions. A solemn responsibility is then ours, to bring honor and glory to God through our lives. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Rough Places Plain
 
"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." (Isaiah 40:4)
 
This is an amazing promise. In the primeval "very good" creation (Genesis 1:31), there was nothing "crooked" or "rough." Even the hills and mountains were apparently gentle in slope and relatively low; the rugged mountain ranges and volcanic peaks of the present world date from the upheavals and residual catastrophism of the great Flood (see especially Psalm 104:5-9). God had instructed men and women to literally "fill" the earth (Genesis 1:28), which would indicate that no part of the lands was uninhabitable.
 
That is not the way it is now, of course. Vast inaccessible mountain ranges, deserts, glaciers, swamplands, etc., abound, all basically as a result of sin and God's curse on the ground (Genesis 3:17).
 
But in the coming period of God's judgments on the rebellious world of mankind, there also will be extensive renovational physical changes accompanying them. For example, there will be such "a great earthquake" that "every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Revelation 6:12, 14). Then a few years later will follow an even greater global earthquake--"so mighty an earthquake, and so great" that "every island fled away, and the mountains were not found" (Revelation 16:18, 20).
 
"For thus saith the Lord of hosts; . . . I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come" (Haggai 2:6-7). Finally, indeed, "every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (Isaiah 40:4-5). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Ways and Works of God
 
"He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel." (Psalm 103:7)
 
We have a distinct privilege, as believers, to know something of the "acts" of God. Scripture records many instances where He performed even miraculous deeds on behalf of His children.
 
There is perhaps a greater privilege--that of reflecting on His "ways," as well. "Ways," in this context, may be understood as God’s actions and behaviors which reflect His underlying character, resulting in His "acts." Understanding His "ways" may not always be possible, "for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9), but nevertheless, we are admonished to try and even pattern our own ways after His.
 
The people of Israel who had special knowledge of the "acts" of God were told to "walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you" (Deuteronomy 5:33). But, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!" (Psalm 81:13). "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).
 
The New Testament echoes this same teaching: "Your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest" (Hebrews 3:9-11).
 
Moses, an eyewitness to the many magnificent works of God on behalf of Israel, went beyond and discerned the "ways" of God as our text teaches. Surely, he chose the better way. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Love
 
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8)
 
The simplest description of God is the Bible phrase "God is love." Everyone responds to love, and everything seems empty and pointless without it. Little wonder, then, that the Scripture also says, "He that loveth not knoweth not God." If God were truly known, love--not hate--would be the result.
 
The love of God is not merely a theoretical concept or a theological doctrine. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
 
One of the first glimpses we have of God is when He was looking for Adam and Eve after their disobedience. One godly preacher noted, "When you read God's first question to man, 'Where art thou?' (Genesis 3:9), as though He were some sort of policeman seeking a fugitive from justice, you do not know anything about God. You must read it as though God were a broken-hearted father looking for a lost child."
 
God aches to help us. God loves us more than we can ever understand or even begin to feel. Our text tells us that "God is love." "The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6), loves us.
 
Yet in spite of God's love and His never-ceasing desire to bless us with His love, our thoughts toward Him and our relationships with Him are often troublesome and uncomfortable--not warm and loving. Could it be that our "iniquities have separated between" us and God, and our "sins have hid his face" from us (Isaiah 59:2)? God is love, but God is holy, too (1 Peter 1:16). These meet together in Christ. When we come to Him, we need only to "confess our sins," for "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Separation from God
 
"And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." (Genesis 4:16)
 
This is a very sad and ominous verse, foreshadowing the tragic fate of all those who "have gone in the way of Cain" (Jude 11). "A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth," God had said (Genesis 4:12), destined to a restless life of moving to and fro in "the land of Nod" (literally, "the land of wandering") all the rest of his days.
 
Cain's basic sin was not just the murder of Abel. "And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (1 John 3:12). "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts" (Hebrews 11:4). Abel's work of sacrifice was judged righteous by God, and Cain's was not, because Cain "was of that wicked one" (1 John 3:12). He had refused to offer the blood of an acceptable sacrifice for his sins (and thus forfeited God's witness that he was righteous), instead offering the fruits of the cursed ground, produced by his own efforts. But then Abel's shed blood entered that ground, so even it could &quot ;not henceforth yield unto thee her strength" (Genesis 4:12), and Cain became a wanderer.
 
Thus it will be in eternity for all those who refuse to come to God through the blood of the one acceptable Sacrifice, His own righteous Son. They shall "have no rest day nor night" (Revelation 14:11), like "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 13), "who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
 
Such eternal separation from God is the very essence of hell. In glorious contrast to such a prospect, all who come to God through Christ will "ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Eternal Earth
 
"Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever." (Psalm 104:5)
 
Secular astronomers and geologists have become increasingly concerned that the earth might be shattered some day by a collision with a swarm of asteroids, or even with a star. Apart from this, they say, the sun is going to burn out (or maybe explode!), and this would also terminate the earth. Possibly some future nuclear war will set off a chain reaction which will disintegrate the earth.
 
We can allay their fears. God has assured us that both the heavens and the earth will abide forever. He is the Creator, and, being omniscient, He does not make mistakes.
 
Note a few of the verses which verify this, in addition to our text: "Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth" (Psalm 119:90).
 
"Praise ye him, sun and moon: . . . all ye stars of light. . . . for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever" (Psalm 148:3, 5-6).
 
"|David's| seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven" (Psalm 89:36-37).
 
"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).
 
The earth will not last forever in its present form, of course, for it is under God's curse because of man's sin. In their present form, the earth and the heavens are "pass|ing| away," Jesus said (Matthew 24:35), and one day the very "elements shall melt" and the earth "shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). But then, "according to his promise," God will create "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13), and then it "shall remain before me, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 66:22). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

We Will Serve the Lord
 
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
 
As Joshua's death approached, he gathered the people around him for a final address and challenge. "Fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served" (v. 14), he exhorted as he reviewed the history of God's provision for Israel. Indeed, God was worthy of their service in light of all He had done for them. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, Joshua used the divine pronoun "I" no less than 17 times in the previous 11 verses, in a majestic listing of His work on their behalf.
 
There seems to be a twist of irony in Joshua's words. Even though the people adamantly maintained: "therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God" (v. 18), Joshua evidently knew they had already decided not to follow God. He did not offer them a choice between the true God and false gods, he offered them a choice between sets of false gods--those "on the other side of the flood" (i.e., the Euphrates River), or those "in Egypt" (v. 14), or "the gods of the Amorites." None can compare, obviously, to the Lord.
 
Joshua's point is still applicable today. Man must worship; he must have a god. One may recognize his god as an actual "god"--an idol to be openly worshipped. Many times today, however, the god is that of human reason, science, evolution, or humanism, and worship is performed unwittingly. Our duty in witnessing includes helping the unsaved to make a knowledgeable choice, pointing out the consequences of their choice of gods. Such a comparison should drive one to the same decision as Joshua's: "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." JDM