A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Covetousness in the Latter Days
 
"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Luke 12:15)
 
The sin of covetousness perhaps has been the most besetting sin of the human race since Eve, and God finally wrote it into the Decalog itself: "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17). The apostle Paul even made the sweeping statement: "The love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). "For . . . no . . . covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Ephesians 5:5).
 
In view of such warnings, the Christian should indeed greatly beware of covetousness. Nevertheless, one of the distressing characteristics predicted for the "last days" is a great increase of covetousness, even among professing Christians. "In the last days . . . men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous. . . . Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
 
It is sad to see so many modern "Christian" movements promoting what might be called a "prosperity cult," teaching that "gain is godliness." Stressing "positive mental attitude," "self-help," "creative visualization," and various other supposed spiritual psychotherapies, these modern false teachers and their affluent lifestyles have deluded multitudes of coveting Christians into thinking they have some sort of divine right to material prosperity.
 
The Greek word for "covetous," describing men of the last days (2 Timothy 3:2), is the same as that for "love of money" (1 Timothy 6:10), an undue attention to material things. It is also used (in negative form) in Hebrews 13:5, and this is the true Christian standard. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Watching Him There
 
"And sitting down they watched him there." (Matthew 27:36)
 
When the Roman soldiers had finished torturing Jesus and gambling over His garments, finally nailing Him to the cross; and when the Jewish elders, scribes, and chief priests had finished mocking Him and challenging Him to come down from the cross if He could, they all just sat down to enjoy watching Him suffer and die!
 
But amazingly, what they saw as they watched had been described already, a thousand years before its fulfillment, in the remarkable prophecies of the 22nd Psalm, written as though coming from the inmost thoughts of the suffering one Himself, there on the cross. Even His initial cry was prophesied: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1).
 
"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, he trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. . . . I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. . . . My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. . . . they pierced my hands and my feet. . . . they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psalm 22:7-8, 14-18).
 
Space does not allow citing it all here, but one should read the entire psalm, comparing it in detail with the scene at the cross, to feel the profound impact of this moving prophecy and its fulfillment. But also note its conclusion. "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. . . . They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this" (Psalm 22:27, 31). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
 
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:13-14)
 
Can we imagine how the shepherds felt that night? One moment they were sleepily watching their flock (Luke 2:8), and the next, they were confronted by "the angel of the Lord" (v. 9). Little wonder that they were "sore afraid." But the angel allayed their fears and announced the wonderful news that the long-awaited Messiah had just been born and that they were invited to go see Him (vv. 10-12).
 
But before they could act, the sky was ablaze with "a multitude of the heavenly host," singing and praising God in jubilation. How could they have responded differently than "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste" (vv. 15-16)?
 
The heralding angels deserve more than just a passing look. The Bible teaches that angels are not just inhabitants of heaven, but active participants in the affairs of the earth. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14). They are continually at war with the fallen angels (e.g., Daniel 10:13) and aid us in our spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12).
 
In our text, these angels constitute a "host," not a choir! They have not arrived from a perch in the clouds, but have assembled from their various duty stations and battlegrounds to celebrate the birth of their Creator, Jesus Christ. They had long been fascinated by God’s plan of redemption (1 Peter 1:12), and now rejoiced as it began to unfold.
 
Let us employ the favorite Christmas carol by Charles Wesley to focus our attention on this majestic event. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

God and Sinners Reconciled
 
"We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
 
In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the "very good" creation (Genesis 1:31), He gave them one rule to follow (2:17). They were created to live forever in fellowship with Him, but disobedience to this rule would bring death.
 
As Creator, He had both the authority to set the rules over His creation and the penalty for breaking rules, declaring "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). A holy, sinless, everliving God who abhors sin cannot allow disobedience in His presence, and a just God's nature demands a just punishment. Ever since the events of Genesis 3, God and humankind have been estranged, with the awful barrier of sin separating them. Man has been unable to restore fellowship with God on his own! Sin's penalty must be paid!
 
The angels were present at the creation of Adam and Eve, at their disobedience, and at God's withdrawal of fellowship with them. The angels have ever since been active on behalf of repentant sinners, but they were unable to bring about any permanent solution.
 
But finally it happened! God, the Creator who had been rejected by His creation, the righteous judge who demanded the penalty of death for sin, Himself had come to pay that penalty, to redeem by His own death His fallen, rebellious creation, and the angels rejoiced. JDM
 
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic hosts proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

[Soldier4Christ]

The Incarnate Deity
 
"Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)
 
The entire gospel message runs counter to the human mind. The Creator dying for the creation. The judge paying the penalty for the guilty. The immortal One dying. Sinless God substituting for human sinners. No human or devil ever could have thought of this scheme, and indeed, no such one did. This is evidenced by the works-oriented salvation offered by all cults and false religions, as conjured up by such sources.
 
But make no mistake! The babe in the manger was the Creator, holy and eternal! "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. . . . All things were created by him, and for him: . . . that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself" (Colossians 1:15-20).
 
In order to qualify as a sacrificial substitute, He had to be born as a child into humankind, but without the inherited sin nature of His human parents. A virgin birth was therefore necessary.
 
He had to live a sinless life. He had to be fully human, but also fully God, so that His substitutionary death could apply to the sins of more than one guilty sinner. He had to be "God with us," the meaning of the precious title Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23), as prophesied years before (Isaiah 7:14). JDM
 
Christ, by the highest Heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in the time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th'incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmamuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

[Soldier4Christ]

The Prince of Peace
 
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." (Isaiah 9:6-7)
 
There will come a time when the Creator's work of salvation will be complete, and we will fully realize the eternal life we now possess. Make no mistake! He has already assured the outcome of this work, but one day sin and its effects will be totally removed (Revelation 21:4-5), and the curse will be repealed (Revelation 22:3), for: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. . . . Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54). He says, "Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings" (Malachi 4:2).
 
The fact that He was born into the human race qualified Him as a sacrifice for us. He had to be a sinless human to die for humans. His death freed us from paying sin's awful penalty ourselves, for He has paid it! But He also rose in triumph over sin and death, assuring us that we who have accepted His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through the second birth (John 3:3, etc.) will also rise again just as He, the "firstfruits," did (1 Corinthians 15:20).
 
Until that day arrives, we have glorious peace, for the Prince of Peace "made peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20). "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you" (John 14:27). JDM
 
Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

[Soldier4Christ]

The Desire of Nations
 
"I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." (Haggai 2:7)
 
To think that the almighty sovereign Creator, the judge of all the earth, the righteous sacrifice for our sins, the conqueror of death, would take up residence in our own hearts! Through His work on the cross, He has done away with the need for an earthly temple. Instead, "know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).
 
This new and blessed relationship has been in view from the first. Immediately after pronouncing the penalty of death upon all creation (due to Adam and Eve's rejection of His authority over them), the Creator announced the ultimate solution to the problem which He would one day bring to pass. Speaking to Satan, God said: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15). And from that time on, the nation of Israel has been looking for the conquering seed of the woman who would return creation to its original created intent.
 
Adam's sin nature was passed on to all his descendants and likewise the unacceptability of sinful mankind to stand in the presence of a holy God. But His work in fulfillment of the prophecy above crushed Satan's hold on and claim over us. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). "Glory to the newborn King!" JDM
 
Come Desire of Nations, come! Fix in us Thy humble home:
Rise, the woman's conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent's head;
Adam's likeness now efface, Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King."

[Soldier4Christ]

A House in the Land of Shinar
 
"Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base." (Zechariah 5:10-11)
 
This prophecy of the latter days shows a woman named "wickedness" being translated rapidly in a great measuring basket (symbolizing commerce and finance "through all the earth," v. 6) to a base being built for it in the ancient land of Shinar (same as Sumeria). This was also the land of Nimrod, the leader of the post-Flood rebellion against God at Babel. "He began to be a mighty one in the earth. . . . And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, . . . in the land of Shinar" (Genesis 10:8, 10).
 
From this first Babylon in the land of Shinar, the dispersed followers of Nimrod carried their anti-God, materialistic religion into every land through every age. Its current form is mainly a pantheistic, evolutionary humanism promoting a "new world order," featuring a world government and (supposedly) universal prosperity, without God--a world order such as Nimrod tried to build at Babylon long ago.
 
In the final book of the Bible, this woman of wickedness is called "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." She is said to be sitting upon "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Revelation 17:5, 15). This monstrous system is evidently once again to have a house built for it in the land of Shinar.
 
It is interesting that Babylon (near Baghdad in Iraq) is partially rebuilt. Being very near the geographical center of the earth's land masses, this site is the ideal location for a world government. In any case, the day will come when Babylon will fall forever, and there will be "a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia" (Revelation 18:2; 19:1). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Sending Messages by Lightning
December 20, 2009
 
"Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?" (Job 38:35)
 
This question posed to Job was one of about 77 rhetorical questions in the remarkable divine monologue of God recorded in Job 38 and 39. This question included a reference to the fearful phenomena of thunder and lightning, which in ancient times were well-known, of course, and so was static electricity.
 
However, the fact that lightning is really just moving electricity was not fully recognized until Ben Franklin's famous kite experiment in the mid-eighteenth century. Furthermore, the fact that electricity can actually "go," and even carry information with it, was a discovery of quite recent times. God had even spoken of "a way |that is, a path| for the lightning of thunder" (Job 38:25).
 
Nowadays we have telegraph lines and telephones and radios and televisions and all sorts of devices whereby information is carried by these "lightnings" all over the world. There is even a worldwide web (an "information super highway," some have called it), enabling anyone to communicate electronically with the whole wide world if he wishes to do so, and to acquire just about any information he needs or which someone wants to "e-mail" him.
 
It is interesting, too, that any kind of formal information transmission program (such as from a television studio) will usually begin with an announcer saying, in effect: "Well, here we are!" and the "lightnings" carry these greetings practically instantaneously to any who are there to receive them.
 
All of this is the result of modern, sophisticated science and technology. Yet here it is clearly intimated as at least a possibility in what is probably the oldest book in the Bible! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Blessing of the Lord
 
"The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." (Proverbs 10:22)
 
This is one of the favorite texts of those who espouse the so-called "Prosperity Gospel." Essentially, this popular message teaches that personal wealth is in direct proportion to one's spiritual condition. On the one hand, this "pernicious" doctrine (2 Peter 2:2) claims that God must bless (by which is meant health and wealth) those who claim the promises of the Scripture. On the other hand, those who experience trials and trouble (by which is meant sickness and penury) are considered either weak in faith or deep in sin.
 
Careful biblical exposition always takes into consideration both the context and the setting in which a certain passage or phrase is used. In this case, the key phrase ("the blessing of the LORD") only appears six times in the Bible, and only in the Old Testament. And while God emphasizes physical and material prosperity to Israel during the "old covenant," the condition for such blessing or punishment was always obedience to God's commands (Deuteronomy 28).
 
The new covenant (Hebrews 8:13) stresses "spiritual blessings" (Ephesians 1:3), in contrast to the physical emphasis in the old. Whereas the six passages in the Old Testament exclusively speak about physical prosperity or chastisement, the 15 passages in the New Testament are very different. Paul speaks of "the blessing of the gospel of Christ" (Romans 15:29) and "the communion of the blood of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:16). The spiritual blessings amplified in Ephesians 1 are focused on the wonder and joy of the eternal relationship.
 
But ultimately, the blessings that we receive here from our Lord are but shadows of the blessing that we will give to the King of kings. Then "every creature" (Revelation 5:13) will "bless the lord," who alone really deserves it! HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

What Is Good?
 
"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31)
 
Without going into a lengthy and philosophical discussion, let us look at the basic definition of the Hebrew word that God chose to use in Genesis 1.
 
Here is the expanded definition and catalog of the English word used to translate the Hebrew word towb (tobe), taken from the widely recognized lexicon in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:
 
Good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; use likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or goodthings, good men or women), also as an adverb (well):—beautiful, best better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, most, pleasant, pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([ -favoured]).
 
Towb is a common and simple word. It always speaks of something that is good, nice, pretty, or pleasant, etc. It never speaks of something that hurts, kills, is ugly, random, purposeless, or otherwise not good. It is a consistent term, one that is used throughout as a description for "good" things. Why would anyone ever want to make the word say anything else?
 
Professing Christians who must include evolutionary processes in the "days" of creation need to make "good" something other than what the inspired Word calls for. Again, the question is "why?" Perhaps it is because man's science appears to mean more to them than God's Word. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Signs of Christmas
 
"Moreover the LORD spoke again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above." (Isaiah 7:10-11)
 
Although "the Jews require a sign" (1 Corinthians 1:22), and this attitude was rebuked by Christ when He said that "an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign" (Matthew 12:39), God has given three specific signs with respect to the incarnation of Christ. There were other signs too, no doubt, such as the star of Bethlehem, but three events were specifically called signs.
 
First, to the unwilling King Ahaz, He said: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means "God with us," and the sign of the virgin birth, biologically impossible without a mighty miracle of divine creation, assures us that the omnipotent God has entered the human family once for all.
 
That entrance was not made in an emperor's palace as a great conqueror, however, but in the very humblest of human circumstances, and this also was a sign. "And this shall be a sign unto you," said the leader of the angelic host; "Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
 
And there was a third sign. When the infant Jesus was brought to the temple, the aged prophet Simeon said: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).
 
That is, the God/man would Himself be God's great sign to Israel and the whole world. The attitude of men and women to God, in Christ, would reveal the state of their hearts and seal their eternal destiny, whether rising again to everlasting life or falling forever away from God. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Wonderful Counsellor
 
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
 
This magnificent verse, used so often on Christmas cards, is a splendid prophecy of the divine/human nature of the coming Messiah. He would be born as a child, like every other human being, but He would also be given as a Son at the same time, with the giver clearly being God Himself. "He gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16).
 
The name of this God/man offers further testimony. At the introduction of this prophecy, God had named Him Immanuel, meaning "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14). Now He is given a series of names, all of which are needed to express His full identity. It is likely the first two names should be considered one name: He is our "Wonderful Counsellor" (the punctuation marks have been added to our translations, but the combined term is more in keeping with the structure of the other names).
 
This "child," amazingly, is also "The mighty God" and "The everlasting Father," stressing His absolute and eternal deity, as well as His omnipotence and the unity of the Father and the Son in the Triune Godhead. Finally, as "The Prince of Peace," it is only He that can unite the warring factions of mankind and bring true world peace. This stresses His humanity, but also His perfect and effective humanity.
 
Also, in His human nature, He is our "Wonderful Counsellor," our perfect example and infallible teacher. He both shows and tells us what to believe and how to live, and He is never wrong, for in Him "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," and "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:3, 9). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Joy to the World
 
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10)
 
When God became man, and Jesus was born, true joy entered a world of sin and sadness. The Magi, who had been long anticipating the Savior's coming, "rejoiced with exceeding great joy" when they saw the star standing over the young child (Matthew 2:10). This is the first mention of "joy" in the New Testament.
 
The heavenly host also rejoiced as their angelic captain shared with the shepherds in the field at Bethlehem the "good tidings |that is, 'the gospel'| of great joy." The very gospel we are to preach is a gospel of exceeding joy, because we have a Savior to preach--Christ the Lord!
 
Although He was "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), the Lord Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). He prepared His disciples for His coming death and their own subsequent sufferings for His name's sake by conveying to them His own joy. "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). He prayed for them to the Father, "that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves" (John 17:13). He promised to answer prayers offered to the Father in His name "that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).
 
Thus it is that all who truly believe on Christ can testify with Peter that even though "now |we| see him not, yet believing, |we| rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). Even when suffering for Him, Christians know that "when his glory shall be revealed, |we| may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13), for His word promises that He will "present |us| faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Ages to Come
 
"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7)
 
People may ridicule Christians for believing in "pie in the sky bye and bye," but the sober truth is that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
 
Why should we get enamored with the philosophies and projects of this present world when the Scriptures tell us that "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God," and that both the wisdom and "the princes of this world" are going to "come to nought" (1 Corinthians 3:19; 2:6).
 
Anyway, should we not "lay up for selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matthew 6:20), instead of foolishly "supposing that gain is godliness" (1 Timothy 6:5)? Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4), not to make us more comfortable living in it. In fact, "all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life . . . passeth away . . . but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:16-17).
 
God has not promised us pie in the sky, but He has promised to show us "the exceeding riches of his grace." He has assured us that there will be "glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end" (Ephesians 3:21). "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
 
Therefore, like Moses, we choose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," for we have "respect unto the recompense of the reward" (Hebrews 11:25-26). HMM