A Daily Devotional

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Walking Through Ephesians

“And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:1,2).

Seven times the Apostle Paul speaks of the believer’s walk, in the book of Ephesians. This walk refers to how the Christian is to conduct himself before a holy God and a Godless world. It speaks of a course of life that one is following; a manner of living; a lifetime experience. How one walks (behaves himself) reflects on his entire Christian testimony.

   1. Our previous walk: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air” (v.2). Our old walk is finished.
   2. Our present walk: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Our manner of living should be filled with good works.
   3. Our privileged walk: “I . . . beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1).
   4. Our humble walk: “Walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened” (4:17,18).
   5. Our Christ-like walk: “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” (5:2). The essence of love is self-sacrifice.
   6. Our changed walk: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (5:.
   7. Our wise walk: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).

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Useless Prayers


“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).

There are some prayers that God hates, strange as that may seem. In fact, our very prayers can even “become sin” (Psalm 109:7). When one who has deliberately “turned away his ear” from the Word of God, preferring his own way to God’s revealed will as found in His Word, attempts to ask God for blessing or direction, his prayer becomes presumption. God hates such prayers, and those who pray them should not be surprised when He does not give them their request. “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1,2).

No Christian is sinless, of course. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (I John 1:. The obvious remedy is to ask the Lord, through His Word, to “see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:24), and then to confess and forsake any sin so revealed and known. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

Then, having been cleansed from our unrighteousness, we are again made righteous, not only through Christ’s imputed righteousness, but also in righteous, daily living. Then the gracious promises of answered prayer can again become wholly effective, for “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

How vital it is to know and obey the Word of God, and how dangerous it is to turn our ears away from it. God will not be mocked for long! “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (I Peter 3:12).

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Peace Or No Peace


“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds each one walking in his uprightness” (Isaiah 57:1,2).

Isaiah 57 consists of a contrast between the righteous (as described in our text) and the ungodly, verses 3–13. “Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood?” (v.4).

Compare this verse with the diatribes of evolutionists and professors at our state universities, who continually rail against Christians and make sport of ridiculing Christianity and the Lord God. “I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee” (v.12).

But even when Christians are persecuted, even when the enemy attempts to deny our rights and negate our influence, the Lord says: “He that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; . . . For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive . . . the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:13,15).

Even when the righteous perish (as discussed in the text), we have His word that “I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners” (v.18).

The contrast between the righteous and ungodly even is extended into eternity, for we see that He declares “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him” (v.19).

But, “there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (v.21).

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The Indispensables

“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).

There are not many people or things in life that are truly indispensable. Some are indispensable, however, and anyone who ignores these is infinitely foolish and shortsighted.

God is indispensable. Many people deny Him, and many more ignore Him, but those who are “without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12) are without everything.

Holiness before this God is also indispensable, for He demands perfect “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Since we are unholy, this necessary holiness can only be imputed by God on the basis of a perfect substitutionary sacrifice. Consequently, “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22), and only the blood of the holy Son of God can bring forgiveness and salvation. Only His blood is capable of paying the penalty for our sins, for only He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The sinlessness of Christ is indispensable, and the substitutionary shedding of His holy blood is indispensable, if one is to be saved.

Faith in God, His holiness, and the efficacy of the shed blood of Christ is also indispensable, for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). This must be genuine faith, demonstrated by the good works which will inevitably result from such faith. Thus, works also are indispensable, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Finally, we will never learn these wonderful truths if no one tells us, nor will others learn them if we don’t tell them. “How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14,15). Thus, the missionary, the witness, the teacher, the preacher of the saving Gospel of our Creator and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, are also indispensable in His great plan.

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Prayers Answered


“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).

There are many wonderful assurances in Scripture that our God is a prayer-answering God, as well as innumerable testimonies throughout history, by multitudes of praying believers, that He has answered prayer, often in amazing ways. On the other hand, there are many, many prayers that have not been answered, and the question is: “Why?”

In some cases, of course, it is just that the prayer has not been answered yet, in which case the believer needs merely to continue in prayer, for “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). In some cases, it may be that the request was not in God’s perfect will, for, “if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us” (I John 5:14). We should always pray as did Christ Himself: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42), for His will is always best.

There are times, however, when God would desire to answer our prayers, but is hindered by our own actions and attitudes, since He will only act in consistency with His own holy nature and loving wisdom. Some are listed below:

   1. Sin in the heart: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).
   2. Unforgiving attitude: “When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any” (Mark 11:25).
   3. Carnal motive: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).
   4. Selfish family relations: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (I Peter 3:7).
   5. Unbelief: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. . . . For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6,7).

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Pleasing God


“Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him” (II Corinthians 5:9).

Paul’s great ambition was to please his Lord and Savior. In our text, the Greek for “accepted” often also is translated “well-pleasing,” and this is the real meaning of the word. Since this also is the great desire of every sincere Christian, let us look at a few of those passages where the Lord tells us specifically how we can please Him.

Consider, for example: “But to do good and to communicate (i.e., to ‘share what you have with others’) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:16). See also Philippians 4:18.

There is a special admonition to children: “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:20). For adults: “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please (same root word) Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (II Timothy 2:3,4).

The same word appears in Romans 12:1,2, translated twice as “acceptable.” Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, “holy, acceptable unto God,” being “not conformed to this world,” but transformed by a renewed mind, thereby to prove “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The common thread in these and other such passages is that, in order to be pleasing to the Lord, we must be good stewards of all our possessions and all our days, serving Him totally. “For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable (i.e., ‘well-pleasing’) to God” (Romans 14:18). This is our reasonable service, and it will be abundantly repaid if we hear Him say in that day: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

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Double Trouble

“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:2).

At first glance, it might appear that God is being unjust by dealing out double punishment for sin. “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land” (Jeremiah 16:18). In Jeremiah 17:18 he prays, “Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.” Does God ever give twice as much punishment than is deserved to either a nation or an individual? Absolutely not!

No one will ever stand before God and say, “My punishment is greater than my sin!” God is a just God who never gives more punishment than deserved. Double refers to a complete or full measure of punishment, not twice as much.

Cain is a classic example of a sinner who complains about God’s punishment. God said, “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, my punishment is greater than I can bear” (Genesis 4:12,13). Cain felt that God was being too hard on him.

Mankind’s problem has always been that he never views sin as being quite as heinous as God sees it. Many times man will not even recognize sin as such, but rather designate it by a different term altogether: thereby, endeavoring to take the sting out of sin.

One thing that each of us should do is to call sin, sin! We should not try to whitewash it, excuse it, or deny it.

Christ fully paid for our sin on the cross. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

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The Christian’s Cleansing


“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

This familiar promise is often quoted as a sort of pat formula for dealing with sin in a believer’s life. Simply identify and acknowledge the sin, and all is forgiven.

This is gloriously true, so far as it goes, but the last part of the verse is also vitally important. The Lord wants His people to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

In these and other verses, the verb translated “cleanse” is the Greek katharizo, from which we get such English words as “cathartic.” It is a strong word, sometimes translated as “purify” and even “purge.” The sin not only is to be confessed, it must be purged!

The Lord Jesus Christ “by Himself purged our sins” (Hebrews 1:3), so that God can be perfectly “faithful and just to forgive us our sins” on the basis of His cleansing blood and sanctifying Word. But this is far more than an academic formula, for this cleansing, purifying, and purging must become a real experience in one’s life, and the Lord will do whatever is necessary to make it so. He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify (same word as ‘cleanse’) unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

We must learn to “walk in the light” and to be “zealous of good works,” as He “purgeth us from all unrighteousness” when we “confess our sins.” It is necessary that we be constrained to become more “like Him,” for “when He shall appear, . . . we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (I John 3:2,3). Thus, His forgiveness of our sins is inevitably accompanied by a purging of our lives.

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Our Master


“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master” (John 20:16).

The Christian calls Jesus Christ his Master, but do we really understand what this word means? The concept of masterhood has very little meaning without someone under oversight; the master must be master of a slave or a servant.

The word actually means “bond servant,” or “slave,” and implies a permanent condition. The one in bondage has lost all personal rights, and lives solely to serve his or her master. “For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). The slave in New Testament times didn’t even have a right to his own life.

There are several reasons why we should willingly place ourselves in bondage to Christ Jesus. First, He created us, and we have no existence apart from His gracious sustenance (Colossians 1:16,17). Secondly, after our refusal to remain in fellowship with and submission to Him had brought us into slavery to sin, He paid an enormously high price to buy us back from that cruel master. Thirdly, His Father offers to adopt, as children, those who willingly accept Christ’s masterhood, and promises an inheritance along with that of His beloved Son.

There are many guidelines in Scripture to aid us in becoming servants fit “for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Timothy 2:21). In fact, our Master willingly became a servant to give us an example: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Who . . . made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and . . . humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5–8). “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

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Shadow Of Wings

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

The first occurrence of the word “shadow” is found in Genesis 19:8. A couple of angels had come to visit Lot in Sodom. While in his house, a wicked mob knocked on the door and demanded that he send the “men” out to them for immoral purposes. Lot replied that they could have his two daughters instead, but “only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” It was the custom in the Middle East for a guest to be protected from all harm. Here we have the basic meaning of the word “shadow.”

There is also the shadow of trust: In Psalm 36:7 we read, “How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Could this be a reference to the wings of the cherubim over the mercy seat? The mercy seat represented the atonement, which is the object of our trust.

Likewise, there is the shadow of protection: In Psalm 17:8 we read, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” It is not that we keep ourselves under this protection; the prayer is for the Lord to do this.

Then there is the shadow of refuge: Psalm 57:1 says it well: “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” The heading of the psalm says that it was composed “when he fled from Saul in the cave.”

But it is the shadow of the Almighty that is depicted in the famous 91st Psalm: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. . . . He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust” (Psalm 91:1,4).

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Signs Of The Times

“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2,3).

This sharp rebuke by the Lord Jesus was well deserved, for His critics were challenging Him to prove His right to be heard by performing a miracle. But they had already been confronted with a tremendous body of evidence, both in their Scriptures and in the very life and teachings of Jesus, as well as in the miracles already wrought by Him, that He was their Messiah. They paid great attention to weather forecasting and other mundane matters, while ignoring or rejecting the evidence that God Himself, in Christ, was in their midst.

Today we are more occupied with daily weather even than they were, with all sorts of forecasting devices in operation. There is also a growing army of doomsday forecasters, loudly concerned about a predicted nuclear winter, over-population, pollution, alien invasions from outer space, and a host of other foreboding secular “signs of the times.”

Yet they ignore the overwhelming evidences, both in science and Scripture, that our great Creator/Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is still in control and is coming again soon to fulfill His great purposes in creation and redemption. A mere listing of the many real signs of God’s times would take many pages. One such sign, of course, is this very proliferation of science and technology. At “the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). Another is the great following achieved by these false teachers, as multitudes “turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (II Timothy 4:4). “Hypocrites,” Jesus said, are concerned with secular trends, but spiritual discerners can recognize the true signs.

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Labor


“We beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (I Thessalonians 4:10–12).

On Labor Day, we traditionally take time to recognize the great work force here in America. From factories to restaurants, from typing pools to machine shops, from school rooms to gas stations, laborers help make the economy run, and on this day, America honors its work force.

The Bible likewise frequently commends those who work. For example: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28).

Several of the words in our text are significant. The verbs “increase . . . study . . . be . . . do . . . work . . . walk . . . lack” are all in the tense implying a habit, or lifestyle. We are thus commended to have a mind set of work, not laziness, or expecting others to do for us what we can do for ourselves.

The word “honestly” elsewhere is translated decently, or properly, and is emphasized in the Greek. There is a proper way to walk.

Perhaps Paul was referring to his own example: “For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you” (I Thessalonians 2:9).

Note that an admonition to continue in “brotherly love” (v.9) is the context of our text. For one who refuses to work and becomes a burden to society exhibits a lack of brotherly love, and is a reproach to the community of Christ.

Laborers are honored in Scripture, and so is labor.

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The Rain And The Word


“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10,11).

In these familiar verses, there is a beautiful anticipation and spiritual application of the so-called “hydrologic cycle” of the science of hydrogeology. The rain and snow fall from the heavens and eventually return there (via the marvelous process of river and ground water run-off to the oceans), then later evaporation by solar radiation and translation inland high in the sky by the world’s great wind circuits, finally to fall again as rain and snow on the thirsty land.

But they do not return until they first have accomplished their work of watering the earth, providing and renewing the world’s water and food supplies to maintain its life.

Analogously, God’s Word goes forth from heaven via His revealed Scriptures and their distribution and proclamation by His disciples. It does not return void, for it accomplishes God’s spiritual work on Earth. But it does return, for it is “forever . . . settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

The fruitful spreading of God’s Word is presented in many other Scriptures. For example: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. . . . In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Ecclesiastes 11:1,6).

Thus, as we sow and water the seed, which is the Word of God, we have God’s divine promise that it will accomplish that which He pleases.

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A Strange Teacher


“How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?” (Job 25:6).

The Bible uses many different kinds of object lessons to teach spiritual truth, but none stranger than the worm.

First, the worm teaches us that man is insignificant in comparison to God. In Job 25, Bildad states that creation’s glory is nothing in comparison to God’s glory. “Upon whom doth not His light arise? Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure (bright) in his sight” (vs.3,5). Then he adds, “How much less man, that is a worm?” (v.6). What is man in comparison to God? It is no wonder that Bildad exclaims: “How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?” (v.4).

The worm also teaches us that Christ was willing to become as lowly as we in order to save us. Psalm 22 is David’s great prophetic view of the crucifixion. Over and over he lists the events of the cross. But none is more startling than his statement in verse 6, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” What a contrast between the “I AM” and “I am a worm.” On the cross, Christ became lower than the lowest man. He took our place; became our substitute and sacrifice. Christ is God’s answer to Bildad’s question about justification and holiness.

The worm also teaches us that Christians will be scorned by the world. Jacob (Israel) has always been considered as a worm to the world. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 41:14). Can we as Christians expect any better treatment from the world?

Finally, the worm illustrates great hope to the Christian. “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26)—but it is a sign of great terror to the unsaved, for in hell “their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44,46,48).

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That Ye Might Believe


“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (John 20:30,31).

The Gospel of John is the one book of the Bible specifically written with the purpose of leading men to Jesus Christ and salvation. It is structured around seven specially selected miracles of creation, or “signs” (John 2:11; 4:53,54; 5:9; 6:13,14; 6:19–21; 9:6,7; 11:43–45), each requiring supernatural power as well as knowledge. The book also contains many affirmations of His deity (there are seven great “I am” statements) and many exhortations to believe on Him (e.g., John 3:16), interspersed around the seven signs. Finally, there is the detailed description of the last supper, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, climaxed by the glorious affirmation of faith by doubting Thomas, and then our text stating the purpose of the entire book, as found in our text.

If we are to be effective witnesses for Christ, we can do no better than to follow this same procedure. It is most significant that this begins with a strong emphasis on the special creation of all things, with an exposition showing that Christ Himself is the Creator (John 1:1–14). The judicious use of Christian evidences (e.g., the miracles) demonstrating the truth of His many claims of deity, climaxed by the overwhelming proofs of His own bodily resurrection (John 20:1–29), all interwoven with an uncompromising emphasis on the inerrant authority of Scripture (e.g., John 5:39–47; 10:34–36) and a clear exposition of His substitutionary death and the necessity of personal faith in Him for salvation (especially John 3:1–18) all combine to make the most effective way of bringing men to an intelligent, well-grounded decision to receive Christ as Savior and Lord.