A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Pie in the Sky
 
"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:9)
 
Unbelievers sometimes ridicule Bible-believing Christians as being "so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use" and as waiting for "pie in the sky bye and bye." This canard is, of course, unjustified because the Lord Jesus has told us: "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13) and we are also instructed: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23).  A Christian could--and should--do a better job in his particular occupation than he would ever have done as a non-Christian. All honorable occupations come within the scope of God's primeval dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26-28). "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
 
Nevertheless, there is indeed a great feast day coming bye and bye, and indeed it will be a great blessing to be "called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."  Presumably those who partake of this wonderful feast will be not only those who constitute His Bride, but also others who are called to be guests at His wedding supper. Since the Holy City is also called "the bride, the Lamb's wife" and since it is inscribed with the names of both the "twelve tribes" of Israel and also of the "twelve apostles" (Revelation 21:9, 12, 14), it is clear that believers from both the pre-Christian and Christian ages will be there. They will all have responded to the Lord's invitation and have had the right attitude of heart and life toward the will of the Bridegroom (Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13).
 
Whether some kind of heavenly pie will be served at the Supper is doubtful, but it will surely be a time of great blessing. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Our Sins
 
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
 
As Christ hung on the cross, the Jewish leaders felt that He was guilty of blasphemy--a mere man, claiming to be God. In short, they felt that He was dying for His own sins. Their tragic misconceptions, however, were predicted centuries before, as recorded in the treasured 53rd chapter of Isaiah: "We hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. . . . we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted" (vv. 3-4).
 
But not so! God did not punish Him for His sins, but for ours. "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (v. 5). "For the transgression of my people was he stricken" (v. 8).
 
The penalty for sin has always been death, and even though "he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him" (vv. 9-10). He was the perfect "offering for sin" (v. 10) and "he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (v. 12). Justice has been served! "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many" (v. 11).
 
Furthermore, through His death, even our griefs have been borne and our sorrows carried (v. 4). In addition to all this, our peace has been gained through His chastisement and our healing has been accomplished with His stripes (v. 5).
 
Such considerations can drive us only to the most complete prostration of wonder and amazement. Necessitated because "all we like sheep have gone astray," God's justice has been satisfied, because Christ, in love, has taken upon Himself "the iniquity of us all." As in the hymn: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Father to Son to Grandson
 
"That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged." (Deuteronomy 6:2)
 
The Lord often has emphasized in His Word the vital importance of not only obeying His commands but also of diligently instructing our children therein--and so on from generation to generation. "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (v. 7).
 
These instructions were given originally to the children of Israel, but can surely be applied also in our day. To carry them out requires real dedication and discipline in their own lives on the part of fathers. "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget . . . but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons" (4:9).
 
The Israelites did forget all too often, but so do many Christian fathers today. Our specific command today is: "And, ye fathers . . . bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Our whole American culture once was structured on biblical principles, but no more. We can blame the schools and activist courts, but a more basic cause is parental (especially paternal) failure. We again need to remember and apply in our own homes God's testimony to ancient Israel.
 
"For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them . . . and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments" (Psalm 78:5-7). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Our Reasonable God
 
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
 
Our God is a reasonable God, and our faith is a reasonable faith, based on sound evidence. It is not a credulous faith like that of the evolutionist who blindly believes either in the god of chance or in some sort of cosmic consciousness.
 
Furthermore, He has told us to be reasonable in our witness to others. "Be ready always to give an answer [that is, an apologetic, a reasoned defense of our faith] to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).
 
But how can it be reasonable that one whose deeds have been crimson with sin could ever be made "white as snow"? That would seem impossible! He or she would have to be "born again." This would require a mighty miracle--a reversal of time--and eradication of all the sins of the past.
 
And that would indeed be unreasonable--even impossible, were it not for God. But "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27). What seems incredible to human wisdom is altogether reasonable to the God of creation. He has allowed man the freedom to sin (so that he could also be free to choose righteousness), but He can never fail in His creative purpose. "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25).
 
This divine wisdom is centered in the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, who "loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5). As a result, now our "reasonable service" to Him is for each of us to offer ourselves to Him as "a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Silencing Foolish Men
 
"For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." (1 Peter 2:15)
 
The blasphemous diatribes of modern evolutionary humanists against the Word of God and the testimony of His people are really nothing but arrogant foolishness. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22) and "the LORD shall have them in derision" (Psalm 2:4). The biblical way to "silence the ignorance of foolish men" as our text says is simply by "well doing." This word (also translated "do well") is used almost exclusively by Peter, but he makes the point quite effectively.
 
Note the following, for example: "if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Peter 2:20). "For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing" (1 Peter 3:17). "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19).
 
Our example in this, of course, is none other than Christ Himself, "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). Unbelievers--if they want to badly enough--can reject every argument with some other objection or counter claim, but they have no way to gainsay a godly, law-abiding, righteous, loving life. The unbeliever may ridicule such a life for a time, but he must eventually come to see its sure foundation. "Whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12). The main reason for "well doing," however, is simply that as our text says, "it is the will of God," and we ca n safely leave the response and the results to Him. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Blessed by the Word
 
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD." (Psalm 119:1)
 
The Hebrew word barak appears over 300 times in the Bible. It basically means to endue or bless with power for success, prosperity, fruitfulness, longevity, and so on. The oft-used Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26) closes with, "The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace," and is initiated by the greater upon the lesser.
 
The opening stanza of Psalm 119 identifies the traits of a lifestyle subject to the Word of God and then claims the blessing that comes as the result of those who "seek him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2). The unknown psalmist saturates all 22 stanzas with eight key words describing the intimate role by which inspired Scriptures empower godly behavior. Six are used in this opening testimony and prayer.
 
Those who "walk in the law [torah] of the LORD" and "keep his testimonies" (edah) receive God's blessing (Psalm 119:1-2). These instructions inscripturated in God's Word enable us to be "undefiled in the way" and to "do no iniquity" (Psalm 119:3). The apostle Paul noted that apart from the law, he would not know he was sinning (Romans 7:7).
 
God "hast commanded us to keep precepts [piqquwd—listings, statutes, laws] diligently. . . . Then shall not be ashamed, when have respect unto all commandments [mitzvah―instructions]," (Psalm 119:4-6).
 
The promise to "praise with uprightness of heart" (Psalm 119:7) is based on a prayer: "O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes [hoq―engraved laws]!" (Psalm 119:5). And we can be certain that a righteous life will come when we have "learned righteousness judgments [mishpat]" (Psalm 119:7). May our lives be as dedicated to God's Word as is described in this magnificent song. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Meditation
 
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8)
 
This well-known verse contains the first use of the Hebrew verb for "meditate" (hagah) in the Bible and, significantly, it is a command to meditate on the Scriptures. Such meditation is not mere quietness or daydreaming, but is thoughtfulness with a purpose--to obey "all that is written therein."
 
Meditation for its own sake, without being centered on God's Word, is often useless or even harmful. Witness the Western proliferation of Eastern "meditation cults" (T.M., etc.) in recent years, which lead their devotees into pantheism and occultism. Isaiah 8:19 warns against "wizards that peep, and that mutter [same word as 'meditate']." "Why do . . . the people imagine a vain thing?" (Psalm 2:1).
 
The blessed man is the one whose "delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:2). That is, only if we are continually guided by the Holy Scriptures will we be happy and successful.
 
In the New Testament, the Greek word for "meditate" (melatao) is used only twice. Once, it is translated "imagine" (Acts 4:25) and is in a quotation of Psalm 2:1, as above. The last time it is used, however, its emphasis reverts back to the context of its first usage, as in our text above. Paul commands us: "Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. . . . Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all" (1 Timothy 4:13, 15). Modern meditationists say that the goal of meditation is to clear our minds of "things," but God wants us to meditate on "these things"--the life-giving, life-directing doctrines of His Word. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Cleansed by the Word
 
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalm 119:9)
 
Psalm 119:9-16 provides key instructions for those who would seek to please their Creator with a godly life.
 
"Taking heed" (Hebrew shamar--guarding) God's Word is the foundation upon which a godly life is built (vv. 10-11). The psalmist sought God with his whole heart and pleaded with God to prevent him from wandering (Hebrew shagah--to stray through ignorance). That plea was then turned into a confirmation and an understanding: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (v. 11).
 
With the assurance of these foundational elements, the psalmist promised the Lord that he will organize his life so that he "will not forget thy word" (v. 16).
 
Similar to the apostle John's assurance in his first epistle, the psalmist recognized behaviors that he was already exhibiting. His "lips" have "declared" the judgments of God (v. 13). He knows that he has "rejoiced in the way" (v. 14) of God's revealed testimonies as much as the ungodly have boasted of gaining wealth. He is no stranger to godly living and loves the way of God, seeking to excel in holiness (1 John 5:3).
 
The section closes with two "I will" promises, surely based upon his earlier commitment to cleanse his way. The psalmist promised to "meditate in [God's] precepts, and have respect unto ways" (v. 15). This assumes time, study, and careful thought about the purposes and intent of God's message. It is not a promise to sit comfortably and "clear one's mind" of cogent thinking, waiting on some voice to reveal truth. The psalmist can then "delight" in the statutes of the Word (Psalm 119:16; Romans 7:22).
 
As we seek to know God's great Word, may His works refresh our hearts and delight our lives. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

To Be or Not to Be
 
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
 
The verb "to be," in its various forms and tenses, enjoys wide usage throughout Scripture. Verses employing it, as it relates to us, contain many of the greatest and most precious truths. Consider the following sampling:
 
Past tense: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God" (v. 10). "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). "You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled" (Colossians 1:21).
 
Present tense: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven" (Romans 4:7). "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (1 Peter 1:5). "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). "Beloved, now are we the sons of God" (1 John 3:2). "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him" (Colossians 2:9-10). Note also our text verse.
 
Future tense: "It doth not yet appear what we shall be: 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). "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. . . . and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:3-5). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Understanding the Times
 
"And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment." (1 Chronicles 12:32)
 
This chapter lists the numbers of men from each of the tribes of Israel who cast their lot with David in his conflict with King Saul. All these numbers are given except those of Issachar, but of these it was said that all their brethren followed their 200 leaders in turning to David. The reason for their unanimity in this decision was that these leaders "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." It was time to "turn the kingdom" to David, "according to the word of the LORD" (1 Chronicles 12:23). God had given them a Benjamite, Saul, as king for a time, but now David had been anointed, and it was the time to give "the sceptre" to Judah, according to the prophecy of their father, Jacob, given over 600 years before (Genesis 49:10).
 
How desperately we need leaders today who are spiritual "sons of Issachar," understanding these times! Christ told the apostles: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons" (Acts 1:7); it was more urgent that they proceed to witness for Him "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (v. 8).
 
Nevertheless, He would return to the earth in some generation, and that generation should be expected (when they would see all these things) to "know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33). They could understand the signs, and even though they should never attempt to guess the date, they could "look up, . . . for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28), when they would see "these things begin to come to pass."
 
The signs are everywhere, yet few of our leaders--Christian politicians included--seem to understand the real meaning of these times. Christ is "even at the doors!" HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Way of Man
 
"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)
 
A nineteenth-century poet boasted: "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." The twentieth-century Humanist Manifesto proclaims: "No deity will save us; we must save ourselves." A popular song proudly asserts: "I did it my way!"
 
The fact is, however, that humanism has failed. Whether exercised at the level of government paternalism or individual self-sufficiency, the notion that any man or group of men can make decisions and go their own ways with no regard to the will of their Creator is arrogant foolishness. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).
 
God does have a will for both men and nations. "In times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. . . . And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 14:16; 17:30). It would make a tremendous impact for world peace and national happiness if only our national and world leaders would formulate their policies in accordance with the revealed will of God, through His Word.
 
But this ideal may never be approached until Christ Himself returns. In the meantime, He has promised guidance in each individual life when that life is truly yielded to His will. No man can really "direct his steps," as our text points out, but "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and . . . none of his steps shall slide" (Psalm 37:23, 31).
 
God's will is always in accordance with His Word, of course, for He cannot contradict Himself. We can therefore confidently act on His promise: "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Imperatives of Redemption
 
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matthew 16:21)
 
The little word "must" (Greek, deon) conveys urgency and necessity and is frequently used in connection with the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He was just a lad, He told the learned men in the temple: "I must be about my Father's business" (Luke 2:49).
 
But then the first time this key auxiliary verb is found in the New Testament is in the comprehensive prophetic statement of His mission, as given to His disciples in our text. He must go to Jerusalem to suffer, and die, and be raised the third day. As He was moving toward that climactic event, "he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent" (Luke 4:43). Furthermore, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9:4).
 
He had much preaching and much work to do in that brief threeyear interim in world history. But then He must die!
 
And why must He die? Because "the scriptures must be fulfilled" (Mark 14:49). "These are the words which I spake unto you . . . that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44).
 
And how must He die? "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (John 3:14). But then, of course, "he must rise again from the dead" (John 20:9).
 
To what purpose must He be lifted up on the cross to die and then be raised again? Why, because "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Thou Shalt Be Saved!
 
"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31)
 
This was Paul's answer to the trembling jailer's question: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (v. 30). To our modern sophisticated ears, such terms as being "saved" may sound strange and oldfashioned, but there is no more accurate term than this to describe the miracle that happens when a person becomes a real Christian and is "born again."
 
Before being saved, he is under God's condemnation because of sin, destined for hell; but when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is "saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). Not only is he saved from eternal wrath, he is saved to eternal life. Christ is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
 
This great salvation is not achieved by good works of any kind or number, "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).
 
Although being saved is God's gift to man, its cost was infinite to Christ. "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).
 
The price of our salvation was the shed blood of Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and the greatest of all sins--the one for which there is no forgiveness--is that of rejecting Him. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). He is our great redeeming Savior, and only He can save! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Writing of God
 
"And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." (Exodus 32:16)
 
In this verse is the first occurrence in the Bible of the word "writing" and, appropriately enough, it is speaking of "the writing of God" rather than the writings of men. The reference, of course, is to the two tables of the law, the Ten Commandments, "written with the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18), and rewritten on a second set of stone tables to replace the first, once they were shattered (Exodus 34:1).
 
All Scripture is divinely inspired, but the Ten Commandments were divinely inscribed! This testimony of their unique importance is a sobering condemnation of any who ignore them or distort their meaning (including the one referring to the sixday creation in Exodus 20:11).
 
But there is another writing of God--this one recorded in the New Testament, one of even greater personal significance to the Christian: "Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3). No longer an external standard divinely engraved in stone by the finger of God, but an internal conviction inscribed in the heart by the Spirit of God! "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them" (Hebrews 10:16).
 
This remarkable writing of God's law in our hearts and minds has been accomplished because Christ came not "to destroy, but to fulfill" the law (Matthew 5:17) and "hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Now, with the law in our hearts, we have become epistles of God, "known and read of all men" (2 Corinthians 3:2), and it is vital that the writing read true and clear through our lives. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Bounty from the Word
 
"Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word." (Psalm 119:17)
 
Materialism is so prevelant that it is sometimes difficult to not associate words like "bounty" or "blessing" with earthly riches. This psalmist wasn't concerned with physical prosperity, but rather that God would reveal to him what his own heart sought--"that I may live, and keep thy word."
 
He requested spiritual insight: "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (v. 18). Without hint of greed or self-centerd aggrandizement, he only longed to understand the "wondrous" insights of the torah (law). We lack "bounty" if we neglect studying God's inerrant Word.
 
We often forget that we are "stranger in the earth" (v. 19). Once adopted into God's family (Ephesians 1:5), our citizenship (Philippians 3:20) is transferred from this earth to God's "city" (Hebrews 11:10). Thus, the psalmist begged for God not to "hide" the commandments from him because his "soul breaketh for the longing" (v. 20) he had, in every season, for the judgments of God's Word.
 
He remembered God's swift justice against the "cursed" (v. 21) who "err" (wander, stray) from the Word, since the "princes" (chiefs, leaders) of the land resisted his effort to obey God (v. 23). Nontheless, he was determined to demonstrate his "delight" in the "counselors" within God's testimonies (v. 24).
 
Many who claim to be evangelicals today boldly scorn those who trust that "every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5). May God keep us from "the fear of man" (Proverbs 29:25) and embolden our resolve to "worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" (Psalm 138:2). HMM III