A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Graven in the Rock
 
"Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" (Job 19:23-24)
 
In the midst of terrible calamities and sufferings, righteous Job expressed a heartfelt longing to write down his experiences and meditations, that others might later understand. This longing no doubt later led him, when the Lord finally restored him to health and prosperity, to do just that.
 
Job apparently wrote his book, originally, not on some perishable material but, as we see in our text, on tablets of stone with a pen of iron so that his testimony might be permanently available to all future generations. Indeed, God in His providence has ordained exactly that, by incorporating it in the Bible.
 
And the essence of Job's testimony is surely one of the most wonderful statements of faith ever penned, all the more remarkable in view of Job's circumstances when he uttered it, and in light of the limited knowledge of God's plan of redemption available in his day.
 
Here it is: "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" (v. 25). Even before the days of Moses, Job knew that God Himself would become, not just the world's Redeemer from its bondage under the great Curse, but his own personal Savior! He even sensed the necessity of God's bodily incarnation, for he said He would stand on the earth in the latter days. He knew that he himself would someday be resurrected from the dead, for he said that, even after worms had destroyed his body, "yet in my flesh shall I see God" (v. 26).
 
In the many centuries since, multitudes of other believers have seen Job's testimony, written forever in the Book, and have made it their own, trusting their living Redeemer. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Good Confession
 
"I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession." (1 Timothy 6:13)
 
Young Timothy also had "professed a good profession |same word as 'confession'| before many witnesses" (v. 12), evidently of similar substance and quality to that in the witness of Christ before Pilate. When the Jews urged Pilate to condemn Jesus to death, their charge was that "he made himself the Son of God" (John 19:7). Pilate gave Jesus opportunity to deny this charge and save His life, "but Jesus gave him no answer" (v. 9). Both by His silence, when a denial of the charge could have saved Him, and by His open testimony before Pilate that He was, in fact, a King from heaven itself--indeed "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15), it becomes clear that our own "good confession" must be a confession of our faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God, our Savior and Lord, especially when that confession is made openly before hostile witnesses.
 
Jesus said: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Paul said, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9); and John said, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God" (1 John 4:15).
 
Despite the great blessings awaiting all who make a courageous and good confession of saving faith in Christ, most people will refuse until it is too late. There is a time coming, however, when "every tongue |will| confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Greatest Name
 
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." (Philippians 2:9-10)
 
While the role of the Lord Jesus appears somewhat subdued in the Old Testament, it dominates the New Testament. The Hebrew equivalent of "Jesus" appears only 13 times as "saviour." The Greek text explodes with over 960 verses either recording statements made by Jesus or proclaiming Him as Lord and King.
 
King David declared: "Blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory" (Psalm 72:19). And, of course, the great "name" passage in Isaiah 9:6 amplifies the many aspects of the "child" whose "name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
 
But Jesus prefers "Son of man." That title is used 89 times, while "Son of God" is used 53 times. The majestic name of "Lord of lords, and King of kings" is used only three times in the New Testament, twice in the closing book (Revelation 17:14 and 19:16), and once in Paul's moving benediction: "Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
 
Since the New Testament emphasizes the ultimate kingship of our Lord Jesus, we can understand that the dominant name cited nearly 250 times in the Old Testament ("LORD of hosts") refers to the Ruler of Heaven, the Lord Jesus (Malachi 3:17). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Scripture Says/God Says
 
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)
 
Among the many evidences for verbal inspiration, both within and without Scripture, is the frequent interchange of God recognized as the author of a particular passage with the human author who actually penned it. This can be true only if the very words recorded by the various authors are "God breathed" (the meaning of "inspiration").
 
For example, the early Christians exclaimed, "Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?" (Acts 4:24-25), thereby recognizing that God spoke through David, who wrote God's words in Psalm 2:1-2.
 
Likewise, Paul, in his masterful dissertation on God's sovereignty, claimed "the scripture saith unto Pharaoh" (Romans 9:17) that which God Himself had spoken unto Moses (Exodus 9:13). In other words, what Scripture says, God says.
 
Even Christ Jesus, who Himself had written with His finger "honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12) on tables of stone, personally ascribed the authorship of the passage to Moses (Mark 7:10). Evidently to Christ, there was no difference. That which Moses had written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in this case what he had copied from the stone tablet, was fully the Word of God.
 
We can be sure that what Scripture says, God says. "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:17). We can trust our lives on earth, our view of history, and our eternal destiny to what is written on the pages of Scripture. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

I Am
 
"And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62)
 
After His arrest, "the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none" (Mark 14:55). Then they got their sought-after witness from Jesus Himself when the high priest asked Him: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (v. 61), and it only took two words from Him. "I Am!"
 
As a matter of fact, this was not the first time He had thus identified Himself as the self-existent, eternal God. On an earlier occasion in Jerusalem, He had told the Pharisees: "I am the light of the world," and then, "I am from above: . . . I am not of this world. . . . If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:12, 23-24; the "he" in verse 24 is not in the Greek original).
 
He made this especially clear a few minutes later when He asserted: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). But when He finally made this wonderfully truthful claim in the presence of the council, "they all condemned him to be guilty of death" (Mark 14:64). He had committed the capital crime of blasphemy in their opinion, by claiming to be God.
 
"I am" is, in fact, the very name of God. When Moses, at the burning bush, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery, God said His name was "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14). The name Jehovah (or Yahweh), the most frequently used name of the Lord in the Old Testament, is essentially this name.
 
One can count at least 196 "I am" claims of God in Christ ("I am the way, the truth, and the life," for example--John 14:6) in the Bible. Truly our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal, self-existent God, "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Revelation 22:13). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Charity or Love?
 
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1)
 
It is well known that this word "charity" (Greek agape) is translated as "love" in most modern translations of the Bible. In fact, even in the King James Version, it is translated "love" more than three times as often as it is rendered by "charity." One wonders why these scholarly translators of the seventeenth century did not translate agape by the word "love" here in this very familiar "love chapter," as it has been called. They certainly knew the word did not mean giving to the poor, for they translated verse 3 thus: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, . . . and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." How could anyone exhibit greater charity than to give everything he owns to the poor?
 
They evidently knew well that agape did not mean "charity" as we think of charity today. But neither does agape mean "love" as we think of it today. People today usually are thinking of romantic love, or erotic love, or brotherly love, or perhaps even a sort of happy feeling (e.g., "I love a parade!") when they speak of love.
 
Actually, the original English concept of "charity," meaning a genuine and unselfish concern for others because of their own intrinsic worth in the sight of their Creator, is the true meaning of agape in its biblical usage. "Charity" may not be the best word to express this attribute today, but "love" is so common and so misused that it seems even less appropriate.
 
In fact, no single English word today really seems to fit, perhaps because we have almost lost the very virtue which the word "charity" used to express. Well, no matter how we say it, our lives desperately need to show agape, for God Himself is "agape" (1 John 4:8). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Brutish Fools
 
"O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this." (Psalm 92:5-6)
 
In God's sight, brutish men are not those who act like animals, but those whose understanding of God is like that of animals. And those who are fools are not those who seem stupid about the ways of this world, but those who refuse to understand the ways of God.
 
The various applications of the adjective "brutish" in the Bible are significant. For example, "he that hateth reproof is brutish" (Proverbs 12:1). Speaking of those whose god is not the true God of creation, but who are satisfied with their self-centered faith, the prophet says: "Every man is brutish by his knowledge" (Jeremiah 51:17).
 
Our text stresses the sad truth that "brutish" men do not appreciate either God's great works or His deep thoughts. They refuse to see either the tremendous evidences of intelligent design in the works of God or the profound depths in the plan of God.
 
The wonderful psalms of David twice stress that "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalms 14:1; 53:1). And the great apostle Paul, speaking of such people, said that "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools," for they have "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:22, 25).
 
Such attitudes, unfortunately, seem to be those of the dominant scientists and educators of our day. They insist that young people be taught naturalism only, ignoring the fact that there is no evidence whatever for a naturalistic origin of life or man. Belief in evolution requires more blind faith than belief in God and creation. We should not be impressed and influenced by brutish and foolish philosophies. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

For the Sins of the Nation
 
"We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses." (Nehemiah 1:7)
 
Nehemiah had such a great burden for his nation that, although he himself had not been guilty of their sins, he was willing to confess their sins as his own, if God would only restore them to the Promised Land.
 
Ezra also felt the same way. "I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens" (Ezra 9:6). Godly Daniel had also prayed for his people, identifying himself with their sins. "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly. . . . O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name" (Daniel 9:5, 19).
 
And God did hearken as He had promised long ago: "If my people . . . pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
 
Our own land today surely needs healing. God desires "my people" to confess as their own the sins of their people (we are surely at least in part responsible, because of our past indifference, merely criticizing instead of praying), then perhaps God will hear as He heard the prayers of Daniel and Nehemiah.
 
Paul felt the same burden in his day. "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:3).
 
Ezra and Paul and the others identified themselves with the sins of their people. But the Lord Jesus Christ went far beyond even that. He not only identified Himself with us in our sinful state, but also then "bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge of God
 
"In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3)
 
One of the most amazing of the divine attributes is God's omniscience. He not only understands all the complexities of relativistic science and higher mathematics, He ordained them in the first place! The same applies to every other discipline of study and activity.
 
And He knows all about each of us! "O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1-2).
 
As far as human knowledge is concerned, it is vital to know that "the fear of the Lord" is the very foundation of "knowledge" and of "wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). All the greatest scientists of the past acknowledged that they were seeking merely to "think God's thoughts after Him."
 
How foolish it is to ignore or to oppose God! There are only four places in the Bible that speak of God laughing (Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26), and each of them describes His response to such folly.
 
Instead, we should marvel at all the wonders of His creation and providence. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33).
 
Our text verse above (Colossians 2:3) is actually referring explicitly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten and eternal Son of God. It is He who has given us access to the Creator God and therefore access to the divine knowledge and understanding. Part of the still-effective dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28) is to learn what we can about God's creation, always remembering that Jesus insisted that--no matter what unbelievers say--"the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Lord God of Heaven
 
"Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." (Ezra 1:2)
 
It is noteworthy that the words of this verse are almost the same as in the last verse of 2 Chronicles. This is an indication that Ezra the scribe (who wrote the book of Ezra) was also the compiler and editor of the two books of Chronicles.
 
Even more noteworthy is the fact that the great emperor Cyrus seemed to acknowledge that the God of Israel was not just a tribal god, as many have claimed, but the Lord God of heaven--that is Jehovah Elohim--recognizing Him as both Creator and Redeemer of the world. The Persians were largely followers of Zoroaster, but his religious system did bear some resemblance to the true monotheism of Israel.
 
But Cyrus had been called, and even named, by God, long before he was born (Isaiah 44:28-45:6). When he conquered Babylon, the prophet Daniel was there (Daniel 6:28). The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Daniel even became prime minister under Cyrus and was able to read Isaiah's remarkable prophecy to him, thus influencing him to send the Jews back to Jerusalem.
 
There have also been other Gentile rulers who acknowledged God, even before Christ came. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, once hating God, finally was forced to confess that He was "the most High" and "King of heaven" (Daniel 4:34, 37). Another was the Queen of Sheba, who recognized "the LORD thy God" (again Jehovah Elohim, 1 Kings 10:9). Then there was the king of Nineveh and Assyria, who believed in God at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:6-10). In fact, in the ages to come "the kings of the earth" will all "bring their glory and honour" to the Lord in the holy city (Revelation 21:24). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Practicing What We Preach
 
"For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (John 13:15)
 
Christ's life matched His teachings, and so must ours. Consider, for example, Christ's teaching that we should "pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). This is matched by His prayer for His tormentors while on the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Elsewhere, He taught that our circle of influence should be greater than those of like thinking (Matthew 5:47), a fact which caused His detractors great consternation (Luke 15:2). He taught that our prayers should not be done so that "they may be seen of men" (Matthew 6:5) . And the gospels record several times where He went "into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mark 1:35; see also Mark 6:46). Christ placed great value on children, as we see in Matthew 18:6, and later He welcomed them (Matthew 19:14). He taught Peter to forgive "seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22) and later forgave Peter for his continued denials (Mark 16:7).
 
Christ advocated paying taxes (Mark 12:17) and later enabled Peter to pay tribute for both of them (Matthew 17:27). He taught that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15), and He Himself had "not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). Likewise, He placed great store in aiding the poor (Luke 14:13), both in teaching and in practice (Matthew 14:13-21).  Perhaps His teaching "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44) is best illustrated by His tender prayer for those who would soon take His life as He hung on the cross for the very ones responsible for His death (today's text), all the while dying for them.
 
May God grant us the strength to follow not only our own teachings, but His teachings as well. JDM
 

[Soldier4Christ]

Treasures of the Snow
 
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?" (Job 38:22)
 
It is interesting that this book, the oldest in the Bible, contains more references to snow, ice, and frost than any other book of the Bible. This is despite the fact that Job's homeland was in what is now essentially a desert region. Possibly the effects of the post-Flood Ice Age were still strong in Job's day.
 
In any case, the beautiful phrase "treasures of the snow" is both appropriate and prophetic. Its crystal structure, though mostly in the form of delicate six-pointed "stars," is endlessly varied and always intricately symmetrical and incredibly beautiful.
 
The snow is a treasure in other ways as well. The winter's snowpack in the mountains is often called "white gold" because of its indispensable water storage capacity, released in the melting season each spring to provide life to teeming cities and irrigation in the desert for needed food supplies. The snow also aids in maintaining the planet's chemical cycles by returning various elements in the nuclei of its flakes back from the ocean to the lands from which they were leached and transported by rivers to the oceans. When the snowpack becomes a glacier, it can greatly assist in the breakup of rocks to form fertile soils.
 
In the Scriptures, its pure white color is often used to symbolize the cleansing of a sinful heart that trusts the Lord. "Wash me," said David, "and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" the Lord promises those who come to Him for salvation (Isaiah 1:18).
 
As the snow comes down from heaven, so comes the Word of God to ask the soul as in today's text: "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" (Job 38:22). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

He Knows Our Hearts
 
"Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men)." (2 Chronicles 6:30)
 
Eight times in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, he beseeches God to "hear from heaven" (vv. 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39) when His people confess their sins and pray for deliverance. It is marvelous that God, whose "dwelling place" is in heaven (vv. 21, 30, 33, 39) can actually hear the prayers of people here on earth, but we remember that He is omnipresent through His Holy Spirit.
 
Even more marvelous, if possible, is the fact that He can hear prayers uttered only in our hearts. But He is also omniscient, and thus knows the very thoughts of our hearts.
 
Then, as we read of Jesus' wrath at the desecration of the temple by those who would commercialize their religion there, it was said that He "needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man" (John 2:25). This is direct confirmation that Jesus is God, for only God knows the thoughts of our hearts.
 
It is a wonderful day when we realize that God knows our hearts. It can be frightening, of course, if our hearts are not right with God, but it can also be of great comfort and exhilaration--it all depends on the thoughts and motivations of our hearts. As David wrote long ago: "Thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:2).
 
We need, therefore, to guard our thought-life just as much as our social life, "for he knoweth the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21). May God help us to be "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is a good thing if our thoughts please Him. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Apple of the Eye
 
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." (Zechariah 2:8)
 
This common phrase is often used to identify an object of one's special favor or affection. The apple of the eye, of course, is not a fruit, but the pupil of the eye, so essential for sight that it becomes a peculiarly apt symbol for a prized possession. It is used five times in the Bible as a translation of three different Hebrew nouns, none of which refer to the actual apple fruit. In each case, however, it speaks of something highly valuable to the owner.
 
Three of these (Deuteronomy 32:10; Lamentations 2:18; and our text above) are in reference to the chosen people, Israel, as the "apple of the eye" of God Himself. God has often punished Israel for her sins and has allowed other nations to be His rod of judgment, but woe to that nation that touches the apple of His eye in this way!
 
That individual believers can also be so regarded by the Lord is evident from one of David's prayers: "Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness. . . . Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalm 17:7-8).
 
To be kept by God as He would keep the very apple of His own eye, requires an implicit trust in Him and His Word. In fact, His Word must become the apple of our eye! "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye" (Proverbs 7:1-2).
 
There are many beautiful and appropriate figures used for God's Word ("light," "hammer," "sword," "milk," etc.), but none more personally meaningful than this. May the Holy Scriptures, the indispensable Word of God, truly be the apple of the eye for each of us! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus Christ Is Lord
 
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)
 
Often this passage is thought of as an admission by all sentient beings of the Deity of the Lord Jesus--and it certainly is that. There surely will come a point in time in which "every thing that hath breath" will praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Those of us who are the twice-born will do so with great joy. Those who have chosen to reject the gospel will also do so--but with overwhelming terror (Proverbs 1:27).
 
However, the foundational passage from which the New Testament quotes, and by which it twice applies the event, is found in Isaiah 45:22-23: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
 
Our verse today applies the Isaiah passage to the great final judgment referred to in Revelation 20. Other insights in Revelation cite some of the songs we may sing and something of the ceremonies and pageantry associated with the celebration of Christ's formal assumption of His role as King.
 
The first New Testament quotation of Isaiah 45:23 is in Romans 14:11-12. Here, Paul applies the judgment to an open report of our deeds: "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Surely this broader sight should strengthen our resolved to "please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Timothy 2:4). HMM III