A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Preaching the Resurrection
 
"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33)
 
There are multitudes today who believe that Christ's resurrection was a "spiritual" resurrection, insisting that the idea of a dead body returning to life after three days in the grave is completely unscientific and impossible.
 
This was not what the apostles preached with great grace and great power, however. They would hardly have been excited about any kind of spiritual resurrection, since everyone--both Jews and the pagan Gentiles--believed in life after death. If that was their message, no one would have doubted, and no one would have cared. Even when the disciples saw the resurrected Christ, they first "supposed that they had seen a spirit" (Luke 24:37). Christ even had to urge them to "handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39).
 
When the disciples finally became convinced of His bodily resurrection, they were quickly transformed into courageous evangelists, willing even to die in support of their glorious message of salvation. The resurrection was, indeed, contrary to scientific law and all human experience, and this very fact proved to them that their Lord was Himself the divine lawgiver and Author of all human experience. All other founders and leaders of human religions, ancient or modern, are themselves subject to death, but He alone has triumphed over death. Only the Creator of life can conquer death, and the resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is Creator, as well as Savior.
 
Therefore, when we today, like the apostles of old, proclaim the resurrection of Christ, we know that His name is above every name, and this enables us also to witness with great power, in great grace. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Our Rock: The Creator
 
"Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee." (Deuteronomy 32:18)
 
Just before his death, Moses predicted the coming apostasy of Israel in a prophetic "history" of Israel. Not only did his prophecy come true for the nation of Israel, but the same could be said for much of Western Christianity today.
 
Moses recounted the fact that Israel had been blessed greatly of the Lord, but instead of drawing closer to Him, they grew "fat, and . . . Forsook God which made |them|, and lightly esteemed the Rock of |their| salvation" (Deuteronomy 32:15). The use of the term "rock" refers to the rock which Moses struck, yielding water to sustain them in the parched desert region. The rock followed the people on their journeys and provided an ever-present reminder of God's marvelous provision. (If one should further doubt as to the identity of the Rock, "that Rock was Christ" |1 Corinthians 10:4|.)  They totally forgot, however, the God of their creation and salvation, and sacrificed to demons, old gods, and to any new gods around (Deuteronomy 32:17).
 
God has given us life, and without His daily sustenance, all life would cease. How foolish it is to attempt to live life without the One "that begat" us--who gave us life and even now maintains it. All too often the Creator God is excluded from our churches, our government, and our schools. Even many Christians live their lives as practical atheists, making decisions and living their lives just as if no God exists. Let us recommit ourselves to giving the rightful place in our lives and in our sphere of influence to "the Rock that begat" us.
 
"I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:3-4). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Love Your Enemies
 
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44)
 
The Lord never promised that the Christian life would be easy! If we are commanded to love our enemies, the presumption is that we shall have enemies. We must expect persecution if we are expected to pray for our persecutors.
 
This sermon was to His disciples, not to the multitude (see Matthew 5:1), and the Lord is assuming they would inevitably have enemies, just as He did. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. . . . If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:18, 20).
 
He had even called such persecution a blessing. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matthew 5:10). However, we need to be sure that any such persecution comes "for righteousness' sake"--not for any other reason than for upholding, proclaiming, and living the truth as set forth in the Word of God. "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. . . . But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf" (1 Peter 4:14-16).
 
We can really love our enemies only as we follow Christ's example. "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: . . . Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:21, 23). "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Modern Science in an Ancient Book
 
"Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?" (Job 12:9)
 
The book of Job is one of the oldest books in the world, yet it contains numerous references to natural systems and phenomena, some involving facts of science not discovered by scientists until recent centuries, yet recorded in Job almost 4,000 years ago.
 
A good example is in 26:7. "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." While ancient mythologies may imagine the earth to be carried on the shoulders of Atlas or on the back of a giant turtle, Job correctly noted that it is suspended in space. The force of "gravity" is still not understood, and it is quite reasonable to believe that God Himself holds it in the assigned place in His creation.
 
There is a reference to the rotation of the earth in 38:14. "It is turned as clay to the seal." This speaks of the smooth turning of the globe to receive the sun's daily illumination.
 
"The springs of the sea" are mentioned in 38:16, even though it has only been discovered in recent decades that there are springs of water emerging from certain parts of the deep ocean floor. The fact that mountains have "roots," consisting of rocks of the same nature and density as the mountains themselves, is noted in 28:9.
 
The infinite extent of the stellar heavens, contradicting the ancient pagan notion of a vaulted sky with stars affixed to a sort of hemispherical dome, is suggested in 22:12. "Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!" (see also Isaiah 55:9, etc.).
 
There are many other scientific insights in this remarkable book and no scientific errors. The logical conclusion, as our text says, is that "the hand of the LORD hath wrought this." HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Lights in the World
 
"The sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)
 
The Hebrew and Greek terms for "sons of God" are essentially the same, but the Old Testament always uses the phrase in reference to angels, whereas the New Testament always references the twice-born saints of God.
 
Our text for this day emphasizes the precise reason that our Lord Jesus prayed: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:15-16). We who share this marvelous relationship bear both the "love the Father hath bestowed upon us" and the unique rejection that "the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not" (1 John 3:1).
 
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12), and we who are His disciples are "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14. We, unlike the angels, are to remain in this unfair and distorted world as lights. Consider this! We are the light that the Lord Jesus left in this world to represent Him and His message after He returned to heaven (John 9:5).
 
That is why the Scriptures refer to us as saints (holy ones) and disciples (followers); even the pejorative "Christians" (Acts 11:26) identify us as representing the King! We must therefore shine with the truth (John 3:19) and shed the "light of the glorious gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4), attempting to "lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9).
 
Finally, we are surely commanded to "walk in the light, as he is in the light" (1 John 1:7). Our light should never be covered in a "bushel" (Matthew 5:15), but set on a "hill" for all to see (Matthew 5:14). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

The Cave Men
 
"They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man." (Job 12:25)
 
The godly patriarch Job lived in the early centuries after the Flood, and he frequently makes passing reference to the events of those difficult times. The twelfth chapter of Job is especially intriguing in this regard.
 
For example, verse 12 may refer indirectly to Shem, who lived 502 years after the Flood (Genesis 11:10-11). "With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days is understanding." The coming of the Flood is suggested in verse 14: "Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening." The latter clause could even refer to God's shutting the door of Noah's Ark (Genesis 7:16), thereby shutting off forever the ancient wicked world to him and his descendants. The next verse describes the Flood itself. "He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth" (Job 12:15).
 
Then verse 20 seems to refer to the later confusion of tongues at Babel: "He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged." Finally, verses 23-25 sketch the plight of those forced to scatter from Babel into the uncharted wilderness: "He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He . . . causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light." Job 30:3 and 6 also refers to them, "fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. . . . To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks." The remains of some of these cave dwellers have been found in their cave homes by modern anthropologists. However, they were not primitive &quot ;ape-men," as evolutionists have imagined, but fugitives from Babel.
 
The Bible, not anthropological speculation, gives us the true histories of early man and the ancient nations. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Word of Life
 
"Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." (Philippians 2:16)
 
The Bible is always the best commentary on itself--especially when the word or phrase is not frequent. In this case, "the word of life" is only used twice and might be "interpreted" in various ways without this qualifier: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" (1 John 1:1).
 
In the context of Philippians 2, the emphasis is obviously on the person and work of our Lord Jesus. We who bear His name are His "sons" and are charged with the responsibility of being "lights" (Philippians 2:15) to a world that is steeped in darkness. The light that we shine is the word of life--and that is, according to the Scriptures, the person and work of Jesus Christ.
 
Thus, the word of life must certainly involve who Christ is (Creator, Lord, Incarnate Word, King) as well as the "glorious gospel" of salvation by grace (2 Corinthians 4:4). Charged with the responsibility of "holding forth the word of life," we are to be "the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). Thus, we should be well-versed in the written Word, since Jesus specifically said: "Search the scriptures . . . they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).
 
Ultimately, of course, our "light" comes from "The Light." Since we have been delivered "from the power of darkness" (Colossians 1:13) by our Lord's substitutionary atonement, we who "were sometimes darkness" are now "light in the Lord: walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Stand Ye Still
 
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem . . . to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17)
 
The Ammorites and Moabites and Edomites had organized "a great multitude" seeking to destroy Judah under King Jehoshaphat. But the king and his people came together to "seek the LORD" in prayer for deliverance, and God answered. "The Spirit of the LORD" spoke through Jahaziel, assuring them that "the battle is not yours, but God's" (see 2 Chronicles 20:2, 4,14-15).
 
Then the Lord sent what may have seemed a strange instruction. "Stand ye still," He said. Just watch God do it! And He did. All their enemies were constrained by the Lord to fight and destroy each other, without the Israelites having to fight at all. Similarly, at the Red Sea when everything looked hopeless, "Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD" (Exodus 14:13). So they did, and all Pharaoh's armies were overthrown in the midst of the sea.
 
In Isaiah's day, when Israel was tempted to call on pagan Egypt for help against pagan Assyria, God said concerning Israel's armies, "Their strength is to sit still" (Isaiah 30:7). As the ship was being buffeted in the storm, and the sailors in panic were about to flee in the lifeboat, Paul said, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31). So they stayed, and God spared every man.
 
There are times for action, of course, but the principle is this. When we have done all we can, and the situation seems hopeless, this is the time to sit still and trust God to work it out in His own good way. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? God specializes in things thought impossible! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Nations and the Children of Israel
 
"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 32:7-8)
 
This is a key part of the "song of Moses" commanded and given him by God (note Deuteronomy 31:19) as the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land. It is also a key verse in the whole divine plan of God.
 
It was written about 3,500 years ago, yet even then Moses could speak of the "days of old" and many generations before his time (at least 2,500 years). He also knew about Adam, and that all the people of all those generations had been "sons of Adam." As far as Moses knew by divine revelation, there had been no humans before Adam.
 
He also mentioned the division of the nations (Genesis 10) that occurred before Israel even existed. Yet somehow these nations were 70 in number, the same as "the number of the children of Israel" when they migrated into Egypt (Genesis 46:27). Israel's "Promised Land" was pre-ordained to be approximately in the hub of all the nations of the whole world that would later come from them.
 
The apostle Paul also referred to these promised "bounds of the people" when he preached to the intellectuals at the cultural center of the world at Athens in his day, stating that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" (Acts 17:26-27).
 
God does have a purpose for every nation and He "preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed" (Galatians 3:8). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Faith, Substance, and Evidence
 
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
 
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews, known as the great Hall of Fame of Faith reciting the faith and resulting action of many Old Testament heroes, begins with a description of what faith is.
 
First, we see that it is the "substance of things hoped for." Biblically, we know that the Christian "hope" is a hope so real it has substance in the present. None of the people of faith recited in this chapter actually saw the promises made to them come to fruition, but they so believed in them that they lived in the present as if the future were reality.
 
The word "substance" occurs only two other times in Hebrews. It is used to speak of Christ as the exact representation of God's essence and nature, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person |i.e., substance|" (Hebrews 1:3). It is also translated "confidence," "for we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end" (Hebrews 3:14), and speaks of a deep assurance. Putting this all together, our text could then be rendered, "faith is the essence of our assurance of things yet in the future."
 
The word "evidence" could be translated "conviction," or even "proof." The word implies a logical, airtight argument. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof |same word as 'evidence'|, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). This sort of evidence is something we know to be true, something about which we have such conviction we act accordingly.
 
The first half of the verse brings a future truth down into the present; the second half commits our lives to that truth. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Doctrine of the Few
 
"The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people." (Deuteronomy 7:7)
 
Modern people--even Christians--tend to measure success in terms of bigness. God's measure, on the other hand, is based on quality, not quantity. There were undoubtedly millions of people on the earth, for example, when the Flood came in the days of Noah, but only "few, that is, eight souls were saved" as the waters lifted up the Ark (1 Peter 3:20).
 
A few centuries after the Flood, populations had again increased, and great nations had developed in Egypt and Sumeria and elsewhere. But God called one man, Abraham, to establish a new nation, and Abraham obeyed. A number of great nations (Arabs, etc.) came from Abraham, but again God chose only one--Israel, to inherit the promise. Israel did grow, but as our text shows, even this chosen nation was nearly always insignificant compared to other nations.
 
In Israel's history, many instances are recorded when God used just a few to battle many. God used Gideon's 300 men to defeat 135,000 Midianites (Judges 7:7; 8:10). Similar deliverances occurred in the days of David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and others.
 
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). He also said to them: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
 
God's criterion is that of motivation rather than multiplication. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). But those few will be faithful servants and will someday hear Him say: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:21). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Yokefellows
 
"And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life." (Philippians 4:3)
 
Although the word "yokefellow" is out of use today, the meaning is easily understood. Most of us know a yoke is a device that connects two animals together to increase the power for the work that needs to be done.
 
Jesus said "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). From a spiritual perspective, we labor together with the Lord Jesus. Among ourselves, we labor in the gospel. It is worth noting that God sees the marriage bond as "joined together" (same term) with a yoke (Matthew 19:6).
 
Interestingly, as Paul speaks highly of the women who "labored" with him, he uses two very different concepts to recognize their contribution. First, he describes them as sunathleo, or those who are "engaged in the contest" with him, like "a man also |strives| for masteries" (2 Timothy 2:5). Then Paul uses sunergos to describe those who have accomplished meaningful work alongside him. Titus is described as Paul's "partner and fellowhelper" (2 Corinthians 8:23). These women had evidentially earned Paul's respect for their commitment to the kingdom work.
 
Although the picture drawn by these synonymns rests on the work aspect, surely there is the assumption that those who are yoked together are anticipating a common goal. Jesus, with "the joy that was set before him endured the |work of the| cross" (Hebrews 12:2). And we labor in the kingdom since our "names are in the book of life." HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Sacrifice and Service
 
"Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all." (Philippians 2:17)
 
Paul saw himself as "poured out" as an offering (Greek spendo) on the "sacrifice and service" of these precious friends. This special word is used only one other time, when Paul was "ready to be offered" at his death (2 Timothy 4:6).
 
Paul's ministry among the Philippians resulted in the godly lifestyle of the church. They became sacrifices (Greek thusia) much like the Lord Jesus "hath given himself for us" (Ephesians 5:2) and as we are all told to "present |our| bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is |our| reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).
 
The service that is commended of the Philippians is a public service undertaken at one's own expense (Greek leitourgia). Several men in the church at Antioch were noted for their ministry (Acts 13:2 uses the same word), and some in Macedonia and Achaia were also acknowledged for giving contributions to the saints at Jerusalem (Romans 15:26-27).
 
Paul's joy and rejoicing at the godly activity of the faithful saints at Philippi is the key to understanding the tone of the entire book. He had "poured out" himself, even being "shamefully entreated" during his ministry there (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Yet while writing this poignant letter back to the church, he gives joyful greetings to them at the certain knowledge that his ministry among them has resulted in their sacrifice and service.
 
Would God that all of us could see our offerings for the sake of others with the same passionate expectation. Often our Lord calls on us to give of ourselves in selfless ways so that others may learn from our example. Sometimes, we must even pour out our own souls (1 Thessalonians 2:8) for the sake of the gospel. HMMIII

[Soldier4Christ]

Sojourners
 
"For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding." (1 Chronicles 29:15)
 
All of God's people, whether ancient Israelites or latter-day Christians, need to recognize that we are mere "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). This world is not our home, as the old gospel song puts it, and we must not let our roots get down too deep in this materialistic world.
 
The words of our text are in David's last recorded prayer before his death. He was a great king and very wealthy in material things, but he still recognized that his real home was not in the earthly Jerusalem, but in heaven.
 
So should we. The apostle Paul wrote, "For our conversation |the Greek word here literally means 'citizenship'| is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We are merely serving in this world as "ambassadors for Christ," and our business here, representing the court of heaven, is to urge men, "in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
 
Why should we spend so much time and money in beautifying a home on earth when Christ has gone to prepare a mansion for us in heaven (John 14:2)? Remember Abraham, who by faith "sojourned . . . in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob" (Hebrews 11:9). "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:16).
 
Also remember Paul who had "no certain dwellingplace" (1 Corinthians 4:11), not to mention the Lord Jesus Himself who had "not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). We do well, therefore, to "pass the time of |our| sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter 1:17)--that is, reverential fear of God (never fear of man), as good citizens of our heavenly country. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Righteous Judge
 
"That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)
 
People often make erroneous judgments. Even those who are officially appointed or elected to judge others are sometimes mistaken, and so we have a whole system of appeals courts. Yet even the Supreme Court, composed as it is of fallible human beings, often seems to be wrong. But, as Abraham recognized long ago while interceding for the people in Sodom, we can be confident that the Judge of all the earth will do right!
 
He not only can judge our actions in relation to His revealed will, but can also discern thoughts and motives and, therefore, "judge the secrets of men" (Romans 2:16), and He will do so in absolute rightness. Furthermore, "he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: . . . and my judgment is just," asserted the Lord Jesus (John 5:22, 30). To those who reject or ignore His redeeming love, relying instead on their own worth, "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery in dignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26-27).
 
To those who have been redeemed through saving faith in Christ, there will, indeed, be a Judgment Day, but it will be for dispensing of rewards for faithful service rather than for salvation, and this also will be done righteously. "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day" (2 Timothy 4:8). HMM