A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Life--Light--Love
 
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:3-5)
 
The apostle John, designated as "the other disciple, whom Jesus loved" (John 20:2), used the concept of agape love more than any other New Testament writer, even teaching that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Likewise, John tells us that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5), and he uses the concept of light (phos) more than any other writer.
 
In just the same way he uses the primary word for life (zoe) more than any other writer and discusses "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), identifying Christ as life and the Fountain of life.
 
Christ, of course, has existed "from the beginning" and is the Creator of physical life on earth (Colossians 1:16; Acts 17:28). But in a special way, He is "the life" (John 14:6), and, as we see in our text, "in Him was life," denoting salvation and eternal life based on His own atonement for sin.
 
Concerning light, Christ not only created physical light (Genesis 1:3) and later light sources (Genesis 1:14), but He is light, referring to revelation of the things of God to men, for His "life was the light of men."
 
But most of all, "God is love." The first time John mentions agape love, we are told that "God so loved the world," and that His free and undeserved love drove Him to give "his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "Herein is love . . . that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The River of God
 
"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it." (Psalm 65:9)
 
The inexhaustible river of God, watering the whole earth, is nothing less than the refreshing rains coming down from the heavens, "visit|ing|" the earth on its amazing journey to the oceans, whence it flows back up to the skies again. This river incorporates all the rivers of earth, yet it is like no other river, for once it reaches the ocean, it rises into the heavens, there to flow back over the thirsty ground and finally descend once more on its endless journey.
 
What a wonderful provision is this river of God! Without it, all life on earth would soon die. Far more valuable than gold, it continually "enrich|es|" the earth on its regular visitations "to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth" (Job 38:27).
 
Thereby does God also prepare corn to feed man and beast. The word "corn" in this and other passages probably refers generically to any of the cereal grains which provide the basic foodstuffs for people and animals all over the world. This is implied in the creation passage itself. "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth. . . . And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat" (Genesis 1:29-30).
 
This is God’s wonderful life-giving river. "He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth" (Psalm 104:13-14). The Creator is also the Sustainer (Colossians 1:16-17). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Preaching against False Teachers
 
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)
 
Jude, an earthly brother of our Lord, had become a leader in the early church by the time he wrote his epistle. He had intended "to write unto you of the common salvation," but instead was compelled by God's Spirit to write and "exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude 3) against the onslaught of false teachers. He writes "to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 15).
 
Few categories of people are so summarily denounced in Scripture as false teachers, those who teach error from within. Nearly every biblical writer echoes God's hatred of them and their work. Here, Jude refers to Enoch's ancient teaching to demonstrate the fact that God has always hated false teachers and has warned them of their doom. Unfortunately, many of today's pulpits and "Christian" airwaves are filled with false teachers and their teaching, leading many astray.
 
But this is also a lesson to be learned by any who would teach, even born-again, God-gifted teachers. Error is a serious thing in God's eyes, and a Bible teacher must continually submit to God's Word and Spirit to discern and teach only truth. Evidently it would be better for those teachers, seminarians, and others who espouse errors such as humanism, evolution, and other false concepts, that a millstone were hung about their necks and that they drowned in the depth of the sea than to lead astray those "little ones" in their influence. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

How to Respond to Defamation
 
"Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)
 
Bible-believing Christians today, especially creationists, have become the object of intense vilification by the news media and by self-appointed spokesmen for the scientific and educational establishments. The natural reaction is to respond in kind.
 
But this is not the spiritual reaction. "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 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).
 
We not only have Christ's example before us, but also His direct commandment. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. . . . Love your enemies, bless them that curse you" (Matthew 5:11, 44).
 
The apostles endured far more insults and opprobrium for Christ's sake than any of us shall ever have to suffer. Yet Paul, speaking for them all, could say in effect "Being reviled, we bless; being defamed, we entreat, even though they call us the filth of the world!"
 
We can trust the Lord to take care of our reputations, for He is more concerned even than we, and His Word tells us: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Father Testifies of the Son
 
"Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:28)
 
This is the last of three remarkable occasions during the earthly ministry of Christ when God the Father spoke directly from heaven concerning His only begotten Son. The first was at His baptism. "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17; also, Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). This thrice-recorded testimony was given primarily to the forerunner, John the Baptist, who said, "And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" (John 1:33).
 
The second was to three chosen disciples at the transfiguration. "Behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5). Years later Peter recalled, "This voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount" (2 Peter 1:18).
 
Finally, the Father spoke in the words of our text for the day, in direct response to the prayer of His Son, at the beginning of the final week before His crucifixion. The message was to His Son, but for the people. Jesus said, "This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes" (John 12:30), as He spoke of His imminent death on the cross.
 
When God spoke from heaven, the message was to assure and encourage His own dear ones: John, the disciples, and Jesus Himself. But it has also become an exhortation to all people for all time. Jesus Christ is God’s Son, and God is glorified in Him. Hear Him! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Foundation of the Gospel
 
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
 
The foundation of the gospel is God’s character and nature, a foundation laid right at the start of Scripture. Genesis 1 states most of God’s attributes implicitly or explicitly. For example:
 
(1) His freedom: "In the beginning God created" implies that, before the beginning of time, space, and man, only God was. No one was present to compel or instruct God to create; He did it of His own, un-influenced free will.
 
(2) His sovereignty, omnipotence, and rule: "God said . . . and it was so" (Genesis 1:9, 11, 24, etc.). We never find a verse that says "God said…and it failed." The entire universe obeys His commands.
 
(3) His omniscience: Before the universe was created, it existed only in His mind--He knows all things!
 
(4) His omnipresence: Since God created space and time, He is not bound by it.
 
(5) His transcendent holiness: Is there any being or substance with these attributes? Our God is far above and distinct from His creation!
 
(6) His goodness: "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good"--a comforting thought for children of this absolute, sovereign Monarch. Thus, Genesis 1 eminently displays the glory of God.
 
What does His nature have to do with the gospel? Consider that the only logical responses of created beings to this glorious God are to glorify Him as the God that He is and to give Him thanks for His goodness and creation. Our inborn failure to do this (Romans 1:21) earns us just punishment--the eternal wrath of the glorious God (Romans 1:18). Only by hiding behind the sacrifice of the obedient Christ are rebels like us saved from the holy wrath of the transcendent Creator. NTJ

[Soldier4Christ]

The Three Appearings of Christ
 
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4)
 
The wonderful promise of this text actually refers to the third appearing of Christ. The New Testament speaks of His past appearing, His present appearing, and His future appearing. These three appearings are all set forth in one fascinating passage of Scripture, Hebrews 9:24-28, where three different Greek words are used in reference to the three appearings.
 
1. His past appearing. "Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Here the Greek word is phaneroo, meaning, "become apparent after being hidden." His appearing had been prophesied since the beginning of the world (Luke 1:67-70), and finally He had come.
 
2. His present appearing. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24). The Greek word here is emphanizo, which means, "manifest or declare openly." He is now our "advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1), where He "also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).
 
3. His future appearing. "Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). The Greek in this case is optomai, meaning, "gaze at face to face."
 
Our text (Colossians 3:4) speaks of His future appearing at the Second Coming. However, here the Greek for "appear" is again phaneroo, the same as used for His past appearing in Hebrews 9:26, as discussed above. This usage assures us that His future appearing will be just as real to us as His past appearing was to His first disciples. And when He shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

By Man Came Death
 
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
 
These verses, coupled with others throughout the Old and New Testaments, teach a very important principle not fully appreciated by those Christians who would hold that man evolved from lower animals or even that his tenure on earth was preceded by millions of years. For if the earth is old, then death is part of the natural order of things, and billions upon billions of organisms have lived and died, struggling for existence, surviving only if they were "fit."
 
Taken at face value, however, the Bible indicates a far different scenario. Evidently, at the beginning, all living creatures (i.e., conscious life as opposed to plants and non-conscious "animals") were created to live forever. There was no death, for all were designed to be vegetarian (Genesis 1:30). God had warned them of disobedience to His one command: "For in the day that thou eatest thereof |i.e., of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil| thou shalt surely die" (or more literally, "dying thou shalt die") (Genesis 2:17). All of creation was placed under the Curse of death at that time, the animals (3:14), the plants (v. 18), the ground (v. 17), and mankind (vv. 15-17, 19); all would be dying. Sadly, as we know all too well, this situation continues today (see Romans 8:22).
 
But if death is a part of the created order, what can our text mean? Furthermore, if death was not specified as the penalty for sin, what does the death of Christ mean? Belief in the concept of the old earth destroys vital doctrines, including our redemption through Christ’s death.
 
Thankfully, the reign of death and the Curse will end one day (Revelation 21:4; 22:3) as God restores the creation to its intended state. JDM

[grandma dolittle]

JMD,
We have a merciful God that has given mankind a second chance to live forever. However, the price was too high for my sins, I didn't deserve it. Praise God, I now belong to him and the value of my soul is priceless as it is the ticket to a mansion in heaven and life forever.

grandma

[Soldier4Christ]

Judgment in the Fabric of the Universe
 
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)
 
Why did God make the earth with a "deep"?
 
According to Scripture, God divided the deep--"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters" (Genesis 1:6). He then gathered the waters under the firmament in one place--"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear" (Genesis 1:9). God flooded the land with these gathered waters as an act of judgment--"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life . . . were all the fountains of the great deep broken up" (Genesis 7:11). Thus, when God created our universe, He wove into its very fabric the means of judgment.
 
Is it right to connect these events consequentially? Yes, the apostle Peter did: "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (2 Peter 3:5-6). Thus, the New Testament testified to God's plan (from creation) to judge sin.
 
The "deep" attests not only to God's justice, but also to His mercy: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea" (Revelation 21:1). "No more sea" implies no more judgment. Thus, in the universe to come, God deliberately omits from its fabric the means of judgment.
 
Why? "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ has taken away our sin--and the reason for our judgment. What glorious truth! NTJ

[Soldier4Christ]

On Eschewing Evil
 
"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it." (1 Peter 3:10-11)
 
The venerable English word "eschew" is not used much these days, perhaps because there is not much evil that people eschew any more. Nevertheless, a wonderful formula is couched in this terminology in our text. If anyone desires to "see good days," then he should "eschew evil," even in his speech and instead "do good."
 
The Greek word translated "eschew" here is ekklineo, meaning "incline away from." That is, instead of having an attitude that "inclines toward" evil, as the world does, the Christian's inclination must be its polar opposite.
 
The word is used only two other times in the New Testament. "Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Romans 16:17). We are not only to eschew evil words and deeds, but also evil men who teach things contrary to God's Word. The other occurrence refers to what ungodly men eschew. "They are all gone out of the way . . . there is none that doeth good" (Romans 3:12). Here ekklineo is translated "gone out of the way." The ungodly eschew doing good; those who would love real life and see good days must do good and eschew evil.
 
That such an attitude honors and pleases God is especially evident from His thrice-repeated testimony concerning the patriarch Job, a man that "feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3), "a perfect and an upright man." Job saw some bad days, of course, but there were far more good days of great blessing until he finally died "full of days" (Job 42:17). Like Job, let us eschew--shun, avoid, run away from--evil in any form. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Those Who Depart
 
"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." (1 John 2:19)
 
One of the most hurtful experiences in the life of a Biblebelieving fellowship is when an ostensibly Christian leader, teacher, or pastor decides to abandon his faith and even to teach against it. This sort of thing does happen all too often, and it obviously raises difficult questions.
 
Can a true believer, a teacher of the Word, a soul-winner, actually lose his salvation? Can a born-again Christian go back and be unborn? Can one who has received everlasting life through faith in Christ not really have eternal life?
 
If so, what about the many promises which have assured us that "ye may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13) and that we "shall never perish" (John 10:28)?
 
The answer to this vexing question is apparently in our text verse above. When such people, who once seemed to be genuine Christians become apostates, denouncing the truth they once taught, it is because "they were not of us" at all, no matter what they professed at one time.
 
This fact implies a sober warning. When professing Christians fall away, assuming they have truly understood the facts and evidences of the Christian faith, it is impossible "to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:6).
 
How important it is, therefore, for all professing believers to "give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). We must be "rooted and built up in him" (Colossians 2:7), "ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

 Dark Sayings of Old

"I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." (Psalm 78:2-3)

Most people do not think of parables--especially the parables of Christ--as dark (i.e., hidden) sayings, but rather as figurative illustrations to help people comprehend some spiritual teaching. But Christ used parables to conceal truth, not to reveal truth! "Therefore speak I to them in parables," He said in response to the disciples' question as to why He was speaking in parables, "because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matthew 13:13). The principle is this: a person must first believe and obey the light he has already received before God will give Him further light. "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath" (v. 12).

Thus, the parables of both Old and New Testaments are not of any obvious interpretation. They require study, meditation, and obedience to comprehend, but then they bring great blessing. "Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (v. 52).

The "dark sayings" of Scripture are not to be associated with occultism or darkness, of course. The word in Greek simply means something hidden from the world, but transparent to eyes of faith and love. "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. . . . Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. . . . But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 10). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Who Gets Weary?
 
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding." (Isaiah 40:28)
 
Everyone gets weary, and everyone must rest. Even in Eden before sin came into the world there was a weekly day of rest, and each day of work in the Garden was followed by a night of rest in sleep. The Lord Jesus Christ, in the days of His sinless human flesh, occasionally became "wearied with his journey" (John 4:6) and had to rest. On one occasion, He was so weary that during a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee He was "asleep on a pillow" (Mark 4:38), while the disciples tried to keep their ship from destruction. He once advised these fretful and busy disciples to "come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while" (Mark 6:31). We sometimes need to come apart before we fall apart!
 
In the New Jerusalem, with our new bodies, we perhaps will not need rest and sleep, for "there shall be no night there" (Revelation 22:5). In our present frail tents of clay, however, we do need rest, for God made us so. In one area of life, on the other hand, we are twice admonished to "not be weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:13).
 
And when we do get weary, and perhaps are not yet able to stop and rest, we can draw on God’s strength, for He "fainteth not, neither is weary." "He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30-31). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Life in Christ
 
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4)
 
A host of biochemists and other scientists have tried for over a century to determine how life evolved from non-life. Such a quest is absurdly impossible, for the simplest imaginary self-replicating system would be infinitely more complex than the most elaborate machine ever designed by man. Life can come only from life. The first human life, indeed the first living system of any kind, could only have come by special creation from the living God. "For I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).
 
Thus, "in him we live, and move, and have our being," and He is "not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:28, 27). The Lord Jesus Christ is the one "by whom also He made the worlds" and who now is "upholding all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:2-3). The beating of our hearts, the breathing of our lungs, the very atoms of our bodies, are continually sustained by Him. Were He to withdraw His power for a moment, life would cease and all light would become darkness. Even those who reject Him and blaspheme His name owe their very existence to His power and grace.
 
"As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (John 5:26). Life is "in him"; He alone can conquer death and raise the dead. "As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will" (v. 21), for as "the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (1 Corinthians 15:45).
 
Thus, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12). Through faith in His sacrificial death and resurrection life, "ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Henceforth is Christ Himself "our life" (Colossians 3:3-4). HMM