A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

The Divine Search

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none” (Ezekiel 22:30).

The divine search was on, but no one was found to do the Lord’s work. How tragic! He sought for a committed servant, but He found none. That was then: But what about today? For what kind of man is God searching?

First, God is searching for a man who will really pray. “And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor” (Isaiah 59:16). “There is none that calleth upon thy name” (Isaiah 64:7). God was amazed that there were no intercessors. Is the Lord just as amazed at us?

Secondly, God is searching for a man who longs for a deeper Christian experience. “There is none . . . that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee” (Isaiah 64:7). Do we “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), or is God amazed at our lack of spiritual desire? “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1).

Thirdly, God is searching for a man who will love the souls of men. David said, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me . . . no man cared for my soul” (Psalm 142:4). Soul winning comes from the very heart of God. Do we share that burden with God? Or are lost souls around us saying, “No man cares for my soul”?

In Ezekiel’s day, no one could be found to do the Lord’s work because all of God’s people were serving sin instead of the Lord. “Her prophets . . . devoured souls” (v.25), “her priests have violated my law” (v.26), “her . . . princes are like wolves ravening” (v.27), and “the people . . . have used oppression” (v.29). Sin is the great barrier to service.

God still desires servants to “make up the hedge, and stand in the gap.” Will He find us, or are we part of the “but I found none” group?

[Soldier4Christ]

Places He Has Been

“And Judas also, which betrayed Him, knew the place: for Jesus oft times resorted thither with His disciples” (John 18:2).

In the 18th and 19th chapters of John’s gospel, there are four “places” where Jesus had to go to accomplish our salvation. The first was the place, as noted in our text: He, “knowing all things that should come upon Him” (John 18:4), nevertheless went directly to that place, knowing that Judas would meet Him there.

Then He went to the place of trial: “Pilate . . . brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called . . . Gabbatha” (John 19:13). But He did not stay there long; the mockery of a trial was soon over, and Pilate delivered Him to be crucified. “And they took Jesus, and led Him away. And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull” (John 19:16,17). And in that place called Golgotha, He died for our sins.

He was betrayed in a place called Gethsemane, condemned in a place called Gabbatha, and crucified in a place called Golgotha. But that was not all; He must yet be laid in a tomb. “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus” (John 19:41,42).

And that also was the place from which He arose, and our salvation was secured forever! Now, just before this amazing four-place itinerary of our Lord Jesus, He had promised still another place to which He would be going.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2,3).

Because He went to a place called Calvary, we shall soon be with Him forever in a place called Heaven!

[Soldier4Christ]

The Trinity In The Old Testament

“Come ye near unto me, hear ye this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the LORD God, and His Spirit, hath sent me” (Isaiah 48:16).

It is significant that Biblical Christianity is the only trinitarian religion—and therefore the only true religion—in the world. Most religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, etc.—are pantheistic and humanistic, denying the existence of an omnipotent God who created the space/time cosmos. There are two other major religions, however, that are monotheistic, believing in the God of creation and in the creation record in Genesis—Judaism and Islam.

However, these two fail to understand that the Creator must also be the Redeemer, and therefore they also become humanistic, believing that man must achieve salvation by his own efforts. Further, they also fail to acknowledge that God’s objective work of redemption must be made subjective in each person by the indwelling personal presence of the omnipresent Creator/Redeemer.

All this is beautifully revealed in the New Testament in the doctrine of the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons, incomprehensibly human, but very real (see John 15:26; etc.).

This wonderful revelation of the Godhead was foreshadowed in the very beginning—the Father creating; the Spirit moving; the Son speaking (Genesis 1:1; 1:2; 1:3). In our text above, again it is the Son (as the living Word of God), prophesying about His coming mission of redemption, saying that “the LORD God, and His Spirit, hath sent me.”

Then, when He had finished His work and could return to the Father, He promised the coming of “the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,” and that He would “abide with you forever” (John 14:26,16).

[Soldier4Christ]

Rest

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

In the midst of our hurried and sometimes harried lives, it is good to pause and reflect on the various types of rest discussed and/or promised in Scripture. In our text, Israel (and by extension the New Testament saint) is promised rest in the coming Kingdom.

The first rest was that of God as He finished His “very good” (Genesis 1:31) creation and “rested from all His work which God created and made” (2:3). This perfect state was broken through Adam’s rebellion and the resultant curse, which meant that God had to go to work again, this time to redeem His fallen creation. In His marvelous work of redemption, however, sweet rest is available both to us and to Him, for “It is finished” (John 19:30). Nothing remains to be done.

To the sinner, Jesus invites, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28) in salvation. To the believer, He promises “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (v.29). To the weary disciple, He entreats, “Come ye yourselves apart (with Me) into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).

There is also a rest in death. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors” (Revelation 14:13). “To you who are troubled rest with us” (II Thessalonians 1:7) in the fact that there is a coming judgment on your persecutors, who “shall have no rest day nor night” (Revelation 14:11).

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:9–11).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Riches of His Grace


"In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

The attributes of God are characterized by the "riches of His grace." This amazing grace led Him to shed His blood as the price of our redemption.

No wonder men have developed the familiar acrostic for GRACE -- "God's Riches at Christ's Expense." "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (II Corinthians 8:9).

Paul seems again and again to try to find descriptions for these riches. To the Romans he wrote of "the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering" (Romans 2:4) and of His plan to "make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy" (Romans 9:23). Speaking of God's mercy, he exclaims, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33).

The inexhaustibility of these infinite depths of grace and mercy led Paul to call these attributes "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:. Desiring that all believers might learn to appreciate the tremendous future they have in Christ, he prayed that "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened," somehow we might come to appreciate even now "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18).

Yet, marvelously rich and full though His grace is now, there is much more to come. "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
. . . That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-5,7).

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Love


"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (I John 4:16).

God is clearly "the Lord, the righteous judge" (II Timothy 4: but He is also "the God of love and peace" (II Cor-inthians 13:11). Not only in our text verse but also in another place, we are reminded that "God is love" (I John 4:. Of all the attributes of God, His nature of love is the most definitive. God is love!

It was not His omnipotence nor His omniscience that constrained Him to create men and women in His image. It must have been His nature of love, the desire for fellowship with beings like Himself. There is not much revealed on this question -- only hints. "I have created him for my glory" (Isaiah 43:7). "The Lord hath made all things for Himself" (Proverbs 16:4).

But fellowship is a two-way relationship and requires freedom to choose on the part of both. When man volitionally broke that fellowship, sin came into the world and God's creation purpose was to all appearances set aside.

But God is love! He had not only a plan of creation but also a plan of salvation already in process. He "saved us, . . . according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (II Timothy 1:9).

And so "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, . . ." (I John 3:1). God is, indeed, a God of love!

[Soldier4Christ]

The Foot of Pride


"Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me" (Psalm 36:11).

The contrast in this psalm is not only between good and evil, but more specifically, between the prideful man who lives without fear of God and the God in whom godly men trust.

The description of the evil man (vv.1-4) is an apt description of a modern-day humanist. He is convinced that God, if He exists, does not intervene in the affairs of men. He therefore sets himself up as an authority, deciding right and wrong on his own arbitrary scale. He has "no fear of God" (v.1), and arrogantly he "flattereth himself in his own eyes" (v.2), speaking "iniquity and deceit" (v.3). He is foolish, and even his humanitarian deeds are not good, in the ultimate sense. Furthermore, the modern-day humanist "abhorreth not evil" (v.4), insisting that such sins as promiscuity, homosexuality, witchcraft, abortion, brainwashing of children in pantheistic evolution, etc., are, in reality, to be desired.

The contrast with God consists of a list of some of His majestic attributes in His dealing with men. "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light" (vv.5-9).

The wicked with his "foot of pride," will ultimately fall (vv.11-12). But we can pray as David prayed, "O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart" (v.10).

[Soldier4Christ]

Our God Is Everywhere


"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).

The God who created and made all things is not only omnipotent, He is omnipresent. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him" (II Chronicles 16:9).

David's insightful 139th Psalm is certainly one of the most striking affirmations of God's omnipresence. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psalm 139:8-12).

God's omnipresence, however, should not be understood in a pantheistic sense. Although He sees everyone and everything, that does not mean He is in everyone and everything. The creation did not create itself!

But since God is everywhere, He Himself cannot be seen anywhere. Jesus said concerning the Father: "Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape," but He also said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:37,43). "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

It is also a wonderful revelation that the Holy Spirit of God now indwells every Christian believer, so this is another way in which God is everywhere -- that is, wherever there are true Christians, God is there. "Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:20).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Wickedness of Unbelief


"And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you" (Deuteronomy 13:10-11).

In context, this "wickedness" was the crime of rejecting and influencing others to reject the Lord. While this is not a capital crime in a Christian context, this passage does show how God feels about the sin of unbelief -- especially trying to persuade others into unbelief -- in the infinite love and sacrifice of Christ who suffered and died for their sins. "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:28-29).

Unbelief in Christ is, in fact, the only sin which God cannot forgive, and thus is the most wicked sin of all. Christ died for all our sins, and thus will provide full forgiveness for all who will accept His gift of salvation. Christ Himself said: "He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).

One of the final words of the Bible is the warning: "But the fearful, and unbelieving . . . shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:. These are words spoken by the Lord Jesus, speaking of those who have spurned His sacrificial love. It may seem a light thing in our modern society to ignore or reject Him, but it will eventually prove "a fearful thing" (Hebrews 10:31) to face Him in judgment.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Wind


"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:.

Right from the beginning there is an association between the Holy Spirit of God and the wind. Genesis 2:2 records how the Spirit moved across the primeval Earth's waters in preparation for God's creative work. This moving on the waters brings to mind the words of Genesis 8:1 "God made a wind to pass over the earth," and the flooding waters retreated. The wind is a life giving force in Ezekiel's vision. "Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." (Ezekiel 37:9-10).

But God also employs the wind to cause judgment. "And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds" (Jeremiah 49:36). The wind brought great hardship to Job even as hurricanes have in modern times (Job 1:18-19). We note that while there is a peculiar unpredictability about the wind, yet God is in control of it. "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree" (Revelation 7:1).

Christ, in our text, likens the wind to the Spirit-filled person. Indeed when the early church was filled with Spirit, "there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2). Just as the wind obeys God's command, so believers should be moved by the Spirit to do His will.

[Soldier4Christ]

But God


"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:4-5).

God makes all the difference! There was a time when the whole world was in bondage to sin and death. But God!

"But God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, . . . To redeem them that were under the law," and because He did, "the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).

There was a problem, however, for every man individually was still a lost sinner, deserving to die under the righteous and well-deserved wrath of a Holy God. But God!

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:. He died for us, suffering in our place, because He loved us. The issue is not yet settled, however, for how could a dead redeemer ever complete the work He was sent to do? But God!

"But God raised Him from the dead" (Acts 13:30). The price for sin was for ever settled and done, so that God, in full righteousness and in mighty power, could raise His beloved Son, alive forevermore.

Yes, but we ourselves are still sinful -- still dying. Our very nature keeps us still in bondage to sin, even though the price for our deliverance has been fully paid. But God!

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. . . . For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:4,8). We cannot fully understand. But God does not require us to understand -- only to believe, and receive.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Powerful Hand Of God

“Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together” (Isaiah 48:13).

The human hand is an anatomical marvel; nothing remotely comparable exists among the primates or any other animals. It is a marvel of design. But surely the “hand of God”—of which man’s hand is only a very dim shadow—is infinitely more powerful and skillful.

Note the testimony of Isaiah 45:12: “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” God did not have to use intermediate processes or pre-existing materials. Everything was “commanded” into existence and “I, even my hands,” made all of it, including man. Creation was direct—a direct product of God’s mighty hands.

Not only was it direct, it was also immediate, as our text above makes emphatically plain. His hand laid the earth’s foundation and spanned the heavens. Then, “When I call unto them,” He says, “they stand up together!” Not one by one—first the universe, then the sun, then the earth, and so on. No, “they stand up together.” “He spake, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9). It did not take 16 billion years; it took six days—and the only reason it took that long was so that God’s work week could serve as a pattern for man (Exodus 20:8–11).

God’s hand is omnipotent, and “He’s got the whole world in His hand.” It is wonderful to know His hand is gentle and loving as well as powerful. His hands will bear eternal scars, where they were spiked to the cross, because He loved us, and died for us. “My sheep hear my voice,” He says, “and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27,28). The hand that spanned the heavens can hold on to those who trust Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Christ And Clothing

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25).

The attitude of our first parents to their nakedness changed after the fall. At first there was no shame in nakedness, but the next chapter of Genesis, reporting their fall into sin, says that “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (v.7). Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD” (v.. The Lord in turn made “coats of skins, and clothed them” (v.21).

Not only did our Lord make provision for clothing, however, but He Himself suffered the indignity of exposure while hanging on the cross. The soldiers “took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part” (John 19:23). They also took His seamless “coat” (khiton in Greek, the part worn next to the skin) and gambled for it (vs.23,24). Not only did this fulfill prophecy concerning the Messiah (Psalm 22:18), but Jesus was even suffering the shame of nakedness so that we might be clothed forever in the robes of His righteousness!

Jesus said, “I counsel thee to buy . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear . . .” (Revelation 3:18). In Revelation 7:13,14 we read that “one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?” The answer came, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The Lord Jesus Christ was that Lamb, typified by the animal or animals used to provide covering for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). The Creator, who sacrificed one or more of His creatures to cover our first parents, sacrificed Himself to cover us with His love. He is worthy of our love and devotion.

[Soldier4Christ]

Comfort Of The Scriptures

“I remembered thy judgments of old, O L SIZE="-1">ORD; and have comforted myself” (Psalm 119:52).

In this present evil world, there is no greater comfort than the word of God. The Word is faithful to record the fact that God indeed takes care of His own. The following are examples of God’s care based on II Peter 2:4–9.

If God is strong enough to chain up the sinful angels “to be reserved unto judgment” (II Peter 2:4; Revelation 9:14), than “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).

If God ran out of patience with Sodom and Gomorrah (vs.6–8), then we can be assured this present evil world will one day be subject to the One out of whose mouth “goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15).

If God still cared about Lot (v.7) who found himself in the worst possible situation, then He will remember us for His “goodness’ sake” (Psalm 25:7).

If God did not tolerate the sin of the antediluvian world (v.5), but destroyed it with a worldwide flood, then we can believe the record of Peter that destruction is coming again. “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (II Peter 3:7).

If God was faithful to Noah throughout his hundred-year-long project, we can believe that “He which hath begun a good work . . . will perform it” (Philippians 1:6).

If God can preserve Noah’s family of eight, it is certain He is able to be “my hiding place,” and to “preserve me from trouble,” and “compass me about with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Girdle Of Truth

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

There are many military metaphors in Scripture, but none more famous than this passage on the “armor of God.” We are commanded to “put on the whole armor” so we can “stand” (be firm, well established) against “the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Each piece is crucial. “Truth” is first on the list (v.14).

This “girdle” (lower body armor) was designed to protect from wounds which, though not fatal, would cause extreme pain and incapacity. Truth is our protection against Satan’s lie. “He is a liar” and does not live “in the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Satan’s strength is in this untruth which he uses to be “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). In fact, we are warned by Paul that the devil is able to disguise himself and “his ministers” as “ministers of righteousness” (II Corinthians 11:15). We can be spoiled by philosophy and other false teachings (Colossians 2:. We can be beguiled by good-sounding words (Colossians 2:4). We can be tossed to and fro by crafty and deceptive men (Ephesians 4:14). We can even depart from the faith after listening to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (I Timothy 4:1).

Our defense against each of these potential disasters is Truth. Truth is the essence of the strength of Jesus who claimed to be Truth personified (John 14:6) as He fulfilled His mission as spokesman for the Father (John 12:46–50). That “Truth” is now verified by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13–15) and by the Word of God (John 17:17). We are to be doers of the Word (James 1:22), being willing to walk in the truth (III John 3), and to let our deeds be made manifest by doing truth (John 3:21).