A Daily Devotional

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The Meaning of Man


"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:3-4).

This question has been posed as a rhetorical question by many generations of skeptics, especially in our present generation when the tremendous size of the universe is often used to argue that God, if He exists, could not possibly be interested in such a small speck of dust as our own planet.

But, essentially, the same argument was used against Job by one of his three "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2), over 3,500 years ago. "How then can man be justified with God?
. . . that is a worm? and the Son of man, which is a worm?" (Job 25:4,6).This dismal type of reasoning, however, is utterly fallacious. Significance is not a function of size, but of purposeful complexity, and the human brain is surely the most complex physical system in the entire universe, as acknowledged even by such an eminent atheistic scientist as Isaac Asimov. Rather than being insignificant nonentities, men and women have been created in the very image of God and are the objects of His redeeming love.

The most wonderful measure of man's importance is the fact that God, Himself, became a man! "Christ Jesus . . . be-ing in the form of God, . . . took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:5-7) to be able to take our death penalty upon Himself. Furthermore, God's love for man is measured not only by His substitutionary death for our sins, but also by His eternal creative purpose for us. He has redeemed us so that "in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).

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Magnificent Obsession

“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more” (I Corinthians 9:19).

In his letter to the Ephesians (4:11–16), Paul had noted that Christ had given specific gifts to the church—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Paul himself was all of these, however, and he wanted to win as many people as he could, from all walks of life. He therefore sought to be “made all things to all men, that (he) might by all means save some” (I Corinthians 9:22).

This, indeed, was a magnificent obsession, and every Christian should seek to emulate it, as the Lord enables. Paul was not saying, however, that a man should become as a woman to win women to the Lord, or that a woman should become as a man to win men; neither should he become a humanist to win humanists. One should never dilute the doctrines of the faith or Christian standards of conduct in order to win commitments to the church.

Paul was not laying down guidelines for witnessing, either for the church as a whole or for individual Christians; he was giving his own personal testimony. Nevertheless, we should seek to be understanding and sympathetic to people of every background. “Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (I Corinthians 10:32). We should try to “be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (II Timothy 2:24,25). Remembering it is “God that giveth the increase” (I Corinthians 3:7), we should never compromise truth in order to gain converts, but “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), beseech others, “be ye reconciled to God” (II Corinthians 5:20).

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Committed To Thy Trust

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith” (I Timothy 6:20,21).

Paul exhorted his disciple, Timothy, and by implication, exhorts us to “keep” (literally, to guard or preserve) that which was placed in his trust. The context implies that the entire teaching of Paul is in mind, as well as Timothy’s position of ministry.

Not only was he to preserve truth, he actively was to “avoid” error. Systems of thought were available which masqueraded as “science” (literally “knowledge”). These systems were not merely neutral, but were in opposition to the truth.

There can be no doubt that godless humanism, particularly as it finds its false scientific justification in evolution and uniformitarianism, has been responsible for the loss of faith in many professing Christians. Much of what is called “science” in universities today could better be described as “profane and vain babblings.”

But today’s students are not alone in their error. Back in the 1800’s, when uniformitarianism and later evolution were first being championed by only a small minority of scientists, theologians led the way to their broad acceptance. Rushing to embrace Lyell’s principle of uniformity and the concept of an old earth while still holding on to a charade of Biblical authority, theologians proposed the tranquil flood and local flood concepts. Likewise, theologians proposed theistic evolution, the day-age, and gap theories to accommodate evolution, and their theological grandchildren enjoy the majority voice at most evangelical seminaries today.

It is time that Christian laity as well as those standing in our pulpits today regain “that which is committed to (their) trust,” and avoid “science falsely so called.”

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The Fight Of Faith

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (I Timothy 6:12).

Faith which is genuine saving faith in Christ is not characterized simply by a single act of belief, but by a life lived in faith. Scripture uses many vivid figures to describe it.

First of all, it is the door by which men and women enter the family of the redeemed. When Paul first preached the gospel to the Gentiles, he reported how God “had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). Then, it becomes a “household of faith” (Galatians 6:10) to all who have entered the door. Thus we live day by day in a house called faith! “The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).

Faith is also work. “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith” (I Thessalonians 1:3) is vital, because “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). “By grace are ye saved through faith . . . not of works.” Nevertheless, we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:8–10).

Furthermore, there is a fight of faith! “Fight the good fight of faith,” commands our text for today. The Christian is constantly under attack by the devil, and it is only through faith that we can stand. In the wonderful words of Ephesians 6:16, our faith becomes an invincible shield, “able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” one. But we must take it, and actively use it. When we do that, “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (I John 5:4).

Let us, therefore, like Abraham, be “strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). Our faith is well placed, for it centers on Christ, the mighty Creator, living Savior, and coming King. There is a door of faith, then a household of faith, followed by the work of faith and the fight of faith, with the shield of faith, and all of this is in the wonderful “word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:.

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Acceptable Sacrifices

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5).

In the Old Testament theocracy of Israel, it was the responsibility of the Levitical priesthood to be “daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices” in atonement for the sins of the people, and this continued until Jesus Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins forever” (Hebrews 10:11,12). The old priesthood has now been set aside. Only the sacrifice of Christ and our identification with Him through faith is acceptable for our salvation.

Nevertheless, there is a new priesthood—a spiritual priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices—and it is vital that we who are now His priests offer sacrifices that are acceptable and pleasing to God. The first and most basic sacrifice is set forth in one of the Bible’s key verses: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Three other acceptable sacrifices are outlined in the concluding chapter of Hebrews. “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15,16).

The continual offering of praise to God, in all circumstances acknowledging His wisdom and goodness, is an acceptable sacrifice. Doing good works—not for our salvation but because of our salvation—is acceptable. So is “communicating” (Greek koinonia)—sharing what we have with others. With these sacrifices, God is “well-pleased.” It is our high privilege, as His holy priesthood, to offer up these spiritual sacrifices.

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Pleasantly Full

“And it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell” (Colossians 1:19).

Oh that we could know what is in Christ so that we could experience His fullness. Scripture tells us that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men” (v.4). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (vs.14,16,17). Part of Christ’s fullness is the visible expression of our invisible God.

Likewise He was responsible for the creation, for “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (v.3). David, likewise, knew of this handiwork: “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). The response of the creation should be “let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together” (Psalm 98:7,8).

Beyond Jesus’ fullness and that of the creation, there is a fullness of time; the expression of events, in order, according to His timetable. “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him” (Ephesians 1:10).

No doubt Jesus, as God, looked upon His creation of the world and time and took pleasure in it, calling it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Likewise, as our text teaches, the Father took pleasure in revealing His character, bodily, in the person of Jesus, in all His fullness.

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God And The Nations

“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing” (Isaiah 40:15).

God has a divine purpose for nations, as shown by the fact that there will even be “nations of them which are saved” (Revelation 21:24) in the new earth, outside the New Jerusalem. Nations were evidently first established after the dispersion at Babel when God forced the original post-Flood families to separate and to establish their own distinctive communities by confusing their languages (Genesis 11:9).

It thus has been natural and useful, in God’s economy, for each nation to develop a sense of national pride and patriotic loyalty. However, this has often been corrupted into militant expansionism or ethnic idolatry, and God has eventually had to put them down. Nations need to remember that they are really “a very little thing” in God’s sight, as a drop in a bucket or the fine dust on a scale. Indeed, He “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). Job testified, back in the very early days of the world’s nations: “He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again” (Job 12:23). No matter how powerful and self-reliant (or how weak and dependent) a nation may seem to be, “the kingdom is the LORD’S: and He is the governor among the nations” (Psalm 22:28).

Therefore, if a nation desires that its “time before appointed” be long and fruitful, and “the bounds of its habitation” be the optimum for (its) divine mission, it must be careful to honor and serve the true God of heaven, for “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God,” while “blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 9:17; 33:12).

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A Nail In A Sure Place

“And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house” (Isaiah 22:22,23).

This prophecy was originally applied to Eliakim, the keeper of the treasuries in the reign of King Hezekiah. The wearing of the key to the treasuries on his shoulder was symbolic of authority. Isaiah, in fact, had used this same symbol in his great prophecy of the coming Messiah, saying that “unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6).

Eliakim thus became a type of Christ in his capacity to open and shut doors with his special key. The Lord Jesus quoted from this passage in His promise to the church at Philadelphia: “These things saith . . . He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for those hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:7,8). This strong assurance has been a great bulwark to many who were trying to maintain a true witness during times of opposition and suffering.

But Eliakim was also called “a nail in a sure place,” and in this also he becomes a wonderful type of Christ. Eliakim was trustworthy in his office, and so is Christ. The nail in a sure place speaks of stability in time of trouble, as Ezra later said: “Now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, . . . to give us a nail in His holy place” (Ezra 9:. Eventually, of course, Eliakim’s nail had to be removed (Isaiah 22:25), but never that of Christ, for He is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19), who will never fail.

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Mind—heart—tongue

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:.

What enters the mind (seat of our intellect), affects the heart (seat of our emotions), and flows from the tongue. It is necessary, therefore, to guard our minds and hearts, because sooner or later, how we think and feel will find its way to our tongue.

The Bible gives ample warning about these three extremely important areas: Don’t be double-minded (“two-souled,” Greek). This kind of person is completely unstable in his mind (text) and his heart (James 4:. He has difficulty believing God will answer prayer. “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6,7). God means what He says and we should believe it with unwavering faith! Don’t be double-hearted. David wrote concerning double-hearted people. “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak” (Psalm 12:1,2). In I Chronicles 12:33 the opposite is seen. “Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war . . . which could keep rank: they were not of double heart.” Can we be relied upon in the day of battle? Don’t be double-tongued. This is a qualification of deacons in I Timothy 3:8. “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double tongued.” “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25). Wouldn’t it be better to receive double honor (I Timothy 5:17)?

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King At The Flood

“The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King forever. The L SIZE="-1">ORD will give strength unto His people; the L SIZE="-1">ORD will bless His people with peace” (Psalm 29:10,11).

There are quite a few different Hebrew words which are translated “flood” in the Old Testament. The word in this passage (Hebrew mabbul), however, is unique in that it is only used elsewhere in the account of the Noahic Flood, thus indicating conclusively that the dramatic scenes described in this psalm occurred at the time of the great Flood.

There was never, in all history, such a time as this, when “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God, therefore, brought about “the end of all flesh” (v.13)—no doubt millions, perhaps billions, of ungodly men and women—by the great mabbul.

In spite of the fact that nearly every culture, all around the globe (made up of descendants of the eight survivors of the Flood) remembers this terrible event in the form of “flood legends,” the very concept of God’s judgment on sin is so offensive to the natural mind that modern scholarship now even denies it as a fact of history.

Nevertheless, the epitaph of the antediluvian world is written in stone, in the sedimentary rocks and fossil beds, everywhere one looks, all over the world. The greatest rebellion ever mounted against the world’s Creator by His creatures, both men and fallen angels, was put down by God simply by His voice! “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters” (Psalm 29:3).

In all the great turmoil of the Flood, Noah and the righteous remnant in the ark were safe through it all. In every age, even in times of stress and danger, “the LORD will bless His people with peace.”

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Jesus Christ As Creator

“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

Before one can really know Jesus Christ as Savior or Lord, he must acknowledge Him as offended and rejected Creator, because He was our Creator, first of all. This is such an important doctrine of the New Testament that it is remarkable how rarely it is emphasized in modern evangelicalism.

Creation by Jesus Christ is the doctrine with which John begins his great gospel of salvation: “In the beginning was the Word, . . . All things were made by Him; . . . and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:1,3,10). It is the foundational message of the Book of Hebrews: “God . . . Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1,2).

The Apostle Paul said that he had been called specifically to preach “the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:8,9). When a person becomes a believer in Christ, receiving His very life by the new birth, he is said to be “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him” (Colossians 3:10).

In the final book of the Bible, Jesus Christ is called “the Alpha, . . . the beginning . . . the Almighty” (Revelation 1:, as well as “the beginning of the creation of God” (3:14).

But of all the Biblical passages identifying Jesus Christ as Creator, the most definitive of all is our text for today. Everything in heaven and earth was created by Him, and for Him! “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

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For Thy Name's Sake


"For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me" (Psalm 31:3).

In this psalm of misery and mercy, we see David's testimony. "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness" (Psalm 31:1). His faith was strong, but afflictions and opposition were on all sides. He appeals to God for relief (Psalm 31:2) and is confident of the reply, and that that reply will reflect God's omnipotence and grace. His total trust was in this benevolent God. "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth" (v.5), which, of course, was quoted by Christ at the moment of His death on the cross (Luke 23:46).

But note David's grounds for appeal to God for action: "For thy name's sake," as recorded in our text. David's heartfelt desire here is more than merely relief from his persecution as desperate as was that need, but for the glory of God and the honor of His name.

God's name and reputation are at stake when His children are being persecuted. Indeed, the national leaders of Israel had frequently prayed for God to act on the same grounds (for example, see Exodus 32:12). Even in the New Testament we are encouraged to pray in that name: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13).

Even though we are always warranted in using this plea in our praying, we must do so in recognition of and submission to the fact that there are limitations. God will never contradict His nature or His Word, and in His sovereignty He knows better solutions to each problem than we can ask for. His greater plans must always take precedence. But when these prerequisites are recognized and accepted, the prayer in His name and for His glory is the one which prevails.

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With Christ

“For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9,10).

The book of Colossians begins with a stirring exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Creator (1:16) and sustainer of all things (v.17). He is the head of the church, and preeminent in all things (v.18). He is fully God (v.19) and yet redeemer (v.20). On the other hand, believers, before they were reconciled, are described as “alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works” (v.21).

It comes as somewhat of a surprise, then, in Chapters 2 and 3, to see that we are inexorably linked with Christ. Our lives and destinies are His—our identification with Him is total. We are not just reconciled, we are with Him in all things.

Notice, first, that we are “buried with Him in baptism” (2:12). Furthermore, we are “quickened together (i.e., made alive) with Him,” no longer “dead in (our) sins” (v.13), and “risen with Him” (v.12). Just as surely as God “raised Him from the dead,” we are born again; given new life.

Obviously, since we are “risen with Christ, (we should) seek those things which are above” (3:1). Our priorities should be His godly priorities (v.2), for “Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (v.1), and we are there.

Next, we are told that our “life is hid with Christ in God” (v.3). To be hidden in Christ is to be totally immersed, covered, our sins concealed, our identity masked within His, indeed, remade into His. God accepts Christ and us, as well, as we are hidden in Him. The next verse amplifies this identification with the term “Christ . . . our life” (v.4).

This identification will not be in vain, for when He “shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (v.4). As our text teaches, we are “complete in Him,” for He is fully God, and we are with Him in all things.

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The Powers Of God

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:.

In these days of rampant humanism, blatant materialism, and effete religionism, the very concept of an all-powerful God who created, controls, and judges all things seems anachronistic, but God is still there, and is still the Almighty.

Three Greek words are translated “power” in Scripture—exousia (“authority”), dunamis (“ability”), and kratos (“strength”). Each is attributed, in unlimited extent, to God the Creator, as incarnate in Christ, the Redeemer. “All power (‘authority’) is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). “For thine is the kingdom, and the power (‘ability’), and the glory, forever” (Matthew 6:13). “That ye may know . . . the exceeding greatness of His power (‘ability’) to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (‘strength’), Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power (‘authority’), and might, and dominion” (Ephesians 1:18–21).

He is the “Almighty God” of Abraham (Genesis 17:1), “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 40:28). “Our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3).

God can do whatever He pleases, except anything contrary to His nature. He “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), for He is “the truth” (John 14:6). His inspired Word is inerrant—“the scripture of truth” (Daniel 10:21). We can be certain that He did not “create” the world by evolution, for that would be contradicted both by His infallible Word and by His omnipotence. Being all-powerful, God would surely not create by such a cruel, inefficient process as evolution.

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Seducing Spirits

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (I Timothy 4:1).

This very cogent warning by the Holy Spirit, spoken “expressly” (or “with special clarity”) for those living in the latter days, predicts an unusual outbreak of seductive demonism-not just in pagan, idol-worshiping or animistic cultures, but in “Christian” nations, where they can lead many to “depart from the faith” which their forefathers once professed. Christians, therefore, should not be taken by surprise at the vast eruption of witchcraft, new-age mysticism, eastern occultism, rock-music demonism, drug-induced fantasies, altered states of consciousness, and even overt Satan-worshipping cults that have suddenly proliferated in our supposedly scientific and naturalistic society. Behind it all are the “seducing spirits” and “the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12).

It should be obvious that Christians must completely avoid all such beliefs and practices. “I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils” (I Corinthians 10:20). “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing” (II Corinthians 6:17). Even “innocent” fun (Halloween parties, ouija boards, dungeons-and-dragons games, etc.) and well-intentioned (but many times superficial) exorcism of apparent demon-possession by Christian workers have often led to dangerous demonic influences in the lives of Christian people, as well as in Christians who have sought supernatural experiences or revelations. In anything that even touches on occultism or demonic influence, the advice of Peter is relevant. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith” (I Peter 5:8,9).