A Daily Devotional

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He Died, He Lives

“For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:10-11)
 
The chorus of the hymn “My Hope Is in the Lord” contains rich insight.

For me He died,
For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light
He freely gives.
Think about it—the immortal Creator willingly took upon Himself our deserved penalty for sin so that we don’t have to die. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Then, when God’s holy wrath was fully satisfied, He took His life back again. Only the great Creator of life could do such a thing, and now He offers everlasting life to us, undeserving as we are.
 
This never-ending life is offered freely, yet it is of infinite value. We have nothing comparable with which we can pay. Even the “good” things we can do are insufficient. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). What can we do? Nothing!
 
“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).
 
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood” (Revelation 5:9). What a grand plan is His! JDM

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No Merit of My Own

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” (2 Timothy 1:9)
 
Scripture often emphasizes that our salvation comes not by our own actions but through the outworking of God’s grand plan. A favorite memory verse for Christians is: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This concept dominates the second verse of the hymn “My Hope Is in the Lord.”

No merit of my own
His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found
In Jesus’ righteousness.
All men are guilty before a righteous God and all come under His condemnation. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But through it all, we have a certain hope: Christ died and rose again for our justification, which means being “declared righteous” in the Judge’s eyes. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past” (Romans 3:24-25).
 
We are justified by His grace and will be clothed in His spotless, righteous garments as we stand before our Lord, who promises to reward us as He would reward His own dear Son. “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). Our hope is in the Lord. JDM

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My Advocate

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
 
Remembering that “there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 53:3), we are relieved to find that Jesus Christ Himself stands before God and declares that He died for our sins, that justice has been served. No more punishment remains.
 
He has the nail scars in His hands, permanently visible even in His resurrection body. He showed them to doubting Thomas as an encouragement to believe. God needs no reminder, but in God’s courtroom they make a legal point: Our sin penalty has forever been paid. The third verse of the hymn “My Hope Is in the Lord” echoes this blessed truth.

And now for me He stands
Before the Father’s throne,
He shows His wounded hands
And names me as His own.
There are two judgments coming. Those who died without Christ will have no advocate pleading their case. For them, only righteous judgment remains. But Christians have the promise that “their sins and iniquities will I remember no more,” and we have access “into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:17, 19).
 
The day will come when our “hope” becomes fully realized, and “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). We will gather with the saints of all the ages and sing, “Thou art worthy . . . [for thou] hast redeemed us to God by thy blood” (Revelation 5:9). What hope we have! JDM

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Believe It, Receive It

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)
 
The final verse of the great hymn “My Hope Is in the Lord” states a truth Christians know but need to be reminded of occasionally: The work of salvation is all of God; we could do nothing on our own. Within God’s sovereign plan, that work includes our hearing, understanding, believing, and receiving the gospel.

His grace has planned it all,
’Tis mine but to believe,
And recognize His work of love
And Christ receive.
The great redemptive plan of God spans all of time, from creation to the consummation of all things, with a central focus on the cross of Christ. Because of what was accomplished there, we and all creation can be purged from the effects of sin and we will live forever with Him.
 
Our text verse speaks of believing on Him, but it is not sufficient to merely believe, for “the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). We must also receive His free gift of salvation. At times the two concepts are used in parallel. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).
 
He has done it all. He created all things (Colossians 1:16) and upholds all things (v. 17). After His created humans rejected Him, He redeemed them by the blood of His cross and reconciled all things back to Himself (v. 20). He corporately leads the church (v. 24) and will reign as King forever (Revelation 19:16). No wonder our hope is in the Lord. JDM

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These Things

“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8)
 
In this first chapter of Peter’s last epistle, he refers to “these things” (one word in the Greek) no less than six times. That they are extremely important things is evident from our text, but if these things are lacking, one is spiritually blind and has forgotten what Christ did for him in salvation (v. 9). However, if he does “these things,” he will never fall (v. 10).
 
What then are the things which Peter stresses so urgently? Verse 8 makes it obvious that they constitute simply the hierarchical catalog of Christian attributes listed in verses 6 and 7—that is, faith, virtue (strength of character), knowledge, temperance (self control), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (unselfish love).
 
The same word is used in verse 4, where it explains how we are enabled to acquire these traits of Christian character. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these [‘by these things’] ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”
 
When these things characterize our lives, we become nothing less than Christlike. He, in His humanity, was all these things as He shared our nature, and we have become partakers of His divine nature when we manifest them.
 
The wonderful thing is that they are all mediated to us through the gracious promises of the Word of God. God promises, we believe, and then receive! There is an effectual promise for the achievement of each stage in the growth of a Christlike character. Indeed, as Peter had already said by way of introduction, “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). HMM

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The Two-Fold Call

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” (1 Samuel 3:10)
 
There are a number of other times in Scripture when the Lord repeated a second time the name He was calling, always at a time of great significance and urgency. Once had been to Moses: “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am” (Exodus 3:4).
 
God then ordained Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. When He called Samuel, it was to lead His people out of the chaos of the period of the judges and to prepare them for the Davidic kingdom. The first time God had called in this fashion was to Abraham, and then it was to confirm that he had passed God’s final test for the fulfillment of the great promise concerning the blessing on his seed. “And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I” (Genesis 22:11).
 
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus spoke thus unto all His rebelling nation: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38). Before this, He had spoken both in grief and in encouragement to Peter, who must be prepared to lead the disciples later on. “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32). Finally, when the Lord was ready to call Paul as His apostle to the Gentiles, He met him on the road to Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4).
 
The last calling in the Bible is not a two-fold call but four-fold! “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). HMM

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 The Mercy of the Lord

“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145:8)

Not one of us deserves God’s mercy, for “we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6), and “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). What we deserve is death and eternal separation from the God who made us. Nevertheless, “it is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22). “He hath not dealt with us after our sins. . . . For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (Psalm 103:10-11).

It is by His mercy, not our merit, that we are saved. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). “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, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). It is “according to his abundant mercy” that He has “begotten us again unto a lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

In fact, one of the very titles of God is “the Father of mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Over and over the psalmist assures us that “his mercy endureth for ever” (26 times in Psalm 136:1-26; also Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; etc.). His mercy is not only infinite, but eternal.

How can one possibly reject His mercy? “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering?” (Romans 2:4). Sadly, most do. Instead, the divine challenge is: “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. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). This is our logical response to God’s great mercy! HMM

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Wisdom and Might Are His

“Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.” (Daniel 2:20)
 
Men have sought wisdom all through the ages, “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Others have sought great power. But then we read of Alexander weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer, and we see one rich man after another who cannot bring himself to say, “It is enough.”
 
The problem is, of course, that they are searching for wisdom and might in the wrong places, and thus they can never be satisfied. Wisdom and might belong only to God. In the Lord Jesus Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3), and to Him has been given “all power . . . in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). God, revealed in Christ, is both omniscient and omnipotent, and true wisdom and true riches must come only from Him.
 
Therefore, “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it shall be given him,” (James 1:5). If we are in need of strength, we must become weak, for “when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). If we need riches, we must know poverty, for before Christ can commit to us “the true riches,” we must be found “faithful in that which is least” (Luke 16:10-11).
 
Daniel’s testimony, as recorded in this passage, was given to the most powerful monarch on Earth, with access to all the wisdom of the most highly educated men of the age. But neither human might nor human wisdom could solve his problem. Only Daniel, drawing on the wisdom and power of the God of creation, could meet his need. God’s servants, even today, have the same privilege and responsibility, because our God is “for ever and ever.” HMM

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The Scars of Sin

“But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.” (Judges 16:21)
 
The sad end of mighty Samson, who once had been so greatly energized and utilized by the Lord, is also an allegory and a grave warning to every Christian. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15).
 
Satan knows our individual weaknesses and tempts us accordingly. Many Christians have fallen into sin through some Delilah, but probably many more have fallen into sin through pride, or covetousness, or compromise, or apathy.
 
First, sin blinds. We are commanded to grow in Christ, adding to our initial faith the attributes of virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). Otherwise, “he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:9).
 
Then, sin binds. It may not be with chains, as with Samson, but unconfessed sin quickly enslaves its practitioners. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Peter 2:19).
 
Finally, sin grinds. Instead of the promised freedom from restraint, a sinful life soon becomes a “grind,” tedious and tasteless, like “the dog turned to his own vomit again” (2 Peter 2:22).
 
Samson did return to God again before his death, but he was still blind, and bound, and grinding. God forgives, but the effects of sin are not easily removed. How much better it would be never to yield to the temptation at all. HMM

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An Unlikely Testimony

“And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?” (Numbers 22:28)
 
This tale of a donkey talking has been the object of great ridicule by skeptics. That it is not an allegory or fable, however, but a real historical event was confirmed in the New Testament by the apostle Peter (2 Peter 2:15-16).
 
There is no naturalistic explanation for it, of course, but to insist that the event was impossible is simply to deny the power of God. Such miracles of creation are very rare, however, and there must always be a good reason when God intervenes in the laws which normally govern His creation.
 
One reason in this case, obviously, was to rebuke the prophet Balaam, who was resisting God’s will simply for monetary gain. Balaam’s voice itself would soon also have to be constrained and controlled by God to force him to do God’s will (Numbers 22:38; 23:16, 26; 24:13), blessing Israel instead of pronouncing the curse for which he was to have been paid by the Moabites, who were desperately trying to keep God’s people out of the Promised Land. The Moabites also needed an unforgettable rebuke. They were apostate descendants of Lot, who had known the true God (Numbers 25:1-3), but they were determined to thwart God’s purposes.
 
There may be another, more universal reason: God is concerned about His animal creation, caring even for every sparrow (Matthew 10:29). The animals have been placed under man’s dominion, but they are for his service, his instruction, and his enjoyment—not for his abuse.
 
Thus, Balaam’s ass was providentially allowed by God to rebuke not only Balaam but also anyone who would unnecessarily abuse one of His specially and beautifully designed animal subjects. Most Christians need to be much more sensitive to this concern of God. HMM

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Assurance Before God

“And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” (1 John 3:19)
 
There is a chain of reasoning in this context that is important to understand. Our hearts will be “assured” before God (1 John 3:19) if we love the brethren in “deed and in truth” (v. 18). A lack of that heart assurance condemns us (v. 20). If our heart does not condemn us, then we will have “confidence toward God” (v. 21).
 
It is worth noting that John uses the word “love” 26 times in this little letter. The word “know” is used 31 times, but the word “assure” is used only once (our text) and the word for “confidence” just four times. In each case, the promises of boldness in prayer or trust in answered prayer are based on our obedience.
 
Apparently, the key to an effective relationship with God, especially the key to a confidence in our prayer life, is a ready, visible, and instant response to God’s requirements for the believer. To the degree that we abide in Him (2:28), we will be confident when He returns. Our ready love for the brethren will keep us bold before God in our prayers (3:21), and our Christlike lifestyle will give us boldness at the judgment (4:17).
 
Meanwhile, absolute and steady belief in God’s salvation will remove any doubt that God hears us when we pray (5:14).
 
There is a continuing loop in these messages. We gain confidence as we “do” truth. We find more boldness as we understand God’s answers to our needs and prayers for others. That, in turn, increases our confidence that God is listening to our prayers, making our hearts all the more confident in our relationship with our heavenly Father. HMM III

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The Gods Shall Perish

“Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:11)
 
This is a unique verse. Jeremiah, the second-longest book in the Bible, is written in Hebrew except for this one verse! Why would Jeremiah make this remarkable exception here?
 
This verse was written in Aramaic, which was the official language of the great Babylonian empire—the world’s chief nation at that time. The Babylonians, as prophesied by Jeremiah, were soon to be used as a weapon in God’s hand to punish His chosen people, carrying them into exile and captivity, and the main reason for such punishment was apostasy. God’s people had corrupted the worship of the true Creator God with the teachings and idols of the Babylonians and all the other nations around them who had rejected God.
 
Jeremiah had repeatedly condemned this apostasy, showing that God’s people were to be punished by the very nations whose religious philosophies had so attracted them.
 
But those nations needed also to understand that this was not because of their own strength nor the merits of their own gods. Thus, Jeremiah appropriately inserted a special word to be conveyed to the Babylonians, in their own official tongue. Only the true God, who made the heavens and the earth, is in control of the heavens and the earth.
 
The same type of warning, delivered in the “official” language of the modern world (“science?”), is needed even more today than it was in Jeremiah’s day. Today’s “gods”—Marx, Darwin, etc.—are even less deserving of trust than Zeus or Baal, and yet professing Christians have gone after them in droves. It is urgent that we call them back to the true Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, urging them—before God’s judgment falls once again—to repudiate every vestige of evolutionary humanism. HMM

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Where Is Jesus Now?

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” (Matthew 24:26)
 
The above warning was given by Christ in His famous Olivet discourse about His future second coming, right after He had predicted that many “false Christs” would first come, deceiving many (v. 24). That prediction has been fulfilled many times during the following centuries, but He Himself has not yet returned, in spite of the claims of these latter days.
 
However, His present location is no secret. After His resurrection and final instructions to His disciples, “he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19). We must remember that He arose bodily from the grave, then ascended bodily to God’s throne, and that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven” (Acts 1:11), will return. Until He returns, therefore, He is seated bodily at the right hand of the presence of the triune God in heaven. In fact, there are no less than 21 references in the Bible to the Lord Jesus now being at the right hand of God.
 
It is not strictly correct to say or sing that Jesus can come into our hearts, unless it is clearly understood that He is there symbolically in the presence of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. In this way, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6) so that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17).
 
In the physical sense, however, the Lord Jesus Christ, still in His physical, but now immortal, body, is at “the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3) and will remain there until He returns physically back to fulfill all the remaining promises in the Scriptures and to establish the kingdom for which He created us. HMM

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In the Days of Thy Youth

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
 
Here is the wisest counsel a young person can receive. Though it was first written many years ago, it is more relevant than ever today when young people are being bombarded daily with the propaganda and practices of evolutionary humanism. They urgently need to realize that despite these pressures, they are not products of chance, with pleasure their only aim in life. They are special creations of God, with a high and holy purpose destined for them by their Creator.
 
If they will only recognize this fact, acknowledging God, in Christ, as Creator and Savior while they are young, trusting and obeying His Word as they mature, they can anticipate a life of fulfillment. “I have been young, and now am old,” David said, “yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
 
If they refuse their Creator in the days of their youth, however, then it will become increasingly difficult to remember their Creator as the years go by. Few are converted in later life. They can only anticipate the bitterness and regrets of old age and death, as described so vividly in the verses following our text. Under the figure of a decaying house symbolizing their aging bodies, the forlorn picture is drawn of fading eyesight, trembling hands, buckling knees, sleepless nights, easy irritability, increasing senility, and other aspects of approaching death—all with no pleasure in them because they long ago had forgotten their Creator. Remember now thy Creator, young man, young woman! Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Therefore, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). HMM

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Saving Faith and True Creation

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)
 
This is the very first object and example of faith in the Bible’s great “faith chapter,” Hebrews 11. This fact strongly argues that any truly meaningful and effective faith must be founded, first of all, on the revealed fact of special creation—creation ex nihilo—not creation through some protracted, naturalistic, imaginary process of evolution. All of the “worlds” (Greek aion—that is, the “space/times”—the continuum of space and time which constitutes the physical cosmos) were simply called into existence by God’s omnipotent Word. “He spake, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9). In no way did He have to start with some chaotic form of matter already in existence. Jesus Christ—the Word of God (John 1:14)—created space and time as well as matter/energy. “By him were all things created” (Colossians 1:16). “Without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).
 
Right at the end of the previous chapter, the apostle asserts that “the just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38) and concludes by speaking of those “that believe [literally ‘have faith’] to the saving of the soul” (v. 39). Following immediately then is his definition of faith, and after that the great progression of objects and examples of faith in Hebrews 11. Heading the list of these, of course, is faith in the special creation of all things by the Word of God. The necessary conclusion is that a “living” faith and “saving” faith must be founded, first of all, on the fact of supernatural creation of all things by God in the beginning.
 
Evolution is also based on faith, but it is contrary to Scripture and to true science. “Theistic evolution” is a false faith, and those Christians who believe such things should carefully examine their hearts in the light of God’s Word. HMM