A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

How Firm a Foundation

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1)
 
Many of the grand old hymns of the faith are still treasured even today. Their strength and enduring popularity lie in their use of music to teach scriptural truth, many times weaving in phrases from various scriptural passages to make a doctrinal point.
 
Such is the case with the hymn (of unknown authorship) normally entitled “How Firm a Foundation.” Each verse contains unusually rich scriptural insights, using the words of Scripture, primarily built around the theme of the security of the believer.
 
The first verse is quite familiar:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Each Christian’s pilgrimage begins at salvation. There at the cross, through the foundational instruction of the Word of God, we find everlasting life. We “have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” (Hebrews 6:18-19).
 
Once founded and anchored, we march on to maturity as stated in our text, using the “word of God” (Hebrews 6:5) as our all-sufficient guide. He has told us therein all that we need to know to guide us through the days ahead, including the various perils and persecutions illumined in subsequent verses, all the while resting in Him for security and ultimately realizing the “hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). JDM

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Deep Waters

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isaiah 43:2)
 
We live in a world that is plagued by the effects of sin and the curse, where even the most godly Christian is subject to the ravages of disease, accident, old age, famine, drought, pestilence, and the sins and sinful choices of others.
 
Many times our suffering is deserved due to the consequences of our personal sin or improper choices. The consequent suffering may be the direct result of our actions or may be the chastisement of God to correct our behavior. God may also bring difficulties into our lives to mold our character, making us more like His dear Son. Whatever the cause, there are times when we must go through “deep waters.” But we do not face them alone, as the third verse of “How Firm a Foundation” teaches.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
James begins his book on the effective Christian life by discussing the benefits of trials: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. . . . Blessed is the man that endureth temptation [or trials]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life” (James 1:3, 12). Job reflects the same triumphant attitude in our text, as do other Scripture writers (e.g., 1 Peter 1:7; Romans 8:18; etc.), and as have many saints down through the ages.
 
God has not promised to keep our lives free from times of distress, but He has promised to be with us through them and to use them to bring about our ultimate sanctification. JDM

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Fiery Trials

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you . . . But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)
 
In addition to the normal distresses of life comes outright persecution—direct opposition to the Christian and his faith by enemies of the cross. Millions of Christians down through the ages have even suffered martyrdom for their testimony, and many are suffering today around the world.
 
Christ promised that we would be hated for our stand (John 15:18-21), but He also prayed for us, not that we would be spared the persecution but that we would be victorious in it and sanctified through it. “The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. . . . sanctify them through thy truth” (John 17:14-17). This is the message of the fourth verse of “How Firm a Foundation.”

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply,
The flames shall not hurt thee, I only design,
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
In His wisdom, He may choose to allow persecution to block life’s pathway, but we will not face such opposition alone. His grace will supply our every need.
 
Heating gold above its melting point allows the denser gold to be separated from the frothy impurities (or dross), thus purifying the gold. Just so does God allow “fiery trials” in our lives, pushing us beyond the melting point, to “purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). JDM

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I Will Never Leave Thee

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
 
This marvelous promise of security ought to serve to strengthen us in the face of any and all opposition. Our trust is in the Lord and His promises, in stark contrast to the preceding admonition to let our mindset “be without covetousness; and [to] be content with such things as [we] have.”
 
A covetous spirit actually breaks the last of the ten commandments, and this warning tells us that such a spirit can afflict a Christian if he allows himself to become discontented with God’s provision. The presence of God is far more precious than material possessions, and this should be enough.
 
The promise is even more emphatic in the Greek. The word “leave,” which means to uphold or sustain, is preceded by a twice-repeated negative. It literally means “I will not, I will not cease to uphold you!” The word “forsake” implies forsaking one in a position of hopelessness and is preceded by a thrice-repeated negative: “I’ll never, never, never abandon you in a hopeless state!”
 
Furthermore, this is a personal promise from Christ Jesus. The phrase “he hath said” is in an intensive mode in Greek and could rightly be translated, “He, himself, hath said.” Our Lord stakes His reputation on His ability to provide us security. No wonder “we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:6). The last verse from the grand hymn “How Firm a Foundation” now takes on new meaning. JDM

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The Power to Edify

“Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.” (2 Corinthians 13:10)
 
The Greek word oikodomos (translated as “edification”) pictures the building of a house. We still use the word edifice to describe a structure of some importance. Paul specifically said he had the “power” to edify and later called himself a “wise masterbuilder,” an architekton, who laid the foundation on which we would later build (1 Corinthians 3:10).
 
When Jesus used oikodomos to depict those who might build their house on a rock (His Word) or the sand (the ideas of men), He was painting a picture of how we should edify each other (Luke 6:48-49). The various gifts of leadership are to be used to “perfect” the saints in the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12), using the living “stones” that will build the “spiritual house” of God (1 Peter 2:5).
 
And like any good builder, the Christian carpenter has tools of the trade to assist the process. There are “things which make for peace” that must be employed (Romans 14:19). Most certainly “charity” is a major tool (1 Corinthians 8:1), along with good communication that does not “corrupt” the building work (Ephesians 4:29).
 
Since “all things” are to be done so that the church is edified (1 Corinthians 14:26), it surely follows that “fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions” are not helpful (1 Timothy 1:4). Effective communication demands that those with whom we are speaking understand what is said, hence a mysterious “tongue” does not publicly edify like prophecy does (1 Corinthians 14:2-4).
 
An “edified” church walks “in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:31). HMM III

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My King of Old

“The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:16-17)
 
The 74th Psalm is a sad lamentation over the apparent triumph of the enemies of God, but its central verse is a beautiful statement of faith: “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth” (Psalm 74:12). Then, in support of his faith, the psalmist remembers the mighty creative acts of God in ancient times, giving assurance that He could, indeed, work salvation in these present times.
 
Those who believe that man is the measure of all things, sufficient unto himself, ignore how dependent all people are on God’s provisions. The very rotation of the earth, with its cycle of day and night, has set the basic rhythm of biological life, and it was God—not man—who “divided the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4).
 
There is even the testimony in Genesis that God “prepared the light” before He prepared the sun (Genesis 1:3, 14), thus rebuking all those who later would worship the sun as the source of the earth and life.
 
God also “set all the borders [or ‘boundaries’] of the earth.” This refers both to the emergence of the continental land masses after the Flood and then also to the enforced scattering of the peoples from Babel into all the world, when He “determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” (Acts 17:26).
 
He has even made “summer and winter, and day and night [that] shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). God did all this—not man! Evolutionary humanism is futile foolishness, and one day soon God will answer the cry of the psalmist: “Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily” (Psalm 74:22). HMM

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Delight in the Law

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)
 
Most Christians feel that God’s law is harsh and burdensome, and they rejoice that God’s grace has set them free from the law. The fact is, however, that the law should be a joy and delight to anyone who really loves the Lord. Even Paul, the great apostle of grace, said: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Romans 7:22). “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). David testified that “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting [or ‘restoring’] the soul” (Psalm 19:7).
 
The majestic 119th Psalm contains no less than 25 specific testimonies to the benefits of the law. For example: “Blessed [i.e., ‘happy’] are [those] who walk in the law of the LORD” (v. 1). “Great peace have they which love thy law” (v. 165). “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (v. 18). “Thy law is my delight” (v. 77).
 
That God’s law was not set aside when Christ came is evident from the first mention of the law in the New Testament: Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law. . . . Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). That the law was not for Jews only is suggested in its first mention in the Old Testament: “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you” (Exodus 12:49).
 
The law cannot save, of course: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). But “Christ . . . redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13) when He died for our sins. His law (which now includes the entire Bible) is no more a burden but a delight—restoring the soul and bringing true success and great peace to those who love it. HMM

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Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace

“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14)
 
This indictment by the prophet Jeremiah of the false prophets of his day could easily find a parallel today. The charge was repeated (8:11), so Jeremiah evidently considered it important. The prophet Ezekiel later leveled almost the same indictment against the false prophets of his time: “They have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace” (Ezekiel 13:10).
 
Almost every person would prefer to live in peace, of course. The word itself has become almost an ironic cliché. Our annual observance of Veterans Day (originally called Armistice Day) wistfully expresses the hope that when the current war is settled, it will be the final war, and thenceforth there will be “peace, peace.” The word “armistice” is from the Latin and means “arms standing still.”
 
But there is no real peace; there were numerous wars back during Babylonian times and Roman times and medieval times and all times! Even today there are dozens of small “wars and rumours of wars” going on in any given year (Matthew 24:6) and will continue to be so until Christ, the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), comes back to “speak peace unto the heathen” and to establish His kingdom of peace “even to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).
 
In the meantime, James reminds us of our personal guilt: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1). And Paul exhorts: “Finally, brethren, . . . be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11). HMM

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The Called

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
 
This great promise has been an immeasurable source of strength and comfort to Christians, especially during times of trial. It is specifically directed, however, only to those who are “the called.”
 
Recognition of those who are “the called” is best achieved through their synonymous description as “them that love God.” There are also numerous other Scriptures that further describe them. There are two Greek words (each occurring 11 times) which specifically refer to those who are members of this select group: One of these words is kletos (“called”); the other is klesis (“calling”). Another very important term is ekklesia, meaning “called out,” which occurs 115 times and is almost always translated “church.” That is, a true church is composed of people who have been specially called by God out of the world system, then joined together in a local church to fulfill the purposes of their divine calling.
 
“Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26). No I.Q. test, or physical exam, or social standing is used as a criterion; neither are any human achievements. “[God] 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).
 
God’s call was strictly by grace, according to His own eternal purpose! The means by which God calls is the gospel: “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). No wonder, then, that we can know that all things work together for good on behalf of those whom God has called, and who therefore love God! HMM

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The Eyes of the Lord

“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. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)
 
Since God in His essence is Spirit (note John 4:24) and is omnipresent, one might wonder how He could have physical eyes. The fact is, however, that the Bible frequently refers to His eyes. In fact, this phrase, “the eyes of the LORD,” occurs no less than 21 times in the Bible.
 
While this is hard to understand in one way, it is wonderfully clear when we remember that God is omnipotent and omniscient, as well as omnipresent. “He that formed the eye, shall he not see?” (Psalm 94:9). We may not be able to understand the actual seeing mechanism of spiritual eyes; nevertheless, “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
 
The prophet Zechariah reminds us not to “[despise] the day of small things,” for they will be observed by “the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:10). The phrase is used first of all in connection with those terrible times when “the wickedness of man was great” and “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:5, 11). Yet God could still see righteous Noah there. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8), and he and his family were saved through the awful worldwide Flood.
 
The last usage of the phrase is in Peter’s epistle, quoting Psalm 34:15: “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). We do well to remember always that one of the great names of God is “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16:13) and then conduct ourselves accordingly, aware that our God is indeed watching us with deep love and concern. HMM

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Make Your Calling Sure

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)
 
Although the calling of God is solely by His grace apart from works (2 Timothy 1:9), and although “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29), it is quite possible for a person to believe mistakenly that he has been called, and so Peter urges each professing Christian to make sure of his calling.
 
In the first place, one who is truly called will love God (Romans 8:28), and such love should not be superficial but with the whole heart and soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). One who is called should “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:1-2). If our lives fail such tests, we should at least “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
 
God’s call is not only unto salvation, of course, but to a particular service for His glory. Some like Paul were “called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). Many in Paul’s day were actually called to be slaves: “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayst be made free, use it rather. For he that is called to the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. . . . Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God” (1 Corinthians 7:20-22, 24).
 
Even the apostle Paul, however, could still say (and so should we), “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). We need, first of all, to make our “calling and election sure.” HMM

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Son of God/Son of Man

“And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)
 
It is significant that although Christ clearly taught that He was the unique Son of God, He most frequently referred to Himself as Son of man, earnestly desiring that people understand His true and representative humanity.
 
The first use of the phrase is in Psalm 8:4: “What is . . . the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Although David may have been thinking of all “sons of Adam” in general, the writer of Hebrews applied the passage specifically to Christ (Hebrews 2:6), “that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). In order to save lost men, God in Christ had to become man through supernatural incarnation. Then, as perfect, sinless man, He could represent us before God, finally tasting death for every man.
 
The vital importance of the incarnation is affirmed by John: “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” (1 John 4:2-3). It is noteworthy that Satan and his evil spirits would recognize Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 4:3; 8:28-29) but never as the Son of man! This reluctance seems also to characterize all the occultic philosophies of the so-called “New Age” movement, as well as all ancient and modern pantheistic religions. They speak glibly of “the Christ” as a spirit which might come on many, but bitterly refuse to acknowledge that the man Jesus was actually the Son of man, God incarnate.
 
Finally, it is thrilling to realize that, although He only became the Son of man through His incarnation, He will always remain the Son of man! John saw Him in His glory—as we shall see Him in eternity—as “one like unto the Son of man” (Revelation 1:13; 14:14). HMM

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Tears in Heaven

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 25:8)
 
It may be surprising to learn there are tears in heaven, but there are three places in the Bible where we are told that God will wipe away our tears there. This promise appears first in the Old Testament in our text—a text which is quoted in the New Testament as applying to the events of the second coming of Christ. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). The graves will be emptied and death itself will die when Christ comes again! But there will still be those tears, even after death, which God must wipe away.
 
The other two occurrences are in the last book of the Bible, both again in the context of the return of Christ, “[who] shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Finally, in the new Jerusalem, “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 7:17; 21:4).
 
But why should there be tears at all when death has passed away? The Scriptures do not say specifically why, but it seems probable that these may be tears of regret at lost opportunities and tears of sorrow for unsaved friends and loved ones. It does say that in the new earth we shall somehow “look upon” the lost (Isaiah 66:22, 24) and that even some of the saved “shall suffer loss” when their works in this life do not “abide” in the judgment (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). But then, after these tears are shed, God will graciously wipe them away, and there will never be sorrow or crying anymore. HMM

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The Good Shepherd

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
 
The 23rd Psalm is perhaps the best-loved chapter in the Bible, with its beautiful picture of Christ as the Shepherd. This chapter finds its New Testament exposition in John 10:1-30, where Christ identifies Himself as “the good shepherd” who “giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
 
These two chapters (Psalm 23; John 10) are probably the two greatest chapters in the Bible on the security of the believer in Christ. This theme seems woven by divine inspiration into the very structure of the passages. For example, there are six verses in the poetic structure of the psalm, each containing a different testimony concerning the providing and protecting Shepherd. In similar fashion, there are six times the word “shepherd” is used in John 10, each referring again to the work of our Good Shepherd. There are also six references in the other books of the New Testament where Christ is referred to as a shepherd.
 
The intensely personal aspect of the 23rd Psalm is evidenced by David’s use of the first-person pronouns (“I,” “me,” “my,” etc.) no less than 17 times in its six verses, all expressing his absolute trust in the Lord. Similarly, the word “sheep” is used 17 times in John 10, with the grand theme again stressing the security of the sheep. This number “17” repeatedly seems to crop up in Bible passages related to our security in the Lord. As one example, the famous passage ending the eighth chapter of Romans lists exactly 17 things that can never “separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:35-39).
 
In any case, this marvelous psalm of security concludes (as it began) with a great promise and testimony, which can be paraphrased as follows: “Surely [Christ’s] goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me as long as I live, and then I will dwell in God’s great heavenly family through all the ages of eternity!” HMM

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Clothing

“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” (Revelation 1:13)
 
In the beginning, at the creation of Eve from Adam’s side, “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). There was no need for shame at their lack of clothing for neither had any consciousness of sin or moral guilt. They were truly “one flesh” (v. 24), aware that their physiological differences had been divinely created to bring about God’s purposes for His creation. Any embarrassment would have been quite unnatural.
 
But soon sin entered; they rejected God’s purposes and plan for their lives. Satan had promised they would acquire wisdom, but what was their first taste of wisdom? “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). Their shame must have been multiplied many times over as they heard God pronounce the dreadful curse on all of creation as a result of their sin. And then they had to watch as two of their animal friends (probably sheep) were slain, sacrificed to “make coats of skins” (v. 21) for their covering.
 
Many years later, another Lamb was slain for sin, stripped of His clothing and hanged on a cruel cross, bearing unthinkable shame. “I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22:17-18). Today, having conquered sin and death, He reigns in heaven, “clothed with a garment down to the foot” (text verse). In His death, He arranged for us some day to be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white” (Revelation 19:8), having “washed [our] robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). JDM