A Daily Devotional

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The Dead Are Raised


“And you hath He quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

The Lord promised Abraham, before Isaac’s birth, that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the heaven, and Abraham “believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead . . . neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). After Abraham “offered up his only begotten son (Isaac) . . . accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17,19), God again told him “I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore . . . because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17,18).

In obeying God’s voice, Abraham “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20,21). His faith therefore was “imputed to him for righteousness” (v.22). Abraham was brought to the point where he knew beyond all doubt that he was incapable of assisting God in the accomplishment of His divine purposes in bringing to life the nation of Israel and, in so doing, his faith became a model for all believers, “that he might be the father of all them that believe . . . that righteousness might be imputed unto them also” (Romans 4:11).

We who were dead in trespasses and sins have believed that God “hath raised Him (Jesus Christ) from the dead” and have believed “unto righteousness” (Romans 10:9,10). It is through His righteousness that dead sinners are both “quickened” and made righteous. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

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Our Reasonable God


“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

Our God is a reasonable God, and our faith is a reasonable faith, based on sound evidence. It is not a credulous faith, like that of the evolutionist who blindly believes either in the god of chance or in some sort of cosmic consciousness.

Furthermore, He has told us to be reasonable in our witness to others. “Be ready always to give an answer [that is, an apologetic, a reasoned defense of our faith] to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).

But how can it be reasonable that one whose deeds have been crimson with sin could ever be made “white as snow”? That would seem impossible! He or she would have to be “born again.” This would require a mighty miracle-a reversal of time-and eradication of all the sins of the past.

And that would, indeed, be unreasonable-even impossible, were it not for God. But “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). What seems incredible to human wisdom is altogether reasonable to the God of creation. He has allowed man the freedom to sin (so that he could also be free to choose righteousness), but He can never fail in His creative purpose. “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (I Corinthians 1:25).

This divine Wisdom is centered in the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, who “loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). As a result, now our “reasonable service” to Him is for each of us to offer ourselves to Him as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1).

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The Imperatives Of Redemption


“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matthew 16:21).

The little word “must” (Greek deon) conveys urgency and necessity, and is frequently used in connection with the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He was just a lad, He told the learned men in the temple: “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49).

But then the first time this key auxiliary verb is found in the New Testament is in the comprehensive prophetic statement of His mission, as given to His disciples in our text. He must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die, and be raised the third day. As He was moving toward that climactic event, “He said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent” (Luke 4:43). Furthermore, “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

He had much preaching and much work to do in that brief three-year interim in world history. But then He must die!

And why must He die? Because “the Scriptures must be fulfilled” (Mark 14:49). “These are the words which I spake unto you, . . . that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44).

And how must He die? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14). But then, of course, “He must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9).

To what purpose must He be lifted up on the cross to die, and then be raised again? Why because “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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Shadows


“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).

There are at least eighty references in the Bible to shadows—an unusual subject, but intended by the Holy Spirit for our edification. Shadows teach us about: The shortness of life: “Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding” (I Chronicles 29:15); “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass” (Psalm 102:11); “I am gone like the shadow when it declineth” (Psalm 109:23). The certainty of death: There are eighteen references in the Bible to the shadow of death. “Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death” (Job 10:21). We are encouraged to “seek Him that . . . turneth the shadow of death into the morning” (Amos 5:. The assurance of God’s protection: “Hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 17:; “In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge” (Psalm 57:1); “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1); “I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song of Solomon 2:3). The Lord’s presence goes with us as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Places of false protection: “Woe to the rebellious children: . . . that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion” (Isaiah 30:1–3). The immutability of God: God does not change. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

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Silencing Foolish Men



“For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (I Peter 2:15).

The blasphemous diatribes of modern evolutionary humanists against the Word of God and the testimony of His people are really nothing but arrogant foolishness. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22) and “the LORD shall have them in derision” (Psalm 2:4). The Biblical way to “silence the ignorance of foolish men,” as our text says, is simply by “well doing.” This word (also translated “do well”) is used almost exclusively by Peter, but he makes the point quite effectively.

Note the following, for example: “If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God” (I Peter 2:20). “For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing” (I Peter 3:17). “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Peter 4:19).

Our example in this, of course, is none other than Christ Himself, “Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously” (I Peter 2:23). Unbelievers, if they want to badly enough, can reject every argument with some other objection or counter claim, but they have no way to gainsay a godly, righteous, law-abiding, loving life. The unbeliever may ridicule such a life for a time, but he must eventually come to see its sure foundation. “Whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation” (I Peter 2:12). The main reason for “well doing,” however, is simply that, as our text says, “so is the will of God,” and we can safely leave the response and the results to Him.

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The Writing Of God

“And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables” (Exodus 32:16).

In this verse is the first occurrence in the Bible of the word “writing” and, appropriately enough, it is speaking of “the writing of God” rather than the writings of men. The reference, of course, is to the two tables of the law, the Ten Commandments, “written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18), and rewritten on a second set of stone tables to replace the first, once they were shattered (Exodus 34:1).

All Scripture is divinely inspired, but the Ten Commandments were divinely inscribed! This testimony of their unique importance is a sobering condemnation of any who ignore them or distort their meaning (including the one referring to the six-day creation in Exodus 20:11).

But there is another writing of God, this one recorded in the New Testament; one of even greater personal significance to the Christian: “Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (II Corinthians 3:3). No longer an external standard, divinely engraved in stone by the finger of God, but an internal conviction, inscribed in the heart by the Spirit of God! “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16).

This remarkable writing of God’s law in our hearts and minds has been accomplished because Christ came not “to destroy, but to fulfill” the law (Matthew 5:17) and “hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Now, with the law in our hearts, we have become epistles of God, “known and read of all men” (II Corinthians 3:2), and it is vital that the writing read true and clear through our lives.

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Given To Us Eternal Life


“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (I John 5:11).

Our text for today contains truths which provide great power and comfort for Christians. Let us reflect on some of them:

The word “record” needs amplification. In noun form, it means “the evidence given,” and in verb form it means “testify,” or “witness.” The apostle John used it nine times in verses 7 through 11. Study of our text and its context shows that the record mentioned is none other than the great truth that Christ Jesus was God’s only Son, and that He died as a perfect and fully sufficient sacrifice to provide us life eternal.

In our text, we see that this work of bestowing eternal life is God’s work. It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). This eternal life is our present possession, for He “hath given” it to us, i.e., in the past. This gift is to individuals—to “us”—not to a nation or even the church, but to those who have believed. Furthermore, this “eternal life” is eternal! It will last for eternity, and cannot be taken away. It is inconceivable for an omnipotent God to give “eternal life” temporarily. We are alive in Him, having been born (again) into His family. This is a permanent situation.

The tense shifts to the present in the last phrase of the text. Our “life is in His Son.” We are “in Him. . . . This is the true God, and eternal life” (v.20). Our life finds its vitality in living union with the Son. His death and resurrection made life possible, and now His present life is ours. His Spirit, resident within us, provides this vitality, and since the Spirit of God is eternal, our life is eternal. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (v.13).

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The Fellowship Of The Mystery

“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 3:9).

In the third chapter of Ephesians, the apostle Paul is outlining the tremendous message he had been called by God to preach. By special “revelation,” God had “made known” to him the essentials of what had previously been a great “mystery” (vs.3,4). Since all—both Jew and Gentile—had the same Creator, and since that Creator had now become the Redeemer, therefore all were to be “partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel” (v.6).

Thus, there was established a wonderful fellowship among all those whom He has created and redeemed. This great mystery, long hidden from the Gentiles and from the Jews (accustomed to viewing themselves as the chosen nation), must now give way to “the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs.10,11).

That great purpose, now revealed, had from the beginning of the world been “hid in God.” He had first “created all things by Jesus Christ” (see our text for the day), and “now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). He has reconciled both Jew and Gentile to the Father and to each other “in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (v.16).

True fellowship between any two groups can only be on this basis. That is, both the creation of all things and the blood-bought redemption of all things have thereby been completed through the Lord Jesus Christ. This former mystery is now fully revealed as the essential foundation of true fellowship with God and man.

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Praising God In The Dance

“Let them praise His name in the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp” (Psalm 149:3).

Although conservative Christians have long considered dancing to be a questionable form of amusement and recreation, it is obvious from such references as the above that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with it. Note Psalm 150:4: “Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;” and other Old Testament references to dancing in a favorable sense (Exodus 15:20; Psalm 30:11; etc.). In the New Testament, the parable of the prodigal son also speaks of dancing in a good light, noting that the son’s homecoming was joyfully celebrated with “music and dancing” (Luke 15:25). Usually dancing was an expression of either joy or worship.

To the contrary, there is another reference in the Old Testament which may be more relevant to modern Christian attitudes toward dancing. When Aaron made the golden calf and the Israelites proceeded to worship this Satanic idol while Moses was on the mount receiving God’s ten commandments, they “rose up to play” (Exodus 32:6), and Moses soon found them shouting and singing and dancing (Exodus 32:17–19) and even “saw that the people were naked” (Exodus 32:25). The commentary in the New Testament suggests that this revelry led to widespread fornication (I Corinthians 10:. The gospels also tell of the sensuous dancing of Herodias’ daughter Salome, which so enthralled King Herod that he was willing to behead John the Baptist to please her (Matthew 14:6–11).

Thus, while dancing can, if properly motivated and Biblically controlled, be an appropriate medium for showing joy and even godly worship, it can also become an outlet for carnal sensuality and even criminality. Unfortunately, most modern dancing seems more closely related to the latter than the former, and Christians must continue to be cautious.

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No Help From The Hills


“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121:1).

This oft-quoted verse seems to contradict many other verses in Scripture: “Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel” (Jeremiah 3:23).

In fact, a common error of paganism was to seek salvation and the favor of the “gods” by going to “high places” where, ostensibly, they could commune with spirits in the heavens. Such practices, of course, were vigorously rebuked by God. He commanded the Israelites, as they entered the promised land: “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2).

Thus, the last half of our text above should best be regarded as a sort of rhetorical question: “From whence cometh my help?” (In the original language, the context determines when a statement is a question.) The wonderful answer then immediately follows: “My help cometh from the L SIZE="-1">ORD, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).

No object or system in the natural world, regardless of how beautiful or magnificent, can provide help in time of spiritual need. But “we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper” (Hebrews 13:6), for “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

He alone is the Creator of all things in heaven and earth, whereas the hills and mountains of the present world are merely the remnants of the destructive phenomena of the great Flood (Psalm 104:6–9). All such things are powerless to save, and eventually will “vanish away” (Isaiah 51:6). But “our help is in the name of the L SIZE="-1">ORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:.

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Consider The Ravens

“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” (Luke 12:24).

Consider, first, “a certain rich man” who had such abundance of food bursting from his barns that he decided to pull them down and build greater barns. He planned to hoard his goods rather than share his abundance (vs.16–18).

Consider now the ravens: lacking barns, they depend from day to day totally upon God’s provision. “He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry” (Psalm 147:9). Do we cultivate this raven-like attitude, or are we self-sufficient like the rich man?

These same ravens, when commanded by God, brought Elijah “bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening” (I Kings 17:6). Unlike the rich man, these ravens shared their goods, and not from their abundance. Do we respond as quickly as ravens and share with the needy that God sends our way?

Ravens are unclean birds, according to Leviticus 11:15. They routinely scavenge carcasses for food. Noah used this characteristic to evaluate the state of the earth after the Flood. After forty days, he “opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth” (Genesis 8:6,7). The raven felt no horror at the condition of the world, no hesitation at partaking of its gruesome abundance. The dove which Noah sent forth was more fastidious: “But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark” (v.9). Two weeks passed before she “returned not again unto him any more” (v.12). Are we hardened and eager ravens, seeking all the world has to offer, or more discerning and scrupulous doves?

Consider the ravens: They have many lessons to teach us.

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God’s Foundation



“His foundation is in the holy mountains. The L SIZE="-1">ORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah” (Psalm 87:1–3).

The 87th Psalm was dedicated to the praise of Jerusalem as the chosen city of God, the site of His temple, where He dwelt with His people. It is on this location that He focuses His continual attention. None of the great fathers of the chosen people—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua—were ever citizens of earthly Jerusalem, but they all “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

The Lord Jesus has gone “to prepare a place” (John 14:2) for us, and God “hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:16). This is “mount Sion . . . the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22), the “Jerusalem which is above” (Galatians 4:26).

The day will come when this beautiful city of God will rest on “a great and high mountain . . . descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Revelation 21:10,11). There on the new earth (Revelation 21:1,2) it may indeed rest on foundations extending to the center of the earth, for it will be 1,400 miles high, wide, and long (Revelation 21:16). Inscribed on its beautiful foundations are the names of the twelve apostles, but the sure foundation must be Christ Himself (Ephesians 2:20; I Corinthians 3:11). “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His” (II Timothy 2:19).

“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:1,2).

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The Great Congregation


“But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:22,23).

There are relatively few large Christian congregations in the world where believers meet for fellowship, study, and prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most churches, both now and in earlier times, have been insignificant in terms of worldly standards, better fitting Christ’s “little flock” designation (Luke 12:32) than do the giant edifices so widely publicized today. The Biblical standard is not size, but motive. The small church at Philadelphia was promised an open door because, said the Lord, “thou hast (but) little strength, and hast kept my Word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:.

The day is coming, however, when all believers in all churches of all times and places will be in one church. This will be “the general assembly and church of the firstborn,” whose members will be “just men made perfect” by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 12:23). Even on the cross, the Lord Jesus anticipated this glorious event. At the very height of His sufferings, He prophesied in His heart: “My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation” (Psalm 22:25). Already, by His Word and by His Spirit, He has spoken to every future member of that marvelous assembly: “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: . . . I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation” (Psalm 40:9,10).

This was surely part of “the joy that was set before Him” as He “endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Members of that great congregation have great joy set before them!

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The Discerner

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word of God (both the written word and the living Word, Jesus Christ) is “living and energizing” and is the double-edged sword of the Spirit, piercing into the deepest recesses of body, soul, and spirit, where it “discerns” even the very thoughts and intents of our hearts.

This discernment, however, is more than just understanding or insight. The Greek word for “discerner” is kritikos, and is used only this one time in the Bible. Our word “critic” is derived from it, and this is an important dimension of its meaning. Its discernment is a critical, judging discernment—one which convicts and corrects, as well as one which understands.

It is paradoxical that men today presume to become critics of the Bible, when it should really be the other way around. There are textual critics, who sort through the various ancient manuscripts of the Bible, trying to arrive at the original text; there are the “higher critics,” who critique vocabularies and concepts, trying to show that the traditional authors did not actually write the books attributed to them; and then there are many other purely destructive critics, who criticize the Bible’s miracles, morals, and everything else, hoping thereby to justify their rebellion against the Word.

But the Bible still stands! It stands in judgment on our lives and our subconscious motives. It will have the final word when “the books (are) opened . . . and the dead (are) judged out of those things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12). It is far better to heed the constructive criticism of the Word now, than to hear its condemnation later.

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Love Of The Father For The Son

“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand” (John 3:35).

The Gospel of John, in a special sense, emphasizes the love, in the divine Trinity, of the heavenly Father for the Son. The words “love” and “Father” and “Son” occur more in this book than in any other book of the Bible, and there are at least eight references to this love in John’s Gospel.

The first is in our text above, revealing that the Father has entrusted the care of the whole creation to the Son whom He loves. He has also shown Him everything in creation: “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth” (John 5:20).

The Father also loved the Son because of His willingness to die for lost sinners. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17).

Then in the upper room, as Christ prayed to His Father, it was revealed that this divine love had existed in eternity, and therefore must be both the root and the measure of all forms of true love ever since. “Father . . . thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Parental love, marital love, filial love, love of country—all types of genuine love—are derived ultimately from this eternal love of the Father for the Son.

And it is this love that can also be in us, if we will have it. “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. . . . If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love” (John 15:9,10).

It was thus He prayed (and still prays) for us. “. . . that the world may know that thou . . . hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. . . . And . . . that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:23,26).