A Daily Devotional

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A Marvelous Thing

“The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence He is, and yet He hath opened mine eyes” (John 9:30).

A “marvelous thing,” in the Bible, is something that generates awe or wonder. Sometimes it refers to a miracle, but more often to something very unexpected and remarkable.

But the most marvelous thing of all is that unbelievers, facing overwhelming evidence of the reality of God, will still persist in their unbelief. In our text passage, the Lord Jesus Christ had just performed one of His most amazing miracles of creation—making perfect eyes for a man with no eyes, blind from birth. As the man testified to the frustrated Pharisees: “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind” (John 9:32). Yet these religious intellectuals, so opinionated in their anti-Christian prejudices, refused to believe what they saw and heard. Similarly, “when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things (i.e., ‘marvelous thing’) that He did, . . . they were sore displeased” (Matthew 21:15).

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is John 1:10: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” And: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (v.11). Even when He raised Lazarus from the dead, “the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12:10,11).

Modern “intellectuals” are still the same, whether religious or materialistic, rejecting the overwhelming testimony of the created complexity in the cosmos to the fact of a personal Creator, in favor of an impossible scenario of chance origin. “Herein is a marvelous thing!” Such people “willingly are ignorant” and “without excuse” (II Peter 3:5; Romans 1:20).

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This Grace Also

“Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also” (II Corinthians 8:7).

The “grace” of which Paul was writing in our text is the grace of giving! Many Christians may show diligence and love in their Christian life, but are still very reluctant to give sacrificially to the work of the Lord.

Many follow what they consider the “law of tithing” (most Christians don’t even do that!) and consider this to be meritorious. The fact is, however, that giving for the Christian is not a law to be obeyed, but a grace to be cultivated.

The motivation cited by Paul for abounding in this grace was not the Old Testament ordinance, but the New Testament example in the church at Philippi. Consider, he said, “the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. . . . beyond their power they were willing of themselves.” And the real secret of their motivation was that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord” (II Corinthians 8:1,2,3,5). An even greater motive for abounding in this grace is the example of Christ: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (II Corinthians 8:9).

This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally, even in times of affliction and poverty, out of whole-hearted devotion to the Lord and for the spiritual enrichment of those who are spiritually impoverished. “

God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:.

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God's Kingdom

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

In these days (and in earlier times, for that matter) there has been much idealistic talk about a coming “new world order,” in which all nations will become as one, and there will be no more war or poverty. Many people thought (some still do) that world communism would bring this about. Others believe that a worldwide Islamic government can accomplish this. Various would-be world emperors (e.g., Hitler, Napoleon) have come and gone. Many pin their hopes on the United Nations. All the various New Age cults and organizations are working toward such an end. And, strangely enough, many Bible-believing Christians still think that the Christian church can bring about such revival and reconstruction of the coming chaos that we can Christianize and then rule the world.

They are all wrong. There is a kingdom coming which will bring perfect peace and righteousness, and it will last forever, but men will not accomplish it. “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with justice even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts [not that of men!] will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

In the climactic end of Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream image (most of which has already been fulfilled), Daniel has assured all succeeding generations that “the God of heaven” [not the United Nations—not even the church!] shall “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:.

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Cursed Or Blessed

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD” (Jeremiah 17:5).

Jeremiah provides for us a striking contrast between the self-assured humanist and the one who has placed his trust in God. The man who looks to his own abilities or those of others to save him in time of trouble is “cursed.” His existence will be one of futility, just as is that of a parched desert plant (v.6). Why? Because his “heart departeth from the LORD” (v.5), the source of strength and salvation.

Actually, Jeremiah uses a play on words here. The two words for “man” in our text are different: the first means “warrior,” or “strong man,” and the second, a “normal man.” The warrior who should be strong is cursed because he is trusting in one who is weak; in this case, any other man’s wisdom or might, or even his own strength, when overestimated. What sense is there in that?

In contrast, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the L SIZE="-1">ORD” (v.7). “He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, . . . and shall not be careful (i.e., anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (v.. Why? Because his “hope the LORD is” (v.7). Here again we see the warrior—one who might be considered strong—trusting solely in the true “Strong Man,” the Lord.

It is a tragic fact that even many Christians fall into the mind set of the autonomous humanist and attempt to live their lives, even “the Christian life,” under their own power. Do we trust in our own feeble power or in the Lord? Both the humanist and the Christian “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (v.9). Make no mistake! “I the LORD search the heart” (v.10); He knows our inner motives. Let us recommit ourselves to trust in the Lord and make Him our hope.

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The Faithful Creator

“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).

This is the only verse in the New Testament describing the Creator as faithful. God had a very specific purpose in creating the universe, and especially man, and He will surely accomplish that great purpose. The Scriptures repeatedly stress God’s faithfulness. With respect to the physical universe, “Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth” (Psalm 119:89,90). As far as His promises to His people are concerned, “Know therefore that the L SIZE="-1">ORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

The faithful Creator is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and He rebukes the compromising church of the last days with these majestic words: “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14). Although many professing believers will prove unfaithful to Him, “yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (I Timothy 2:13).

The triumphant book of Revelation comes directly “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5); and when He finally returns to Earth in power and glory, His very name shall be “called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11). He is both Alpha and Omega, and thus all His “words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5). Our salvation is sure, therefore, because “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Corinthians 1:9). “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24).

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Four Fervent Things

“Fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

The word “fervent” or “fervency” is found only eight times in the Word of God, all in the New Testament. It basically means, to boil or be hot, ardent, fervid, or zealous. God’s people need to be fervent in four very important areas: A fervent spirit: Our text reminds us to be “fervent in spirit.” “Apollos . . . was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord” (Acts 18:24,25). His internal fervency produced an external fervency in his service for the Lord. It goes without saying that those who are not on fire on the inside will not do very much for Christ on the outside! A fervent prayer life: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Even though many years have passed since James wrote it, this promise is just as true today as it was then. Scripturally, Epaphras is a perfect example of this: “Always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). A fervent mind: Paul noted that the Corinthians had a “fervent mind toward” him (II Corinthians 7:7). The Greek word is zelos, from which we get our English word zealous. Thus it could be translated, “your zeal for me.” In other words, they had an ardent attachment to Paul. The believer today should have a great zeal or fervency to be one with other believers and not cause divisions and contentions. A fervent love: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently . . . and above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins” (I Peter 1:22; 4:. Fervent love comes from a pure heart and does not generate dissension.

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His Age

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).

The apostle Paul wrote these words over 1,900 years ago, and yet Christ still has not returned. The early Christians were looking for Christ’s return in their own day, and so have many believers in every generation since, yet we still wait.

This attitude of age-long watchful expectancy is both Scriptural and salutary, for Jesus said: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13). In fact, it is impossible to correctly predict the date of His coming, for He clearly said: “In such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).

In his first epistle, Paul reminded the believers how they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from heaven” (I Thessalonians 1:9,10). Years later, he exhorted Timothy to “love His appearing” (II Timothy 4:. He had written Titus that each Christian should be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). To the Corinthians, he said: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” when Christ returns (I Corinthians 15:51), indicating he thought it possible that he himself might witness Christ’s return. “We which are alive and remain shall be caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air,” he had also said (I Thessalonians 4:17).

There are many other such references, so it is clear that the early Christians were, indeed, watching for Christ, as He had commanded. We must not set dates, and we must “occupy till (He) comes” (Luke 19:13), but we also must continue to watch, “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37).

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In His Steps


"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way" (Psalm 37:23).

There is nothing more satisfying to a believer than to be living in the will of God for his life. And it is good to know that God actually delights in leading us along that way which He is laying out for us. There are numerous Bible verses to this effect. One of the most familiar is "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).

That verse gives us a basic principle for knowing His way. We need to seek His leading in everything! Of course, it may not be an easy path. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps" (I Peter 2:21).

Even if the path seems difficult at times, it is a good path, because it honors Him. "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). He is the good Shepherd, and if we lose the way for a time, He can bring us back. As the prophet said: "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

An important check to be sure we are not drifting far off the path is to be sure we don't disobey or question His written Word. "Order my steps in thy word," we should pray each day (Psalm 119:133). Then He promises: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:21).

It may not be an audible voice, but we can hear. Jesus promised: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). Then we can say, as the ancient servant testified: "I being in the way, the Lord led me" (Genesis 24:27).

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Three Tabernacles


"According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it" (Exodus 25:9).

This is the first mention of the tabernacle wherein the religious life of Israel was centered during their time of wandering in the desert. The details of its design, construction, and service occupy thirteen chapters in Exodus--more than for any other single item in the Bible. These details provide a wealth of typological intimations of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This tabernacle, however, was based on the pattern of "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Hebrews 8:2). There is a heavenly tabernacle where Christ now dwells, and the furnishings and service of the earthly tabernacle were mere "patterns of things in the heavens" (Hebrews 9:23). "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24).

Christ also entered yet a third tabernacle. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). In this key verse, the Greek word translated "dwelt" is actually "tabernacled"--thus His human body became God's tabernacle, and He will dwell there forever. Even though that body died, it was raised immortal, still a physical body, but one that will never die again.

Finally we have His wonderful assurance in the Bible's last chapter, that in this tabernacle, He will dwell among us eternally. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Revelation 21:3).

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Matthew The Publican

“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9).

Matthew was chosen to be the inspired author of the longest record we have of the life of Christ, yet he says little about himself. Almost everything we know about him—from the Scriptures at least—is found in this one verse.

As a publican, or tax collector, he would normally be greatly disliked by other Jews (note Matthew 9:11), yet Jesus chose him as a disciple. Matthew responded immediately to what seemed almost an off-handed invitation from Jesus, and his whole subsequent life was changed.

Matthew reports a similar response by Peter and Andrew. When Christ told them to follow Him, “they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.” Similarly, when He called James and John, “they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him” (Matthew 4:20,22).

But there is more to this than meets the eye. John and Andrew had first been disciples of John the Baptist, who had directed them to follow Jesus (John 1:35–37,40). Probably this was true of the rest of the disciples too. When the eleven had to select a man to take the place of Judas, the criterion was that he must be one who had “companied with us all the time . . . beginning from the baptism of John” (Acts 1:21,22).

Evidently all the disciples had been baptized and prepared by John, who had himself been called “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). Matthew’s remarkable call, like that of the others, must have been preceded by an unrecorded history of his own personal repentance and faith. He must have come to John as one of the “publicans to be baptized” (Luke 3:12), and thereby been gladly ready to go when Christ called him.

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Sharing

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ” (II Corinthians 1:5).

Frequently we sense our need of God’s help. We find ourselves weak, failing, unable to meet our needs. These are the times we gladly appropriate the promise of help from Heaven.

But what does this passage also say? That the sufferings of Christ are ours also? From a human perspective, no one would willingly choose sufferings, certainly not the kind and not to the extent that Christ suffered. Every aspect of our beings insists that we avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness.

God, however, has a different outlook on the matter of suffering. He chose suffering for Himself. He chose to be separated from a beloved part of Himself. He chose an earthly life of lowliness, and loneliness, and pain, and eventual treachery and execution. God did not shield Himself from unpleasantness and then offer to help us when we go through trials. Every kind of hardship, Christ has endured; the full cup of bitterness, He has drunk. Now, fully equipped to understand us, He offers to share His own consolation and help. We run to His side for comfort!

But the first part of the verse is still there—speaking of sharing Jesus’ sufferings as well as His comfort. Can we choose to stand beside Jesus, bent and bowed low in the dregs of life? Will we gladly say “Yes” to whatever hardship and pain the world deals to us? Indeed, wemust accept suffering as part of the good that God gives us—part of His type of life. Suffering should not fill us with anger and questions about God’s love, for it offers an opportunity to share in Christ’s very life! In the full “life abundant” for which we yearn, help and suffering are packaged together. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:10).

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Joy In The Morning



“For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

God is necessarily a God of wrath, for He is a holy God and cannot ignore human sin. Nevertheless, He is even more a God of love. His very purpose in creation was that His love could be manifested to men and women created in His image.

Because there is sin, there must be suffering and death, but He is “slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:. He has provided a marvelous means of forgiveness and salvation to all who will accept it, through the substitutionary death of His Son. This was a most cruel death, but even this was ameliorated by God’s overshadowing mercy, and there was “joy . . . in the morning!” He, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Likewise in each believer’s life, there must be pain and weeping, but as measured in the scales of eternity, these will only “endure for a night”: and one morning the night will vanish forever. “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 there shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:4,25).

Therefore, as the apostle Paul said: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Corinthians 4:17). We can, like Him, “reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). We will be forever “in Christ,” who could say prophetically while looking toward the cross (as recorded in one of the Messianic psalms): “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

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Dangerous Counterfeits

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21).

Human beings are very gullible, and counterfeiting is a profitable occupation for many deceivers. But spiritual counterfeits are the most dangerous of all, and at times the most difficult to detect. There are many false gods, and this is the subject of the very first of the true God’s Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). We are warned also to “beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) and “false Christs” (Matthew 24:24). There are those who preach “another Jesus” (II Corinthians 11:4), and many who come preaching “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) rather than the true saving gospel of Christ.

There are also counterfeit Christians who are “false brethren” (II Corinthians 11:26), as well as “false teachers” (II Peter 2:1,2) and “false apostles” (II Corinthians 11:13). They preach “peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14), and some will even “shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Satan himself is the greatest counterfeiter, for he “deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) in his attempt to become a counterfeit God. Thus we are warned to “try the spirits whether they are of God” (I John 4:1) and to “prove all things”—to test them by God’s Word.

In this scientific age, it is especially important that we not be deceived by “science falsely so called” (I Timothy 6:20). So-called evolutionary “science” is not supported by any real scientific evidence, and is contrary both to common sense and the Bible. Many professing Christians have “erred concerning the faith” because of evolution (I Timothy 6:21), which has been made the pseudo-scientific rationale for a multitude of false philosophies propounded by false teachers. May God help us to hold fast only to that which is good!

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A World Of Books

“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:25).

It is difficult to understand how it could be literally true that a complete biography of Christ’s works would be an earth-filling library. However, we must realize that His works did not end with His return to heaven. The events of His thirty-three years on Earth were only what “Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). When He prayed, it was not only for His twelve disciples, “but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 17:20). When He sent the Holy Spirit, it was so that each believer could know that “Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20) and that, by His Spirit, He could fulfill His promise: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). He also promised to “build my church” (Matthew 16:18), in which each believer becomes a member of “His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23).

Thus, the life and work of every believing Christian is, in a very real sense, an extension of the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and an endless series of thrilling biographies could be written about them. In fact, the apostle Paul referred to his Christian converts as living books: “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart” (II Corinthians 3:2,3).

Each of our own lives, therefore, becomes one of “the books that should be written” about the “things which Jesus did.” How important it is that the deeds and words we record in our books are worthy of our divine Biographer!

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Those Who Rule Over You

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Hebrews 13:7).

The very idea that the church has “rulers” is resisted by many modern Christians, especially those in “autonomous” churches, with “congregational” systems of governance. But in the last chapter of Hebrews, there are three commands given to Christian church members in relation to “them which have the rule over you.” Christ, the Head of the church, has assured that each true local church will have God-called pastors, elders, or other “rulers” to lead the church in its divinely ordained ministry.

Whatever these leaders are called, or however they are appointed, if they have indeed “spoken unto you the Word of God,” then the members of the church are commanded to “remember them” and their “faith follow.”

Secondly, they are commanded to “obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account” (Hebrews 13:17). Thirdly, they are to “salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints” (Hebrews 13:24), with the word “salute” meaning literally “embrace,” in the sense of glad greetings and fellowship.

The position of “ruler” in a church is not that of a dictator. The Greek word for “have the rule over” means more exactly, “lead.” God-ordained leaders are not “lords over God’s heritage,” but “examples to the flock” (I Peter 5:3). They must “give account” (4:5) to God for their faithfulness, and shall receive “greater condemnation” if they misuse their authority (James 3:1). They need—and deserve—to have us remember them in prayer, embrace them in fellowship, submit to their leading, and follow their faith, as long as they truly proclaim and follow the Word of God themselves.