A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

We Are His Image

“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” (Colossians 3:10)

Man’s body is made of the same “earth” material (Genesis 2:7) as the animals (v. 19) and as the earth itself (Genesis 1:10). Furthermore, he shares the created “soul” (Hebrew nephesh) and “spirit” (Hebrew ruach, same as “breath”) with the animals (compare 1:21; 7:15, where nephesh and ruach respectively are used of the animals). However, he shares the created “image of God” (1:27) only with God Himself.

Ever since Adam and Eve first sinned, all people have been born in innate rebellion against Him. The image of God in man has been grievously marred, and we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

However, as our text reminds us, the image of God in man can be “renewed” through the great miracle of the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). And this includes more than just our soul/spirit nature, for we have His gracious promise that our own resurrection bodies will be “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21) when He comes again.

Evidently, God had all this in mind from the very beginning, when “in the likeness of God made he him” (Genesis 5:1). That is, He foreknew that He would one day become man, in the person of Jesus Christ, and so He created man in the image and likeness of that body/soul/spirit complex that He Himself would eventually assume.

In some mysterious way, Christ Himself is, in His eternal and glorified human body, the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), and God amazingly has even predestinated us “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29), and “we shall be like him” when we finally “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Power of a Sound Mind

“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

The gift spoken of in the previous verse is based on a transfer of authority from God, and we are exhorted to “stir up” that gift (2 Timothy 1:6) because God did not give us a “spirit of fear.” The word deilia stresses timidity or cowardice, not terror. The gift does not function well if we are too timid to use it.

The gift referred to is not power. That spiritual gift comes with dunamis—the innate ability to “do” the gift. Whatever the Holy Spirit has gifted us with upon our entrance into the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), that gift comes with the power necessary to implement and use it.

The gift also comes with love. Again, love is not the gift, it is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes with the gift. Were it not for the reflection in us of the unilateral and sacrificial love of our Redeemer, these supernatural gifts could well be misused, distorted, and abused for personal glory. Diotrephes misused his gift, failing to employ the spirit of love (3 John 1:9).

The unique Greek word sophronismos (sound mind) is a combination of the verbs “to save” and “to control.” Its basic meaning would be “safe control” or “wholesome control”—perhaps even “control that saves”—the perfect combination of abilities that empower the gift, the love that keeps the gift focused on others, and the “safety controls” to keep it from unwittingly doing damage.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

For Ever and Ever...

“The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” (Exodus 15:18)

The Bible is a book of eternity, its words “for ever . . . settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). The theme of eternity is prominent throughout; in fact, the words “for ever,” “everlasting,” and the like occur more than 600 times. Many occurrences (49, to be exact) seem to make the concept even more complete, being combined either as “for ever and ever” or “from everlasting to everlasting.”

The first of these is in our text: “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” He is the eternal King of all creation! How beautiful and appropriate it is, then, to find that the last (the 49th) of these occurrences tells us that we—His redeemed saints—also “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

To note just a few of the other truths that will last for ever and ever, consider first of all the creation: “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. . . . For he commanded, and they were created. He that also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Psalm 148:3, 5-6). Not only the world of God but also the Word of God shall endure eternally. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. . . . So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever” (Psalm 111:7-8; 119:44).

On the other hand, those who reject God and His Word will endure forever but will be forgotten forever. “Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever” (Psalm 9:5). “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” (Revelation 14:11).

“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him” (Psalm 103:17). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

True Christian Fellowship

“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:6)

This one-chapter epistle of Paul to his friend Philemon is essentially a personal request by Paul that Philemon forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and receive him back into “the church in thy house” as a new Christian, recently won to Christ (vv. 2, 10, 15-16). Our text is Paul’s prayer for Philemon and is similar to prayers by him for other believers (e.g., Colossians 1:9-10). It is an appropriate prayer on behalf of any fellow Christian. Its emphasis is on the blessings and responsibilities of true fellowship.

The “communication” of which Paul speaks is the Greek word koinonia, meaning “fellowship.” That is, genuine Christian faith involves a sharing of one’s life with others of “like precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1). That fellowship becomes “effectual” (literally, “full of power,” from the Greek energes, “energizing”) only through recognizing and appreciating all the blessings we have received through Christ.

Paul pointed out that he himself should be counted as a “partner” with Philemon (v. 17). Here the Greek is koinonos, practically the same as koinonia. Both Philemon, the wealthy Colossian master, and Onesimus, his runaway bondservant, were Paul’s spiritual children (v. 19), so they all theoretically shared “every good thing” in fellowship through Christ. Thus, Paul offered to repay anything Onesimus had stolen or any other losses, should Philemon so insist (vv. 18-19).

The demands of Christian fellowship thus might cost Onesimus his freedom, Paul his helper, and Philemon his property. True fellowship is not mere Christian socializing. It is the sharing of love and concern, time and talents, possessions and even life itself, as need and circumstance demand, with others in the household of faith. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Power of the Holy Spirit

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” (Acts 1:8)

This promise of our Lord signaled the beginning of the immense change from the old covenant to the new. Prior to the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16) on the day of Pentecost, the saints of God were empowered both selectively and infrequently.

We, however, upon whom the “better thing” has come (Hebrews 11:40), are all temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Since we have been “quickened” (made alive) by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 3:18), we surely should then “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). What, then, is the dunamis (power) that the Holy Spirit provides to us?

Obviously, the power comes from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit Himself (Ephesians 3:16-20). Our flesh has “no good thing” (Romans 7:18) to provide for an empowered, Spirit-filled life. Apart from the dwelling of God’s Spirit in us (Ephesians 1:14), we would be unable to live righteously (John 15:5).

But thanks to the omnipotent and omniscient Creator, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts to use in Christ’s assembly to mature and to encourage each other (Ephesians 4:7-16). The Holy Spirit also grants us the ability to develop His “fruit” in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Then, with the encouragement and maturity we gain through our churches, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit being obvious in our daily lives, the great privilege of sharing the gospel with the lost becomes a delightful exercise of “power” (Romans 1:16) that is clear, not only in careful words of testimony, but in and through a life empowered by the Holy Spirit (1Thessalonians 1:5). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

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

[Soldier4Christ]

Fear of the Lord

“Then had the churches rest . . . and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31)

There is something of a paradox in this requirement to “fear the Lord.” On the one hand, we “have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear” but have received “the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15). On the other hand, we are told to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Our text insists that we are to be “walking in the fear of the Lord.” Obviously, the context illustrates a lifestyle of godly behavior that is produced by our attitude toward God’s sovereign majesty and unique holiness as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. We should “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:9).

It is clear that the “beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), the “beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), and the “instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33) are founded in the fear of the Lord. It is also clear that the fear of the Lord is that which mimics God’s hatred of “evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward [perverse] mouth” (Proverbs 8:13).

But the one who fears the Lord also knows “strong confidence” (Proverbs 14:26) and has an unwavering satisfaction in his or her life (Proverbs 19:23). Indeed, such godly fear promises to prolong our days (Proverbs 10:27) and to be a “fountain of life” that keeps us from the “snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

Knowledge of God should produce a “godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve in the Kingdom—fear of His power and holiness and omniscience—yet also provide a steadfast rest in the knowledge that we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), gifted not with timidity, but with a spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Guard Your Heart

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

The Hebrew word nasar, here translated “keep,” carries the strong idea of protection or guarding. It is used 10 times in Psalm 119 to stress the necessity of “keeping” (guarding, protecting) the various kinds of instructions in God’s Word: “testimonies, statutes, laws, precepts, and commandments.” Everything written down by God is worth guarding.

In our text, the importance of guarding our hearts is emphasized since it is the source for the “issues of life.” Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Our “heart” is indeed the key to much in our life.

It is no wonder that the first commandment of all is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30).

Here are a few important principles that we must guard if our hearts are to produce the good “issues of life.”

    If we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13).
    We must believe with our hearts if we are to be saved (Romans 10:9; Hebrews 11:6).
    If we hold on to iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2).
    If our hearts do not condemn us, then we will have confidence with God (1 John 3:21).

“He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2) will live forever with the Lord of heaven and earth. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: True Character Revealed

“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.” (Mark 14:3)

A few days before Passover, after the Lord Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus returned to Bethany with His close friends. Simon the leper offered his house as a gathering place (John 12:1; Mark 14:3; Matthew 26:6). We are not told who Simon was, but he might have been the only one of the 10 lepers who had been cleansed who actually came back to thank the Lord (Luke 17:17). This supper was a chance for Simon to show his appreciation for the Lord’s ministry.

Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were at the dinner. Martha was serving. She had been gently admonished by Jesus sometime back (Luke 10:41-42), yet she still held to what was familiar to her, giving what she knew to give—her personal service to the Lord.

Mary, on the other hand, took “a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. . . . Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, [said,] Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (John 12:3-5). This may be a hint of Judas’ family. If he is Simon the leper’s son, then we are shown a huge disparity between the father, now healed, and a bitter son who “was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (v. 6).

Martha, the servant; Mary, the generous disciple; Simon, the grateful host; and Judas, the bitter thief—all followers of the Lord on the surface. One, however, is not present to learn or to fellowship, but to advance his own agenda. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messiah's Life: Taxes and Tithes

“Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17)

In His last week of earthly ministry, Jesus confronted efforts by religious leaders to discredit His teaching. Furthermore, they wanted to catch Him in such a clear violation of public policy that the Roman government would imprison Him and silence the impact He was having on the population of Jerusalem.

Matthew records the question asked by the corrupt scribes and teachers, but Jesus knew it didn’t reflect their real intentions. They flattered Him with platitudes about seeking truth, but they really wanted an excuse to not pay taxes and a way to accuse Jesus of rebellion against Rome.

“But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:18-21).

Both sides of this debate are brought up in churches today. Some would deny the government the right to tax its citizens to support policies that are not moral (abortion) or to pay for unjust wars (Vietnam, etc.). Jesus said that “Caesar” has the right to demand tribute whether or not we agree with its use.

Others insist that since the law is no longer in force under the New Covenant, our giving is not mandated, and the “tithe” amounts to whatever the conscience deems appropriate. Jesus told the Jewish leaders they ought to tithe all they were prospered by but not leave the “weightier” issues alone (Matthew 23:23). On this matter, we are to pay taxes to our Caesar and our tithe to God as commanded. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: The God of the Living

“And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?” (Mark 12:26)

The Sadducees were the “liberal” party of Judah’s leaders. They wanted to expose Jesus as an unscholarly and unskilled teacher who was unable to answer difficult theological issues. They did not believe in any form of resurrection, so they concocted a story about a woman who had been widowed seven times. Mosaic law demanded that a brother of the deceased husband marry the widow and name the firstborn son after the husband who died “that his name be not put out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:6).

This fictitious story was designed to trap Jesus in an unsolvable problem. The Sadducees said, “Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore . . . whose wife of shall she be of them?” (Mark 12:22-23). They got much more than they sought. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:29-30).

Two major doctrines are clarified by Jesus’ response. “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).

The proof of the resurrection rests on the tense of the Greek verb “to be.” Scripture is accurate and authoritative even to the minute detail of verb tenses. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: The Great Commandment

“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:35-37)

The Pharisees had come together to test how well Jesus understood the Mosaic law. They wanted Him to verify what the greatest law was since they prided themselves on knowing all there was to know about the law. After quickly and correctly quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus then quoted Leviticus 19:18: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:39-40).

When the Pharisees were quiet, Jesus asked them: “What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42). The Pharisees strongly promoted the false idea that the Messiah would come from the line of King David to put down the Roman rule and establish again the Davidic kingdom. This was critical to prove from the genealogical records the Jewish right to rule Jerusalem. The Pharisees immediately said to Him, “The son of David.”

Quoting Psalm 110:1, Jesus asked them: “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The LORD [Yahweh] said unto my Lord [Adonai], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matthew 22:43-45). This play on the Hebrew words in the psalm makes the Lord Jesus not the “son” of David but the Lord and Master of David.

In His earlier interaction with the Sadducees, Jesus silenced them with a single word (“am”). Again, He used just a single word (“Lord”) to answer the Pharisees. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: Hypocritical Religious Leaders

“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

Jesus condemned both the Pharisees and Sadducees for the same problem, though the two groups were very different. The Pharisees were like the legalists of our day and the Sadducees like the liberals. Both camps claimed to believe in inspiration and prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture.

However, both groups were focused on power and authority rather than on the teachings of Scripture. There was no desire to honor the Creator and be agents of witness. The Pharisees developed a vast system of rules to force their followers to behave in a certain way. The Sadducees sought favor with the Roman officials. Jesus’ opinion of them was clear.

    Matthew 23:15: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
    Luke 11:52: “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

Their error was consciously twisting the truth of God with interpretations that distorted the message of Scripture. The Pharisees added extra requirements that were “burdens grievous to be borne” (Luke 11:46). The Sadducees denied the glorious hope of the resurrection, denying a core principle of the gospel. As Paul pointed out to the Corinthians, that false doctrine would make “all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). May God keep us from such confusion. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: Gifts from Fools and Blind Leaders

“Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?. . . whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?” (Matthew 23:17, 19)

The temple was the center of the Old Covenant. The Levite’s income and temple’s upkeep were derived from an elaborate system of tithes and other offerings defined in Leviticus.

By the time the Lord Jesus entered His ministry on Earth, the regulations God initiated had been turned into an intricate web of demands designed to coerce people to give. Jesus confronted the leaders and exposed their wickedness.

    Matthew 23:23: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
    Matthew 23:27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”
    Luke 11:43: “Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.”
    Luke 11:46: “Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”

This kind of hypocrite seeks his name in a bulletin, a plaque on a wall, a brick in a walkway, or a wing in a hospital or museum, and is indifferent to the quiet background work of ministry that embraces judgment, mercy, and faith. The Lord regards the condition of the heart far more than the deed. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Messages from the Messiah's Life: Warnings on Prayer

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matthew 6:5)

Our Lord sometimes contrasted the habits of the religious leaders of His day with that which was expected of His followers. On this occasion, Jesus warned that prayer to the Father in heaven was never to be performed publicly to impress men but rather to be privately presented to the Father seeking His blessing and reward.

Nor are we to use “vain repetitions, as the heathen do,” expecting to be heard for the “much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). Many religions use prayer wheels, hypnotic chants, or formatted prayer rituals to expedite the process.

“Vain repetitions” is the translation of battologeo, which means “to stammer” or to “repeat endlessly.” Paul told Timothy that he must “shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16) and to “refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

The widow whose “continual coming” wearied the unjust judge (Luke 18:2-5) is not to be used as an example to constantly repeat prayers, as is often incorrectly suggested. But rather, “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). It may seem like we are repeating the same things in our prayers over and over again. Yet, we are instructed to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). HMM III