A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Risen with Christ

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)

The twice-born have been raised with Christ and the “new man” is effectively positioned with Christ in glory. We have been made alive “together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5) and in the eternal reality of our Creator, who “made us sit together in heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6).

Thus, the command to seek the “above” realities is not merely a theological idea but rather a profound order to embrace the reality of our new empowerment to walk with Christ in a new life (Romans 6:4). Indeed, we have been newly created by the Creator in “righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Therefore, since we are God’s workmanship, it is not possible that God could create His children for any other purpose than “good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Obviously, our Lord knows that we are still in “earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7). That is precisely why He promised to provide all of our earthly needs if we would but “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)—including our necessary “patient continuance in well doing” (Romans 2:7). Remember, “God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

The environment of the world constantly opposes the reality of “above.” Even the wisdom of above seems counterintuitive; it is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). Yet we are still expected to seek to live like we are above because “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Focus Your Mind

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

The command of this verse is contained in the Greek word phroneo. The noun form has an emphasis on the emotive side of our thoughts. Its use in secular Greek literature favors what we might call our gut reactions or our intuition. Obviously, the verb is recorded in the imperative mode, making the term both intensive and authoritative. It could well be translated “direct your reactions so that they respond to” heavenly matters.

The Lord Jesus rebuked Peter because he did not “savor” the things of God (Matthew 16:23). In many other places, the translators have chosen “mind” as the term’s best rendering (e.g., Philippians 2:2, 5; 3:15-16; 4:2). But in each case, the emphasis appears to be on the way we react to our relationship to God’s Word or to each other.

And in each case, as in our text for today, the emphasis is always for us to focus on the matters of eternity, not on our earthly circumstances. Paul’s great teaching throughout Romans 6, 7, and 8 gives a wonderful comparison and contrast between the flesh and the spirit, concluding in chapter 8 that “they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).

Insisting that the believers in the Philippian church follow his own life’s example, Paul agonizes over many among them who walk so “that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Philipians 3:18-19).

A worldly lifestyle is very dangerous for a believer. Please remember the warning “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Mortify Your Fleshly Members

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

This imperative command is very important for the twice-born. It is nothing less than an active execution of passionate, evil deeds born from the lusts of the flesh. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). The list that follows is unyielding.

    Fornication (porneia) includes all deviant and extramarital sex (Leviticus 18:6-23; Romans 1:26-28).
    Uncleanness (akatharsia) references that which is “dirty; foul, wanton, or lewd” (Ephesians 4:17-19).
    Inordinate affection (pathos) is a word used only of homosexuality (Romans 1:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:5).
    Evil desire (epithumia) describes evil cravings (1 Peter 4:3; Jude 1:17-19).
    Covetousness (pleonexia) is simply greediness that is idolatry (2 Peter 2:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 2:5).

This evil behavior will surely bring the “wrath of God...against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). That judgment will be carried out on such people because of an impenitent heart that is “treasuring up” the “righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5-6).

The most startling fact of this behavior is that those who willfully participate in it know “the judgment of God” and that “they which commit such things are worthy of death.” Not only does this behavior signify a rebellious heart but also an open desire to “have pleasure in them” (Romans 1:32).

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Clean Your Mind

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” (Colossians 3:8-9)

Once the intense drives of the fleshly appetites have been “executed,” we who have been created after God “in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24) must cleanse the passions of the intellect as well.

The action required is that we must “place away from” or “throw away” these ideas that are begun in the mind. These notions are sinful and harmful to everyone.

    Anger (orge) is an agitation of the soul that generates an impulse, a desire, that produces a violent emotion.
    Wrath (thumos), as the word suggests, is intellectual heat, a boiling up that produces a fierce indignation.
    Malice (kakia) is the ill will that creates a desire to injure, even elimininating shame at breaking laws.
    Blasphemy (blasphemia), one of the few words directly transliterated from the Greek, means any slander or speech that is injurious to another’s good name.
    Filthy communication (aischrologia) is any kind of foul speaking or low and obscene speech.
    Lying (pseudomai) is any deliberate false information.

We are to put off the old man, that nature and behavior that was bound up in the flesh (Ephesians 4:22), and put on the new man “which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10).

Our salvation brings with it both a new heart and a new mind. With the one we are able to “mortify” the deeds of the flesh. With the other we are to put on “the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Another Gospel

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7)

Some have confessed difficulty with these verses, especially with the words “another gospel: Which is not another.” This problem finds resolution in an understanding of two distinct Greek words that, unfortunately, are both here translated as “another” in this passage.

In verse 6 Paul uses the Greek word heteros, which implies something of a totally different sort altogether—something diametrically opposed to the one to which it is compared. But in verse 7 he uses the word allos, which implies a comparison of two items of the same sort. The thought might be conveyed as follows: “You are removed from the true gospel of the grace of Christ unto a totally different belief system, which is not simply a similar but legitimate expression of the true gospel. Instead, it is quite opposite to the truth.” Paul goes on to teach that this “different” gospel is a perversion of the true gospel, and instead of bringing peace, it brings about a troubling of the mind.

The primary theme of the entire book of Galatians is salvation by grace through faith in Christ, as opposed to salvation by works and law. “No man is justified by the law in the sight of God....The just shall live by faith” (3:11). This marvelous good news had been denied by many in the Galatian church, but Paul had received the message of grace “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:12). Any mixture of works with grace constituted a perversion of God’s plan, and any who would teach such perversion warranted strong condemnation from Paul. “If any man preach any other [Greek para, meaning contrary] gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (1:9). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

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.” (2 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” (2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 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” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally (even in times of affliction and poverty) out of wholehearted 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” (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Wrap Yourself in Godliness

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.” (Colossians 3:12-13)

The verb choice in this portion of the command is different from those used earlier. Here the word is enduo, which describes “sinking down” into a garment. It is most often used of a robe or seamless cloak that covers the whole body (Mark 1:6; Matthew 27:31; John 19:23).

There are several passages that allude to this total change of behavior—like enveloping oneself in a body-covering cloak.

    “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).
    “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
    “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Perhaps an even more precise picture is what happens to us when we are brought into the resurrected and eternal condition that is “like” the Lord Jesus (1 John 3:2). Then we will “put on incorruption” and “put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).

The character traits of God cannot co-exist with the “members” of flesh. They must be “mortified.” Neither can godliness control our minds when evil thoughts dominate. They must be put off. Yet, for us to put on the character of God, we must “glue” the character traits identified in today’s text together by charity (love) and let God’s peace rule in our hearts. Even then, the word of Christ must dwell in our lives richly, so much so that whatsoever we do “in word or deed” is done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:14-17). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Family Structure: Wives

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” (Colossians 3:18)

This instruction has created an undue amount of “interpretation” over the past century. The terminology is not unclear, but the culture (particularly in the Western world) has resisted the idea that God has specifically designed the structure of the family—beginning with the role of the wife and mother in the home.

She is to “submit” to her husband. The Greek word is hupotasso, a compound term that simply describes an “orderly arrangement.” Obviously, the instructions assume obedience to the design for human procreation “from the beginning of the creation” (Mark 10:6-7) and an understanding of the judgment handed down to humanity in Genesis 3.

That sentence on women (through Eve) is placed on all women, since “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14). Also included in the description in Genesis 3:16 is that the woman will “long” (Hebrew teshuqateh) for her husband, and her husband will “have power” (Hebrew mashal) over her.

The arrangement, therefore, is designed to prevent further debility and to protect the woman through the man’s willing obedience to love her sacrificially and unconditionally, as “Christ loved the church.”

Ultimately, of course, all obedience is voluntary. Wives are to “arrange” themselves under their husband’s authority, knowing that the instructions are given by an omnipotent and omniscient heavenly Father whose care for each of us is greater than we can imagine.

This basic family structure is “fit in the Lord,” promising us that our obedience will ensure His care and blessing within the most intimate of all human relationships. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

The Good Fight

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

The beautiful National World War II Memorial in the nation’s capital was dedicated in 2004, honoring the more than 400,000 who gave their lives in that conflict (including the writer’s younger brother). This particular holiday, of course, originally known as Armistice Day, had been established many years before to commemorate the end of World War I and to honor the veterans of that war.

There have been many other wars in our nation’s history and many who have served and many who have died. They all “have fought a good fight” and “kept the faith” of our nation’s commitment to establish “liberty and justice for all” and to maintain this ideal in every generation. They fully merit our honor and heartfelt gratitude.

There is another good fight going on, of course, every day in the life of each believing Christian. The apostle Paul never served as a soldier in any human army, but he was often called on to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). As a matter of fact, each of us must remember that “unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29).

That suffering may be actual persecution, or even injury or death on a battlefield, but it could also be poverty or sickness or some other “messenger of Satan” (2 Corinthians 12:7) sent to test us and alienate us from the Lord. But then we can hear the Lord say, as with Paul: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Whatever comes, may God help us to be able to say in that day: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” HMM

[Shammu]

Thank you brother for your service in the Navy, to America and her ideas

Also thank you for keeping up the Good Fight for your service to the Lord

[Soldier4Christ]

Thank you brother for your service in the Navy, to America and her ideas

Also thank you for keeping up the Good Fight for your service to the Lord

Thank you.

[Soldier4Christ]

Family Structure: Husbands and Fathers

“Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them....Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” (Colossians 3:19, 21)

The creation of the first couple set the standard for everyone that follows. “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh....Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24). The Lord Jesus quoted from that passage when He answered the question about divorce, insisting that since they were created from the same body, no one should attempt to separate them during marriage (Mark 10:5-9).

Now, in addition to the created order, we have the model of love demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27) and instructions on how men should “dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).

The “honor” that men are to grant to their wives includes a conscious effort not to be “bitter” against them. That word, pikraino, describes an attitude of exasperation, even including a tendency to become indignant or irritated.

Furthermore, godly fathers must be careful not to stimulate “strife” (contention, wrangling) among their children. Fathers who engender strife in their home guarantee that the children will become discouraged. The father must control his own “passion” while encouraging strength of character and a drive to excel among his children.

Without a strong commitment and willing obedience to God’s Word by the husband and father, the family will suffer turmoil and may be torn apart. In contrast, God’s standards provide the “rock” that withstands the storm (Matthew 7:24-25). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

Family Structure: Children

“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20)

It is certainly worth noting that the command for children’s obedience is in the context of a godly wife and mother and strong leadership by a godly father. If and when both parents are setting a godly example, then children are given greater freedom to obey and a more likely outcome of stable maturity.

However, this instruction is part of the timeless Ten Commandments and therefore independent of the internal circumstances of the family. Children are to obey their parents “in all things.” And even though the parallel verse in Ephesians 6:1 includes the qualifier “in the Lord,” the emphasis throughout is on obedience. That is, when children obey their parents, the outcome is a longer life than otherwise (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:3) because obedience is “well pleasing” to the Lord.

This most basic of behaviors begins in the home and is either enhanced or disdained by the parents. However, the responsibility lies directly with the children to obey those who have the initial authority over them. Broken homes, single-parent homes, and absent parents aside, obedience lies at the core of all human relationships. If a child embraces obedience in spite of circumstances, his or her life is more likely to succeed in school, in business, and in all social endeavors.

Obedience is an “ornament of grace” and “chains about” the neck for godly children (Proverbs 1:8-9) and will bring “favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:1-4). Abraham is cited for his godly care for his children, who because of his leadership would “keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment” (Genesis 18:19).

It is the obedience that “is well pleasing unto the Lord” and brings about the fulfillment of life “long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:3). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

The Sleeper

“Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Ephesians 5:14)

The message in our text provides an attention-getting warning to those who claim to be Christians but indulge in or even allow the evil practices of Ephesians 5:3-7. A Christian does not, and indeed cannot, live a life of fornication, or uncleanness, or covetousness, or filthiness, or foolish talking, or jesting (vv. 3-4), for no such person “hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God...for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (vv. 5-6). Those who practice such things are “fools” (v. 15).

While we as Christians must always be willing to bring the saving message of God’s grace to the sinner, we must not be “partakers with them” (v. 7) in their sins and indeed must “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (v. 11). Instead, we must “reprove them” (v. 11), pointing out the consequences of their actions and focusing their attention on Christ, who “hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (v. 2) in payment of their penalty. All that must be done is to accept this forgiveness. In doing so, we who are “light in the Lord” (v. 8) will shed light in their darkness, for “all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light” (v. 13).

As children of the light (v. 8), our lives must exhibit the “fruit of the Spirit...goodness and righteousness and truth” (v. 9). We must prove “what is acceptable unto the Lord” (v. 10), “walk[ing] circumspectly,...wise[ly]” (v. 15), “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (v. 16). The sleeper in our text, whether he be an unbeliever or a professing Christian, is “asleep”—locked in moral insensibility. “Awake, sleeper!” Paul would say, “and accept the God-given remedy for your plight!” JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Maker and Owner

“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.” (Jeremiah 27:5)

“The earth, the man and the beast” are the three entities that God is said to have “created” (Hebrew bara—note Genesis 1:1, 21, 27) in the Genesis account of creation. However, they are also said in Genesis to have been “made” (Hebrew asah—note Genesis 1:25-26; 2:4), and that is the emphasis in our text above. Of course, both aspects were accomplished in the six days of the creation week, after which God “rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3). This statement makes it abundantly plain that the present processes of nature do not “create” (call into existence out of nothing) or “make” (build up into more complex forms) anything, as our modern theistic evolutionists and evangelical uniformitarians allege. God has rested from both of these works, except in occasional miraculous intervention in the present laws and processes of nature.

Now, because God did create and make all things, He also “owns” all things. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The LORD hath made all things for himself” (Proverbs 16:4).

Therefore, all that we possess—as individuals or as nations— has simply been entrusted to us as God’s stewards, and “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Without a doubt this accounting will be of our handling of our goods, our minds, and our opportunities, among others. For “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). Let us be thankful—not covetous, and industrious—not slothful, in everything He has entrusted to us. HMM