A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Offended at Him

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” (Mark 6:3)

There is many an individual who has by God’s grace found the Lord and has had a fruitful ministry in a place far from his hometown where he once lived a lifestyle of which he has now repented. Going home is difficult, for his former companions in sin will be there to oppose and tempt and disbelieve.

In the course of His travels, Jesus returned to His hometown (Mark 6:1), and although He had lived a sinless life in His early years, He was still only one of the local citizens, and this resulted in their prideful opposition and disbelief.

“And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?” (v. 2). As in our text, His local roots brought scorn and pride and offense.

Their unbelief (v. 6) seemed to limit His ability to work miracles (“and he could there do no mighty work,” v. 5), but such is not the case. There is no limit to the power of the omnipotent Creator! He is not limited by our feeble faith, but evidently He chose to limit His work as a way of reproof of their pride and unbelief.

Yet, note Mark’s casual mention of the healing of “a few sick folk” (v. 5). Such healings were in fact a mighty display of God’s power, a fact that Mark’s readers (primarily Romans and other Gentiles very impressed with power) would have recognized.

Let us not allow our modern-day familiarity with Christ and His power limit the honor and obedience that we return to Him (v. 4). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

All Things Well

“And [the crowds] were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well!” (Mark 7:37)

At one point in Jesus’ earthly ministry, “great multitudes came unto him,” and He healed the physical maladies of those who “were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others” (Matthew 15:30). Mark 7:31-37 illustrates the healing there of a hearing-impaired man. Verses 33-34 are packed with verbs underscoring the precision of the Master Surgeon. He “took him aside,” “put his fingers into his ears,” “spit,” and “touched his tongue.” Then, looking up to heaven, Jesus commanded, “Be opened.”

Immediately the man’s ears heard and his mouth spoke plainly (v. 35)—a healing that was complete, unlike “huckster healing” practices that only alleviate pain temporarily. And the people present were “beyond all measure” (hyperperissos, a forceful adverb used only here in the New Testament) “astonished” (exeplessonto), or struck with amazement (v. 37).

Notice the crowd’s commentary, reacting to the many miracles they had seen Jesus perform: “He hath done all things well [kalós, good].” Their declaration echoes God’s words at the beginning of creation. Genesis 1:31 states, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Not only did God see His creative work as good, but the people in Mark 7 saw Christ’s miraculous work in the same way!

How amazed are you with the Creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe He spoke His creation into existence in six days, as Genesis 1 records? Are you amazed that He has done all things well as our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Savior, including His saving work of propitiation on the cross? Is He your Lord and Savior? CM

[Soldier4Christ]

In Heavenly Places

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:20)

This fascinating phrase (actually, the Greek simply says “in the heavenlies”) is found only in the Ephesian epistle, where it occurs five times. That it does mean heavenly places, rather than “heavenly things,” is evident from our text. Christ in His physical resurrection body is now in a particular place, and that place is where He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

In principle now—and ultimately in actuality—we also have been made to “sit tdogether in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). In the meantime, however, we must also struggle with the demonic powers who still, like Satan, have access to God’s presence to accuse us of sin when we yield to their inducements. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [actually the same phrase, ‘heavenly places’]” (6:12).

And when, by the grace of God and the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we are victorious in this conflict, it becomes a glorious demonstration throughout heaven, to fallen and unfallen angels alike, that Christ’s salvation is genuine and truly works in our lives. All of this is “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (3:10).

No wonder, with all these glorious events taking place in heaven, the apostle Paul introduces this epistle with a doxology! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Paul’s Missionary Journey

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8)

The apostle Paul was undoubtedly the greatest missionary of all time. It is well to take note of his missionary strategy, for it was designed to reach the greatest number with the highest efficiency. In the first place, although he by no means neglected his Jewish countrymen, his calling was to all peoples of the world.

As much as possible, he tried to “preach the gospel in the regions beyond” where it had never gone before (2 Corinthians 10:16), “not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation” (Romans 15:20).

He especially concentrated on great cities, particularly the major seaports. He had come from the large city of Tarsus himself, and he preached in the great capital, Rome, and in Athens, the world’s cultural center. Philippi was the “chief city” of Macedonia (Acts 16:12), as was Corinth in Achaia and Ephesus in Asia Minor. Antioch, Troas, Thessalonica—all were great seaport cities. Establishing solid churches in such cities would provide centers for carrying the gospel throughout the world.

In considerable measure, his ministry in these cities seemed to reach people of special ability or opportunity to teach and influence others, such as the philosophers at Athens, the proconsul Sergius Paulus at Paphos, the honorable women of Berea, the school of Tyrannus at Ephesus, and others of like significance.

Most important of all were his writings. Paul wrote half the epistles of the New Testament. He traveled at least 15,000 miles and preached to many thousands of people, but his written words have been read by countless millions over 1,900 years. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Watchman Held Accountable

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel:...When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning...the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” (Ezekiel 3:17-18)

Our text comprises part of Ezekiel’s commission as prophet to Judah. His function was compared to a watchman on the city walls whose duty was to warn the city of impending danger. Ezekiel was to warn the apostate people of Jerusalem of the coming invasion by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. God warned Ezekiel that if he refused to pass on whatever messages he received from God, he himself would be held accountable.

On the other hand, Ezekiel was not accountable for the response of the hearer. “Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness...he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 3:19). He would also be requested to give similar injunctions and warnings to righteous men who had fallen into sin, but again he was not held accountable for their response (vv. 20-21).

A corresponding teaching is found in the New Testament. “Obey them that have rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account” (Hebrews 13:17). Church leaders, we are told, will give an account before the Lord someday as to how those in their flock have fared. They will not be accountable for the response of others but are required to see to it that each person in their care clearly and lovingly understands the truth and the consequences of disobedience. This is a heavy responsibility!

Let each of us respond properly to the truth as presented by our church leaders, that they may minister with joy and not with grief. JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Lord Jesus Christ

“Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

It is significant that in this first verse of what may have been Paul’s first inspired epistle, he twice identified the Son of God as “the Lord Jesus Christ,” thus giving Him the honor and recognition to which He is entitled.

Paul used this “full name” of Christ at least 19 times in the brief Thessalonian epistles, as he often did in his other epistles. Likewise James called himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1). Jude warned against any who would deny “the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). Peter began his first epistle with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3). John closed the last book of the Bible with the benediction “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).

In the New Testament epistles, He was also frequently called Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the Lord, or simply Christ. Once He was called “the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:24). It is significant, however, that He was never called merely by His human name “Jesus” except when the writer was referring strictly to His human incarnation. In the gospels, the name Jesus was used very often in relating His words and deeds, but never did His followers address Him as Jesus. Always when speaking to Him they addressed Him as “Lord” or “Master” (note John 13:13).

Perhaps modern Christians are too careless when they speak or sing of Him or pray to Him using only His human name. As Peter said, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). He is now our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Finished Work

“They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.” (Psalm 22:31)

This is the last verse of Psalm 22, the marvelous prophecy that describes so graphically the sufferings of Christ on the cross, a thousand years before the fulfillment. The preceding verse promises that this great event will, literally, “be told about the Lord in every generation.” Fathers would tell it to their children, teachers to their students, generation after generation declaring His righteousness. “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).

This prophecy has been wonderfully fulfilled for almost 2,000 years as each generation of Christians tells the next generation the old, old story of “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11), both of which are graphically foretold here in the 22nd Psalm.

But this final verse especially stresses the fact that the work has been completed. Its last word, “this,” is not in the original Hebrew, so the final statement actually should read “He hath finished!” The most glorious aspect of the gospel message is that He has accomplished all that was needed to assure eternal salvation to every one who would “remember and turn unto the LORD” (Psalm 22:27).

This last great prophecy was fulfilled when He cried out as He was dying on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Just as He had, long ago, pronounced that “the heavens and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1), completing His great work of creation, so on the cross He had finished the still greater work of redemption. What is left for us to do? Nothing, for He has finished it all! There is nothing we can do, either to create the world or to save our souls. We can only receive, in thanksgiving, what He has done. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The True Riches

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17)

Christians have so many true riches to enjoy that it is sad when many try hard to accumulate the uncertain riches of this world. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,” said Jesus (Matthew 6:19).

For example, Paul speaks of “the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” (Romans 2:4) that have led Him to provide our eternal salvation. For those who have been saved, he writes of “the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory” (9:23). Then, in contemplating the great plan of God for both Jews and Gentiles, he exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (11:33). In Him, in fact, are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

When he wrote to the Ephesian Christians, Paul reminded them that Christ had redeemed them through His blood and forgiven their sins “according to the riches of his grace,” in hope that they would understand “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” He told them that “God, who is rich in mercy,” had saved them in order “that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:7, 18; 2:4, 7).

Finally, summarizing all these true riches—mercy, glory, grace, goodness, wisdom, knowledge—Paul spoke of “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

God's Word, Our Sustenance and Power

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

In Matthew 4:1-4 we are told Jesus was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.” Satan then tempted Jesus, saying, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Jesus’ response began with an affirmation of the abiding authority and power of the Holy Scriptures with “It is written.”

It’s appropriate that the Greek verb for “It is written” (grapho) is used in the perfect tense, which indicates a past event with ongoing effect. The verb also occurs in the middle voice, indicating that the implied subject (the Scriptures) is its own cause and focus (experiencer and agent). Truly, God’s Word is “quick [living] and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). Jesus wields this powerful “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), quoting the second half of Deuteronomy 8:3 in His answer to Satan.

God’s purpose in testing the children of Israel was similar to the purpose of Jesus’ wilderness test. Both accounts incorporate the number 40 (symbolic of a period of testing) and hunger. The first half of Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger.” Israel’s wilderness hunger was intended to teach them that hearing and obeying God’s Word is paramount in life (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

While many of the Israelites failed their test, the sinless Son of God succeeded and provided an important lesson for us. Jesus overcame temptation with the same power-packed Scriptures available to His followers today. JPT

[Soldier4Christ]

Abiding Fruit

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:16)

Every true Christian desires to be a fruit-bearing Christian, not one who is “barren” and “unfruitful” (2 Peter 1:8). He or she also earnestly desires that the fruit—whether that of a godly character (Galatians 5:22-23) or that of others won to Christ (Romans 1:13)—will not wither but remain strong and healthy before the Lord.

The promise of Christ in our text is that our fruit will remain, if He has chosen us and we go forth praying in His name and seeking sincerely to bear fruit for His name’s sake. It is significant that the Greek word translated “remain” (that is, meno) is also commonly translated “abide,” as well as “continue.” In fact, it occurs no less than 12 times in John 15:4-16, the last being in our text verse above.

To “abide in Christ” does not mean to be continually aware of His presence or perpetually thinking only of Him, but it does mean to continue believing His Word and serving Him. “Continue ye in my love,” He commands (v. 9). To do that, He says that “if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (v. 10).

He also has said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).

Note the progression. He says, “Abide in me, and I in you” (v. 4). This means He says that “my words abide in you,” and also we are to “continue in my love,” which implies that “ye keep my commandments.” It follows, then, that as we “continue” in His Word, we shall “bring forth fruit” that will “remain”! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

What Shall We Do?

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” (John 6:28)

This question is often asked by people who try to work their way into heaven. It was also asked in various ways by men in the New Testament, and it is vitally important to get the correct answer to such questions there and nowhere else.

For example, a rich young ruler once asked Jesus, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor...and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:17, 21). That is, there is nothing of his own that one can bring to Christ to earn salvation; one must simply be willing to yield himself fully to Christ.

A lawyer had asked Jesus the same question, “tempting him.” This time, His answer was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27). But this standard is humanly unattainable by any child of Adam, so in effect, the lawyer was told it was impossible for him to do anything himself to inherit eternal life.

When the crowd asked Peter on the day of Pentecost, “pricked in their heart” because they had crucified Christ, “What shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized...in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:37-38). What they had to “do” was an inward act of repentance and faith toward Christ and an outward public testimony demonstrating the reality of that inward change of heart and mind.

Years later at Philippi, a jailer asked Paul the apostle one night, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer was simply, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

All the Fountains of the Deep

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” (Genesis 7:11)

Our text describes the primary physical causes for the Flood of Noah’s day, as well as the primary sources for the vast waters which covered the earth. The first source is very interesting from a geological point of view, and grasping some semblance of its meaning is necessary if we would understand the Flood.

As the “deep” in Scripture usually refers to the ocean (i.e., Genesis 1:2), so the “great deep” that was “broken up” evidently speaks of great subterranean reservoirs or chambers deep inside the earth, all of which spewed forth their contents at the same time. This breakup continued all over the earth for 150 days (see Genesis 7:11; 7:24; 8:2).

The reference to “broken up” merits attention, for it implies a wrenching of the earth’s crust, a great tectonic event. The same word is used in Numbers 16:30-33 to describe the supernatural opening up of a great pit into which the rebellious Korah and his followers and their families fell, thereby squelching their mutiny against Moses’ leadership.

Any such breaching of the earth’s crust results in earthquakes, and if occurring under water results in devastating tsunamis (sometimes called tidal waves) traveling through the water at speeds approaching the speed of sound. Continued pulsation of these fountains all over the earth for 150 days would totally restructure the surface of the earth, demonstrating God’s hatred for the sin of the antediluvian world. Coupled with the other factors involved in the Flood, it is no wonder that “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Christians and the World

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” (John 17:6)

In the wonderful intercessory prayer of Christ for His disciples just before His death, there are several important references dealing with the relation of the Christian believer to the world around him. In the first place, according to our text, they have been called out of the world and thus are not really a part of its system any more once they belong to Christ.

Yet, they necessarily must still live in the world. “These are in the world....I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:11, 15). They are not of the world, however, for they have been separated from the world and unto Christ, whom the world continues to crucify daily. “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (v. 14). Like Christ, they are bound to be hated by the world.

Nevertheless, Christ has sent them into the world as His witnesses. “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world...that the world may believe that thou hast sent me....I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (vv. 18, 21, 23).

And the most wonderful thing about all these relationships to the world we live in is that God planned them even before He created the world! “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (v. 24). HMM

[Shammu]

All the Fountains of the Deep

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” (Genesis 7:11)

As the “deep” in Scripture usually refers to the ocean (i.e., Genesis 1:2), so the “great deep” that was “broken up” evidently speaks of great subterranean reservoirs or chambers deep inside the earth, all of which spewed forth their contents at the same time. This breakup continued all over the earth for 150 days (see Genesis 7:11; 7:24; 8:2).

The reference to “broken up” merits attention, for it implies a wrenching of the earth’s crust, a great tectonic event. The same word is used in Numbers 16:30-33 to describe the supernatural opening up of a great pit into which the rebellious Korah and his followers and their families fell, thereby squelching their mutiny against Moses’ leadership.

Any such breaching of the earth’s crust results in earthquakes, and if occurring under water results in devastating tsunamis (sometimes called tidal waves) traveling through the water at speeds approaching the speed of sound. Continued pulsation of these fountains all over the earth for 150 days would totally restructure the surface of the earth, demonstrating God’s hatred for the sin of the antediluvian world. Coupled with the other factors involved in the Flood, it is no wonder that “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6). JDM

I personally think the other part of the sky in (Genesis 7:11) believe God had a water shield around the earth, keeping the harmful UV rays away from the planet. Because of the water shield, life was extended and fully agree with your statement of the oceans

Genesis 7:11 (KJV) In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

[Soldier4Christ]

I personally think the other part of the sky in (Genesis 7:11) believe God had a water shield around the earth, keeping the harmful UV rays away from the planet. Because of the water shield, life was extended and fully agree with your statement of the oceans

Genesis 7:11 (KJV) In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

ICR also teaches that about the sky.. This was just a short devotion based on the phrase used in the title.