A Daily Devotional

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Working No Ill To Preborn Neighbors

“Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).

The claim has been made that the New Testament is silent on the subject of abortion, but Paul, after reminding his readers of the law against murdering (which implicitly forbids abortion) and the obligation to love our neighbors (Romans 13:9 and repeated variously in the New Testament), added, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.” It is foolish to think that the apostle, who testified about his being set apart from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15), would have excluded the weakest and most fragile among us in his concept of neighbors. The passage surely speaks against harming our littlest “neighbors.” Abortion works ill to very close neighbors. Luke, Paul’s associate in ministry, recorded Pharaoh’s harmful practice of killing “young children” (Acts 7:19). This is important, for the word selected for “children” in this context is the same word used by Luke, a physician, for preborn baby John (“. . . when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb” [Luke 1:41]). The use of the same word in God-breathed Scripture for babies who have been born and for baby John who had not yet been born points to continuity of substance. The Creator of little children stressed the integrity of Scripture—to the minutest detail. If Pharaoh’s killing of babies was wrong, how can any Christian believe that he is aligning with Scripture if he supports the killing and harming of younger babies by abortion?

Children need protection, and they are dependent on our love. The text says that “love is the fulfilling of the law.” Let us obey this law, reiterated in the New Testament, and love every single child. Let us do him or her no harm, for “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.”

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Beer

“Wherefore the well was called Beer-la-hai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered” (Genesis 16:14).

This unusual name for a well means “well of the living one who sees me.” The chapter deals with Hagar when she fled from Sarai’s presence (v.6). The “angel of the LORD,” like a shepherd, found Hagar by a well in the wilderness (v.7). This is the first explicit reference in Scripture to Jehovah’s messenger—the “angel of the LORD.”

The whole scene is not unlike another one in the New Testament when the Great Shepherd encountered another woman at a different well (John 4). Like Jesus, the “angel” in Genesis 16 is somehow both God and distinct from God. We see that He is God from verses 10 and 13. In the first reference, the “angel,” speaking for Himself, said, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly.” Only God can multiply seed (cf. Genesis 22:17). The one speaking to Hagar was none other than the LORD (Jehovah) Himself.

Correspondingly, Jesus claimed divine prerogatives. In the Old Testament, Jehovah God is “the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13), but Jesus in John 4 claimed to be the source of living waters (vv.10,14). He could say this because He was and is Jehovah God, the Son.

He is also the one referred to in the naming of the well. He lives. Speaking of Jesus, the apostle John wrote, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:17,18).

Jesus, then, is the living one who sees, finds wandering sheep, and hears. May we obey Him as did Hagar, believe Him as did the woman at the other well, and bow before Him as did John.

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Stunted Growth In Carnal Christians

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (I Corinthians 3:1,2).

The apostle Paul here makes a clear distinction between “spiritual” Christians, controlled and led by the Holy Spirit, and “carnal” Christians, still controlled by the desires of the flesh. A carnal Christian is a baby Christian. Baby Christians are a cause of great rejoicing when they are newborn believers, just like baby people. But if they remain babies indefinitely, they become an annoyance to hear and a tragedy to behold.

Each born-again believer needs urgently to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). That spiritual growth comes only through study of the Word, accompanied by belief and obedience. First there must be “the sincere [or ‘logical’] milk of the word” (I Peter 2:2), but that is good only for the first stages of growth. “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13,14).

Carnal Christians are not necessarily pseudo-Christians, although they should examine themselves to determine whether their profession of faith in Christ is genuine (II Corinthians 13:5), but they should not be content to remain spiritual babes. Every Christian should be able to say with the prophet Jeremiah: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).

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His Way—my Way—perfect

“As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect” (Psalm 18:30–32).

“As for God, His way is perfect” (text). Since God is perfect, we can be certain His ways are also perfect. He certainly does all things well, never making a mistake.

We don’t always know why God does certain things in certain ways, but we can be assured that a perfect God can make “my way perfect” (text) as well. God’s way is still the best way. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).

His way is always to be found in and through the Word of God. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6). Those who put their trust in the tried and true Word of God will never be disappointed. God cannot lie; what He promises He must perform. He cannot go back on His word. “Thy word is very pure” (Psalm 119:140).

In the text we find that God is our sure defense—“buckler;” our sure foundation—“rock;” and our sure power—“strength.”

God’s way is a perfect or completed way. What He starts He finishes. What He begins, He brings to completion.

The same is true in our lives. He will bring to pass all of His promises to their ultimate conclusion. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). He makes our way perfect (complete). “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (II Timothy 1:12).

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The Secret Of The Lord


“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant” (Psalm 25:14).

This is an amazing promise. The word for “secret” means the “inner counsel,” evidently of the Triune God Himself.

But how can those who fear the Lord really know the secret counsels of the Godhead? The answer can only be by divine revelation to God’s prophets. Thus the prophet Amos affirms: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but [unless] He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

When these ancient promises were given, however, most of God’s revelation, though already “settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), was still not revealed to men. Then Christ came and promised His disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost . . . shall teach you all things” (John 14:26).

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1,2). In addition to the Twelve, God then also called the apostle Paul, and through these men, the Son would convey to those who fear Him all the rest of His revelation. “By revelation He made known unto me the mystery; ( . . . Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3–5).

Finally, “the secret of the LORD” was completed in written form by John, the last of the apostles, with nothing else to be either added or deleted (Revelation 22:18,19), that “. . . the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:7). All we shall ever need to know of God’s eternal counsels is now available to all who desire to know, in the Holy Scriptures.

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The Judging Spirit Of God

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).

This is a difficult verse, but it is bound to be significant, for it contains the first reference in the Bible to God’s judgment. The word for “strive” is almost always elsewhere rendered “judge,” or “judgment.” It is used in Deuteronomy 32:36 (“the LORD shall judge His people”). Thus our text seems to be telling us that, before the flood, the Holy Spirit was directly dealing with people in judgment because of their increasing involvement with sin and rebellion against the Lord. God, through the Holy Spirit, was working earnestly in the antediluvians to enable them, before His written word was available, to discern right and wrong, but their insistent rebellion would soon lead to such depravity that God would leave them altogether, and send the destroying, cleansing flood.

In this more enlightened age, with the complete Bible available and the saving work of God’s Son now well known, the Holy Spirit has a new judging ministry: “When He is come,” Jesus said, “He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:8–11).

This time man has been given not 120 years, but almost 2000 years to respond to the convicting judgments of the Holy Spirit, yet “evil men and seducers . . . wax worse and worse” (II Timothy 3:13). Thus judgment is imminent once again, and to those who have “done despite unto the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29), the next time will not be merely a cleansing flood. “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

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Scripture Says/God Says

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16).

Among the many evidences for verbal inspiration, both within and without Scripture, is the frequent interchange of God recognized as the author of a particular passage, with the human author who actually penned it. This can be true only if the very words recorded by the various authors are “God breathed” (the meaning of “inspiration”).

For example, the early Christians exclaimed “Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?” (Acts 4:24,25), thereby recognizing that God spoke through David, who wrote God’s words in Psalm 2:1,2.

Likewise, Paul, in his masterful dissertation on God’s sovereignty, claimed, “the scripture saith unto Pharaoh” (Romans 9:17) that which God Himself had spoken unto Moses (Exodus 9:13). In other words, what Scripture says, God says.

Even Christ Jesus, who Himself had written with His finger, “Honor thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12) on tables of stone, personally ascribed the authorship of the passage to Moses (Mark 7:10). Evidently, to Christ, there was no difference. That which Moses had written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in this case what he had copied from the stone tablet, was fully the Word of God.

We can be sure that what Scripture says, God says. “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:17). We can trust our lives on earth, our view of history, and our eternal destiny to what is written on the pages of Scripture.

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Who, What, Where, When, How,



“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Any reporter knows that to cover an event well he has to answer these six questions. When it comes to the greatest story of all, the Bible also answers these questions. In fact, four of them are answered in the first verse of the first chapter of the first book!

Who? God, the one, the only true God. “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

What? God created. What did He create? He created the heavens and the earth.

Where? Right here.

When? He created “in the beginning,” apparently also creating time itself.

How? By forces beyond human capacity.

Since there is so much packed into this one verse, it is no exaggeration to say that in many ways it could be the most important verse in the Bible. It has been said that if one can believe Genesis 1:1, he can believe anything in Scripture. It provides the foundation for all other Biblical teaching. Certainly, if it is not literally, absolutely true, the rest of the Bible cannot be true either. It should be no surprise, then, that our opponents direct some of their most vicious attacks at this fundamental verse. A few of the current ways materialists have mocked it in support of their own godless scenarios of origins are, “In the beginning, hydrogen,” or “In the beginning, quantum physics. . . .” God cannot be pleased with such travesties of His word.

Why did He create? “Thou art worthy, O Lord, . . . for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

The Word says, “In the beginning, God created . . .” and there is every reason to believe it.

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Leviathan

“In that day the LORD with His sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1).

There is a remarkable animal called a “leviathan,” described in the direct words of God in the 41st chapter of Job. It is surprising that most modern expositors call this animal merely a crocodile. Our text plainly calls it a “piercing serpent . . . the dragon that is in the sea.” He is also said to “play” in the “great and wide sea” (Psalm 104:25,26). God’s description in Job 41 says “a flame goeth out of his mouth” (v.21), and “he maketh the deep to boil like a pot” (v.31). The entire description is awesome! Whatever a leviathan might have been, it was not a crocodile!

In fact, there is no animal living today which fits the description. Therefore, it is an extinct animal, almost certainly a great marine reptile with “terrible teeth” and “scales” (vv.14,15) still surviving in the oceans of Job’s day, evidently one of the fearsome reptiles that gave rise to the worldwide tales of great sea dragons, before they became extinct.

But that is not all. In ending His discourse, God called leviathan “a king over all the children of pride” (Job 41:34), so the animal is also symbolic of Satan, whose challenge to God instigated Job’s strange trials. He is “the great dragon . . . that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Perhaps, therefore, the mysterious and notorious extinction of the dinosaurs is a secular prophecy of the coming Day of Judgment, when God “shall punish leviathan” (Isaiah 27:1), and the “devil that deceived them” will be “cast into the lake of fire . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

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God's Singing Presence

“For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished” (Jeremiah 30:11).

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah asking him to write this prophecy in a book about the fate of Israel and Judah. He confirms that He will be responsible for their return from exile, “and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid” (v.10). However, He is quick to state that the restoration would come after a period of appropriate discipline.

During the time of the captivity, the Lord promised to be with the people. This promise of presence is a foundational commitment on God’s part to His people. “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Genesis 28:15). Furthermore, it is a promise that He has extended to believers of this age also. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

The purpose of this presence is said to be “to save thee” (text verse). This relationship and responsibility is not distant or duty bound, but very intimate; joyful and expressive, and most involved in the believer’s affairs. “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

What comfort this is to us, that our commitment to Him is covered by His commitment to us. He is there, and intends to stay there, singing.

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Casting Lots

“And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).

This is the only instance in the New Testament where Christians are said to have “cast lots” in order to make a choice. This particular choice involved a very important question: Which of two apparently equally qualified men should be selected to take Judas' place among the twelve apostles? It is significant that before the lots were cast, they all prayed and asked the Lord to indicate His choice (Acts 1:24), “and the lot fell upon Matthias.”

Casting lots apparently was very common in ancient nations among both Israelites and Gentiles. The practice is mentioned at least 88 times in the Old Testament and eight other times in the New Testament (six of which refer to the casting of lots by the Roman soldiers for Jesus' vesture as He was being crucified). The first mention of the practice is found in connection with the offering of two goats on the Day of Atonement, the one to be sacrificed; the other to carry away, as it were, the sins of the people into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:. On the pagan use of the practice, see, for example, Jonah 1:7 and Esther 3:7.

The “lot” could have been any object used to make a choice. In recent centuries in Europe, small balls of different colors began to be used, and this practice came to be known as “casting ballots.” The latter term eventually came to be practically synonymous with voting—whatever method was used to “cast” one’s vote.

In any case, it is important to note that the Bible’s single mention of this practice by Christians indicates that it was preceded by earnest prayer for the Lord to reveal His will, not merely the preference of the one voting. We also always should seek earnestly the Lord’s leading in any choice we are called on to make in any election.

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Jeremiah And Inspiration

“Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:9).

Contained within the books of the Old Testament are nearly three thousand claims to its precise trustworthiness. Over and over again, the various authors claim to be communicating the very words of God. A number of such claims were recorded by Jeremiah in his book. As we see in our text, Jeremiah was somewhat discouraged with the lack of response to his ministry. But, just as he decided to refrain from passing on God’s word to the people, he felt an inner burning, recognizing that these words were much too important to ignore. These words had come from God Himself!

On other occasions, he heard the words of God directly, and was commanded to pass them on with precision. “Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not [literally ‘to shave,’ or ‘to lessen in effect’] a word” (Jeremiah 26:2). This straight-forward teaching of verbal inspiration is applied to the written accounts, as well: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book” (Jeremiah 30:1,2).

This book, which throughout contains such strong condemnation of falsehood, and which was written over a period of more than two thousand years by numerous authors, yet, without any contradiction between these writers, surely is the Word of the eternal, holy God. It is the information our Creator knows we need.

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The God Who Saves

“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

What a testimony given by David to his God! In this single verse, there is a seven-fold ascription of praise to the Lord for His great salvation. Each testimony can be appropriated also by all who trust Him. My Rock: The word used here does not mean a stone or even a boulder, but a mighty monolith, immovable and impregnable. My Fortress: This word refers to a great bulwark—a stronghold. The Hebrew word is essentially the same as Masada, the high butte where the Jews resisted the Roman armies after the destruction of Jerusalem. My Deliverer: “Our God is able to deliver,” even from the fiery furnace, the den of lions, and from the armies of Saul. My Strength: This is another word often translated “rock,” this time a rugged, craggy one, most appropriate as a symbol of great strength. My Buckler: The small, movable shield used to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). The Horn of my Salvation: This striking Old Testament symbol is even repeated in the New Testament (Luke 1:69) and applied to the coming Savior, referring either to the “horns of the altar,” where fleeing sinners could cling for refuge, or to the fighting horns of a strong beast. My High Tower: Here the word is not for a man-made tower, but for a natural, high, topographic eminence, suitable both for watching and for defense.

The great promises of salvation and security in Christ are timeless. The words that brought such hope to David are still a comfort to believers today.

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Practice What You Preach

“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

Christ’s life matched His teachings, and so must ours. Consider, for example, Christ’s teaching that we should “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is matched by His prayer for His tormentors while on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Elsewhere, He taught that our circle of influence should be greater than those of like thinking (Matthew 5:47), a fact which caused His detractors great consternation (Luke 15:2). He taught that our prayers should not be done so that “they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5). And the gospels record several times where He went “into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35; see also Mark 6:46). Christ placed great value on children, as we see in Matthew 18:6, and later He welcomed them (Matthew 19:14). He taught Peter to forgive “seventy times seven” times (Matthew 18:22) and later forgave Peter for his continued denials (Mark 16:7).

Christ advocated paying taxes (Mark 12:17) and later enabled Peter to pay tribute for both of them (Matthew 17:27). He taught that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15), and He Himself had “not where to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Likewise He placed great store in aiding the poor (Luke 14:13), both in teaching and in practice (Matthew 14:13–21). Perhaps His teaching “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) is best illustrated by His tender prayer for those who would soon take His life as He hung on the cross for the very ones responsible for His death, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).

May God grant us the strength to follow not only our own teachings, but His teachings, as well.

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Reasonable Service

“I beseech you therefore . . . by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1,2).

For those who would know God’s will for their lives, these verses provide the definitive answer. The key is sacrifice, not conformity. It is paradoxical, but wonderfully true, that real living is dying—dying to the world and living unto Christ! This great theme is emphasized repeatedly throughout the New Testament (Galatians 2:20, etc.).

Whether paradoxical or not, the principle of sacrificial living for Christ is eminently reasonable service! “Reasonable” is the Greek logikos, from which we derive our word “logical.” “Service” is the Greeklatreian, referring to service as a priest. We have been made “an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5). It is perfectly logical that we render such lifelong service to the great Friend who laid down His life for us, in order to take away our sins and give us everlasting life with Him in the ages to come.

It is also logical that we should not conform our lives to the standards of this present evil world. Why should we imitate this world’s materialism or humanism, in dress or music or morals or anything else? We have far higher and more lasting standards, guided by the Word of God and by minds renewed in Christ.

Our minds once were “blinded” by “the god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4), but now they can be guided by “the mind of the Lord” (Romans 11:34; I Corinthians 2:16). Here is the key to knowing that good and acceptable and perfect will of God!