A Daily Devotional

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Pray, Oh Pray

“Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas...and said, Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?” (Acts 16:29-30)

The well-known account of the Philippian jailer is mentioned in the hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.” Paul and Silas were wrongly imprisoned for the gospel’s sake, yet they “prayed, and sang praises unto God” (Acts 16:25). God answered their prayer, and the jailer turned to them for rescue. This was the start of ministry on the European continent.

Is there here a trembling jailer,
Seeking grace, and filled with tears?
Is there here a weeping Mary,
Pouring forth a flood of tears?
Brethren, join your cries to help them;
Sisters, let your prayers abound;
Pray, Oh pray that holy manna
May be scattered all around.

The “weeping Mary” is either the mourning sister of Lazarus (John 11) or Mary Magdalene, who met her risen Lord outside the tomb (John 20:11-15). All the tears were very real. Heartache and tears should drive us to prayer, to the One who can answer, fill, and heal.

We are told that if we pray “according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:15). But even if we don’t know His will in a particular situation, we can still pray, for “the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

So, brothers and sisters, pray. JDM

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Manna at the Banquet Table

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

The hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” is summarized in the moving lines of its final verse.

Let us love our God supremely,
Let us love each other, too;
Let us love and pray for sinners,
Till our God makes all things new.
Then He’ll call us home to heaven,
At His table we’ll sit down;
Christ will gird Himself, and serve us
With sweet manna all around.

The Christian’s blessings include daily “manna” (provision and blessing) from God and the promise of life with Christ throughout eternity. Our union with Him is compared to a marriage, commencing with a sumptuous wedding feast: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7-8). “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

When He comes and claims His bride—the ones for whom He sacrificed His precious blood—He will usher us all into His banquet room. Then “he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” (Luke 12:37). JDM

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Worship and Praise

“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm 138:2)

Praise and worship are widely taught in Scripture but are seldom used to describe the same actions. “Worship” describes an attitude of obeisance and reverence (usually by bowing or prostrating) during a formal act of sacrifice or some other structured observance. “Praise,” especially this word used in Psalm 138, emphasizes joyous thanksgiving, recognizing God’s specific blessing or God’s worthiness in character, power, deed, or authority.

There are only two events recorded in Scripture where the people of God both “worshiped” and “praised” at the same time. The first was at the dedication of the great temple of Solomon. When the prayer of dedication was finished, the fire of God’s glory descended on the temple and entered the Holy of Holies. That awesome event drove everyone to their knees “with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and [they] worshipped, and praised the LORD” (2 Chronicles 7:3).

The other occurred right after Ezra led a remnant back from Babylon. As the people heard the Word read to them for the first time in many decades, they became so convicted of their disobedience that they began to cry and confess their sin. They stood for about three hours and “confessed [same word as ‘praise’], and worshipped the LORD their God” (Nehemiah 9:3).

In neither case did the people jump up and down, clap, or otherwise demonstrate exuberance. They were so overwhelmed at the presence of God that they fell down on their faces! Then they poured out their heart in intimate worship and praise for His lovingkindness, His truth, His name, His being, and His attributes, because God has magnified His Word above all His Name. HMM III

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When Christ Is Welcome

“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 118:26)

This is the climactic verse of Psalm 118, one of the great Messianic psalms. It was fulfilled, at least in a preliminary way, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a small donkey just one week before His resurrection, thereby acknowledging that He was fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy: “behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding...upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

As He rode into the city, many “took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13). Many Christians even today still commemorate that occasion on what they call Palm Sunday, one week before Easter.

But most of the people—now as well as then—doubted and soon repudiated Him altogether, crying out for Him to be put to death. He knew, of course, that this is what would happen, and He had already said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,...! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate:...Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:34-35).

The prophecy applied especially to the nation as a whole, but the principle certainly applies also to individuals. When anyone sees in his mind’s eye the Lord Jesus coming, if he will welcome Him gladly rather than turn Him away, then Christ will indeed come into his heart, “having salvation” and bringing “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8), and he can say with deep thanks: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” HMM

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Asleep in Jesus

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

The hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of living believers at His second coming. This is the primary theme of this epistle—especially verses 4:13–5:10. In fact, it is significant that this book, possibly the first of Paul’s epistles chronologically, is also the one with the largest number of specific references to Christ’s second coming.

If it were not for this hope, we would have no hope for the future. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ,” Paul said, “we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). When an unbeliever dies, he dies without hope. When a believer dies, he is simply “asleep,” as far as his body is concerned. At the same time, his soul and spirit go to be with the Lord until the resurrection day. Perhaps it is analogous to the state of dreaming, when the body is asleep in bed, while the person’s consciousness seems to be engaged in varied activities far from where the body is resting.

The Bible uses the term “sleep” to describe death only in the case of Christians—never for non-Christians (see John 11:11; etc.). There is genuine sorrow, of course, when a believer dies, but that sorrow is softened and sublimated by the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The souls of those whose bodies are asleep have gone to be with the Lord and will return with the Lord when He returns. “The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17). HMM

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Learning to Trust

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.” (Psalm 138:7)

David makes three simple points in his final admonition to those who struggle with trusting in God’s lovingkindness and truth.

First, God loves His saints, but those with a pride problem are not going to gain His attention (Psalm 138:6). This is somewhat basic to Christian doctrine. Pride is one of the seven things that God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). God responds to the desire of the humble person (Psalm 10:17), and He stays near to those who have a broken heart or a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:17).

Second, God will revive us when we are in trouble (our text). The promise is about the reviving and the saving. That is, we may gain God’s sufficient grace to endure (as in the case of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh,” 2 Corinthians 12:7) rather than a physical cure. We may receive the ability to be victorious in the face of opposition (as during Paul’s ministry to Ephesus, 1 Corinthians 16:8-9) rather than relief from the circumstances. We may, indeed, be delivered from the pressure of the enemies or have God’s miracle performed in our lives, but whatever the circumstantial occasion, God will respond for our good.

Third, God will bring about our perfection (Psalm 138:8). That term, both in the Old and the New Testaments, relates to completing God’s work or purpose. Here, it is specifically related to that which concerns the saints of God. The sovereign Lord will see to it that His chosen will make it (1 Peter 2:9). There is no question about this. God’s mercy is always refreshed. There is no limit to His forgiveness. Nothing about who we are will defeat God’s plan for us (Philippians 2:13). HMM III

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Contend for the Faith

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

Jude long ago addressed a problem in his day that is still very real in our day among Christians. It is easier and more comfortable just to teach and preach about the blessings of our common salvation than it is to contend for the faith, but the latter is more “needful.” The word conveys the idea that he was so constrained, evidently by the Holy Spirit, as actually to be in distress about this compelling need. Similarly, his exhortation to “earnestly contend” does not mean to “be argumentative” but rather to “agonize with intense determination.” It is one word in the Greek, epagonizomai (literally, “agonize over”). Defending and contending for the faith is serious, urgent business.

That which we are to defend is “the faith”—the whole body of Christian truth—wherever it is under attack. It would, of course, be especially important to contend for the doctrine of special creation, which is the foundation of all others and is the doctrine perpetually under the most concerted and persistent attack by the adversary.

That faith has been, long ago, “once delivered” to the saints. The sense of these words is “once for all turned over for safekeeping.” The Lord has entrusted us with His Word, completed and inscripturated, and we must keep it, uncorrupted and intact, for every generation until He returns, preaching and teaching all of it to every creature, to the greatest extent we possibly can.

Finally, note that the safeguarding of the faith was not entrusted merely to specially trained theologians or other professionals, but also to “the saints.” Every Christian believer is commanded to “earnestly contend for the faith.” HMM

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Gambling at Calvary
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” (Psalm 22:18)

The 22nd Psalm is justly famous as a remarkable prophetic preview of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, written by David approximately 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. It describes in accurate detail the sufferings of the Lord and the actions of the sneering spectators as they watched Him die.

One of the most heartless acts of the Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion was the indignity of stripping Him of the garments He was wearing and then dividing them among themselves, even gambling to determine who would get His seamless vesture. The significance of this cruel scene is indicated by the fact that it is one of the very few specific events in the life of Christ recorded in all four gospels.

We must not forget that the Lord Jesus Christ once had been arrayed, as it were, in beautiful garments that “smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces” (Psalm 45:8). But He who was “equal with God” chose to be “made in the likeness of men” that He might eventually suffer “even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8) in order to save our unworthy souls. “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).

He who had created the heavens, when He came to Earth, had to say that “the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). And His few remaining possessions were scavenged by His executioners as He died. Yet through His great sacrifice, He has provided “everlasting habitations” for us (Luke 16:9) and “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3). Indeed, we do know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! HMM

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He Shall Prolong His Days

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10)

In this one verse, found in the wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah, there is an amazing prophecy of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins, His resurrection from the dead, and the resulting salvation of many lost sinners.

This Old Testament chapter, written 600 years before Christ, contains probably the most complete and cogent exposition of the saving work of Christ on the cross to be found in the entire Bible.

How could it “please” the Lord to bruise His only begotten Son? It could only be because of the great work this would accomplish.

Then, indeed, “the pleasure of the LORD” would be realized. As to the Son, “he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11).

After the Father has allowed the enemies of His Son to “bruise him” to death, it would be soon known that this was actually “an offering for sin” and that, having satisfied the requirements of God’s holiness, the Son “shall prolong his days.” Though He died and actually “made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death” (v. 9), death could not hold Him and “he shall prolong his days.” As He would later proclaim: “I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18).

And because He has done this, He “shall see his seed.” “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10). What a wonderful Savior! HMM

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The Doctrine of Christ

“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.” (2 John 1:10)

This apparently harsh instruction seems at first to conflict with the many biblical exhortations to show hospitality, but it needs to be placed in context. The one-chapter epistle of 2 John was addressed to “the elect lady and her children” by John, who also extended greetings from “the children of thy elect sister” (vv. 1, 13). These unusual phrases, together with the general tone of the epistle, make it almost certain that John was not referring simply to two individual Christian women, but to two churches, symbolically personified as two noble ladies with the “children” being the new converts in the churches.

The warning, then, is primarily against the danger of allowing a false teacher to come into the church, as a pastor or a teacher or even as a visiting speaker, who would not bring “this doctrine.” The doctrine mentioned is obviously “the doctrine of Christ” (v. 9). This doctrine of Christ is not, however, simply a set of doctrinal tenets about the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is not the doctrine about Christ, but of Christ—belonging to Him—His doctrine. The word “doctrine” is didache, meaning literally “teachings.” The meaning clearly is “the teachings of Christ,” that is, not just one or two least-common-denominator statements about Christ to which all nominal Christians could give assent, but the entire body of teachings that had come from Jesus.

Further, since He taught that all the Old Testament is inspired and authoritative and also promised the same to the writers of the New Testament, this “doctrine of Christ” includes “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), from Genesis through Revelation. How important it is not to allow false teaching to get a foothold in a local church. HMM

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Alive with Christ

“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more domination over him.” (Romans 6:8-9)

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead both guarantees the future bodily resurrection of the believer and associates us positionally with Him now. Since He died for our sins, we, in effect, were “dead with Christ.” Therefore, when He defeated death and hell and revived His own dead body in immortal power, He broke any dominion of death over Him or over those who were, positionally, with Him.

This is one of the grandest scriptural themes of the Christian life. We were dead with Christ, but now God “hath quickened us together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). Not only have we been “made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22) with Him, but we have also been “raised” with Him up from the grave and then into heaven where we are “seated” with Him on His throne! “[God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

This means also that we have been glorified with Him and are actually reigning with Him. “The Spirit [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:...that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).

But if all this is only true in position, what meaning does His resurrection life have on our daily lives now? Simply this—that knowing these truths gives us the incentive and power to live them. “If [or literally since] ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). “For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you” (2 Corinthians 13:4). HMM

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Christ Our Intercessor

“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34)

One of the most glorious truths of the Christian life is that the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, now lives to intercede for us before God. The greatest example of intercessory prayer in the Bible is in John 17, where the Lord poured out His heart for His disciples. “I pray for them,” He said, “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine” (John 17:9). But that was not all! “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 17:20). And that’s us! That includes us!

What is it that He prays for us? First of all, He prays for our security. “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (John 17:11). Then He prays that we might have real victory over sin and the devil. “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil [or ‘the evil one’]” (John 17:15).

His next request is: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Our sanctification will come, therefore, not through some special experience but through God’s Word. He also prays for true unity among His true disciples: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

Finally, He prays for our ultimate glorification. “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” (John 17:24).

We can be assured that the Father will grant these requests of His beloved Son. HMM

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Sodom and Gomorrha

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7)

These cities provide two stern examples of God’s judgmental wrath. Their sin had reached such an intensity and had become so widespread that the entire region suffered the “vengeance of eternal fire.” Just like the awful misuse of human sexual potential distorted by the angelic beings cited in the previous verse, these cities had become so perverted that God’s longsuffering and mercy had ended.

“But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). Whatever they were involved with had become so heinous and so completely a distortion of everything God created man for that God appears to have reached the limit of human vocabulary to describe it. Their character (wickedness) and their deeds (sins) were “too much” for God.

Two classifications are listed. The first, fornication, is cited nearly 100 times in the Old Testament and is referred to over a dozen times in the New—always as a condemnation of sexual behavior outside of the intimate relations of husband and wife. The other classification is going after “strange flesh.” Genesis 19 makes it perfectly clear that this “exceedingly” awful sin was homosexual perversion.

For these sins God rained down “brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The Scripture is precisely clear: vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19), and He made Himself absolutely clear about His view of widespread fornication and homosexual behavior. This example is a sobering warning for those societies that promote such lifestyles. HMM III

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Knowing and Trusting

“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” (Psalm 9:10)

When one really knows the name of the Lord, that one will surely come to trust Him. How could anyone fail to trust God and to believe His Word when they know Him to be the almighty Creator (Elohim), the self-existing One (Jehovah), and the gracious Master (Adonai)? When they further learn that He is none other than Jesus Christ (“anointed Savior”), surely they ought to believe and bow in thankful love, calling Him “Lord” by the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 12:3).

The word for “trust” means “take refuge in.” We can trust our Lord for protection from harm, from want, from all the attacks of the wicked one, and finally, from hell itself. That trust is well placed because the Lord never forsakes those who truly trust Him. The Word confirms this truth over and over again. “(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers” (Deuteronomy 4:31). “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). These are glorious promises, always fulfilled—that is, with one exception.

The only man who always fully trusted God, who was altogether righteous, and who perfectly manifested the Father’s name to His disciples and to the world—that One was forsaken! “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He cried, as He died on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

And it was because He was willing to be forsaken and to suffer hell itself in our place—dying for our sins—that God can make and keep His promise never to forsake anyone who seeks Him and puts their trust in Him, through Jesus Christ. HMM

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Filthy Dreamers

“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” (Jude 1:8)

The King James translators supplied the term “filthy” for the dreamers that Jude denounces because of the “likewise” that introduces their condemnation. The prior verses had condemned certain angels and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrha because of their perversion of God’s sexual design.

These dreamers not only “stain” the flesh but have become so arrogant that they give “no standing” to any authority and “blaspheme” those who have any “glory.” Not even Michael the archangel had that kind of attitude; Jude notes in the next verse that Michael didn’t rebuke Lucifer when he was carrying out God’s mission for Moses’ body. Some people are way out of line!

Jude’s whole message is focused on those who are attempting to resist, undo, damage, distort, or otherwise disrupt the work of God’s people. In the context, these dreamers are not merely inattentive fools who wander in and out of churches seeking some personal “fulfillment”; they are enemies within—those who may have positions of influence and who are actively seeking to hurt the ministry and mission of God’s kingdom.

Peter calls them “presumptuous” and “selfwilled,” no better than “natural brute beasts” who mouth off about “things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Peter 2:10-12). Strong words, but a fitting description of those who would dare to set themselves against the omnipotent and omniscient Creator. As David so aptly says: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

Dialogue with these dreamers is futile. The solution is: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). HMM III