A Daily Devotional

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Whom to Pray For

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:1)

Let no one ever say that he has nothing to pray about, or that he doesn’t know how to pray in God’s will, for it is always in the will of God to pray for other people! This is a great gift that any Christian can give, even if he is penniless or bedridden. There are none so poor as to be unable to afford such a gift, nor can even the wealthiest give a finer gift.

Note just a few of the relevant commandments to believers. First, we are to pray for all fellow Christians: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). We should also pray for the lost. Jesus commanded, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).

There is a special command to pray for sick disciples. “Pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). We are even told to pray for our enemies. “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:28).

We are told to pray for Christian brethren who “sin a sin which is not unto death” (1 John 5:16), though if the sin has already led to physical death (as in 1 Corinthians 11:30), there is no warrant for further prayer in that case. Finally, we are especially admonished to pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2) and for the ministries of those who proclaim the gospel (Colossians 4:2-4). In short, in the words of our text, we should offer up supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people everywhere, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). HMM

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Preaching the Word

“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)

Every believer has been called to preach God’s Word, not just pastors of churches. When Christ gave the Great Commission to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), it was clear that this mission was intended for every Christian and could be accomplished if every believer preaches the gospel!

This was practiced first by the members of the church at Jerusalem. Then, when the believers were “all scattered abroad...except the apostles” (Acts 8:1), these laymen went everywhere preaching the Word. One of the deacons selected to relieve the apostles of the business affairs of the church was Philip, and he “went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:5), speaking to great crowds and winning many to Christ. Then shortly afterward, the Lord called him down to Gaza where he met an Ethiopian eunuch, and he “preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). This teaches plainly that one can preach to a large congregation, but he or she can also preach to one person. It is not the size of the congregation but the theme of the message that makes one a preacher of the Word!

Furthermore, it is not only by word of mouth that Christ is preached; Paul says that “the gospel...was preached to every creature [literally, ‘in every creation’] which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23). “And how shall they hear without a preacher?...But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world” (Romans 10:14, 18). One can preach verbally to a congregation or to an unseen audience through radio or in writing to a reader, and even a godly lifestyle can “preach” effectively (although not specifically) of the saving work of Christ. Even the heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1)! Every believer must preach the Word. HMM

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Shadowy Things

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)

The closing verses of Colossians 2 contain a litany of holidays and regulations that were plaguing the newly formed New Testament church. Essentially, any other regulatory system is not a God-ordained means to evaluate spiritual purity.

Dietary and man-made holidays can be carried out by a total unbeliever and can be easily faked. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

Paul told the Galatians these things were “weak and beggarly elements” that enslaved them to the observations of “days, and months, and times, and years” (Galatians 4:9-10). Even the Old Testament Law was merely a “shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things” (Hebrews 10:1).

Even more dangerous, however, was the worship of natural, “unseen” things that would plunder the Christian of eternal reward (Colossians 2:18). Worshiping angels (messengers) is simply wrong. Worshiping fleshly intellectualism (the rudiments of the world) leads to error. Worshiping asceticism (voluntary humility) is foolish.

These phrases in Colossians are unique to Scripture. The emphasis seems to be on a natural mysticism—using physical or naturalistic imagery to find spiritual meaning. All of the form and imagery of the flesh and the man-made rules and regulations made “after the commandments and doctrines of men” (Colossians 2:22) do not honor God—they merely satisfy the flesh.

The “joints and bands” of the body (church) bring about a godly increase. “Holding the Head” ministers and nourishes the believer (Colossians 2:19-23). HMM III

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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)

Christians 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 for God to 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

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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” (Philippians 3:18-19).

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

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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 command is very important for the believer. 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 only used to refer to homosexuality in Scripture (Romans 1:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:5).
    Evil desire (epithumia) describes evil cravings (1 Peter 4:3; Jude 1:17-19).
    Covetousness (pleonexia) makes greediness an idol (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 their impenitent hearts that are “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

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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 done away with, we who have been created after God “in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24) must cleanse the passions of the intellect as well.

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 produces a violent emotion.
    Wrath (thumos), as the word suggests, is intellectual heat, a boiling up that produces a fierce indignation.
    Malice (kakian) 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) deliberately gives 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 (Colossians 3:5). 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

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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 understanding two distinct Greek words that, unfortunately, are both 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. Instead of bringing peace, it troubles 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 the 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

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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

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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 coexist with the “members” of flesh, which must be “mortified” (Colossians 3:5). 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

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Four Marks of Life Done Well

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4)

Our Lord Jesus describes in John 17 four summaries of how He stewarded His life before His crucifixion. Each one offers an example for us.

First, He glorified the Father. Do we give God the Father glory, or credit, throughout the day, out loud, and even in our hearts? After all, He made us and loves us.

Second, Jesus finished the work that the Father had given Him to do. One of the main works Jesus did was to love His disciples until the end. He made them the pillars of the church. Praise the Father that He gave His Son that work to do! Praise the Son who finished it so that we could hear the gospel in order to be saved from our sins and so we could have fellowship with other believers! Are we faithfully finishing the work He has given us?

Third, Jesus said, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world” (v. 6). “Manifest” here is translated from phaneróo. It means to make visible or real. Jesus made His Father’s name visible to His disciples by obeying the Father every moment. Do we manifest His name by submitting our time, talent, and desires to the Father?

Last, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me” (v. 8). “Words” here does not necessarily mean Bible verses but words fitly spoken (aloud) for His disciples’ growth. For example, “let your speech be always with grace” (Colossians 4:6). May it be said of us who prayerfully glorify the Father, finish His work, manifest His name, and speak His words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). BDT

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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 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 this 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 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

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Reconciled

“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” (Colossians 1:21-22)

The reconciliation act abolishes one condition and establishes another. We were “aliens...from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Our “understanding [was] darkened” due to our hearts’ blindness (Ephesians 4:18). We were enemies whose “friendship of the world” made us at “enmity with God” (James 4:4).

We are reconciled now. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Indeed, we are also “saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:10-11), and are to be presented as a “chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Both individually and collectively, we are “being built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5) who will “shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We can be absolutely sure that once we are reconciled— our alien state abolished and adoption secured—our Lord Jesus remains the “merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). Reconciliation ensures that the Lord Jesus Himself will “stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13).

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). HMM III

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Continue in the Faith

“If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (Colossians 1:23)

In our text, “the faith” insists on a particular body of doctrine that defines the Christian life. For instance, as Paul and Barnabas were returning from their initial missionary effort, they went back to each area “confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith” (Acts 14:22).

There are nearly 50 occurrences in the New Testament where “the faith” is used in this way. These references always speak of obedience to specific teachings that embrace the core of the godly lifestyle that represents holiness and the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Thus, one who is “grounded and settled” in the faith will be both knowledgeable and stable in his Christian testimony and ministry.

It is necessary, of course, to build on the foundation of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:11), but only the “gold, silver, precious stones” have any lasting value (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) —hence the requirement in Jude: “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).

Furthermore, those who continue in the faith will not be “moved away from the hope of the gospel.” That hope acts as “an anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19) and is the drive that motivates us to maintain a pure lifestyle (1 John 3:3). “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). HMM III

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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, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, 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 for 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