Days of Praise

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January 20, 2020
God's Work of Providence
“Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.” (Psalm 65:9)

The 65th Psalm speaks especially of God’s great work of “providence” as supplementing His primeval work of creation. The latter was completed in the six days of the creation week (Genesis 2:1-3). The work of providence, however, still goes on, perpetually reminding us of God’s care for His creatures. “He left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

God’s providential concern, however, extends not only to men and women. “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle” (Psalm 104:14). “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. . . . These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season” (vv. 25, 27). “Behold the fowls of the air: . . . your heavenly Father feedeth them” (Matthew 6:26).

Note that He is not their heavenly Father, He is your heavenly Father—yet He feeds them! He is merely their maker and provider; yet a single sparrow “shall not fall on the ground without your Father” (Matthew 10:29).

He even provides for the inanimate creation, “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). The omnipotent God of creation is thus the ever-sustaining and ever-caring God of providence.

Still, some choose not to believe, even though “that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen . . . so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). HMM

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January 26, 2020
What Is His Name?
“They shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:13-14)

Moses had been specially trained by God for the task ahead. He had been raised in Pharaoh’s household and had no doubt learned the wisdom of Egypt. Moses was well acquainted with authority, both exercising it and submitting to it. It comes somewhat as a surprise, then, that when told by God that he would be the one to lead his people out of bondage, he both objected to assuming such a leadership role and even questioned God’s authority over the situation.

But when he first realized that he couldn’t talk God out of using him, Moses expressed doubt as to God’s ability to bring this about. He asked God for more proof of His authority over mankind, evidently feeling that merely being “the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (3:6) was insufficient authority. He couched his question in a roundabout way, claiming that the unbelief of the people of Israel was such that “they” would want to know, but this was not the case at all. When Moses first explained God’s plan to the “elders of the children of Israel” (4:29), “they bowed their heads and worshipped” (4:31).

God graciously answered Moses with the wonder-filled declaration “I AM THAT I AM.” He is the self-existent One. He is, simply because He is. No one made Him. He made all else that is, including Moses and the Egyptians. This assurance empowered Moses for 40 years and should be enough to empower us. “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:5-6). JDM

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January 27, 2020
Haste Makes Waste
“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Isaiah 28:16)

This is one of the great Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, promising a Savior who would be the sure foundation of the eternal temple of God; yet it was 700 years before the promise was fulfilled. God did not “make haste,” but His promise, nevertheless, was sure. No doubt many believing Jews wondered why it was taking so long, but in the “fulness of the time” (Galatians 4:4), Christ came.

It is so easy to rush ahead of God instead of waiting for His leading. With good intentions and admirable zeal, Christians plan great programs, establish new organizations, promote legislation, and become involved in a thousand-and-one good activities, all in the name of Christ and His kingdom. Such activism is urgent, they believe, because the time is short. Nuclear war is coming; maybe even Christ is coming; and we must hurry.

But the Scripture says: “Therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18).

We must not fail to follow when He really leads through His Word, but all too often undue haste results in confusion and collapse. When our text is quoted by Peter (1 Peter 2:6), the phrase “make haste” is rendered by “be confounded,” or “be ashamed.” It is not honoring to God for Christian projects and activities to “be confounded,” so Christian believers must be careful not to “make haste.” “Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). HMM

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January 29, 2020
The Names of God
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.” (Genesis 7:16)

Many stirring books have been written on the general subject of the names of God. Most of the names make use of one or two of the three primary names. The first is Elohim, meaning “mighty one.” It is a uni-plural name—plural in form but singular in meaning and verb usage, suggesting the uni-plural nature of the triune Godhead, appearing in most English translations as “God.” It most often is used when worldwide events or attributes are discussed, including creation, judgment, sovereignty, transcendence, and salvation. The second is Jehovah, meaning “the self-existent one,” which appears as “LORD” in English translations. It stresses God’s holiness, nearness, concern for man (especially Israel), hatred of sin, love of sinners, and His revelatory nature and communication. The third is Adonai, a more general term meaning master and used of both men and God. It appears as “Lord” in English Bibles.

For example, the name Elohim, the transcendent, uni-plural Creator God, is appropriately used exclusively in Genesis 1:1–2:4, the account of creation from God’s perspective. Throughout the rest of Genesis 2, the account of creation from man’s perspective, the combination name Jehovah-Elohim is used. Man was at this point without sin, in full accord with his Creator, and experiencing the fullness of His love and communication. The curse, as related in chapter 3, changed things forever, and in chapter 4, Adam and his offspring, painfully aware that their sin has broken God-established relationships, relate better to Jehovah, the Savior. In our text for the day, we see Noah obeying the orders of Elohim, the sovereign judge, to enter the Ark, but Jehovah, the loving Savior, making them secure. JDM

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January 31, 2020 Written for Our Learning “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) Let no modern Christian ever think that he can ignore the Old Testament and base all his faith and practice on just the 27 books of the New Testament, as vital as they are. Even the apostle Paul, who wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else, depended heavily on the Old Testament Scriptures for his exposition of the New Testament doctrines he had received “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). For example, in the longest and most doctrinal of all his epistles—that is, Romans—he actually quoted from the Old Testament no less than 60 times, even though the epistle had been specifically addressed to Gentiles (Romans 11:13). In his letter to the Gentiles at Corinth, after an extensive discussion of the Old Testament account of the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness, he said: “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). In this passage, the word translated “examples” is the Greek tupos, from which we derive our word “types.” Thus, the experiences of the Israelites were actually revealed by God to be “types” of Christ and our relation to Him. Therefore, in addition to the many explicit prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament, many other Scriptures can be profitably expounded as “types” of Christ. Indeed, in all the Old Testament Scriptures, as Christ Himself taught, are “things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). HMM

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February 9, 2020
Wages or a Gift
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

This wonderful verse has been used by the Holy Spirit countless times to bring a person to the point of salvation, and rightly so. Seldom did the author of Scripture pack so much into so few words, and seldom is the gospel of salvation more clearly and succinctly presented.

Perhaps the key to this verse and its teaching is the little word but, for marvelous contrasts hinge on it. In fact, pointing out the parallel but contrasting statements has proven to be an effective witnessing tool. Let us consider these individual contrasts.

First, wages versus gift: Wages are something that must be earned, while a gift cannot be earned; it is free. The wages of employment follow directly from having done the work, just as the wages of sin follow directly from having done the sin. Similarly, the gift of God follows directly from God’s own character. He is a loving, gracious God who freely showers His gifts on those who will accept them.

Second, sin versus God, or sin versus the sinless one: We might even define sin as the opposite of godliness. Sin is the deed that merits the wages, while God is the being who gives the gift. Sin is a wrong action, attitude, or thought, while God is a person, active and loving. Sin takes; God gives.

Third, death eternal versus life eternal: Conscious existence in separation from God versus conscious existence in communion with God. Sin brings death, surely and permanently; God gives eternal life.

This gift of eternal life is not given capriciously, however; it is based on the work of Jesus Christ, the one who Himself collected the wages of our sin. The sinner who accepts God’s gift, through Jesus Christ, can hardly fail to recognize Him as Lord. JDM

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February 12, 2020
Lessons from the Rich Fool
“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20)

This sobering verse gives, in a nutshell, God’s evaluation of people whose dominating concern is the accumulation of material possessions. Such a person is, by the Lord’s own testimony, a fool.

But before the man in this parable became a covetous fool, he first became a self-centered clod, interested only in his own desires. In the verses comprising his monologue (Luke 12:17-19), he used the personal pronouns “I” and “my” no less than 11 times, and then even addressed himself using the pronoun “thou” or “thine” twice more.

“My” is the devil’s pronoun. It was Satan who first said “I.” “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer’s primeval, self-seeking covetousness brought rebellion and sin into the angelic host, and then into the human family. Ever since his fall, he has used this deadly sin of self-centeredness to keep men away from God and to lead them into all kinds of other overpowering sins.

In the case of the rich man, his pampering of self had led him into a life of such greed and covetousness that he was still concerned only with his own personal comfort (“eating and drinking”) right up to the day of his death. He “thought within himself” (Luke 12:17), giving no thought whatever to God’s will or the fact that all his possessions really belonged to God. Multitudes over the ages have been overtaken by this same sin of self-centered covetousness, perhaps never more pervasively than in modern America, even among American Christians. To anyone of such covetous spirit, the day may soon come when the Lord will say: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” HMM

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February 14, 2020
Valentine's Day
“Who so findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22)

Embedded in many of our customs and holidays are a mixture of pagan and biblical principles. Saint Valentine’s Day is no exception. Mystery surrounds who Valentine really was. He was probably a priest martyred in 269 AD at Rome. Among Roman Catholics, he is called the patron saint of affianced couples, beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. He is one busy (and confused) man!

In the Western world, the emphasis is on human expressions of love and friendship. That is certainly important and, when guided by the biblical principles, a godly ardor worth commemorating.

Here are a few guidelines to remember this season:

• “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Romans 12:9).
• “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
• “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1:22).
• “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).
• “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

The objective of every kind of biblical “love” is stated in Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9). HMM III

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February 20, 2020 The Title "Christian" “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” (1 Peter 4:16) The word “Christian” occurs only three times in Scripture and seems to have changed in its meaning from first to last. In the first instance, “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). The name merely identified them as followers of Christ with no reproach intended. The second usage was some years later, by which time the term was evidently well known, even among unbelievers. After Paul had witnessed to him, “Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). A more literal translation that renders the sentence “Do you try in such a short time to make a Christian of me?” indicates an air of superiority or incredulity in Agrippa’s voice. It would take more than a short testimony to make a Christian of him. As the years went by, the church began to be plagued by persecution. Our text indicates that even the name “Christian” was by then regarded with contempt and reproach. But Peter tells us that there is no shame involved in the name “Christian” or in following Christ. Peter, no doubt, recalled the shame he felt for denying the name of Christ, but he also recalled with thankfulness how that even though the Jewish council had “beaten them” and “commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:40), he and the other apostles departed “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (v. 41). Furthermore, we can “glorify God on this behalf” or “in this name.” This implies more than just praising the name. We can glorify God in what we do—in how we live in that name. We can certainly also bring dishonor to the title “Christian” by our actions. A solemn responsibility is then ours to bring honor and glory to God through our lives. JDM

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February 23, 2020
World Without End
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” (Isaiah 64:4)

This beautiful Old Testament promise has been appropriated by Paul (1 Corinthians 2:9) and applied to the New Testament believer guided by the indwelling Spirit of God. It looks forward to the ages to come when all those “things which God hath prepared for them that love him” will be given in their fullness.

It is noteworthy that both “the beginning of the world” in our text (Isaiah 64:4) and “world without end” (45:17) are translations of the same Hebrew word, olam, which means essentially “indefinitely long ago” or even “eternity.” Thus, the wonderful plan God has prepared for His people, to be implemented and enjoyed in eternity future, was formulated by Him in eternity past.

We were then chosen “in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). He had even planned our redemption from sin through His Son, “with the precious blood of Christ, . . . Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:19-20).

We may not, in this life, really comprehend with our minds such marvelous things, but we who “wait for him” can believe them with rejoicing in our hearts, for “God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). Thus, we can unite with thankful and understanding hearts in Paul’s great doxology: “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21). HMM

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February 26, 2020 Lessons from Amos: Seek the Lord “But seek not Bethel. . . . Seek the LORD, and ye shall live.” (Amos 5:5-6) Bethel had a long history with Israel. Abraham camped near Bethel when he first entered the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:8) and “called on the name of the LORD” at Bethel when he returned from Egypt (Genesis 13:3-4). Jacob’s dream of the ladder took place at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-12, 19), and later it was there his name was changed to Israel (Genesis 35:9-15). Later, however, Bethel became Bethaven, the “House of Idols” (Hosea 4:15), after Jeroboam I established a temple to the golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-33). And much later, Assyria, after the destruction of Israel, left false priests at Bethel to corrupt the land (2 Kings 17:27-34). The place became a substitute for the person of God. The danger comes when God becomes fixed to a place or an event where there is more concern for property than people. The kind of place (one’s denomination) substitutes theology for truth, or the experience gives more credence to intuition than inspiration. Worship of place or event supersedes the worship of God. Both substitutes will produce error. The admonition of Amos is to “seek the LORD” (Amos 5:6). The promise is that if we seek the Lord, we “shall live.” We will not find God in a place but in a person (Acts 4:12). We cannot find God in a campaign but in a commitment (Matthew 6:33). We surely will not find God in promises from men but in power from God (2 Peter 1:4). HMM III

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February 27, 2020
Lessons from Amos: Don't Enter Gilgal
“But [do not] . . . enter into Gilgal . . . for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity.” (Amos 5:5)

Gilgal was the place of new beginnings. Twelve memorial stones from the Jordan were set up at Gilgal after the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River (Joshua 4:3). The nation was circumcised there in preparation for their possession of the land (Joshua 5:5). The Passover was celebrated (Joshua 5:10), and the miraculous manna ceased (Joshua 5:12). The victorious campaign in the hill country of Judea extending to Kadesh-barnea and Gaza was conducted from Gilgal (Joshua 10:15). The great battle at the waters of Merom was conducted from Gilgal (Joshua 10:43; 11:5). Saul was crowned Israel’s first king at Gilgal (1 Samuel 11:15).

Yet, the activity at Gilgal began to obscure the Word of God. Saul compromised and sacrificed at Gilgal to try to gain God’s blessing. His desire for political favor resulted in direct disobedience to God.

A zeal for “righteous action” without obedience can result in evil. Jephthah’s foolish vow and subsequent bad leadership led to a horrible slaughter (Judges 11–12). Micah’s selfish desire for a personal priest led to terrible apostasy (Judges 17–18). A Levite’s false zeal for revenge led Israel into civil war (Judges 19–21).

When activity substitutes for holiness, the cause starts to justify the activity. Activity then becomes necessary to preserve the cause, and dedication to the activity is equated with loyalty and holiness. In many cases, preservation of a memorable event overrides biblical truth. We don’t need “activity” at Gilgal as much as we need “abiding” in Christ. The “branches” need the “vine” (John 15). HMM III

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February 28, 2020
Lessons from Amos: Don't Pass Through Beersheba
“But . . . pass not to Beersheba.” (Amos 5:5)

Beersheba (well of the “sevens”) became a location of some importance in Israel’s early history. Hagar, the Egyptian bondwoman who bore Ishmael, was rescued by God at Beersheba (Genesis 21:14-19). Abraham improved the well at Beersheba and settled there, built a grove, and “called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33). It was at Beersheba that Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-4).

Beersheba figured prominently in the life of Israel. Isaac made a covenant with the Philistines there, repaired the well, and lived at Beersheba for many years (Genesis 26:17-33). Historically, Beersheba is best known for the political oaths ceremoniously confirmed there with the secular nations around Israel.

At Beersheba, truth later became equated with tradition. Substituting the wisdom and traditions of man (Mark 7:3-13) or the world’s logic (Colossians 2:8) for truth can be very dangerous.

• God looks forward not backward. Historical places and events are lessons not laws.
• God wants obedience not activity. Past victories are to be praises not patterns.
• God demands truth not compromise. Successful negotiations are directives not doctrines.

“Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph” (Amos 5:14-15). HMM III

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February 29, 2020
When He Shall Appear
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28)

There are many glorious promises associated with the great promise that Christ Himself shall once again appear in person here on planet Earth. For example, Paul says: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).

Similarly, the apostle Peter promises: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4). The writer of Hebrews first reminds us of His former appearance on Earth: “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Then the promise is: “Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (v. 28).

Perhaps the most wonderful promise associated with His second appearing is given through John: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

Therefore, when He shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory; we shall receive an unfading crown of glory; we shall be like Him, and without sin unto salvation. These promises even now constitute an incentive for each believer to purify himself even as He is pure.

But there is also the sobering warning in our text associated with the soon-coming time when He shall appear. We should abide in Him (that is, continue in Him, hour after hour), careful that whatever we do, wherever we go, we are in no danger of being ashamed before Him when He shall appear! HMM

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March 1, 2020
Signs and Seasons, Days and Years
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” (Genesis 1:14)

The subject of “time” is enigmatic. Everyone seems to know what is meant by time, but no one can define it. We may complain about time going too slow or too fast, but time doesn’t go anywhere. But neither does it “stand still.”

At least we can measure time intervals—seconds, hours, centuries, etc. This is because of God’s gracious forethought in providing means for doing this. He was not a “blind watchmaker,” as some evolutionists have called Him. He actually created time “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1).

Then He set the sun and the moon in the sky, and made the earth to assume a global shape and to rotate on an axis, making the measurement of time in “days” possible. Next He placed stars in the far heavens in various locations and combinations and the earth to orbit around the sun, enabling us to tell how many “days” make up a “year.” Then, once the earth’s rotational axis was “tilted,” that made “seasons” measurable. So we can at least identify time durations in days and years with their seasons, and we can subdivide or combine these in whatever ways we find convenient (minutes, decades, summer, winter, etc.).

But what about the “signs”? Although this is a controversial question, certain ancient Jewish scholars believed that God named the stars and their groupings (Isaiah 40:26; Job 38:31-32; etc.) and then revealed their prophetic meanings to patriarchs Seth and Enoch in order to record His great plan and purpose in creation permanently in the heavens. If so, it is no longer needed, since the written Word of God, “for ever… settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), has now been transmitted “unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1) and “shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). HMM

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March 5, 2020
David's Son
“He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.” (2 Samuel 7:13-14)

These verses comprise the heart of the great “Davidic Covenant” made by God with David and his “seed.” As with many Old Testament prophecies, it had both an immediate and ultimate fulfillment. Initially, it applied to Solomon, who did, indeed, “build an house for my name.” Its complete fulfillment, however, had to await the distant coming (a thousand years in the future for His first coming) of David’s greater Son, the Messiah. It was only of Him that God could promise uniquely that He would also be the Son of the heavenly Father (Hebrews 1:5). To His mother, Mary, the angel Gabriel confirmed the Davidic promise: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

But before his eternal throne could be established, his iniquities must be judged. As far as Solomon was concerned, his iniquities ultimately cut his own seed off from the throne. “The seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3) came through Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:23-31).

Although Jesus Christ “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), “he was bruised for our iniquities,” because “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” He deserved no chastening; nevertheless, “the chastisement of our peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

Thereby the Lord Jesus Christ, “greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42), is indeed “a son over his own house; whose house are we” (Hebrews 3:6). HMM

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March 6, 2020
Holidays
“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.” (Colossians 2:16)

This is the only verse in the New Testament that has any reference to holidays (at one time considered “holy days”). However, the Greek word so translated does occur there quite often, being rendered elsewhere always by its correct meaning of “feasts.”

Such “holy days” in the Old Testament economy normally required “no servile work” to be done on those days and were usually associated with a special “feast” of some deep spiritual significance. They certainly were not holidays in the modern sense, devoted mostly to pleasure.

In fact, it is perhaps significant that neither holidays nor vacations are mentioned in the Bible at all. The weekly Sabbath “rest” day is, of course, frequently emphasized. One day in seven has always been observed as a day to rest from labor and to remember our Creator. However, the other six days were to be spent working. Many can still remember when the norm was a six-day workweek.

Not so now. Many complain about even a five-day week, and “T.G.I.F.” is a common feeling as the “weekend” approaches. “Labor” Day is now a day mainly for fun, but it might be a good day for Christians to thank God for the privilege of work and doing that work “heartily, as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). Our work, whatever it may be, can become a real testimony for (or, sadly, against) the Lord whom we profess to serve.

In the ages to come, there will still be work to do for the Lord. In that day, it is promised that “his servants shall serve him” (Revelation 22:3). Therefore, we should be “abounding in the work of the Lord” right now. It will not be “in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). HMM

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March 13, 2020
The Beginning of Creation
“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6)

These words of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to settle once and for all, for those who take His words seriously, the controversial question of the age of the earth. The earth was created essentially at the same time, He said, as the creation of Adam and Eve. Christ was quoting from Genesis 1:27: “male and female created He them.” This greatest of God’s creative works was “from the beginning of the creation,” not 13 billion years after the beginning of the creation, as modern old-earth advocates allege.

One can understand why atheists believe in evolution and an almost infinitely old universe, for they really have no other alternative. One who believes in a personal God, on the other hand, only dishonors God if he believes such humanistic speculations rather than God’s Word. God is omniscient and omnipotent, as well as loving and merciful, and He would never do anything like this. The great ages assumed by evolutionary geologists supposedly involved billions of years of suffering and dying by billions of animals before man ever evolved. Surely this would have been the most inefficient, wasteful, and cruel method that ever could have been devised for “creating” human beings. Since man’s creation was God’s main purpose, there is no conceivable reason why He would waste billions of years in such a meaningless charade as this before getting to the point. In fact, the only reason He took six days instead of an instant of time was to serve as a pattern for man’s workweek (Exodus 20:8-11).

In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ was not only a creationist but was Himself the Creator of all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; etc.). Therefore, He is the best possible witness as to when He created man and woman, and He said it was “from the beginning of the creation”! HMM

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March 14, 2020
Cities Set on a Hill
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew 5:14)

Cities in ancient times were often built on a hill, and this was especially important for those six cities in Israel that had been designated as cities of refuge. They were located, geographically, so that no one in Israel was more than a day’s journey from one of them—accessible to all who might need to flee to one for refuge some day. These were designated as havens, “that the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood” (Joshua 20:3).

“And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh” (Joshua 20:7-8). The first three cities are specifically said to be on mountains. On the east of Jordan, Ramoth was on Mount Gilead, Golan on the Golan Heights east of the Sea of Galilee, and Bezer apparently on the high tablelands east of the Dead Sea. Thus, all could be seen from a great distance, even at night, by its watch fires. Their strategic locations were a comfort to the accidental killer as he fled for his life from an avenger of blood.

The cities of refuge were a type of Christ, to whom we “have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). He is, to us, a strong city set on a hill, ready to receive all who come to Him in faith. He called Himself “the light of the world” (John 8:12), but then He also said that those who now have His light must also serve as lights—as cities on a hill that those who see them may “glorify [their] Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). HMM

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March 17, 2020
The Unjust Steward
“And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8)

This parable of the unjust steward has perplexed many Christians, for it seems to indicate that the Lord approved of dishonesty. “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (v. 9) also seems to contradict verse 13, when He said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

The apparent contradiction vanishes, however, when we realize Christ was not commending the dishonesty of the steward, but his acute business sense and concern for the future. Neither does the Lord approve of greed or covetousness, but He does exhort believers to be as prudent in investing their money for the eternal future as shrewd worldlings are in feathering their earthly nests. Sad to say, it is common experience that, by this measure, “the children of this world” do conduct their affairs “in this generation” far more shrewdly than “the children of light.” Even more sadly, the latter often even try to follow the example of the ungodly in “laying up for themselves treasures upon earth,” rather than “treasures in heaven” (see Matthew 6:19-20).

The Lord would exhort us, on the other hand, to use our money (“the mammon of unrighteousness”) to make true friends, “that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:9). The “unjust steward” was trying to insure his own earthly future, hoping to make temporal friends by bribing them with money that was not even his own.

How much wiser it is for us to use whatever money the Lord has entrusted to us to make true friends, helping to bring them to Christ and building them up in the faith. Then, when we “fail” from this life, we shall enjoy their fellowship and gratitude in the “everlasting habitations” of eternity. HMM

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March 22, 2020
Holy Things
“If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD.” (Leviticus 5:15)

The “shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:17) in the Old Testament focuses on physical items and places that were considered especially holy and dedicated.
 

• Holy place (Exodus 26:33-34)
• Holy altar (Exodus 29:37)
• Holy sacrifices (Exodus 29:33-34)
• Holy garments (Exodus 28:2-4)
• Holy ointment (Exodus 30:31-37)
• Holy vessels (1 Chronicles 22:19)

In the New Testament, however, the “holy things” were focused on the eternal and spiritual holiness that was merely “shadowed” by the earlier ceremonies. Our “holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9) is granted through our “holy faith” (Jude 1:20). God has designed us to become “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

While we serve the Lord on this earth, we are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), expecting that the Lord will make us “to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men.… To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13).

Jerusalem on Earth, destroyed and rebuilt throughout history, is the prototype of “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven” wherein “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2-3). HMM III

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March 23, 2020
Heaven Opened
“And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” (John 1:51)

In Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:12), angels were ascending and descending on a great ladder between Earth and heaven. Christ promised a future reality in which He Himself would be the ladder to the opened heaven.

But that was to be “hereafter.” Until Christ came to die and rise again, heaven was closed, for nothing unclean could enter there, and death had “passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Even those who died in faith could only be “comforted” in “Abraham’s bosom” deep “in the heart of the earth” (Luke 16:22, 25; Matthew 12:40), because “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

Then Christ died and rose again “to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). In His spirit, “he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth,” and “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:8-9), leading all pre-Calvary saints with Him into heaven. Then was fulfilled the wonderful scene predicted in Psalm 24:7: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”

Since that wonderful day when Christ ascended back to heaven, “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Heaven someday will even receive our resurrected bodies. John prophesied it this way: “I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice…said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Revelation 4:1). Heaven thenceforth will be open eternally to all the redeemed. “The gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:25). HMM

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March 24, 2020
Building-Vine-Body
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

There are three wonderful figures in the New Testament that depict the relationship of the individual believer to all other believers and to Christ Himself. Christians are like little branches in the great vine, which is Christ. They are stones in a great building of which He is the foundation and cornerstone. They are all members of the great body of which He is the head. In each case, they have been placed “in Christ,” and they derive all life and meaning from Him.

As a stone lying alone on the ground is useless and ugly, so would be a professing Christian who is not truly in Christ. But we, “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5) as “the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Similarly, a branch without its vine and roots is lifeless. Jesus said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The members of a body are functionless without the head to direct them. “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (1 Corinthians 12:18), and it is intended that we “may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together…maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

Outside of Christ, we are useless, and lifeless, and without direction. In Him, we become a beautiful temple, a fruitful vine, and a strong body. HMM

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March 25, 2020
Holy Goodness
“[Barnabus] was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” (Acts 11:24)

The Holy Spirit indwells all believers (1 Corinthians 1:22; 6:19, etc.) and the fruit of the Spirit includes “goodness” (Galatians 5:22) among eight other godly traits. One should therefore expect those empowered by the Spirit (Romans 15:19) to demonstrate holy goodness.

How does holy goodness manifest itself in people?

• Good people delight in God’s holiness (Psalm 37:23).
• Good people expect God’s blessing (Proverbs 12:2).
• Good people secure their children (Proverbs 13:22).
• Good people are satisfied with life (Proverbs 14:14).
• Good people love wisdom (Matthew 12:35).
• Good people are just people (Luke 23:50).
• Good people are full of faith (Acts 11:24).

Our Lord Jesus made it clear that the “fruits” borne by our lives provide the identification of our spiritual status (Matthew 7:20) for all to see.

The parables of the “talents” and the “pounds” (Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27) teach two different applications of the same principle.

In the one case, the same amount was given to everyone and reward was based on how well each did with their resources.

In the other case, different resources were granted to each, and the reward was distributed in proportion to the faithful use of what was initially given.

In both cases, the “unfaithful” and “lazy” servant was castigated and his initial wealth confiscated. No man “having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Good people are productive people. HMM III

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March 31, 2020
Power from Grace
“And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33)

The apostle Peter observed that believers are to be ministering our “gift” to one another as “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). The words for “gift” and “grace” are very closely related. “Grace” is the most frequent translation for the Greek word charis, and charisma is most often rendered “gift.”

“The working of his mighty power” (Ephesians 1:19) appears to be “the manifestation of the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:7) displayed among God’s people by means of the gifts that the Holy Spirit has graced us with. Paul’s ability to minister was “according to the gift of the grace of God given unto [him, Paul] by the effectual working of his power” (Ephesians 3:7).

Thus, when we preach the gospel, we are using “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). When our lives radically change in response to the “new man” created in us by God, we do so by “the grace of our Lord” that is “exceeding abundant with faith and love” (1 Timothy 1:14). When we access the strength to rise above our infirmities or difficult circumstances, we experience that the Lord’s “grace is sufficient for thee…. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11). HMM III