Days of Praise

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October 29, 2019
True Christian Fellowship
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:6)

This one-chapter epistle of Paul to his friend Philemon is essentially a personal request by Paul that Philemon forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and receive him back into “the church in thy house” as a new Christian, recently won to Christ (vv. 2, 10, 15-16). Our text is Paul’s prayer for Philemon and is similar to prayers by him for other believers (e.g., Colossians 1:9-10). It is an appropriate prayer on behalf of any fellow Christian. Its emphasis is on the blessings and responsibilities of true fellowship.

The “communication” of which Paul speaks is the Greek word koinonia, meaning “fellowship.” That is, genuine Christian faith involves a sharing of one’s life with others of “like precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1). That fellowship becomes “effectual” (literally, “full of power,” from the Greek energes, “energizing”) only through recognizing and appreciating all the blessings we have received through Christ.

Paul pointed out that he himself should be counted as a “partner” with Philemon (v. 17). Here the Greek is koinonos, practically the same as koinonia. Both Philemon, the wealthy Colossian master, and Onesimus, his runaway bondservant, were Paul’s spiritual children (v. 19), so they all theoretically shared “every good thing” in fellowship through Christ. Thus, Paul offered to repay anything Onesimus had stolen or any other losses, should Philemon so insist (vv. 18-19).

The demands of Christian fellowship thus might cost Onesimus his freedom, Paul his helper, and Philemon his property. True fellowship is not mere Christian socializing. It is the sharing of love and concern, time and talents, possessions and even life itself, as need and circumstance demand, with others in the household of faith. HMM

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October 31, 2019
My King of Old
“The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:16-17)

The 74th Psalm is a sad lamentation over the apparent triumph of the enemies of God, but its central verse is a beautiful statement of faith: “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth” (Psalm 74:12). Then, in support of his faith, the psalmist remembers the mighty creative acts of God in ancient times, giving assurance that He could, indeed, work salvation in these present times.

Those who believe that man is the measure of all things, sufficient unto himself, ignore how dependent all people are on God’s provisions. The very rotation of the earth, with its cycle of day and night, has set the basic rhythm of biological life, and it was God—not man—who “divided the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4).

There is even the testimony in Genesis that God “prepared the light” before He prepared the sun (Genesis 1:3, 14), thus rebuking all those who later would worship the sun as the source of the earth and life.

God also “set all the borders [or ‘boundaries’] of the earth.” This refers both to the emergence of the continental land masses after the Flood and then also to the enforced scattering of the peoples from Babel into all the world, when He “determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).

He has even made “summer and winter, and day and night [that] shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). God did all this—not man! Evolutionary humanism is futile foolishness, and one day soon God will answer the cry of the psalmist: “Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily” (Psalm 74:22). HMM

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November 1, 2019
Fear of the Lord
“Then had the churches rest . . . and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31)

There is something of a paradox in this requirement to “fear the Lord.” On the one hand, we “have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear” but have received “the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15). On the other hand, we are told to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Our text insists that we are to be “walking in the fear of the Lord.” Obviously, the context illustrates a lifestyle of godly behavior that is produced by our attitude toward God’s sovereign majesty and unique holiness as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. We should “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:9).

It is clear that the “beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), the “beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), and the “instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33) are founded in the fear of the Lord. It is also clear that the fear of the Lord is that which mimics God’s hatred of “evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward [perverse] mouth” (Proverbs 8:13).

But the one who fears the Lord also knows “strong confidence” (Proverbs 14:26) and has an unwavering satisfaction in his or her life (Proverbs 19:23). Indeed, such godly fear promises to prolong our days (Proverbs 10:27) and to be a “fountain of life” that keeps us from the “snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

Knowledge of God should produce a “godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve in the Kingdom—fear of His power and holiness and omniscience—yet also provide a steadfast rest in the knowledge that we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), gifted not with timidity, but with a spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). HMM III

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November 2, 2019
Guard Your Heart
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

The Hebrew word nasar, here translated “keep,” carries the strong idea of protection or guarding. It is used 10 times in Psalm 119 to stress the necessity of “keeping” (guarding, protecting) the various kinds of instructions in God’s Word: “testimonies, statutes, laws, precepts, and commandments.” Everything written down by God is worth guarding.

In our text, the importance of guarding our hearts is emphasized since it is the source for the “issues of life.” Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Our “heart” is indeed the key to much in our life.

It is no wonder that the first commandment of all is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30).

Here are a few important principles that we must guard if our hearts are to produce the good “issues of life.”

• If we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13).
• We must believe with our hearts if we are to be saved (Romans 10:9; Hebrews 11:6).
• If we hold on to iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2).
• If our hearts do not condemn us, then we will have confidence with God (1 John 3:21).

“He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2) will live forever with the Lord of heaven and earth. HMM III

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November 3, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: True Character Revealed
“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.” (Mark 14:3)

A few days before Passover, after the Lord Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus returned to Bethany with His close friends. Simon the leper offered his house as a gathering place (John 12:1; Mark 14:3; Matthew 26:6). We are not told who Simon was, but he might have been the only one of the 10 lepers who had been cleansed who actually came back to thank the Lord (Luke 17:17). This supper was a chance for Simon to show his appreciation for the Lord’s ministry.

Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were at the dinner. Martha was serving. She had been gently admonished by Jesus sometime back (Luke 10:41-42), yet she still held to what was familiar to her, giving what she knew to give—her personal service to the Lord.

Mary, on the other hand, took “a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. . . . Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, [said,] Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (John 12:3-5). This may be a hint of Judas’ family. If he is Simon the leper’s son, then we are shown a huge disparity between the father, now healed, and a bitter son who “was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (v. 6).

Martha, the servant; Mary, the generous disciple; Simon, the grateful host; and Judas, the bitter thief—all followers of the Lord on the surface. One, however, is not present to learn or to fellowship, but to advance his own agenda. HMM III

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November 4, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: Taxes and Tithes
“Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17)

In His last week of earthly ministry, Jesus confronted efforts by religious leaders to discredit His teaching. Furthermore, they wanted to catch Him in such a clear violation of public policy that the Roman government would imprison Him and silence the impact He was having on the population of Jerusalem.

Matthew records the question asked by the corrupt scribes and teachers, but Jesus knew it didn’t reflect their real intentions. They flattered Him with platitudes about seeking truth, but they really wanted an excuse to not pay taxes and a way to accuse Jesus of rebellion against Rome.

“But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:18-21).

Both sides of this debate are brought up in churches today. Some would deny the government the right to tax its citizens to support policies that are not moral (abortion) or to pay for unjust wars (Vietnam, etc.). Jesus said that “Caesar” has the right to demand tribute whether or not we agree with its use.

Others insist that since the law is no longer in force under the New Covenant, our giving is not mandated, and the “tithe” amounts to whatever the conscience deems appropriate. Jesus told the Jewish leaders they ought to tithe all they were prospered by but not leave the “weightier” issues alone (Matthew 23:23). On this matter, we are to pay taxes to our Caesar and our tithe to God as commanded. HMM III

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November 5, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: The God of the Living
“And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?” (Mark 12:26)

The Sadducees were the “liberal” party of Judah’s leaders. They wanted to expose Jesus as an unscholarly and unskilled teacher who was unable to answer difficult theological issues. They did not believe in any form of resurrection, so they concocted a story about a woman who had been widowed seven times. Mosaic law demanded that a brother of the deceased husband marry the widow and name the firstborn son after the husband who died “that his name be not put out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:6).

This fictitious story was designed to trap Jesus in an unsolvable problem. The Sadducees said, “Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore . . . whose wife of shall she be of them?” (Mark 12:22-23). They got much more than they sought. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:29-30).

Two major doctrines are clarified by Jesus’ response. “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).

The proof of the resurrection rests on the tense of the Greek verb “to be.” Scripture is accurate and authoritative even to the minute detail of verb tenses. HMM III

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November 6, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: The Great Commandment
“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:35-37)

The Pharisees had come together to test how well Jesus understood the Mosaic law. They wanted Him to verify what the greatest law was since they prided themselves on knowing all there was to know about the law. After quickly and correctly quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus then quoted Leviticus 19:18: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:39-40).

When the Pharisees were quiet, Jesus asked them: “What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42). The Pharisees strongly promoted the false idea that the Messiah would come from the line of King David to put down the Roman rule and establish again the Davidic kingdom. This was critical to prove from the genealogical records the Jewish right to rule Jerusalem. The Pharisees immediately said to Him, “The son of David.”

Quoting Psalm 110:1, Jesus asked them: “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The LORD [Yahweh] said unto my Lord [Adonai], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matthew 22:43-45). This play on the Hebrew words in the psalm makes the Lord Jesus not the “son” of David but the Lord and Master of David.

In His earlier interaction with the Sadducees, Jesus silenced them with a single word (“am”). Again, He used just a single word (“Lord”) to answer the Pharisees. HMM III

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November 7, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: Hypocritical Religious Leaders
“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

Jesus condemned both the Pharisees and Sadducees for the same problem, though the two groups were very different. The Pharisees were like the legalists of our day and the Sadducees like the liberals. Both camps claimed to believe in inspiration and prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture.

However, both groups were focused on power and authority rather than on the teachings of Scripture. There was no desire to honor the Creator and be agents of witness. The Pharisees developed a vast system of rules to force their followers to behave in a certain way. The Sadducees sought favor with the Roman officials. Jesus’ opinion of them was clear.

• Matthew 23:15: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
• Luke 11:52: “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

Their error was consciously twisting the truth of God with interpretations that distorted the message of Scripture. The Pharisees added extra requirements that were “burdens grievous to be borne” (Luke 11:46). The Sadducees denied the glorious hope of the resurrection, denying a core principle of the gospel. As Paul pointed out to the Corinthians, that false doctrine would make “all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). May God keep us from such confusion. HMM III

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November 8, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: Gifts from Fools and Blind Leaders
“Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?. . . whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?” (Matthew 23:17, 19)

The temple was the center of the Old Covenant. The Levite’s income and temple’s upkeep were derived from an elaborate system of tithes and other offerings defined in Leviticus.

By the time the Lord Jesus entered His ministry on Earth, the regulations God initiated had been turned into an intricate web of demands designed to coerce people to give. Jesus confronted the leaders and exposed their wickedness.

• Matthew 23:23: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
• Matthew 23:27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”
• Luke 11:43: “Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.”
• Luke 11:46: “Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”

This kind of hypocrite seeks his name in a bulletin, a plaque on a wall, a brick in a walkway, or a wing in a hospital or museum, and is indifferent to the quiet background work of ministry that embraces judgment, mercy, and faith. The Lord regards the condition of the heart far more than the deed. HMM III

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November 9, 2019
Messages from the Messiah's Life: Warnings on Prayer
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matthew 6:5)

Our Lord sometimes contrasted the habits of the religious leaders of His day with that which was expected of His followers. On this occasion, Jesus warned that prayer to the Father in heaven was never to be performed publicly to impress men but rather to be privately presented to the Father seeking His blessing and reward.

Nor are we to use “vain repetitions, as the heathen do,” expecting to be heard for the “much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). Many religions use prayer wheels, hypnotic chants, or formatted prayer rituals to expedite the process.

“Vain repetitions” is the translation of battologeo, which means “to stammer” or to “repeat endlessly.” Paul told Timothy that he must “shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16) and to “refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

The widow whose “continual coming” wearied the unjust judge (Luke 18:2-5) is not to be used as an example to constantly repeat prayers, as is often incorrectly suggested. But rather, “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). It may seem like we are repeating the same things in our prayers over and over again. Yet, we are instructed to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). HMM III

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November 14, 2019
Make Your Calling Sure
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)

Although the calling of God is solely by His grace apart from works (2 Timothy 1:9), and although “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29), it is quite possible for a person to believe mistakenly that he has been called, and so Peter urges each professing Christian to make sure of his calling.

In the first place, one who is truly called will love God (Romans 8:28), and such love should not be superficial but with the whole heart and soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). One who is called should “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:1-2). If our lives fail such tests, we should at least “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

God’s call is not only unto salvation, of course, but to a particular service for His glory. Some like Paul were “called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). Many in Paul’s day were actually called to be slaves: “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayst be made free, use it rather. For he that is called to the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. . . . Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God” (1 Corinthians 7:20-22, 24).

Even the apostle Paul, however, could still say (and so should we), “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). We need, first of all, to make our “calling and election sure.” HMM

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November 20, 2019
God's Story
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” (1 Corinthians 15:1)

The word “gospel” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “god-spel,” meaning “God-story.” The Greek word is euaggelion, from which we get our word “evangel,” and it means literally “a good message” or “good messenger.” The prefix eu or ev means “good,” and aggelion means “messenger.” Thus, the gospel is the great story of God that is to be preached as by an angel dispatched from God. The word normally is used in the sense of “good news” or “glad tidings,” but this good message is specifically God’s story, sent to lost men from a loving, caring, and saving God.

As our text says, it is a message to be “declared” by its messenger, then “received” (literally “once and for all”) by its hearers. It is the message “by which also ye are saved” (v. 2) and “wherein ye stand.” Then, verses 3 and 4 declare the very heart of what is to be received and believed—the substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is a dynamic gospel—“the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16) for every true believer.

It is a “glorious gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:4) through which Christ “hath brought life and immortality to light” (2 Timothy 1:10). It is the “gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15) and brings “the fullness of the blessing” (Romans 15:29).

Its duration is “everlasting” (Revelation 14:6), and its foundation is the primeval making of “heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7) by Christ Himself (Colossians 1:16). The apostle Paul gravely warns against “any other gospel” than this gospel that he had preached (Galatians 1:8-9). This gospel, this glad story of God’s grace in creation and salvation, is to be preached “to every creature” (Mark 16:15). HMM

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November 24, 2019
Our Weapons
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 10:3)

This verse introduces a famous apologetic charge to the saints. The key to the whole passage is the qualifier “we do not war after the flesh.”

We must conduct war with non-flesh weapons, since “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Fleshly wisdom (2 Corinthians 1:12) often is nothing more than a “snare of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:26) and may well spoil us if we are not very careful (Colossians 2:8).

The objective, of course, is to bring every intellectual argument captive to the truth of Scripture. This is done by the pulling down of strongholds and “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This warfare, if not done according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 1:17), is “mighty through God” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Nowhere in these verses is there permission or an implied need to learn the thoughts of the enemy before we can bring them into captivity. Biblical data insist that the flesh has “no good thing” (Romans 7:18) and cannot understand the things of God. The weapons we have are not fleshly (i.e., natural thinking, natural emotion, human reasoning, etc.). Our weapons (Ephesians 6) are the “sword of the Spirit” (offensive) and the “shield of faith” (defensive), and we’re protected by the full armor of God—praying always. It is not possible to learn all the subtle arguments of the enemy. What is possible, however, is a knowledge of the truth through our having the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) that will make us sufficient for “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). HMM III

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November 25, 2019
Things We Can't Do Without
“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12)

There are many things in this world that we can easily get along without, but some that are absolutely essential: First of all, we need Christ. Otherwise we are like the Gentiles described in our text—“without Christ . . . having no hope, and without God in the world.”

Secondly, if we were ever to be saved, Christ must shed His blood for our sins, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). In order for His death to be effective for our salvation, He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Before Christ’s work actually becomes effective in our personal salvation, it must be believed and received by faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). This faith must be true faith, which transforms the life, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). Works do not bring salvation, but saving faith brings “things that accompany salvation” (Hebrews 6:9).

Among those things that accompany salvation is holiness, “without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Another is the privilege of chastisement! Our heavenly Father must deal with His errant children in loving discipline. Otherwise, “if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye . . . not sons” (Hebrews 12:8).

There are thus seven things we cannot do without. We cannot do without Christ, without the shedding of His blood, without His sinlessness, without faith in Him, without works for Him, without holiness unto Him, and without chastisement by Him. He said, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). But with Him, we have everything. HMM

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November 27, 2019
Wonderful Words of Life
“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.” (Psalm 119:129)

Modern liberals may ridicule Bible-believing Christians as bibliolaters, but the fact is that it is not possible to place the Bible on too high a pedestal. “Thy testimonies are wonderful,” the psalmist says, for “his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor” (Isaiah 9:6), whose testimonies they are.

Consider just how wonderful are the Scriptures. They were written in the heart of God even before the creation. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). Then, “at sundry times and in divers manners,” this eternal Word of God was conveyed to men, as God “spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). Finally, it was complete, and the last of the prophets concluded it with an all-embracing warning: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Revelation 22:18-19). Critics who tamper with the words of the Bible are on dangerous ground, the psalmist said: “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Eternal in the past; inviolable in the present; forever in the future! All we shall ever need for our guidance is to be found in God’s wonderful testimonies: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. . . . That the man of God may be perfect” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

It is not possible to have too high a view of Scripture, “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2). HMM

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November 29, 2019
Our Listening God
“O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.” (Psalm 65:2)

There come times in each life when loneliness overshadows like a cloud, and no one is there to listen and provide counsel. Or perhaps there is some problem so personal and intimate that it seems unfitting or too embarrassing to share with anyone else.

But God will listen! No need is so small, no place too remote, no burden too heavy that He who is the “God of all grace” and “the God of all comfort” (1 Peter 5:10; 2 Corinthians 1:3) will not listen and care. “The LORD will hear when I call unto him” (Psalm 4:3).

Young people sometimes complain that their parents won’t listen to them; wives may say their husbands don’t listen; sometimes it seems that no one will listen to our questions or ideas about anything. But “the LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Psalm 145:18). Therefore, “pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).

But how can He listen? After all, God is far away upon His throne. The risen Savior ascended far above all heavens to sit down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. How can the Father hear when we whisper a prayer in our hearts that no human could hear?

God is indeed up there, but He is also right here! Jesus said: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). Our God is a triune God, and He can be both in heaven and in our room and even, as the Holy Spirit, within our very hearts. Of course, “if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). But for those who confess and forsake their sins, “his ears are open unto their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). HMM

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December 1, 2019
White as Snow
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9)

In this amazing vision of the everlasting God on His fiery judgment throne, we find one of the six occurrences in the Bible of the fascinating phrase “white as snow.” As the symbol of holiness, pure white finds its clearest natural expression in the beautiful snow when it has freshly covered the ground.

Twice the phrase is used to describe the cleansing of a guilty sinner by the grace of God. David, after confessing his own sin, prayed: “Have mercy upon me, O God. . . . Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. . . . wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:1-2, 7). Then, God promises through His prophet: “Come now, and let us reason together, . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). The cleansing blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, is the only substance that can turn blood-red scarlet into snowy white.

When Christ ascended the Mount of Transfiguration, “his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow” (Mark 9:3), which confirmed to the three disciples that He was the Son of God, even as the voice from heaven had said (Matthew 17:5). At the empty tomb following His resurrection, “the angel of the Lord” also had “raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). Finally, when John saw Christ in His glorified body, he testified that “his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow” (Revelation 1:14).

It is marvelous that the raiment of the angel of God, the transfigured Christ, and the Ancient of days, as well as the head of Christ in His glory, are all described with the same phrase as the soul of one whose sins are forgiven! HMM

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December 3, 2019
Can It Be?
Christ also suffered for us. . . . Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)

Those who love good church music have come to love Charles Wesley’s commitment to and knowledge of his Savior and the Scriptures, for he wove into his music and poetry deep insights that challenge and thrill us even today. One of his hymns, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?,” has unfortunately been abridged in modern hymnals. The first verse is expressed:
 

And can it be that I should gain,
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him, to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That thou, my God, should’st die for me?

Even the Old Testament saints wondered why God loves man so. “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?” (Job 7:17). The New Testament contains many similar expressions of wonder. “Behold, what manner of love [literally ‘what a different kind of love’] the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. . . . And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:8-11).

The point is we were desperate sinners deserving His wrath. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love [i.e., ‘amazing love’] wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). JDM

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December 8, 2019
Hastening His Coming
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:12)

Exactly how can we “hasten unto the coming of the day of God”? The answer is by bringing its coming closer. In fact, the phrase can just as well be understood as “hastening the coming.”

Although the Scriptures give us many signs to know when Christ’s return is near, Jesus said that no one could determine the exact time—not even He Himself! “Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). In His self-limited human nature, He did not know because, apparently, it depended in some way on what His disciples would do to “hasten his coming” after He went back to heaven.

When He left them, He said: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This was a command, but it was also a prophecy: “Ye shall be witnesses” to the very last tribe on earth. In His Olivet discourse, He had said: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). Sometime, somehow, every tribe will be reached, because John, in his vision, saw a great multitude “of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” in heaven (Revelation 7:9).

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise” to return, but He does desire “that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), and we should “account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). No one but the Father knows just when the last convert from the last tribe will be won, but if we “love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8), we can “hasten his coming” by doing all we can to get the gospel to the ends of the earth. HMM

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December 11, 2019
Ministry of the Holy Spirit
“God . . . hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 4:8)

Every believer has some awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, if there is no such awareness, then there is absolutely no relationship with God (Romans 8:9). Just what, then, is the ministry of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives?

All who have come to God by faith have felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit prior to salvation. From the world’s perspective, that constitutes His ministry. The Holy Spirit is commissioned by Jesus Christ to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). Acting as God the Father’s operative Agent, the Holy Spirit draws us into a personal consciousness of our sin, Christ’s righteousness, and the absolute certainty of judgment to come.

This reproof has but one goal: to bring about regeneration (Titus 3:5) and give us witness that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). What is born from above (John 3:3) is nothing less than a “new creature” by the triune Godhead (2 Corinthians 5:17), created like God in “righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The Holy Spirit energizes our “dead” spirit and causes us to “live” (1 Peter 4:6).

And that is just the beginning! Once regenerated, the Holy Spirit sees to it, as the “Spirit of truth” (John 16:13), that we are led (Romans 8:14) into truth—because the Holy Spirit will not invent information but will take truth directly from the mind and heart of God.

With that leading, we are sanctified (both positionally and progressively), having been chosen to salvation (2 Thessalonians 2:13). With the Holy Spirit’s power (Acts 1:8), we can exhibit His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) and come under His filling (Ephesians 5:18). May the glorious ministry of the Holy Spirit be yours both as promised and in practice. HMM III

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December 12, 2019
Zechariah's Visions: Under the Myrtle Trees
“I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.” (Zechariah 1:8)

The Lord divulges 10 visions to Zechariah in one night. All of them are among myrtle trees in the “bottom” of a dark, mysterious, and somewhat eerie ravine near Jerusalem. The first vision reveals a man on a red horse responding to questions from the “angel of the LORD” and “the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 1:8-17).

It is likely that the angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnate form of Christ speaking to the First Person of the Godhead. Two other horsemen are cited, which ties these heavenly envoys to the four horsemen of Revelation and to the horsemen driving the four chariots revealed in Zechariah 6.

When Zechariah asks, “What are these?” (8:9), he is told that they are responsible to “walk to and fro” on Earth and inform the Godhead of their findings. On this specific occasion, they report that “the earth is at rest.” Immediately, the “angel of the LORD” asks the Lord of hosts how long He would wait to bring judgment on the nations that have abused Judah now that the 70 years have passed and the punishment of Israel and Judah has been accomplished.

The Lord gives “good and comfortable words,” noting that He was displeased with the nations who had carried out His judgment because they had done more damage than necessary. However, the Lord promises that He will return and build His house, restore Jerusalem to prominence, and “comfort Zion” (Zechariah 1:17).

The following visons outline the inexorable promises of God that will be fulfilled in the years to come. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). HMM III

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December 13, 2019
Zechariah's Visions: Horns and Carpenters
“Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 1:18-19)

Immediately after seeing the horsemen that were sent to determine the state of the earth, Zechariah observes four “horns” amid the myrtle trees. Zechariah is told they represent the authorities responsible for scattering the people of the two nations of Judah and Israel, destroying Jerusalem in the process as well.

The image of horns usually refers to empires in other passages of Scripture. The horns of the goats in Daniel 7 and 8 and the horns of the seven-headed dragon used in Revelation 13 and 17 are good examples. Zechariah may have understood this specific vision as a reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image recorded in Daniel 2. We would identify those horns as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. It is possible that the previous empires of Egypt and Assyria would have been included, but the context does not specify.

The purpose of this vision seems to lie in the task of the four carpenters that appear following the horns (Zechariah 1:20). The Hebrew could be better undersood by our words “craftsmen” or “artisans” since they were assigned the task to “fray [terrify] them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it” (Zechariah 1:21).

Even though human history seems to creep by, God will execute His plans for all nations. God’s sovereignty has “determined the times before appointed” (Acts 17:26), and He has often assured us that His Word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). HMM III

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December 14, 2019
Zechariah's Visions: Man's Attempt to Measure
“I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.” (Zechariah 2:1-2)

Seeing a human in the vision is a departure from the earlier visions of Zechariah. Each of the prior three visions included only angelic beings interacting with the Lord of hosts. Suddenly a man emerges holding a measuring rod, attempting to measure Jerusalem.

Immediately, a second angel is sent to the angel who has been explaining the visions to Zechariah, instructing him to “run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein” (Zechariah 2:4). Obviously, whatever time is anticipated by the vision, it is not the time of the present Jerusalem. God sees a vast Jerusalem that cannot be measured (Zechariah 14:8-11).

Not only will the city grow beyond historical memory, but the Lord “will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (Zechariah 2:5). No longer will Jerusalem be the pawn of other nations, no longer will she be subject to the whims of rival nations and competing religions. The Lord Himself will become a wall around her similar to the way God protected them as they fled from Egypt (Exodus 13:21-22).

Yet beyond even that wonderful promise, the Lord insists that “many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee” (Zechariah 2:11). Not only will God restore the city to prominence, but the nation itself will become the center of His global government. “Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation” (Zechariah 2:13). HMM III

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December 15, 2019
Zechariah's Visions: Joshua and the Branch
“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.” (Zechariah 3:1)

Joshua is pictured standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, who (as before) is the Second Person of the Godhead. Satan is there to “resist” (the same word) the angel of the Lord. “Satan” is a title—a noun to describe the character of an adversary. The Hebrew term satan appears 30 times in Scripture, sometimes applying to human adversaries as well as that chief angelic being.

In this vision, Joshua appears in “filthy” clothing unfit to come before the presence of the Lord—a picture of the human sinful condition (Psalm 14:2-3; Isaiah 64:6). But, since Joshua is a “brand plucked from the fire” by the Lord Himself (Zechariah 3:2), Joshua has the filthy garments taken away and a change of clothing given.

Suddenly, the scene shifts as the angel of the Lord announces the promise of the Lord of hosts: “I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day” (Zechariah 3:8-9).

Many previous prophetic promises must have passed through Zechariah’s mind as he heard these words. Jeremiah spoke of a “Branch of righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:15-16). Isaiah promised the son who would rule the world (Isaiah 9:6-7). Even Hanani the seer spoke of “the eyes of the LORD” that would “shew himself strong” (2 Chronicles 16:9). These visions were given to encourage the returning remnant (and us) to reset their focus on the timeless promises of the everlasting God. HMM III