From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Morning ...
Hebrews 13:13
Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp.
Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer without the gate. The
Christian's reason for leaving the camp of the world's sin and religion is not
because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple
must follow his Master. Christ was "not of the world:" His life and His
testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world. Never was
such overflowing affection for men as you find in Him; but still He was
separate from sinners. In like manner Christ's people must "go forth unto Him."
They must take their position "without the camp," as witness-bearers for the
truth. They must be prepared to tread the straight and narrow path. They must
have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ first, and His truth
next, and Christ and His truth beyond all the world. Jesus would have His
people "go forth without the camp" for their own sanctification. You cannot
grow in grace to any high degree while you are conformed to the world. The life
of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and
though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle,
yet it is a happy life after all. No joy can excel that of the soldier of
Christ: Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment,
that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in
their hours of rest. The highway of holiness is the highway of communion. It is
thus we shall hope to win the crown if we are enabled by divine grace
faithfully to follow Christ "without the camp." The crown of glory will follow
the cross of separation. A moment's shame will be well recompensed by eternal
honour; a little while of witness-bearing will seem nothing when we are "for
ever with the Lord."
Luke 16:16-17
(16) The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of
God is preached, and every man presseth into it. (17) And it is easier for
heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
It is helpful to realize that at its establishment on earth the Kingdom of God
will be ruling over unconverted people who have just passed through the most
horrific period of tribulation in the history of mankind. These people will
need guidance from absolutely trustworthy standards.
No nation, not even the Kingdom of God, can govern human beings without laws.
There must be standards of conduct for citizens to follow, or chaos and anarchy
will result as each person does what seems right in his own eyes ( Judges
21:25). But "God is not the author of confusion but of peace" ( I Corinthians
14:33). His Kingdom will be peaceful and orderly because people will be led to
submit themselves voluntarily to His rule of law-His commandments.
Unfortunately, many believe that the commandments are done away, having been
replaced by love. This can easily lead a person to believe the opposite of what
is true regarding the commandments. People have a strong tendency to think of
them in terms of restrictive bondage, whereas love is perceived as liberating.
The apostle John says, however, that the commandments of God are love and not
grievous ( I John 5:3).
What does Jesus teach? In Matthew 22:36, He was asked, "Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the law?" His reply is instructive:
Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets." (
Matthew 22:37-40)
Notice that both of the two Great Commandments encompass love. The first four
of the Ten Commandments show man how to love God, and the second group of six
shows man how to love fellow man. The commandments remove love from being
merely an emotion and reveal how to apply love practically. As one commentator
stated, "Love is what you do."
It was Jesus, as God of the Old Testament, who gave to ancient Israel God's
laws in their codified form from Mount Sinai. When He became a man, what did He
teach in reference to these very commandments?
» "If you love Me, keep My commandments." ( John 14:15)
» "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who
loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to
him." ( John 14:21)
» "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and
we will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does
not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who
sent Me." ( John 14:23-24)
The apostle James calls the Ten Commandments "the royal law," meaning it came
from a King and is worthy of His Kingdom ( James 2:8-12).
God has never done away with His Ten Commandments, and they never shall be done
away. They will be lived by all those given eternal life forever. They will
also be the basic law of those possessing mortal life when Jesus returns. From
God's commandments, all laws governing every aspect of a moral life will be
drawn and applied in their spirit. Their standards will be the rule of law
against which people's lives will be guided and judged.
John W. Ritenbaugh
>From Is the Christian Required To Do Works? (Part Five)
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Morning ...
Luke 23:33
The place which is called Calvary.
The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built
with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the
riven rock-riven by the spear which pierced His side. No scene in sacred
history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary's tragedy.
"Is it not strange, the darkest hour
That ever dawned on sinful earth,
Should touch the heart with softer power,
For comfort, than an angel's mirth?
That to the Cross the mourner's eye should turn,
Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?"
Light springs from the midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the
field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that
place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure
as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind. You who have
had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you
ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane,
Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of
Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of
Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and th e groans of Calvary yields
us comfort rare and rich. We never should have known Christ's love in all its
heights and depths if He had not died; nor could we guess the Father's deep
affection if He had not given His Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all
sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of
the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must
not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He
who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die.
Psalms 81:1-4
(1) Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of
Jacob. (2) Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with
the psaltery. (3) Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed,
on our solemn feast day. (4) For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of
the God of Jacob.
We need to be aware of a danger inherent in festival times: that our
pursuit of joy does not obscure more important elements. Psalm 81 is a festival
psalm, and these verses bid us to enjoy God's feasts fully.
God commands us to rejoice in His feasts ( Deuteronomy 14:26), but Psalm
81:8-10 cautions us to remember certain things so that their real purpose is
not lost in an unthinking keeping of that command:
Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will
listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship
any foreign god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
God knows that even among His people, human frailty can misuse festival
occasions, for they seem to beckon us to play. Relaxation and merriment tend to
become the sole interest. Yet the greater the gaiety, the more obscure God's
intent for the feasts become, and their spiritual value diminishes. God reminds
us of the meaning of our songs of praise lest our joy becomes gaiety, gaiety
becomes hilarity, hilarity becomes revelry, and revelry becomes debauchery. Our
God-produced joy is lost.
"Listen to Me while you rejoice," God says. "Stay completely clear of
idolatry and remember I am the God who freed you from your bondage. Open your
mouth and I will feed you!" When we follow God's prescription, He will feed us
so that we experience real joy and satisfaction. God removes the burdens that
make true rejoicing a reality. He continues, "I would feed you with the finest
of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you" (verse 16). He
makes it plain that real joy lies in the quality of our relationship with Him!
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
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