From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Romans 8:30
Whom He did predestinate, them He also called.
In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these
words-"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling." Now, here is a
touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is "an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace." This
calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone
for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living
and true God. As He that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you
are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ's, you can
say, "Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me
to be holy." Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life
towards God, and His divine will? Again, in Philippians, 3:13, 14, we are told
of "The high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Is then your calling a high
calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it
elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant
tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we
find in Hebrews 3:1-"Partakers of the heavenly calling." Heavenly calling means
a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling
of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a
stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly
calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city
which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are
strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high,
heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling
wherewith God doth call His people.
Genesis 49:22-26
(22) Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose
branches run over the wall: (23) The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot
at him, and hated him: (24) But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is
the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) (25) Even by the God of thy father, who
shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of
heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts,
and of the womb: (26) The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the
blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:
they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that
was separate from his brethren.
Deuteronomy 33:13-17
(13) And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the
precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
(14) And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious
things put forth by the moon, (15) And for the chief things of the ancient
mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, (16) And for the
precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him
that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon
the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. (17) His glory
is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of
unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth:
and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of
Manasseh.
Probably the easiest peoples to identify are those descended from the
tribe of Joseph, that is, the peoples of Ephraim and Manasseh. The reason is
their wealth. Remember, God chose Ephraim and Manasseh to be the recipients of
the birthright blessing, as recorded in Genesis 48. As the "birthright" tribes,
Ephraim and Manasseh eventually received the great physical blessings God
mentions through Jacob in Genesis 49:22-26 and through Moses in Deuteronomy
33:13-17.
Ephraim, basically the Angles and Saxons, roamed around in Northern
Europe, eventually invading England in AD 449. In the course of time, some
Ephraimites migrated to Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and other
nations of the now-defunct British Empire. Ephraim grew to become that "company
of nations" God promised would descend from Jacob ( Genesis 35:11); more
particularly, the British peoples became that "multitude of nations" Jacob
prophesied would descend from Ephraim ( Genesis 48:19). The peoples of the
British Empire (and, later, the Commonwealth) are the "ten thousands of
Ephraim" who Moses, speaking of Ephraim and Manasseh together, said would "push
the peoples to the ends of the earth" ( Deuteronomy 33:17).
Britain grew slowly, protected by her geography and by the hand of God,
who, more than once miraculously saved her from destruction. Her power grew
slowly, as if by fits and starts. All that changed, however, in the early
1800s, when the 2,520-year punishment had reached its term. God was now
prepared to bestow the birthright blessings on Ephraim. After defeating the
French dictator Napoleon at Waterloo in AD 1815, Britain virtually redrew the
boundaries of Europe. Never before had a European nation wielded such
unquestioned control over the Continent as a whole-and got away with it for so
long.
Moses prophesied that Joseph would "push the peoples to the ends of the
earth" ( Deuteronomy 33:17). Push is exactly what England did, for the
birthright blessings included far more than domination over Europe. They
included economic (and in some cases, political and military) dominance over
much of the world. Answering the call of the "white man's burden," the British,
through its maritime supremacy, created a worldwide Empire an order of
magnitude larger than that of Rome. Her folk pushed to India, Africa, North
(and, to a lesser degree, South) America, China, Australia, New Zealand, and
various islands around the globe.
Britain's Empire came to include a number of African nations, some South
American ones, many Caribbean islands, as well as many of the islands of
Oceania-and, of course, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and India! Moreover,
Britain maintained a heavy economic influence over China for years. It was a
fact-the sun never set on the British Empire.
As time went by, Britain assumed control of a large number of "gates"
located in or near her enemies' territories, this in fulfillment of Genesis
22:17 and 24:60. These strategic positions placed her, geopolitically, on the
"top of the world," ensuring her of military and commercial hegemony. Here is a
partial list of these valuable gates:
» The Suez Canal
» The Straits of Hormuz (below Iran)
» The Straits of Gibraltar
» The Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Strait (off the Malay
Peninsula)
» The Falkland Islands (off Argentina)
» The Cape of Good Hope (at the southern tip of Africa)
» The Kabul Pass (a land gate in Afghanistan)
» The island nation of Malta (in the Mediterranean Sea)
Finally, Britain is ruled by a descendant of the Davidic monarchy. The
throne of David, according to the prophet Jeremiah, would rule over the "house
of Israel" ( Jeremiah 33:17), not over some Gentile peoples. David's
throne-overthrown ( Ezekiel 21:27) from Jerusalem to Ireland and later to
Scotland-now resides in England. Since God states that "the scepter shall not
depart from Judah" ( Genesis 49:10), sitting on that throne is a monarch who is
of the lineage of David. That monarch rules over Israelites, not Gentiles.
Charles Whitaker
From Searching for Israel (Part Ten): Clues and Answers
.
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Psalm 36:9
With Thee is the fountain of life.
There are times in our spiritual experience when human counsel or sympathy,
or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does our gracious God
permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living too much without Him,
and He therefore takes away everything upon which we have been in the habit of
depending, that He may drive us to Himself. It is a blessed thing to live at
the fountain head. While our skin-bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar
and Ishmael, to go into the wilderness; but when those are dry, nothing will
serve us but "Thou God seest me." We are like the prodigal, we love the
swine-troughs and forget our Father's house. Remember, we can make
swine-troughs and husks even out of the forms of religion; they are blessed
things, but we may put them in God's place, and then they are of no value.
Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God: even the brazen
serpent is to be despised as "Nehushtan," if we worship it instead of God. The
prodigal was never safer than when he was driven to his father's bosom, because
he could find sustenance nowhere else. Our Lord favours us with a famine in the
land that it may make us seek after Himself the more. The best position for a
Christian is living wholly and directly on God's grace-still abiding where he
stood at first-"Having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Let us never
for a moment think that our standing is in our sanctification, our
mortification, our graces, or our feelings, but know that because Christ
offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are complete in Him.
Having nothing of our own to trust to, but resting upon the merits of Jesus-His
passion and holy life furnish us with the only sure ground of confidence.
Beloved, when we are brought to a thirsting condition, we are sure to turn to
the fountain of life with eagerness.
Matthew 5:10-12
(10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile
you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake. (12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
This beatitude presents us with yet another paradox. The other beatitudes
show that a Christian can be filled with a joy that he cannot fully express,
yet lament over things that the carnal consider as insignificant. He has a deep
and abiding sense of satisfaction, yet groans daily and sincerely. His life
experiences are often painful, yet he would not part with them for the great
wealth, acclaim, and ease the world offers. Though the world exalts those
filled with pride, self-esteem, and assertiveness, God exalts the humble and
meek. The world displays its approval for war-makers by giving them ticker tape
parades, putting them into high office, and remembering their achievement by
naming streets, cities, parks, and schools after them-yet God blesses the
peacemakers. Understanding these earlier paradoxes among the Beatitudes, this
one states that all we will receive for doing well is to earn the antipathy of
fellow man.
We need to understand the connection between righteousness and
persecution because not every sufferer or even every sufferer of religious
persecution suffers for righteousness' sake. Many suffer persecution for
zealously holding fast to what is clearly a false religion. Often, a rival
religious group or civil authority-just as ignorant of God's truth-are the
persecutors. At any given time persecutions of one form or another are taking
place. In the recent past the Japanese persecuted the Koreans, the Chinese, and
the Nepalese. In Africa the Moslem Sudanese are persecuting "Christians," while
in Europe the Slavic Eastern Orthodox "Christians" are persecuting Moslem
Kosovars. In the history of man, this familiar beat of persecution continues
endlessly with nary a connection to righteousness.
Some people become victims of their own character flaws and personality
disorders. They foolishly take comfort in Matthew 5:10-12, claiming persecution
when others merely retaliate against their displays of evil speaking,
haughtiness, or self-centeredness. Such people are just reaping what they have
sown.
Psalm 119:172 says, "My tongue shall speak of Your word; for all Your
commandments are righteousness." This is a simple, straightforward definition
of righteousness. It is rectitude, right doing. God's commands thus describe
how to live correctly. They teach us how to conduct relationships with Him and
fellow man. This beatitude is written about those who are truly doing this.
They will receive persecution, and it will be because they are living
correctly-not because they have irritated or infuriated others through their
sins or because they belong to another political party, religion, or ethnic
group.
Does anything illustrate the perversity of human nature clearer than
this? We might think that one could hardly be more pleased than to have
neighbors who are absolutely trustworthy; who will not murder, commit adultery
or fornication, steal, lie, or covet one's possessions; who rear respectful
children; who are an asset to the neighborhood; who so respect God they will
not even use His name in vain; who submit to the civil laws and do not even
flaunt the codes and covenants of the neighborhood.
However, this description does not mention the relationship to God that
really brings the persecution. These are things moral people of this world
might do, yet they lack the true God in their lives and are not begotten of His
Spirit. An element of righteousness is still missing. Paul writes in Romans
8:14-17:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For
you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the
Spirit of adoption by which we cry out, "Abba Father." The Spirit itself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs-joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also
be glorified together.
The source of true persecution is Satan, and its target is God. Satan not
only hates God, he also hates all who bear His holy image in them by means of
His Spirit. Satan works in and through people just as God does, and he incites
them to do all in their power to vilify, destroy the reputation of, put fear in
or discourage God's children to cause their disqualification. He will do
anything to get us to respond, to retaliate, as worldly people do, because then
we would display Satan's image rather than Jesus Christ's. Satan knows those
who have the Spirit of God, and just as he tempted Jesus, he will also single
out His brothers and sisters for persecution.
The righteousness needed to resist these pressures and respond in a godly
manner goes far beyond that of a merely moral person. This righteousness
requires that one be living by faith minute by minute, day by day, week by
week, month by month, and year by year. It is one ingrained into a person's
very character because he knows God. He is intimately acquainted with Him and
His purpose rather than merely believing academically that He exists.
Following on the heels of this beatitude is another statement by Jesus on
righteousness: "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20). He focuses on a righteousness that is not
merely legal, resulting from God graciously justifying us by Christ's blood,
but one inculcated within the heart and mind by constantly living God's way.
Such a person's righteousness comes of sanctification. He is striving to keep
all the commandments of God, not merely those having to do with public
morality. He has made prayer and study a significant part of each day along
with occasional fasting to assist in keeping humble. He is well on his way
toward the Kingdom of God. These are not normally things that one does
publicly; his neighbors may never know much of this person's life. Nonetheless,
Satan knows, and this person's living faith will attract Satan's persecution,
the Devil's attempts to derail him from making it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Beatitudes, Part 8: Blessed Are the Persecuted
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