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daily devotional
Evening ...
Genesis 1:5
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The evening was "darkness" and the morning was "light," and yet the two
together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is
somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In
every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a
sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he
possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most comforting thought to
those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, "Can I be a child of God
while there is so much darkness in me?" Yes; for you, like the day, take not
your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in the
word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon. You are
called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still. You are named
after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God, which will one day
be the only principle remaining. Observe that the evening comes first.
Naturally we are darkness first in order of time, and the gloom is often first
in our mournful apprehension, driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, "God
be merciful to me, a sinner." The place of the morning is second, it dawns when
grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan, "That which is
last, lasts for ever." That which is first, yields in due season to the last;
but nothing comes after the last. So that though you are naturally darkness,
when once you become light in the Lord, there is no evening to follow; "thy sun
shall no more go down." The first day in this life is an evening and a morning;
but the second day, when we shall be with God, for ever, shall be a day with no
evening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon.
Morning ...
1 Peter 5:10
After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle you.
You have seen the arch of heaven as it spans the plain: glorious are its
colours, and rare its hues. It is beautiful, but, alas, it passes away, and lo,
it is not. The fair colours give way to the fleecy clouds, and the sky is no
longer brilliant with the tints of heaven. It is not established. How can it
be? A glorious show made up of transitory sun-beams and passing rain-drops, how
can it abide? The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the
rainbow in its transitory beauty, but, on the contrary, must be stablished,
settled, abiding. Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an
abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an
inscription upon the rock! May your faith be no "baseless fabric of a vision,"
but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall
consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and
grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires
earnest. May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts
of hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you. But
notice how this blessing of being "stablished in the faith" is gained. The
apostle's words point us to suffering as the means employed-"After that ye have
suffered awhile." It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no
rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree, and
those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of the many storms that have
swept over it, and they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots
have forced their way. So the Christian is made strong, and firmly rooted by
all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds
of trial, but take comfort, believing that by their rough discipline God is
fulfilling this benediction to you.
Acts 8:12
(12) But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the
kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and
women.
Acts 19:8
(8) And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of
three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of
God.
Acts 20:25
(25) And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching
the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Acts 28:23
(23) And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into
his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading
them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets,
from morning till evening.
Acts 28:31
(31) Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
It is quite plain what the apostles preached (Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25;
28:23, 31). They preached the Kingdom of God with the same zeal as their
Master, who had given them the example. To those who have ears to hear, it is
clear that the gospel of the Kingdom is the gospel. Otherwise, why did Christ
not call it something else?
Every time the word gospel appears—if Jesus qualifies the word at any
point—it is always "of the Kingdom of God" or "of the Kingdom of heaven." That
is what He preached! He preached the coming of a great Kingdom that would turn
this world upside down and establish His Father's rule over all things.
That is what He lives for—and I use the present tense purposely. He still
lives for it! He is just anxious to come back and finish His work—this time as
King of kings and Lord of lords with the authority to make real changes. This
is the same gospel—the same message—that His ministry must teach. We must
preach the Kingdom of God.
We know that grace, peace, salvation, and Christ's life and example are
certainly part of that preaching, but the primary thrust is the Kingdom of God.
Our hope of being resurrected and changed to be part of that Kingdom, and all
of the things that come with it, will all come about because the gospel of the
Kingdom is the focus. This is how God works through human, physical, fleshly
people. He gives them the gospel, and He sends them out. It must be preached,
for by it salvation comes (Romans 1:16).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
From Itching Ears
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daily devotional
Evening ...
Genesis 1:4
And God divided the light from the darkness.
A believer has two principles at work within him. In his natural estate he
was subject to one principle only, which was darkness; now light has entered,
and the two principles disagree. Mark the apostle Paul's words in the seventh
chapter of Romans: "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is
present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I
see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members." How is this state
of things occasioned? "The Lord divided the light from the darkness." Darkness,
by itself, is quiet and undisturbed, but when the Lord sends in light, there is
a conflict, for the one is in opposition to the other: a conflict which will
never cease till the believer is altogether light in the Lord. If there be a
division within the individual Christian, there is certain to be a division
without. So soon as the Lord gives to any man light, he proceeds to separate
himself from the darkness around; he secedes from a merely worldly religion of
outward ceremonial, for nothing short of the gospel of Christ will now satisfy
him, and he withdraws himself from worldly society and frivolous amusements,
and seeks the company of the saints, for "We know we have passed from death
unto life, because we love the brethren." The light gathers to itself, and the
darkness to itself. What God has divided, let us never try to unite, but as
Christ went without the camp, bearing His reproach, so let us come out from the
ungodly, and be a peculiar people. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners; and, as He was, so we are to be nonconformists to the world,
dissenting from all sin, and distinguished from the rest of mankind by our
likeness to our Master.
Morning ...
Ephesians 2:19
Fellow citizens with the saints.
What is meant by our being citizens in heaven? It means that we are under
heaven's government. Christ the king of heaven reigns in our hearts; our daily
prayer is, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The proclamations
issued from the throne of glory are freely received by us: the decrees of the
Great King we cheerfully obey. Then as citizens of the New Jerusalem, we share
heaven's honours. The glory which belongs to beatified saints belongs to us,
for we are already sons of God, already princes of the blood imperial; already
we wear the spotless robe of Jesu's righteousness; already we have angels for
our servitors, saints for our companions, Christ for our Brother, God for our
Father, and a crown of immortality for our reward. We share the honours of
citizenship, for we have come to the general assembly and Church of the
first-born whose names are written in heaven. As citizens, we have common
rights to all the property of heaven. Ours are its gates of pearl and walls of
chrysolite; ours the azure light of the city that needs no candle nor light of
the sun; ours the river of the water of life, and the twelve manner of fruits
which grow on the trees planted on the banks thereof; there is nought in heaven
that belongeth not to us. "Things present, or things to come," all are ours.
Also as citizens of heaven we enjoy its delights. Do they there rejoice over
sinners that repent-prodigals that have returned? So do we. Do they chant the
glories of triumphant grace? We do the same. Do they cast their crowns at
Jesu's feet? Such honours as we have we cast there too. Are they charmed with
His smile? It is not less sweet to us who dwell below. Do they look forward,
waiting for His second advent? We also look and long for His appearing. If,
then, we are thus citizens of heaven, let our walk and actions be consistent
with our high dignity.
Malachi 3:1
(1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way
before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith
the LORD of hosts.
Jesus came to this earth as a Messenger from God the Father:
"'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the
Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of
the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of
hosts" (Malachi 3:1). Two messengers are mentioned in this verse. The first is
John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the second Messenger, "the Messenger
of the covenant," Jesus Christ.
It is helpful to understand that, as Messenger, He did not speak
His own words. John 8:38-42 combined with John 12:49-50 confirms this. Thus,
the message He brought is not primarily about Himself but about the good news
of the Kingdom of God that the Father ordained to be announced on earth. This
does not discount Jesus in any way because He is clearly the most important
person ever to inhabit this earth. Rather, it emphasizes the fact that the
gospel Jesus preached is not just about Himself.
The inspired Word of God makes it quite clear that the good news
Jesus brought is about the Kingdom of God. Mark 1:14-15 is typical: "Now after
John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is
at hand. repent, and believe in the gospel.'" Luke 8:1 shows that proclaiming
this good news was His customary activity, "Now it came to pass, afterward,
that Jesus went through every city and village, preaching and bringing glad
tidings of the kingdom of God." He says plainly in Luke 4:43 that this was His
appointed task: "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also:
because for this purpose I have been sent."
Even in those last days before He ascended to heaven and the
church was born, He used His time with the disciples to teach the same message.
". . . to [the apostles] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by
many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
Jesus was not alone in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of
God. He charged His disciples with this responsibility, and they followed
through as commanded. "Then He called His twelve disciples together and . . .
He sent them to preach the kingdom of God . . ." (Luke 9:1-2). Later, others
like the evangelist Philip joined in this effort: "But when they believed
Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized" (Acts 8:12).
Just in case one might think the apostle Paul preached a
different gospel, he himself states in his farewell to the Ephesian elders,
"And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the
kingdom of God, will see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). As Paul reached the end
of his life, Acts 28:30-31 states of him, "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in
his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom
of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all
confidence, no one forbidding him."
One final reference, Galatians 1:8-9, is pertinent to this
important issue:
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we
have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to
you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The Father's message, purposely given to Jesus to deliver to
mankind, had already been corrupted just a few decades after Christ's death,
and the Galatians had been deceived into believing the corrupted one!
Similarly, the gospel Jesus Christ brought has been corrupted in modern times.
Rather than focusing on the coming Kingdom of God, the message being palmed off
in our day primarily focuses on the Messenger.
Without a doubt, within the context of the message, Jesus is
important as God in the flesh, our sinless Savior, and our resurrected High
Priest. However, the message He preached focuses on other important issues
besides Himself. If this were not so, why did God not title the message with
something focusing directly on Jesus? God intends the title "gospel of the
Kingdom of God" to fix our attention on the issue He wants to be the focus of
our lives after we are called and converted, since it is the only hope for the
resolution of mankind's numerous and presently unsolvable problems. The Kingdom
of God is of such importance that, once we grasp the essence of its
instruction, we can honestly say, without exaggeration, that it is the theme of
the entire Bible.
Spiritual resurrection into the Kingdom of God is held out as the
goal of those making the New Covenant with God. A covenant contains
requirements that are to be met by both parties entering into it. Will those of
us who have done so escape the responsibility to make efforts to live up to the
New Covenant's terms comparable to those required of Israelites under the Old
Covenant? Many—those who say that no works are required of Christians—believe
so.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Is the Christian Required To Do Works? (Part Five)
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