DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 7.15.23

Son of Man �And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having onhis head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.� (Revelation 14:14) This is the last of some 87 New Testament references (84 in the four gospels, one in Acts, none in the epistles, two in Revelation) to Christ as the Son of man. Here we see the Son of man coming on a white cloud from heaven (just as He had ascended into heavenafter His resurrection) as the conquering King of all the earth. What a contrast this is to the first New Testament reference to the Son of man. �The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head� (Matthew8:20). From humility and poverty on Earth to power and riches in heaven, and for all eternity�this was His journey when Christ left His heavenly glory to join the human family. In between the poverty and the power lay the whole human experience, for He �was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin� (Hebrews 4:15). Finally,as Son of man He must die for man�s sin, for �the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again� (Luke24:7). Even in heaven He is still the Son of man, for Stephen saw Him thus: �Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God� (Acts7:56). There is, indeed, a great man in the glory! Christ called Himself �the Son of man� much more often than �the Son of God,� though He will eternally be both, the God/man. He delights to identify with those whom He has redeemed, for He �is not ashamed to callthem brethren� (Hebrews 2:11). �Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?� asked Jesus. Then we say with Peter, �Thou art...the Son of the living God� (Matthew16:13, 16). HMM --------------------------- Saintsand Sinners “Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine handupon my mouth.” (Job40:3-4) It’s remarkable how the saintliest of men often confess to being the worst of sinners. The patriarch Job was said by God Himself to be “a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job1:8). Yet, when Job saw God, he could only say, “Behold, I am vile.” And consider Abraham, who is called “the father of all them that believe” (Romans4:11). When he presumed to talk to God, however, Abraham said that he was “but dust and ashes” (Genesis18:27). David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2Samuel 23:1), and “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1Samuel 13:14), said: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm51:5). Isaiah, the greatest of the prophets, testified when he came into God’s presence: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah6:5). The angel recognized Daniel the prophet as “a man greatly beloved” by God (Daniel10:11). Yet, when Daniel saw God, he fell on his face and said: “My comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength” (Daniel10:8). In the New Testament, the apostle Peter said: “I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke5:8), and Paul called himself the chief of sinners (1Timothy 1:15). God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto” (1Timothy 6:16). The closer one comes to the Lord, the more clearly one sees his own sinfulness and the more wonderful becomes God’s amazing grace. No one who is satisfied with his or her own state of holiness has yet come to know the Lord in His state of holiness! None dareface the Lord except by His grace through the mediator Jesus Christ. HMM --------------------- ReachingHardened Hearts “Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me:they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel2:3-4) Yahweh tasked Ezekiel with a very difficult assignment. His message was to be presented to a hostile audience. Instead of faithfully listening to and embracing the teaching of God’s word, the people Ezekiel preached to were rebellious and obstinate. It waslike pastoring a problematic and difficult church. “Rebellious” means defiance or insubordination to authority. It occurs nine times in Ezekiel 2 and 3, and is repeated another eight times in the rest of his book. “Stiffhearted” and “hardhearted” occur in Ezekiel 2:4 and 3:7, and convey the obstinance and disobedience of God’s people. Similar expressions appear another seven times in the Bible to indicate a self-imposed spiritual hardening of the heart (Exodus32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deuteronomy 2:30; Isaiah 48:4; Romans 10:21). Rather than listening to God’s messenger, Ezekiel’s “congregation” viewed their captivity as a temporary setback to be alleviated by God in time, but certainly not through repentance and contrite hearts on their part (Psalm51:17; Jeremiah 44:10). Like many today, Israel refused to admit their sin, unwilling to submit to the lordship of Yahweh. Ezekiel’s task then was the same as ours is now—declaring God’s Word to whomever God places in our path. Ambassadors of Christ have the mandate to lovingly declare the gospel. All of God’s revealed truth is written to point us toward making that all-important gospel decision, placing our hands on the plow, and pressing forward in service to our Lord (Luke9:62). CM ----------------- DividingLight from Darkness “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and Goddivided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3-4) Initially, the created cosmos was in darkness—a darkness that God Himself had to create (“I form the light, and create darkness”—Isaiah 45:7). But then thedark cosmos was energized by the Spirit’s moving, and God’s light appeared. The darkness was not dispelled, however, but only divided from the light, and the day/night sequence began, which has continued ever since. This sequence of events in the physical creation is a beautiful type of the spiritual creation, “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Each individual isborn in spiritual darkness, but “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Corinthians 4:6). We are now “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,” because He “hath delivered us from the power of darkness” (Colossians1:12-13). However, the light in the primeval darkness resulted only in a division of night and day. The night still comes, but God has promised that in the coming Holy City, “there shall be no night there” (Revelation22:5). Just so, even though we have been given a new nature of light, the old nature of darkness is still striving within, and we have to be exhorted: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians5:8). Nevertheless, “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). When we reach thatcity of everlasting light, all spiritual darkness will vanish as well, for “there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth” (Revelation 21:27),and we shall be like Christ. HMM ---------------------- Savorof Life or Death “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the onewe are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians2:15-16) It’s remarkable how the very same testimony can have such dramatically opposite effects on its recipients. A lecture on the scientific evidences of creation, for example, or on the inspiration of the Bible will be received with great joy and understanding bysome, provoke furious hostility in some, and generate utter indifference in others. This seems to be true of any message—written, or verbal, or simply demonstrated in behavior—that has any kind of biblically spiritual dimension to it. It’s like the pillarof cloud in the wilderness, which “came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus14:20). A Christian testimony draws and wins the one, repels and condemns the other. Some there are who “loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John3:19). Thus, the wonderful message of the gospel yields two diametrically opposite results. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John3:36). Christ came to bring both unity and division. “Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious....Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient....a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, evento them which stumble at the word” (1Peter 2:6-8). But the wonderful thing is this: Whether a true testimony generates life or condemns to death, it is still “unto God a sweet savor of Christ.” HMM -------------------- Ingrainedand Engraved - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs toGod with thankful hearts. �Colossians 3:16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/ingrained-and-engraved/- Listen For seven years, American pilot Howard Rutledge was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. In his memoir, he wrote that on his first New Year�s Day of captivity, he made threeresolutions that he repeated each year. First, he would try never to be cold again. Second, he would try never to be hungry again. And third, he would never be without the Bible again. He wanted the Bible ingrained in his mind and engraved on his heart. It�s interesting how our priorities can change. That�s why Bible memorization is so important. We have only so much room in our minds. Just as computers have a specific amountof memory to hold information, we have only so much memory in the minds that God has given us. So many of us know the latest gossip about Hollywood celebrities, or we can recite sports statistics or other interesting facts. But are we taking the time to fill our mindswith the Word of God? When we get God�s Word into our minds, it will stay with us forever. And when we�re tempted, we�ll have it to recall and use. For instance, when the devil temped Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus defended Himself again and again with the Scriptures. And the apostle Paul referred to God�s Word as �thesword of the Spirit� (Ephesians 6:17). The psalmist wrote, �I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you� (Psalm 119:11 NLT). This is essentially saying that our hearts will be kept byGod�s Word because we keep God�s Word in our hearts. Let�s not waste our memory banks. Let�s fill them with important information. It�s great to carry the Bible in your pocket, backpack, or purse. It�s also great to have iton your phone. But the best place to carry the Bible is in your heart. ---------------------------------- Our All-Knowing God - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org He counts the stars and calls them all by name. �Psalm 147:4 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/our-all-knowing-god/- Listen There isn�t a single thing that happens on earth that escapes the knowledge of God. Proverbs 5:21 tells us, �For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every pathhe takes� (NLT). God is aware of everything that is happening. Romans 11:33 says, �Oh, how great are God�s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!� (NLT). The Bible tells us that God �counts the stars� and calls each one by name (Psalm 147:4). God knows everything. In this massive universe, He knows the name of every star. God also knows what�s going on in the animal kingdom. Jesus said, �What is the price of two sparrows�one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground withoutyour Father knowing it� (Matthew 10:29 NLT). At the same time, God knows what�s going on with the people that He created in His image. He is vitally aware of what�s taking place in our lives. He�s interested in us asindividuals. David began Psalm 139 by saying, �O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I�mfar away� (verses 1�2 NLT). God even knows what we�re thinking, when we get up in the morning, what we eat for breakfast, and what route we take to work or school. He also knows the words we speak. Someone has pointed out that the average person speaks enough words in a day to fill a good-sized book�over the course of a lifetime, a person�swords would fill a college library. Isn�t it comforting to realize that God knows about us and cares about us? He knows the intimate details of our lives. -------------------------------------- Night Vision - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night�but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darknessand light are the same to you. �Psalm 139:11�12 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/night-vision/- Listen For a sweltering twenty-five hours in July, 1977, New York City experienced a power outage. Thousands of New Yorkers poured into the streets to loot and burn the city. Rovingbands of men, women, and children pulled down steel grills and shutters from storefronts and shattered glass windows, hauling away everything they could carry. Others started fires. First responders fought more than one thousand blazes, and false alarms served as decoys while people ravaged the city. Over the course of the blackout,looters plundered 1,600 stores. Most of the people involved showed no regret, except for having been caught. People sometimes assume that darkness covers everything and that God doesn�t see in the dark. Somehow they think when the lights are off, no one will see. But God sees. Darknessis like daytime to Him. Nothing escapes His attention. There are no secrets with Him. A friend of mine has a pair of night vision binoculars. We went into his backyard one night when it was pitch-dark. But when I looked through his binoculars, I could see everything.It was amazing. In the same way, God sees everything. And He knows everything, even in the darkness. Darkness doesn�t separate us from God. David wrote in the psalms, �I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night�but even in darkness I cannothide from you� (Psalm 139:11�12 NLT). There is no escaping His presence. God sees us and loves us. Romans 8:38 tells us, �And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God�s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neitherour fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow�not even the powers of hell can separate us from God�s love� (NLT). Nothing will separate us from God. Isn�t that great to know? God is everywhere. ---------------------------- On His Mind - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! �Psalm 139:17 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/on-his-mind/- Listen Little children always seem to want their parents� attention. They�ll throw a ball or get on a bicycle and call out, �Mom, watch me!� or �Hey, Dad, watch this!� It warms theirhearts to know their parents are paying attention to them. In a sense, that is how we should feel about our Father in Heaven. We should be encouraged by the fact that God is paying attention to us. David wrote, �How precious are yourthoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can�t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!� (Psalm 139:17�18 NLT). If you were to go to the beach and try to count all the grains of sand, it would be a tedious process. David compared counting grains of sand to counting the number of timesGod thinks about us�it�s more than we can imagine! God said, �See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands� (Isaiah 49:16 NLT). Even if your family lets you down, even if your friends let you down, know this: Godis thinking of you. He is aware of you. He is pulling for you. Jesus said, �Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!� (Matthew 6:8 NLT). God is aware of everything you�re facing in life. He knows about your fearsand your dreams. He knows everything about you. If the thought that God is watching you and thinking about you brings joy to your heart, then that would tell me your life is probably right with God. But if the thought that God is watching you, listening to you, and thinking about you terrifies you or gives you cause for great concern, then it might indicate your lifeis not where it ought to be spiritually. Is the knowledge that God is thinking about you and aware of everything you do a source of dread and fear? Or, is it a source of comfort and delight? ------------------------------ Resistingthe Devil �Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whomhe may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.� (1Peter 5:8-9) The devil is far more powerful and intelligent (as well as subtle and seductive in his malignant purposes) than any combination of human enemies we could ever face, and we would be utterly unable to defeat him with our own human resources. Yet, God�s Word makesit plain that we are neither to yield to him nor flee from him. Instead, the admonition is: �Resist the devil, and he will flee from you� (James4:7). But how can we resist such a mighty foe? As in our text, we must constantly maintain sobriety and vigilance against his enticements, and be careful to remain �steadfast in the faith.� Otherwise, the pseudo-intellectualism and social peer pressure to which weare subjected daily could quickly persuade us to compromise the faith, or even to depart from the faith. We are commanded not to yield and not to compromise. Instead, we must �put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.� We have �the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the[wicked one],� and also �the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God� (Ephesians6:11, 16-17). This mighty sword with which we can make Satan flee from us is literally �the saying of God��that is, an appropriate individual word from the complete Word of God. This was the instrument with which the Lord Jesus Himself resisted the devil, parrying each temptationwith an incisive thrust of Scripture. The result then�as it will be now with us also�was that the devil �departed from him for a season� (Luke4:13). HMM ------------------------- WhatIs He Thinking? - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org �My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,� says the LORD. �And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.� �Isaiah 55:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/what-is-he-thinking/- Listen We tend to interpret life by how it looks to us at the moment. And if it�s a little uncomfortable, if it�s a little difficult, we might think, �Obviously God�s thoughts towardme aren�t good.� Or we might falsely conclude that God isn�t thinking of us at all. But we must remember that in the midst of the process, God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. We find a wonderful promise in Jeremiah 29:11, a verse that every Christian should commit to memory: � �For I know the plans I have for you,� says the Lord. �They are plansfor good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope� � (NLT). It�s interesting to consider the backdrop of that statement. God spoke those words to His people, the Jews, who were living as captives in Babylon. For them, their world hadended. They thought they had no future. They probably believed that God had forgotten about them. God had disciplined His people for their disobedience by allowing them to be taken into captivity. However, the principal message He gave to His people was that He still lovedthem and He still had a plan and a purpose for their lives. He was disciplining them not because He hated them but because He loved them. The Bible says, �For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights� (Proverbs 3:12 NLT). Although God�s plans and thoughts for usare good, they may not seem good to us at the time. Maybe you�re wondering whether God has forgotten about you. You might be facing difficulties, or perhaps God is disciplining you. Remember this: because the Lord loves you, because you are His child, He will do what is necessary in your life to make you the person He wants you to be. His plans and thoughtsfor you are good. -------------------------------- HeBecame Poor �For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he becamepoor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.� (2 Corinthians 8:9) The doctrine of Christ�s kenosis, or self-emptying, is one of the most amazing of all biblical truths. The extent to which He who was not only �in the form of God� but also �equal with God� condescended to �make himself of no reputation� (the translationof kenoo in Philippians 2:6-7) is utterly beyond human comprehension. He who once sat on the throne of the universe came to Earth �lying in a manger� (Luke 2:12). Throughout His public ministry, He had �not where to lay hishead� (Matthew 8:20). Because He had no money to pay the tax, He had to catch a fish with the necessary coin in its mouth (Matthew17:27). In His agony at Gethsemane, none of His friends would pray with Him, and when He was arrested they all �forsook him and fled� (Matthew 26:40,56). No one defended Him at His trial. On the cross, the soldiers stripped away His only personal possessions�the clothes on His back�and then �parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take� (Mark15:24). When He died, His body had to be buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:59-60).No home, no money, no possessions, no defenders, not even a tomb of His own in which to lie. But He had a cross on which to die, and because He was obedient to the death of the cross, �God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name� (Philippians2:9). Through His poverty we become rich, through His homelessness we have a mansion in heaven, and through His terrible death on Calvary we have everlasting life. Yes, we do know the grace of Christ! HMM ------------------------