DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 9.16.23

 TheRemarkable Psalms “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this dayhave I begotten thee.” (Acts13:32-33) Here is a clear instance in which the gospel (“glad tidings”) was preached in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit, through the psalmist David, promised that one day the Son of God would rise from the dead—the “first born from the dead” (Colossians1:18). The Lord Jesus actually used certain psalms to prove His own deity, quoting Psalm 110:1 (Matthew22:43- 45) and Psalm 82:6 (John10:34-36) in support of His claims. This unique passage in the book of Acts offers another fascinating item of information that is often overlooked. By identifying the second psalm as such, the writer (guided by the Spirit) tells us in effect that the chapter divisions of the book of Psalms were there by divine ordination right from the first. Furthermore, since each of the psalms is a poem, with clear-cut versedivisions, this longest book in the Word of God was evidently subdivided into chapters and verses by divine inspiration. Similar divisions were later added to the other books by biblical scholars in the Middle Ages, but they were in the psalms from the beginning.It is not surprising, then, that we can find many remarkable examples of design in the very structure of the book of Psalms (e.g., the 22 stanzas of eight verses each in Psalm 119). This second psalm is the first of the so-called Messianic psalms, but actually the Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious gospel of salvation are clearly present in every one of the 150 psalms. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when hiswrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalm2:12). HMM ---------------------- AResponse to Threat “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shieldand buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor the arrow that flieth by day.” (Psalm91:4-5) Today we remember the unprovoked attack on America by Muslim terrorists. Despite attempts to make the country more secure, the threat remains scarcely abated. What should the Christian’s response be? In our text above, we see we have no cause for fear. Thephysical danger may be real, but our Lord promises protection in tender words likened to a mother bird’s care for her young. Our ultimate deliverance is guaranteed by His sure promises. Trust in His power and truth sustains us as surely as a shield and buckler. Our hope cannot rest in military might. God does not promise temporal safety to all, for millions have succumbed to undeserved violence. Our last hope is of a different order, firmly grounded in “the LORD, which is my refuge” (Psalm91:9). He responds to our trust and worship with the promise “with long [better translated as ‘eternal’] life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (v. 16). Much more interested in our response to troubles than in our deliverance, He desires usto believe and serve Him, trusting Him even in perilous times. A New Testament application of this principle is in 1 Peter 3:14: “If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.” The remedy? “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to givean answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1Peter 3:15). Jesus Christ is our example and inspiration. “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews12:3). Fixing our eyes upon Him, we have no cause for fear. JDM ------------------ Dividingthe Spoil “He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death.” (Isaiah53:12) In Isaiah’s Suffering Servant passage, Isaiah 53:8 relates that the Servant would die. Isaiah 53:9 then relates how He would be buried. So, how can it be that “he shall prolong his days” (v. 10) or that “I will divide him a portion with the great” (v. 12)? Evidently, He must rise from the grave,and after His resurrection, the Servant would receive “a portion with the great” and share His inherited “spoil” (v. 12). What will that look like? Other prophecies detail this future. For example, the Lord will share a land inheritance with a resurrected Abraham. “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;and I will be their God” (Genesis17:8). That future will include kingship over the entire earth shared with the Old Testament King David. “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall nomore serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them” (Jeremiah30:8-9). Why not add some more traditional spoils? “Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hathglorified thee” (Isaiah60:9). The Servant’s sufferings have purchased a glorious future for those who trust in Him. BDT ------------------- CutOff “For he was cut off out of the land of the living.” (Isaiah53:8) The prophet Isaiah foretold that Jesus, as “My servant” (Isaiah52:13), would be despised. Sure enough, religious mobs sneered at Him. Now in Isaiah 53:8-10, our Lord’s coming death is described. What a pivotal moment for God and for us! The text adds glimpses into what Yahweh had in His mind for this event. “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb [silent], so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah53:7). His silence and willingness to be led to His own slaughter shows us His grim resolve. He didn’t protest or try to avoid it. He knew exactly what He was doing, and here’s why: “For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgressionof my people was he stricken” (Isaiah53:8). Daniel later used the same phrase to foretell the same event: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself” (Daniel9:26). If not for Himself, then for whom would He die? “[He] gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians1:4). “And he made his grave with the wicked....Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him” (Isaiah53:9-10). He was buried as though He deserved death! How could Yahweh feel pleased with this? It was so “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;even in him” (Ephesians1:10). He has earned our praise forevermore through this ultimate sacrifice. BDT ------------------- BelieveOur Report “Who hath believed our report?” (Isaiah53:1) In Isaiah’s Suffering Servant passage, the last lines of Isaiah 52 belong with Isaiah 53: “Kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider” (Isaiah52:15). The very next verse contrasts the seeing and considering of kings—and presumably of their nations’ inhabitants, as suggested in Revelation 7:9-10—with an implied shock over how few are believing “our report.” What’s going on here? On the one hand, “he shall sprinkle many nations” (Isaiah52:14), with those nations’ kings seeing and hearing some revelatory thing. On the other hand, nobody seems to be listening to a certain report. The incongruity vanishes if the kings’ experience occurs at a different time than when so few believe the report. So, where might these two events fit on a timeline? History has no record of kings seeing or considering a Suffering Servant—at least, not all at one time. If Revelation 7 describes this event, then it remains future, closer to Jesus Christ’s second advent.Meanwhile, the history of His first advent recorded in the gospels confirms that few indeed listened to the report. What report? That Immanuel has come to pay our sin debt and rescue us! “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John12:37-38). And yet, some did believe. And some do even now. “He that believeth on him is not condemned” (John3:18). Believe our report! Trust in Christ. BDT ------------------ Dangerous Ground - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it werecommon and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God�s mercy to us. �Hebrews 10:29 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/dangerous-ground/- Listen Some people go out of their way to mock God and to slander His holy name. They go out of their way to defy Him. And they are treading on dangerous ground. In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we read that King Belshazzar had all the holy vessels brought out that the Jewish people used in the worship of God. Then he filled themwith wine and toasted the gods of silver and gold. He was openly mocking God and going out of his way to ridicule Him. And that was his last night on earth. He was weighed in God�s balances, and God�s judgment fell upon him. The Bible says that one of the sins we can commit against the Holy Spirit is to insult Him. Hebrews 10:29 warns, �Just think how much worse the punishment will be for thosewho have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God�s mercy to us� (NLT). One function of the Holy Spirit is to present the saving work of Jesus Christ to nonbelievers. And when nonbelievers refuse to accept the Lord into their lives, they are insultingthe love of God. They�re saying they don�t need salvation, they don�t believe that Christ can save them, and they don�t believe that Jesus� work on the cross was necessary. To resist the Holy Spirit�s appeal and, therefore, to insult God, is to cut off all hope of salvation. Undoubtedly these sins lead to the ultimate sin. First people resistthe Holy Spirit, then they insult Him, and one day they can go so far as to insult or blaspheme Him. The word blasphemy speaks of a conscious denouncing and rejection of God. It is a defiant irreverence, a uniquely terrible sin of intentionally and openly speaking evil againstGod. Yet this will be characteristic of people in the last days. The Bible says the Antichrist will go out of his way to blaspheme God. And Revelation 16 tells us that in responseto God�s judgment, people �cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory� (verse 9 NLT). Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin (see Mark 3:29). It represents not just unbelief but a determined unbelief. The Bible speaks of Esau, who had gone beyondthis point of no return. Hebrews 12:17 tells us, �It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears� (NLT). It�s a fearful thing when people go out of their way to mock God, ridicule God, and insult God. They think they can do this for as long as they want, without any penalty.But ultimately it will catch up with them. And the worst thing of all is they can cross the line and commit the unforgivable sin. ------------------- Eternal Purposes - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. �Heaven forbid, Lord,� he said. �This will never happen to you! �Matthew 16:22 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/eternal-purposes/- Listen Jesus knew exactly what was in His future. It came as no surprise to Him. He knew who would betray Him, He knew He would rise from the dead, and He knew exactly when thesethings would happen. And at Caesarea Philippi, He began to tell His disciples what He was facing. Matthew�s Gospel says, �From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible thingsat the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead� (Matthew 16:21 NLT). In the original language, Jesus used a word for �killed� that could be translated �murdered.� Peter couldn�t believe that Jesus was saying this. In Peter�s mind, this simply couldn�t happen. It was commendable that Peter was truly concerned about the Lord. But he wasmissing what Jesus was trying to say. And he went too far when he took Jesus aside and �began to reprimand him,� saying, �Heaven forbid, Lord. . . . This will never happen to you!� (verse 22 NLT). Interestingly, the word translated �reprimand� in this verse carries the idea of someone in a position of authority rebuking a subordinate. That is the way Peter began toreprimand Jesus. And the language implies that he did this repeatedly. Imagine it for a moment. Jesus had just made a statement about His impending suffering and death. He obviously was in anguish over it. And then Peter took an authoritarianposition and repeatedly began to reprimand Him. Peter had lost touch with reality. Jesus said to him, �Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God�s� (verse 23 NLT). We have to love a guy like Peter, because he was so utterly human. He said what many of us probably would have said in such a situation. He was impulsive, impetuous, and hotheadedbut also very honest, courageous, and intelligent. And perhaps he was the most accessible of all the followers of Jesus. May God help us to trust Him when He doesn�t do things the way we think He should and when we�re tempted to say, �Why, Lord?� God is thinking of His eternal purposes. We can only see what will benefit us in this moment. But God is looking at the big picture. And He knows what He�s doing. It is during these times that we must trust Him, cast ourselves at His feet, and say, �Lord, I admit to You that I don�t understand. I don�t know why. But I thank You thatYou are in control.� There are a lot of things that will happen in life that we won�t understand. It is during those times that we must fall back on what we do understand: God loves us. And Heis looking out for our best interests. -------------------------- Reconciliation �For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.� (Romans 5:10) It is interesting to note that as important as is the doctrine of the atonement in Christian theology, the word itself occurs only once in the King James New Testament. It is in the very next verse after our text. �And not only so, but we also joy in God throughour Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement� (v. 11). The Greek word is translated �reconciliation� in 2 Corinthians 5:18: �All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.� Thus, the doctrine of atonement is the doctrine of reconciliation. Men are separated from our holy God bothby their sin nature and also by their actual guilt of committed sin. But through the substitutionary death of Christ for our sins, �we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.� That is, God has already reconciled sinners to Himself by the sacrificialdeath of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem is that sinners are not actually reconciled to God until they personally accept this free gift of God�s love to them. But we who �have now received the atonement [that is, reconciliation]...joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ� (Romans 5:11). A part of that joy shouldbe in the fact that God has now �given unto us the ministry of reconciliation� (2 Corinthians 5:19). Thus, it has become our great privilege to tell othersthat they can be completely forgiven and eternally saved. �Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ�s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that wemight be made the righteousness of God in him� (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). HMM -------------------------- The Worst Thing of All - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org For God says, �At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.� Indeed, the �right time� is now. Today is the day of salvation. �2 Corinthians6:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-worst-thing-of-all/- Listen Sometimes we look at certain sins that people fall into and think it�s the worst thing that can happen to them. But it isn�t the worst thing. The worst thing of all is tohave a hardened heart. Even a drug addict, an alcoholic, and an immoral person can see their need for God and turn to Him. Meanwhile, there are people who never go out and do bad things, but theirheart gets harder every month and every year. And having a hardened heart is the worst of all. It�s better to be a prodigal and eventually return someday than to never come home. And a hardened heart can cause someone to commit the unforgivable sin, which is blasphemingthe Holy Spirit (see Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10). When we read about Moses and Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus, we learn that God hardened Pharaoh�s heart. We may think that Pharaoh didn�t have a choice in the matter. But theHebrew word for hardened also could be translated �strengthened.� In other words, God responded to Pharaoh�s response. In essence God was saying, �Make your move, Pharaoh.� And Pharaoh made it. God had shown him miracle after miracle and gave him the opportunity to believe. But Pharaoh stillrejected God. So God affirmed Pharaoh in the decision he had already made. God does this with every person. If we choose to believe and trust in Him, then He will strengthen us in that decision. On the other hand, if we choose to reject Him and blasphemeHim, then He will strengthen us in that decision as well. He responds to our response. This certainly doesn�t happen overnight. And before we worry that we have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and committed the unforgivable sin, let�s understand what it is. Blasphemingthe Holy Spirit doesn�t mean saying something irreverent about the Spirit of God. Rather, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a deliberate, willful, continual lifestyle in which we know what is right and have chosen to respond to it with rejection. And by continuedexposure to the truth of God and a refusal to obey and trust in Him, we finally go too far and lose all perspective. Interestingly, God said to the prophet Jeremiah, �Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don�t beg me to help them, for I will not listento you� (Jeremiah 7:16 NLT). God was saying that these people had taken it too far. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin and bring us to Jesus Christ. So, to blaspheme and insult the Holy Spirit is to reject the work that He is attemptingto do. And when you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, there is no hope for you. The Bible says, �Today is the day of salvation� (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT). But if you keep putting it off, there will come a time when you will seal your own destiny. --------------------------- DoYou Believe Genesis? �[God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.� (Hebrews1:2) The only source of knowledge detailing how God created the universe is revealed in the clear and inspired text of Scripture (2Timothy 3:16). We can learn generally �about� God by examining His marvelous creation. As the psalmist wrote, �Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard� (Psalm19:2-3). However, we cannot know the specifics of how our Lord Jesus Christ created His awesome creation unless we listen to the words of Genesis 1:1: �In the beginning [time] God [source] created [energy] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter].� So, in order to truly know God, how He created, how He operates, and how He redeems, believers must look to all 66 books of the Bible. �For theprophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost� (2Peter 1:21). Moreover, the apostle John, being moved by the same Holy Spirit, wrote, �In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything madethat was made� (John1:1-3). This excludes evolution and a progression of life through natural selection. Hebrews 11:3 affirms that �through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.� Either you believe in Genesis, or you don�t. CCM ------------------------ We Need to Tell Them - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Remember what it says: �Today when you hear his voice, don�t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.� �Hebrews 3:15 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/we-need-to-tell-them/- Listen The story is told of an attorney who was trying to deliver an important document to a man who was determined to avoid him. The man reasoned that it was a subpoena of somekind, and he went out of his way to dodge it. Fourteen years passed, and the man found himself lying in a hospital, dying of cancer. Through a strange chain of events, the attorney was sick also, and the two men endedup sharing the same hospital room. The dying man turned to the attorney and said, �Well, you never got me! I escaped you all this time, and now it doesn�t matter. You can go ahead and serve your subpoena. Idon�t even care.� �Subpoena?� the attorney replied. �I was trying to give you a document that proved you had inherited 45 million dollars!� People can be the same way when it comes to the Christian faith. They go out of their way to escape a relationship with Jesus Christ. They go out of their way to avoid Christians.As a result, their hearts get harder. And they just might go too far. People reject Jesus because they don�t know of all that He offers. They don�t know of His great promises. That is why we need to tell them. That is why we need to go out ofour way to tell people about the love of God. So let�s keep praying, and let�s keep trying to reach these people. You may even know someone who seems as though they have a hardened heart beyond the point of no return. Take heart. Think of Saul of Tarsus, whose conversion was so radical and unexpected that the first-century Christians thought it was some kind of trap in which he was tryingto infiltrate their ranks. They didn�t believe that God could save someone who was as wicked, hostile, and against the church as Saul of Tarsus was. But then Saul of Tarsus became known as Paul the apostle. You may know someone who seems so hardened and so far gone. Keep praying, because God could reach them. Or maybe there has never come a moment in your life when you�ve personally asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sin. You know about God, but you don�t really know Him. If youknow something to be true and don�t respond to it, that can harden your heart. The Bible tells us, �Remember what it says: �Today when you hear his voice, don�t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled� � (Hebrews 3:15 NLT). If you don�t yet know Jesus Christ in a personal way, then do something about it immediately. Now is the time. If you keep putting it off, there will come a day when you won�thear from God anymore, because you will have hardened your heart irreparably. Yes, there is a point of no return. Don�t let it happen to you. Don�t live another day outside of God�s will and His purpose and His blessing for you. ------------------------------- ThePragmatic Life �And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.� (Luke 19:13) This �parable of the pounds� indicated to Jesus� disciples that they should not wait idly for the second coming of Christ, thinking �that the kingdom of God should immediately appear� (Luke19:11), but that they should stay busy, using whatever abilities and opportunities they had in the Lord�s service until His return. The word �occupy� is an unusual word, the Greek pragmatenomai, from which we derive our modern word �pragmatic,� meaning �practical,� and it only occurs this one time in the New Testament. There is another related word, however, also occurring only one time, in 2 Timothy 2:4: �No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.� Here the word �affairs� is the Greek pragmateia, and Paul is cautioning those who would be �good soldiers of Jesus Christ� against becoming involved in the pragmatic affairs of civilian or business life, if they would really be pleasing to their commanding officer. At first, there seems to be a contradiction. Jesus says to stay busy with the practical affairs of life until He returns. Paul says not to get involved with pragmatic things. There is no real contradiction, of course, if motivation is considered. Whatever may be our vocation in life, as led by the Lord, we are to perform that job and all the other daily responsibilities of life diligently and faithfully, for His sake. If we allow these things to become an end in themselves, however, or use them for other purposes than for His glory, then we have, indeed, become tangled up in the affairs of this life, and this displeases Him. He desires that we be diligent in whatever Hehas called us to do until He comes, but to be sure it is for Him, not for ourselves. HMM --------------------------- Wholehearted Seekers - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But Jesus didn�t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person�s heart �John 2:24�25 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/wholehearted-seekers/- Listen At a casual reading, the response of Jesus seems almost harsh and unfair. Chapter 12 of Matthew�s Gospel tells us that �one day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, �Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous signto prove your authority� � (verse 38 NLT). �Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign,� Jesus answered. �But the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah wasin the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights� (verses 39�40 NLT). Here were some individuals who were asking for a miracle. Jesus had performed many miracles. After all, what was one more? Why didn�t He respond to their request? BecauseJesus always looked at the motives behind what people said and did. Jesus is far more interested in what�s going on in our hearts than what we are merely saying with our mouths. And as Jesus looked into the hearts of these religious leaders, no doubt He saw the reason for their request. Earlier in the chapter we read, �Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus� (verse 14 NLT). Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath, and that upset them.These religious leaders wanted to destroy Jesus. They weren�t interested in a miracle. They weren�t interested in a sign. Instead, they were out to get Him. And Jesus recognized this. It�s fascinating to note how Jesus dealt with different people. He never dealt with anyone in the same way. He would look behind the veneer of what was going on and see theirhearts. And when a person was truly seeking and a miracle was in order, He did it. Jesus performed numerous miracles for hurting, searching people such as blind Bartimaeus or the woman who had spent everything on doctors who couldn�t heal her. On the otherhand, when people came with the wrong motives, He didn�t do a miracle for them. In fact, on some occasions He didn�t even reveal Himself to them. For example, John 2:23 says, �Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.� But the passage goes on to say, �But Jesus didn�t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person�s heart� (verses 24�25 NLT). These people who saw His miracles weren�t seeking Him with their whole hearts. They were merely excited about the phenomena. If they had been true seekers, then Jesus wouldhave revealed Himself to them. Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, �If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me� (Jeremiah 29:13 NLT). Jesus revealed Himself to true seekers. And Herepelled those who were not.