Man’s Sincere Path

…Truth and holiness must go together.  God owns no unholy sincerity.  Now, it is not enough to set the right end before us, but to walk in the right way to it.  We shall never come at God’s glory out of God’s way.  Holiness and righteousness is the sincere man’s path, set by God as a causeway on which he is to walk, both to the glorifying of God and to the being glorified by God.  Now, he thinks that, to find a shorter cut and a nearer way than this, to obtain his end, he takes but pains to undo himself.  As he finds a new way of glorifying God, which God has not chalked, so he must find a new heaven which God has not prepared…

From: The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall (1617-1679)

For the Lord’s Day (77)

Do you not know?  Do you not hear?  Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when He blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.  “To whom, then, will you compare Me, that I should be like him?,” says the Holy One.  (Isaiah 40:21-25)

Devotional Notes – 17 (Genesis 3:1, 7)

Genesis 3 tells the very familiar story of mankind’s fall into sin.  Satan tempted Eve, who ate the fruit and, in turn, enticed her husband to eat, also.  As a result, our first parents were banished from the Garden of Eden to a life of sin and hardship that every one of their descendants (save One) has experienced ever since.

Eve was tempted to eat from the forbidden tree because she thought that she could acquire God-like knowledge in that way, despite the fact that her eating constituted direct disobedience to God’s revealed Word to her.  However, she was thwarted in that attempt to obtain forbidden knowledge.  Old Testament scholars have noticed an interesting play on words in the original Hebrew.  The word translated “crafty” in verse 1, and the word translated “naked” in verse 7, sound very much alike.  They are spelled exactly the same way except for one vowel change.  This play on words may indicate the main point of the story: by taking Satan’s evil advice, Eve “craftily” thought that she could gain knowledge she thought God was keeping from her.  But, the only new knowledge she acquired, in the end, was that she was naked.

Have you ever tried to second-guess God?  Have you ever tried to “help God out” by substituting your plans for His in your life?  Realizing that God has set boundaries for us, ask Him for forgiveness and seek His strength to trust Him to know best what you can handle.  (Sunday, September 1, 1996)

Devotional Notes – 16 (John 17:17)

An occasional plot device used on television sitcoms consists of challenging a character on the show to tell the absolute truth for one hour or one day.  The situations the person then finds himself in, during that period of time, are exploited for comic effect.

We sinful humans would find it difficult to tell the absolute truth for a whole day.  Yet, in God’s eyes, truth is no laughing matter.  He, Himself, is the epitome of truthfulness, and He expects His children to exhibit the same quality.

In today’s text, Jesus says two interesting things about truth.  First, he asks His Father to sanctify us “in” (NASB) or “by” (NIV) the truth, as found in His Word, as the means by which His children are made ready to be used by Him in service to Himself and to others.  This truthful Word, which is found in Scripture, sanctifies us as we submit to it in holy obedience.

Second, Jesus show us the quality of the Word which sanctifies.  Notice that He doesn’t say that the Father’s Word is the truth (although it is that), but He says “your Word is truth,” without the article.  Jesus is saying that His Father’s Word contains the quality of truthfulness.  In other words, it is not merely factual truth, like a date in a history book.  It is more than that.  Everything God says embodies the actual quality of “truth” in an unmixed degree.  For example, to say “the sun is hot” is to say more than that the sun contains heat.  It is to ascribe the quality of heat to the sun.

Once we realize that God not only tells the truth but is, Himself, truth, we can come to His Word with renewed confidence and security.  God glorifies Himself by displaying truth in His Word.  Will you glorify God by recognizing the truth of His Word, and living by it?  (August 4 and 6, 1996)

Religion of the Presidents – 43

George W. Bush (born in 1946)  (president: 2001-2009)

Religion: Methodist.  As a youngster, Bush attended Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, his father’s and mother’s preferences, respectively.  As he grew older, he, generally, attended Presbyterian services.  After he married, Bush attended the Methodist church, which is his wife’s preference.  When he was younger, Bush wasn’t particularly religious, although he was raised in a religious household and served as an altar boy.  But, when he matured, he developed a deep commitment to Christianity.  Two incidents in his life transformed him: one was meeting evangelist Billy Graham, the other was his friend Don Evans’s gift of a 365-day version of the Bible and convincing him to join his Bible-study group.  

As president, he continued to attend Methodist services.

From: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush, Revised and Updated Through 2004 by William A. DeGregorio (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004), p. 759.

Religion of the Presidents – 42

Bill Clinton (born in 1946)  (president: 1993-2001)

Religion: Southern Baptist.  “My faith tells me that all of us are sinners, and each of us has gone in our own way and fallen short of the glory of God,” he declared in an interview on VISN, a religious cable network, as transcribed in the New York Times (October 8, 1992).  “Religious faith has permitted me to believe in my continuing possibility of becoming a better person every day.  If I didn’t believe in God, if I weren’t, in my view, a Christian, if I didn’t believe ultimately in the perfection of life after death, my life would have been that much more difficult.”  Joining the Baptist church at age nine, Clinton grew up with more religious devotion than either his mother or his stepfather.  From his student days at Georgetown in the late 1960s, however, until his defeat for reelection as governor of Arkansas in 1980, he attended Sunday services infrequently.  Since then, he has resumed the more regular practice of his religion.  He believes in an omniscient God who forgives sin and hold outs the promise of redemption.  He feels that one’s faith is a private communication with God and should not be subject to public scrutiny.  He is a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, where he often has sung in the choir.  He is occasionally joined at Sunday services by his wife and daughter, who belong to First United Methodist Church in Little Rock.  Among his favorite passages from the Bible is from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which he included in his inaugural address: “And let us not be weary in well-doing for, in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.”

I have a feeling that this entry on Clinton was carried over intact from previous editions of this book, without change, as it does not reflect…um…later events in his presidency.

From: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush, Revised and Updated Through 2004 by William A. DeGregorio (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004), pp. 708-709.

Devotional Notes – 15 (Psalm 30:4-5)

These are very optimistic verses, and they shed light on the way God gets glory for Himself through the joy of His people.  God may be angry with Israel, but the anger eventually passes and forgiveness comes to replace it.  The people may spend nights in weeping over sin or misfortune, but their anxieties are replaced by God-given joy when the light of morning comes.

Our Lord knows our sinfulness.  Both testaments are replete with descriptions of mankind’s sinful thoughts and actions.  He has always fully known, in the most intimate detail, the true extent of the sinfulness of the human race.  Both testaments also contain vivid descriptions of God’s intense anger and wrath for sin.  However, from all eternity, He has planned to glorify Himself through effecting His plan of salvation.  And God is faithful to His promises to us, even as we continually let Him down, mired, as we are, in sin.

The next time you’re feeling, as you contemplate your own sinfulness, as if God might forsake you (which is exactly what Satan wants you to think), remind yourself of the promises God has made to you in Scripture.  As His child, He has promised never to leave you, never to abandon you, to never let you out of His comforting, Fatherly grasp.  Thank God for the forgiveness you have in Christ, and remember that the Lord is glorifying Himself in your joy.  (Friday, July 5, 1996)

Devotional Notes – 14 (Ephesians 1:4)

If you are looking for a way to strengthen your walk with God, one important step to take is to study the biblical doctrine of the believer’s union with Christ.  It has been noted that the phrase “in Christ,” and similar phrases (such as “in Him,” “with Him,” etc.), occurs 164 times in the apostle Paul’s writings alone.

We believers are united with Christ in at least three ways.  First, by virtue of creation, we have an inseparable link with God because we possess His image, which is never erased, even by sin.  Secondly, through our redemption in Christ, our Lord has, through His atoning death, brought us into His kingdom.  And, thirdly, sanctification gives us what is called “actual union” with Christ, as He works in us to perfect us in His image, day by day, with the Holy Spirit’s power.

You can experience union with Christ by faithful prayer to God, seeking His will.  It is also experienced through Bible reading, as God shares with you what He has done for mankind in past ages and what He promises to do for you today.  And, by constantly yielding your thoughts and actions to the Holy Spirit as you live each day, you allow Christ to give you His perspective on what daily Christian living should be.

The believer’s union with Christ is a precious heritage which only Christians possess.  Today, let your gracious Lord show you how strong the “ties that bind” you to Him are.  (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)

For the Lord’s Day (76)

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.  If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.  Our Lord, come!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.  Amen.  (1 Corinthians 16:21-24)

Devotional Notes – 13 (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Do you love the Word of God, reading and studying it regularly?  Do you love your fellow Christians, praying for them and helping them whenever God gives you an opportunity?  Are you concerned about sin in your life and keep short accounts with God as you confess?  Are you striving after holiness in your life?  Is your prayer life what it should be?  Are you sure that your faith is more than just intellectual assent to a list of doctrines, as important as that is?  Are you concerned about the lost?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, then your spiritual foundation in the Christian faith is well-laid.  Our Lord told us, in the Sermon on the Mount, to build our spiritual lives on a firm foundation.  The apostle Paul, in today’s passage, exhorts us to examine these foundations to make sure we are staying on track, spiritually speaking.

The Bible warns us that “not everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven is goin’ there,” as the old spiritual put it.  As believers, we need to be sure that our faith is genuine – that is, that we have truly put our belief and trust in Jesus Christ, alone, for salvation, and that our Christian faith is bringing forth good fruit.  The true test of the genuineness of faith is not mere words.  It is heart obedience to our Lord’s commands.  We cannot do any works either to get saved or stay saved – rather, our good works show us that our faith is genuine, as we see God working in us.  (Sunday, May 12, 1996)