Archive for the ‘Daily Devotional’ Category

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12

We used small brown scribblers at MacLeod School in West New Annan, scribblers in which we worked out the arithmetic problems in our textbooks, and in which we wrote any notes that the teacher felt it was important for us to have. The top half of the back cover of those scribblers contained something that we referred to every day: the times tables. Sometimes when we were discarding a scribbler, we took the scissors and clipped that section of times tables out and kept in on our desk. Over and over again, we would go over those times tables until we knew them so well that we could respond with the correct answer at any time when the teacher would ask us. To this day, those of us who attended MacLeod School can recite the times tables, up to twelve times twelve, without missing a beat. Kids in today’s schools can’t do that. Why? They don’t repeat the times tables like we did. It takes repetition to establish those arithmetic truths in our minds, just like it takes repetition to establish spiritual truths in our souls. Here are five spiritual truths to start with, truths that should be embedded deeply in every one of us.

One: the price of our redemption. Never forget the words of 1 Peter 1:18-19: ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’. It cost God everything, the blood of His Son, to save you and me; never forget that.

Two: the people God used – and uses – to bless us. Do you ever thank the Lord for the person who first touched your heart with the Gospel, the preachers who clearly presented your need of salvation, the fellow saints who are always there when your soul needs a lift. We owe far more than we realize to a few very special people who God used to draw – and keep – us to Himself.

Three: the promises that God has given to us to give us the assurance of our salvation, the comfort of His care and preservation, and the joy of His eternal home as our everlasting dwelling. The treasure box of God’s promises is always overflowing as we explore them in His Word.

Four, the provision that God has made for us for eternity. As we grow in our understanding of the temporary nature of this life, we can grow in our understanding that the mansions of Glory are being prepared for us by a God Who longs to have us in His presence.

Five: the performance that God expects of us in our Christian life. Listen to these all-important words of Paul from Romans 12:1: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service’.

If we want to be established in the present truth, as our text says, we need to be always putting into remembrance the price of our redemption, the people God uses to bless us, the promises God has given us, the provision that guarantees our eternity, and the performance that God seeks from us. – Jim MacIntosh

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4

When I was a youngster, we used to sing a Sunday School chorus that went something like this: ‘Every promise of the Book is mine, Every chapter, every verse, every line, All the blessings of His love divine, Every promise of the Book is mine.’ It’s a lovely chorus, but it has one major problem: it’s not correct. It is true that the Bible is full of exceeding rich and precious promises, as our text declares. But not all of those promises apply to us. There are three basic types of promises in the Scriptures: promises made to Israel, unconditional promises made to Christians, and conditional promises made to Christians. The promises to Israel are interesting, sometimes fascinating, but often have little real relevance to you and me. But the promises made to Christians are far more wonderful and fulfilling than we are able to grasp today. But they are well worth considering.

There are some folks who claim to be saved, but who worry about losing their salvation. These folks don’t know that salvation is an unconditional promise of God. Everlasting life is everlasting, regardless of anything that we could ever do or say. Our home in Heaven for eternity is secured the moment we trust Christ as Saviour (John 14:2-3), and that guarantee can never be broken. Neither can many other guarantees that God has given to His people. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us is never withdrawn, nor is the promise of the Lord Jesus that He will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We also have this precious guarantee of divine preservation: ‘He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways’ (Psalm 91:11). We ought to be excited today at the wealth of unconditional promises that are ours. But when we consider the conditional promises that God offers, we get a glimpse at the real potential that we have for accessing the blessings of God.

Conditional promises are those that our Lord has for Christians who live up to their side of the deal. For example, consider this promise from Psalm 55:22: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.’ If we learn to cast our cares on the Lord, we have His guarantee of sustaining us. If we insist on carrying our cares ourselves, we miss out on the blessing of being unburdened and free of those cares. Search the Book and find an unending list of such promises, including the power and direction to succeed if we venture forth in service for the Lord. There are promises of comfort if we seek it in in the Lord, promises of spiritual nourishment if we seek it in the Scriptures, promises of sweet fellowship if we seek it in the Lord’s people. And there are promises of rich and eternal rewards for faithfulness and devotion. ‘In the words of the old hymn: ‘There’s a crown and you can win it, If you go in Jesus’ Name’.

God is not overstating the case when He calls His promises to us exceeding rich and precious. And they become all the more rich and precious as we lay hold on them for ourselves. -Jim MacIntosh

According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. 2 Peter 1:3

A friend of mine who was involved in plenty of harmful habits declared that he was going to straighten up his life. His plan was to join a local church and to become active in it. He was sure that this would help him to overcome his habits and become a better person. Several months later, I found him back at his old haunts grovelling in his old habits. When I talked to him about it, he declared that joining the church had not helped a bit. ‘I don’t know how you people do it,’ he told me, referring to the Christians I was with. I was not surprised with the failure of his little experiment, because religion never gave anybody any power to resolve any problems. My friend didn’t need a new leaf or a new church; he needed divine life, and the power that comes with it. No church can provide that. Our text declares that everything we have as Christians is because of the divine power of Jesus Christ. And it’s not something that we work for or join up for; it’s a power that is a gift, a part of the great package of our salvation.

The reason my friend lacked any power to change was he lacked life. He was still in his sins, in spiritual death. So were we, until we received divine life. Nobody who is saved has more divine life than any other Christian. Just like with our physical bodies, in which we are either alive or dead, so with our spirits; we are either alive or dead. And Christians are alive! The ‘everlasting life’ of John 3:16 began when we entered into God’s great salvation. That being said, there is a difference in how much each of us appreciate and enter into the good of our eternal life. It’s the same as people who are physically alive. Some appreciate their life and its abilities more than others, and accomplish far more than those who just sit around and watch others perform.

My friend thought that he would become godly by joining a church. He was going to the wrong source. Going to church doesn’t make us godly any more than going to a hospital makes us doctors. That is why so many horrible crimes are committed in the name of religion, even the so-called Christian religion. Consider the butchery and debauchery of Rome through the Middle Ages, and even that church’s sexual predators of our own age. Other religions are no better. They lack the power to live in godliness. But we have that power. We are able to live as God Himself would want us to live. We have the power to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ and to be the witnesses and the workers that He has called us to be.

God has called us to glory and virtue. And He has given us the power to respond to that call. – Jim MacIntosh

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10

When Charlie went to visit his friend in a part of the country he had never seen before, the two went for a walk to explore. When they came to a deep ravine, Bob pointed out a narrow path that ran along the ravine, telling Charlie to follow him. Bob scampered along the path that was familiar to him, but Charlie, terrified and reluctant, shuffled along slowly and with great caution. But as he looked ahead, he could see Bob moving with ease and confidence, and he took courage from Bob’s example, making it through the ravine safely. Charlie is like us, full of fears and apprehension until we understand that we are following a path that our Saviour has already trod, and we have His perfect example to follow. What at first appears to us to be suffering becomes a walk of service and devotion to our Lord.

Peter is writing to suffering Christians, folks enduring things that you and I know nothing about. Many were abandoned by their families, unable to find employment, scorned by all who they knew, persecuted and despised, and in many cases beaten and chased out of town. Some had died for their faith and all were hunted and harrassed. In the midst of their fears and deprivation and sorrow, Peter reminds them that their suffering is but for a while, and there is an eternal glory to anticipate. He reminds them that the struggles they are enduring will lead to better things for them, and will build them up in their faith.

When he writes of making them perfect, Peter is speaking of maturity, how the Christians will use their experiences to grow in their faith and in their dependence on God to sustain them. Maturity should be the goal of every Christian as we learn the Word of God and step into the responsibilities that God has for our lives.

The word ‘stablish’ refers to the stability of a Christian who has learned to depend on God. There is nothing wishy-washy about a Christian who has developed deep roots into the Word to be able to stand against the winds of opposition and satanic attack. The need to stand against the storms of tribulation will stablish and strengthen us as Christians. In ourselves, we are weak and incapable of surviving those storms, but we are not functioning in our own abilities. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me’ (Philippians 4:13).

The term ‘settled’ refers to the confident satisfaction in being where the Lord would have us be, and doing what the Lord has for us to do. When we are settled, we are happy in the Lord.

Remember the chorus of the old hymn: Trust and obey, For there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. – Jim MacIntosh

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Modern-language versions of the Bible delete the word ‘because’ from our text. Even the Darby translation omits the ‘because’. Apparently the Alexandrian scholars who produced corrupted versions of the Bible manuscripts in the early centuries didn’t like the direct link that the Holy Spirit makes between our need to be sober and vigilant and the mission of the devil to destroy us. Keep in mind that 95 percent of all Bible manuscripts do have the ‘because’ in our text. So we can be pretty safe in leaving it just where it is. And we can be very suspicious of those who would want to take it out. Maybe they are doing the devil’s work.

The word ‘sober’ means much more than not drinking alcohol, although it certainly includes that. The word indicates being clear headed and well balanced in our thinking. When it comes to spiritual matters, the devil has fooled untold millions into accepting things that are not the product of clear headed and well balanced thinking. Most of the doctrines of the cults and false religions such as Islam are based on nonsense, outright lies of deceivers, and distortions that rational thinking should automatically dismiss. But they are not being dismissed by ever growing numbers of people who are failing to heed the message of our text. Our faith, on the other hand, is based on the solid evidence of the Word of God, as preserved by the Holy Spirit. Eye witnesses to the life of Christ and to the events described in the Scriptures give us confidence in the truth and power of the Word of God. The devil’s attacks include trying to cloud our minds and make us willing to accept the irrational doctrine of those who deny the Word of God. But there is nothing more rational than our acceptance of the Word.

The word ‘vigilant’ indicates that we need to be watchful and alert against the devil’s wiles. That is because the devil is sneaky beyond our knowledge. As already indicated, he has fooled many Christians into accepting Bible versions that downplay the holiness of God, the deity of Christ, and the truth of the Gospel. He has fooled many Christians into allowing the world’s vile entertainment to remain a major part of their lives. He has fooled other Christians into assuming that worship can take a back seat to service, that prayer and Bible reading are optional, that the fellowship with the world can be interchanged with fellowship with the Lord’s people, and dozens of other lies that seem to be working so well. It is obvious to those who watch carefully that the devil is succeeding in keeping Christians from being vigilant today.

The devil will devour our testimony for the Lord unless we remain sober and vigilant. – Jim MacIntosh

Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

The salmon fisherman stood on a rock on the riverbank, and began working his line to get more and more of it out of the reel. The line whipped back and forth in the air until the fisherman was finally satisfied, then with a mighty heave, he shot his rod forward and allowed the fly to reach out and land in an eddy in the middle of the river. He breathed a sign of relief as he saw the fly land where he wanted it to. It was obvious that this fisherman was an expert at the art of casting. When it comes to our cares, it’s an art that Christians would do well to learn and practice.

Only one other place in our Bibles is this word ‘casting’ used, in Luke 19:35: ‘And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon’. It is the Greek word ‘epiripto’, which means to violently throw or hurl on top of something. There is nothing in the word that suggests or even allows a brushing off, a setting aside, or a handing over of our cares. No, the thought is for us to cast them with vigour onto the Lord. It might be easy for the fisherman to just drop his fly into the water next to his rock, but he would never catch a salmon that way. It might be easy for us to just push our cares aside, but we would never have the assurance that our Lord was carrying the entire burden of those cares. And note that our text tells us that this applies to all of our cares, not just most of them. We must not keep one little care for ourselves to fret and fuss over and to keep us worrying. No problem is so big that the Lord Jesus can’t handle it, and no problem is so small that He doesn’t care all about it.

There are two reasons why we should cast our cares on the Lord Jesus. Firstly, we are not able to carry all those cares ourselves. Those cares will prey on our minds and on our bodies, causing us to be discouraged and tired. Our health, both mental and physical, will suffer. Casting our cares on our Lord frees us from their destructive effect on us. Secondly, we don’t have to carry those cares, because the Lord Jesus is both willing and able to carry them for us. He Who bore the great burden of our sins to Calvary is surely able to bear the burden of whatever cares we are experiencing today.

Here is another reason for us to love our Lord: He loves us so much that He will handle all of the cares that we can cast upon Him. -Jim MacIntosh

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5

That great preacher of a past century, C.H. Spurgeon, was once quoted as saying that if the last enemy to be destroyed is death, the second to last enemy to be destroyed is pride. Oh, what a monstrous enemy pride is! It was pride that caused our first parents to fall in Eden. It was pride that led Cain to offer to God the works of his own hands instead of a blood sacrifice. It has been pride that has caused men and women to rise to great positions of authority and oppression. It has been pride that has been behind just about every sin and crime ever committed by mankind. It is pride that prevents sinners from obeying the Gospel. And it is pride that sows discord and animosity among the Lord’s people. Putting on a cloak of humility, as our text directs, is not part of our old sinful nature.

The previous two verses speak of the need for the elders among the Lord’s people to be submissive to the Chief Shepherd, and the first part of our text today speaks of the younger being submissive to the elder. That is God’s order, even though it is not the world’s order. Nor does it refer to the practice of the cults such as the Mormons who give the title ‘Elder’ to lads barely old enough to shave. For some people, submission is hard, because it is not natural, at least, not according to the old nature that was ours by virtue of our first birth. It takes the second birth, God’s salvation, to give to us the new nature that enables us to accept submission to God’s order for His people.

The term ‘clothed with humility’ is an interesting one. We are familiar with people in various occupations wearing a uniform or a type of suit or garment that is appropriate to their profession. Doctors wear white coats, for example, while firefighters wear protective gear, soldiers and police wear uniforms, and fishermen wear oilskins. They put these garments on to protect and help themselves at their jobs, and to identify themselves as being a member of their occupation. In the same way, when the world, or other Christians, see our godly humility, they will recognize us as Christians. Just as people would question the authority of a policeman out of uniform, so people are justified in questioning our Christianity if they don’t see us clothed with humility. It is the garment of humility that identifies us as Christians, and it is that same garment that preserves us from all of the fiery darts of pride that the devil will shoot at us every day.

The world makes much today of assertive self-confidence. The Lord makes much today of humility and submission to His holy order. – Jim MacIntosh

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. 1 Peter 5:2

Someone recently posted an interesting quip that a preacher’s responsibility is to feed the sheep, not to entertain the goats. It’s hard to find fault with that. But it’s also hard to find a place today that calls itself a Christian church that follows that maxim. Modern ‘Christian’ music is designed to appeal to the emotions, not to the soul. Most sermons have more content from secular sources than from the Scriptures. They are presented in such a way as to generate the most chuckles and laughs than the most ‘Amens’ and tears of repentance. Feeding the flock of God is a serious business that has lost its seriousness and has been converted into a business. Those who would feed the flock of God as God would require must do so as a shepherd would feed his sheep.

A shepherd who knows sheep tells us that if sheep are on a pasture that they are comfortable with, they will remain there and eat all of the grass. When the grass is gone, they will eat the stubble, and then eat the sod, and then eat the dirt, before they will go looking for more pasture. Sheep have to be led to pasture. So does the flock of God. Those who would take the responsibility of feeding the flock must know where the good pasture is, and lead the flock to it, whether that flock is a flock of sheep or the flock of God. It takes someone who knows the Word of God to take the flock to fresh pasture. Otherwise, the flock will starve.

A shepherd who knows sheep also tells us that sheep lack the ability to tell what food is good for them. They will eat good grass or poor grass, healthy grains or poison weeds, if you will let them. So a shepherd who feeds the flock must know where the good grass is and where the bad grass is, and keep the sheep feeding on one while leading them away from the other. Otherwise, the flock will be poisoned.

A shepherd who knows sheep tells us that he has never seen a sheep fight for itself. That’s because it can’t. A sheep is unable to bite or scratch or kick, or even run as fast as any predator. Few creatures in the world are as defenceless as a sheep. Sheep desperately need a shepherd to defend them from enemies and from their own foolish behaviour. Otherwise, the flock will be destroyed or led away by an enemy.

Who is feeding the flock of God where you are? Are they truly feeding the sheep, or just entertaining the goats? – Jim MacIntosh

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. 1 Peter 5:1

During my many years as a reporter, and among the many hundreds of people I interviewed over those years, there is one type of person I was always looking for and was always glad to find: an eye witness! People who had an opinion to express were a dime a dozen, and people who would gladly pass on something that they had heard others say were always within arm’s reach. But the people I wanted to talk to were the people who had actually seen things happen. If the story was about a deadly accident, I wanted to hear from somebody who had heard the tires screeching and had felt the vibration of the collision. If the story was about a new bridge, I wanted to talk with somebody who had set foot on it and had discovered how much time they could save by using the bridge. Only an eye witness could provide the details of the action and the carnage. Only an eye witness could express the emotions that went along with viewing a great event. Somebody who could truthfully say, ‘I was there when it happened’, was somebody worth listening to. And that’s why the people who Peter was writing this epistle to would heed his words carefully: this was a man who had actually seen the Lord Jesus, an actual eye witness to the Saviour’s suffering during the events leading up to Calvary and even the events of the cross.

We don’t have any eye witnesses today of the sufferings of Christ. But we do have the written record of actual eye witnesses. The Gospel of John was written by a man who actually was at Golgotha while Jesus was hanging on the cross there. We are not sure if Mark was there, but his Gospel is based on eye witness accounts from Peter, so his Gospel can be considered first-hand evidence – admissible in any court of law! In our text, and even in the context, Peter does not go into details about the sufferings of Christ. But by establishing his credentials as an eye witness, he makes his case for having the right to exhort the leaders of the Lord’s people. And he also gives us a good reason to rejoice in the hope that we have as Christians.

Peter speaks of being a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Unlike the events of Calvary, this is not something that Peter had seen with his own eyes. This is something that he had seen by faith, something that means more to him than anything in the world. If we can believe Peter’s eye witness account of Calvary, we can believe in the glory that Peter is expecting by faith. For almost two thousand years, Peter has been in the glory, beholding the One Who he had seen during His suffering now crowned with glory and honour.

We have the testimony of an eye witness. Based on Peter’s testimony, we humbly thank God for the One Who suffered for our sins, and Who is waiting to greet us when we arrive to partake in His glory. – Jim MacIntosh

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17

Our world was deeply shocked a few years ago at the terrible atrocities of the Daesh, those who would call themselves the Islamic State. Their crimes such as hacking to death innocent people, including children, make us shudder in shock, wondering how anyone could be so heartless and cruel. The actions of these vile people in accordance with the wishes of their satanic god Allah make us wonder if there are any worse sins in the world. We look at how our society is so openly embracing the acceptance of homosexuality, a lifestyle so obnoxious to God that He destroyed the gay cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and wonder if there are worse sins than that in the world. We look at the rising tide of atheistic views with their pet doctrines of spiritual apathy, witchcraft, and evolution, and wonder if the outright rejection of everything to do with God is as sinful as people can get. But it is not those sins that are mentioned in our text in relation to the judgment of God. The most grievous sin, says our text, is refusing to obey the Gospel of God.

The world does not realize how terrible this sin is. All of those other sins are things that can be forsaken and forgiven. Nobody will land in hell because they murdered, or stole, or were immoral. No, those who will be forever damned will be guilty of the one crime that bars them from Heaven. ‘And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire’ (Revelation 20:15). To be written in the Book of Life requires obedience to the Gospel of God. Obedience to the Gospel of God brings the sinner inside the shelter of the blood of Christ. Disobedience leaves the sinner exposed to the judgment of God.

Our text must make the Christian stop and think. Firstly, we must consider how thankful we should be that the Holy Spirit brought us to repentance and faith in Christ. Obedience to the Gospel has brought us not only outside the judgment that we deserved, but also brought us inside all of the riches of God’s blessings on His children. Secondly, we should think of all those we know who have not yet obeyed the Gospel of God. Could it be that our Lord could use us to remind them of the awful cost of not obeying the Gospel, and of the great blessings available to them if they should obey? -Jim MacIntosh