Archive for the ‘Devotionals’ Category

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

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. 1 Peter 4:12

In the year 64 A.D., a fire broke out in the Circus Maximus in Rome, a fire that destroyed much of the city during a five day period. Rumours began that the emperor Nero had started the fire, so to detract attention from himself, Nero blamed the fire on Christians. That meant that anyone confessing to be a Christian became a public enemy and became the target of intense persecution that continued for some 200 years. The ancient historian Tacitus describes this persecution in more detail: ‘In their deaths, these Christians were made a mockery. They were covered in the skins of wild animals, torn to death by dogs, crucified or set on fire so that when darkness fell they burned like torches in the night. Nero opened his own gardens for this spectacle, and gave a show in the arena where he mixed with the crowd, or stood dressed as a charioteer.’ The incredible unfairness of all of this persecution shocks us today, but it was what Christians were facing as Peter wrote today’s text. Peter might also have found the fiery trial unfair, but he did not think it strange.

You and I face trials, although we have to confess they are not as fiery as those faced by Christians in the first century. No, we don’t like those trials. But like Peter we should not consider them strange. The Lord Jesus was persecuted. And He reminds us that we will be too: ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Name’s sake’ (Matthew 24:9). Being associated with the Name of the Lord Jesus is a high and holy honour, but the world doesn’t appreciate it, and will persecute us for it. As Christians, we must accept that.

Our text reminds us that the fiery trials are to try, or test, us. A good illustration is the way in which precious metals such as gold are purified. Only by going through intense fire can the impurities in the gold be burned off and removed. In the same way, God sometimes has to put you and me through trials to cause us to shed the world’s impurities that interfere with our relationship with the Lord and our service for Him. The trial may not be pleasant, but it does us good. Some Christians fail to see God’s love for us behind the trials, and they miss out on all that God would have for them. They think it strange that they have to suffer for their faith; they need to reread our text.

Fiery trials are not pleasant for now. But if we accept them as from the Lord, we will enter into the joy that our Lord has for us because of them. – Jim MacIntosh

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10

One lady tried to explain to me that today’s text doesn’t apply to her, because she is not a man. Well, she’s not off the hook, because the original Greek doesn’t use the word for ‘man’, it uses the word for ‘each’. God has made each Christian a steward, and has given each Christian gifts to use in that stewardship. What gift or gifts has He given to you? You had better find out if you want to be a good steward.

Our stewardship reminds us that we have a special responsibility in this world. Only Christians can fulfil this responsibility. Whether in being a Gospel witness or in being of service to the Lord and to others, this responsibility is ours to do our Lord’s will.

Our stewardship also reminds us that it is in regard to the manifold grace of God. God’s grace to us provided us a salvation that we don’t deserve. And the people to whom we minister in our stewardship don’t deserve for us to serve them as well. We don’t share the Gospel with them because they deserve it, but because God’s grace desires it. We don’t serve others because they deserve it, but because the grace of God would have it so. It should be exciting to us that God can actually use you and me to show His grace to an undeserving world.

Our stewardship also reminds us of the need to be faithful. ‘Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful’ (1 Corinthians 4:2). We are to be faithful to God and to His Word. We are to be faithful to our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and to the Assembly of which God has made us be a part. We are to be faithful to our communities and our families. We are to be faithful to those that the Lord brings us into contact for sharing our faith.

Our stewardship also reminds us that we must give an account of our stewardship. ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad’ (2 Corinthians 5:10). It will be a complete accounting, of that we are sure. How will we account to God for all of the blessings that He gave us, for all of the opportunities that He gave us, for all of the people who He brought us in contact with?

The manifold grace of God is in our hands. God has given to us gifts to use as stewards of this grace. Are we using our gifts? – Jim MacIntosh

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

Atonement Day in ancient Israel was a big deal! No day in the Jewish calendar was so special as Yom Kippur as the nation celebrated the safe emergence of the high priest from the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle after he had entered to apply blood to the ark’s mercy seat. For another year, the sins of the people were covered. A year later, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the same ceremony occurred, and the year after that, and so on. There was no end to the sacrifices, including the many other sacrifices and offerings laid out in the Levitical code. The parade of innocent lambs and bullocks to the altar was continuous, and the Israelites accepted that as part of what God required of them. That is why today’s text comes as a great shock to them. It tells us that the never-ending cycle of sacrifices has been broken by a Sacrifice that satisfies God’s requirements forever! Calvary has rendered Yom Kippur obsolete.

Old Testament lambs died and were consumed on the altar. They never came back. But when we look to Calvary, we see that the Lamb of God, Who was put to death in the flesh, is now quickened by the spirit, living in the power of an endless life. Old Testament lambs had no power of resurrection, because they could not defeat death. So they had to be repeated over and over. But the sufferings of Christ must occur only once. Old Testament lambs may have been innocent, but they were not just. Only the Lamb of God, the Just, could die for the unjust and forever satisfy God’s holy justice.

Our text reminds us of the great purpose of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice: to bring us to God. The dread with which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies was matched by the apprehension of the people as they awaited his return. They could never know for certain if God would be satisfied, or if their relationship with God would be restored for another year. Not so with the sufferings of Christ for sins! We are reminded of God’s satisfaction with His sufferings in Isaiah 53:11: ‘He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied’. The fall of our first parents in Eden created such a vast chasm between mankind and God that it took the infinite sufferings of the Son of God to bridge and to bring us to God. The term ‘bring us to God’ is not just a vague term of generality; it is a very real term describing a very real, very precious, and eternal relationship. As soon as you and I accepted what God has already accepted as the atonement for our sins, we were brought to God.

The Lord Jesus has brought us to God through His sufferings. Nothing that you or I could ever do will change that forever. – Jim MacIntosh

And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Love (rendered charity in our text) covers the multitude of sins: most Christians, and many non-Christians, can and do quote this portion of the verse. But do we know what it means? Some say it means love keeps us from seeing or noticing sins against us at all. Others insist the verse means that even if we see sins against us, we are to ignore them. Still others believe that we are to forgive every sin that we see. As nice as these sound, they fail the test of the rest of Scripture. For sure, the goal should be that we forgive whatever sins others commit against us. But that goal is sometimes impossible. Our text does not say that love forgives the multitude of sins, it says love covers the multitude of sins. That means that love can be applied in the case of every sin.

If we happen to see another Christian living in sin, the most unloving thing we could do for them is to ignore it or forget about it. Love would cause us to do all that we can to bring that Christian back into fellowship with the Lord and with other Christians. We must do this in a spirit of grace and with the leading of the Holy Spirit, but we must do it out of love for that sinning Christian. That being said, it is definitely not necessary to confront a brother or sister in Christ for every indiscretion that we encounter with them. 

There is an interesting – and I think wise – quote from R.C Sproul on this subject: ‘Peace in the church calls us to under-accuse, over-repent and over-forgive. Let us not be afraid to call sin sin, but let us not be slow to forgive it and to look past it.’ Let’s use the example of another Christian ignoring us. The first time it happens, we shrug it off, giving that other Christian the full benefit of any doubt. Almost certainly it was not intentional. The second time it happens, we flag it for future reference and move on. Only when it becomes a consistent pattern do we step in and make a loving move toward that other Christian to patch up the relationship.

There is more than one Greek word that is translated as ‘charity’ or ‘love’ in our Bibles. Which Greek word is used in our text? It is not philadelphia, the brotherly love that we have for each other as Christians. It is agape, the unconditional unlimited sacrificial love that God has for us. And it is to be fervent, our text declares. That type of love will cover whatever multitude of sins that occur. May it be so among us. -Jim MacIntosh

But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 1 Peter 4:7

Most biblical scholars estimate that Peter wrote his first epistle during or near the year AD 60. That makes it more than 19 and a half centuries ago! So was Peter wrong to say that the end of all things is at hand? If you are reading this, it is obvious that the end of all things has not occurred. No, Peter wrote this statement under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so he could not possibly be wrong. So we have to determine what Peter – and the Holy Spirit – meant with such a reminder of an imminent end of all things related to time and sense. This is important because, until the end comes, we are to be sober and watchful unto prayer.

First, let us look at the eternal perspective. Eternity’s unending passage of that which transcends time is not something that you and I can understand. We are so accustomed to clocks and calendars that we can’t imagine any other medium of existence. All we know is that eternity is without beginning nor end. And when we place the 19 and a half centuries since our text was penned against the scale of eternity, we can see that the end of all the things we know and see is at hand. In fact, we can see that the centuries are very short and fleeting. It may seem long to us, but to the God of eternity, the end is at hand.

Next, let us look at the personal perspective. As we grow older, we can relate to Jacob’s observation when he was 130 years old, ‘Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been’ (Genesis 47:9). During his lifetime, Jacob, like his father and grandfather, obtained great wealth and possessions. But they took none of those possessions with them, neither into the cave of Machpelah where they were buried nor into the next life where their spirits dwell. Just as the end of all things came to them, so will the end of all things come for us. ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.’ (1 Timothy 6:7).

And finally, let us look at the prospective perspective. It is this perspective that enables us to view all of the things around us with a willingness to let them go. You may remember the story of a canvasser who was urging an old miser to make a donation, saying ‘You can’t take it with you’. To which the miser replied, ‘Then I ain’t going!’. What the miser failed to realize is that, for the Christian, nothing we have here is worth anything compared to what awaits us in the Glory. Even the gold that we have here would fail the grade for paving stones in Heaven. And earth’s diamonds and pearls are too tiny and inferior to be considered for Heaven’s gates. So the end of all things here will mean the beginning of better things there. And for us, the end of all things here occurs as soon as we hear our Lord’s shout calling us home.

The end of all things is at hand. What will be disaster for the unredeemed will be Glory for you and me. – Jim MacIntosh

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. 1 Peter 4:4

June 12, 2016, 29 year old security guard Omar Mateen called 911 and swore allegiance to the leader of the violent and radical Islamic organization ISIS. Then Mateen went to a gay nightclub named Pulse in Orlando, Florida, where he shot and killed 49 people and injured 53 others, in the worst terrorist attack in the United States since the 9-11 attacks. So who was to blame for that terrible crime? Not radical Islam, according to Chase Strangio, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. Strangio issued at least two tweets in which he declared that the real culprit in the Orlando killings was the ‘Christian Right’. Despite having not a scrap or shred of evidence to support his claim, Strangio spewed his vicious hatred against Christians and their rejection of homosexuality. A popular liberal organization called Occupy Democrats republished Strangio’s tweets because they agree with him. And news anchor Sally Kohn of the television network CNN issued similar statements, blaming the crime on Christian ‘violence and intolerance’, and not on Islam. While we shake our heads at such nonsense, it appears that much of the world around us is being shaped to agree with this lunacy. Whenever Christians disagree with promoting homosexuality or disagree with abortion, or disagree with the elimination of marriage in modern-day families, the news media and many liberal organizations make sure that the Christians are placed in the light of being intolerant and ignorant ‘hate-mongers’. All because they think it strange that we do not run with them to the same excess of riot.

As Christians, we will increasingly be considered strange and be evil spoken of. Because of this, we will come under increasing persecution if we remain faithful to God and to His Word. Are we willing to accept that? We had better make up our minds about it, because it is going to happen. This growing reality of persecution through which Christians have had to pass down through the centuries is actually normal. We who have been living in such wide-open freedom for so long are the ones who have been out of step with our Lord’s promise that we will suffer persecution. ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution’ (2 Timothy 3:12). Two things will happen to us. Firstly, this persecution will drive us closer to our Lord as we feel the need for His presence and preservation. Secondly, we will see the Gospel prosper as never before, just as it has always done during persecutions of Christians in the past.

The more the world thinks us strange for being Christians, the more we are becoming just like our Lord expects us to be. – Jim MacIntosh

For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing than for evil doing. 1 Peter 3:17

The emergence of DNA evidence has been a great boon to police departments in helping them to bring criminals to justice. With DNA evidence, police can be positive that they have arrested the right person for certain crimes. But DNA evidence has also been used to help clear the names of some people who have been unjustly accused and convicted of crimes in the past. Many stories have emerged of people who have spent years in prison for crimes that they did not commit, because the jury at their trials believed the lies told by their accusers. We consider how unfair it has been for those people to have wrongfully suffered in prison. It is also unfair for Christians to be mistreated for doing that which is right. But as our text declares, it is better to suffer such mistreatment than to be punished for doing wrong.

Do Christians suffer today for doing well? Oh yes, they do! In fact, such suffering should be expected. ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution’ (2 Timothy 3:12). We read of the terrible persecution of Christians in the early days, and down through history. We read of the sufferings of Christians in Communist, Islamic, and Hindu lands today. Those people don’t deserve to suffer as they do, given that their suffering is based on their testimony for Christ. And before we get too comfortable in our safe land, suffering for well doing is coming our way. Most of us are aware of cases of Christians who have lost their businesses and paid huge fines for refusing to promote the abomination of homosexuality. Many other people are facing censure, boycotts, and public shaming for their stands against those things that the Word of God declares to be wrong. Christians are being accused of being hateful and prejudiced by the hateful and prejudiced organizations that are promoting evil. Their power is getting stronger, and they have gained the support of governments to promote and enforce the acceptance of their evil. If you and I are to continue to obey the Word of God, we will soon come into conflict with laws that make our obedience to the Word of God illegal. We will suffer for well doing. Our Assemblies that base our doctrines and practices on the Word of God will also come under attack and government censure. We will suffer for well doing. Is this fair? Of course not. So the question facing us in light of this growing threat is whether it is the will of God for us to endure this suffering.

Christians have always suffered persecutions for well doing. Our turn is coming. – Jim MacIntosh

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15

Nobody asks a profane person living in open ungodliness and filthy habits about their faith. But when was the last time anybody asked you about your faith? Hopefully we are not like a young man who trusted Christ in a series of Gospel meetings one summer, but who went to work in a remote logging camp for the winter. Other Christians were concerned about how he would fare in such a place. When he returned in the spring, they asked him how he managed to survive as a Christian. ‘No problem’, he replied, ‘they never suspected a thing.’ We cringe at such an attitude by a believer. But do people around us suspect us of being different from them in spiritual matters? If not, we will never have an opportunity to give them an answer when they ask about it.

During the days when Peter was writing this letter, people had no problem distinguishing who were Christians and who were not. It was a day when immorality and dishonesty were the norm, and anyone who was moral and honest would stand out. This led to a great deal of persecution for the Christians. But it also led to wonderful opportunities for the Christians to witness to those around them who were curious or concerned about the difference. Peter is encouraging the Christians of his day to have a ready response when those opportunities came. And they were ready. The Gospel spread like wildfire in those days, largely because the Christians were so ready to give an answer whenever they were asked. The Gospel should spread like wildfire today, too, because our modern world is as rampantly immoral and dishonest as in the early days of Christianity, and Christians should stand out as sharply as those early Christians did. Do you have an answer ready?

What do you tell people who wonder why you don’t tell smutty jokes or ‘run with them to the same excess of riot’ (1 Peter 4:4)? What do you tell people who wonder why you don’t smoke, do drugs, or engage in other destructive habits? What do you tell someone who asks if your modest clothing is ‘because of your religion’? How do you respond when asked if it isn’t unfair for ‘your church to expect you to be so good all the time’? And can you explain why your faith is different from the religion that doesn’t seem to make much difference in the lives of those who have it? Where do we get answers for questions like these? From the Bible. If we read the Bible as much as we should, we won’t have any problem answering any questions about our faith.

If nobody asks you about your faith today, do you know why? If somebody does ask about your faith today, do you know what to say? -Jim MacIntosh

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 1 Peter 3:12

While I was driving a couple of my granddaughters home from their swim team practice, the radio was on, with a CBC documentary about a survivor of the holocaust in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Hannah noticed an unfamiliar term and turned to me to ask, ‘What’s a Nazi?’ The fact that this term was unfamiliar to her is a good thing! Our children and grandchildren have been spared the horrors of knowing the evil inflicted on the world by the Third Reich. I briefly explained to her about those vile people, including the horror of Hitler’s murder of six million Jews. And I added that Hitler’s punishment will be so much the greater because of God’s promise against those who raise their hand against His chosen people. It is a glaring example of what our text today speaks concerning the face of God against them that do evil.

I have always been touched by the lovely benediction of Numbers 6:24-26: ‘The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.’ This is the benediction that Aaron the high priest and his sons were to use to bless the children of Israel. And it is a reminder to us today of the greatness of the privilege of having the face of the Lord turned our way. It is also a reminder of the joyous anticipation of every believer to see the face of our Saviour when we reach our eternal home. Amid all of the wonders of Heaven, none will hold our attention like that of our Saviour’s countenance. But that very face that you and I are so anxiously longing to see is the very same face that will forever fill with dread the souls of those who have done evil.

Many people were disappointed at the end of the Second World War that Adolph Hitler was not captured alive, to face a court for his horrible crimes, believing that he had escaped the justice that was his due. But Hitler will one day see the face of the God before which he committed those crimes. And justice will be perfectly dispensed. So will justice be perfect against all others who have committed terrible crimes, and even those whose crimes were – in human reckoning – minor or non existent. That is why you and I should never concern ourselves with vengeance against those who injure us; God will handle that case.

How terrible for those against whom God has turned His face in judgment! How glorious for those toward whom God has turned His face in blessing! – Jim MacIntosh