Daily Prayers – Page 34

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

Spiritual Babies

The deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.

–Galatians 5:19-21

Paul gave a strong word of rebuke to carnal Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:1: “I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.” He addressed them as “brethren,” acknowledging that these Corinthians, by and large, were believers. But notice the other two phrases he used to describe the Corinthian Christians.

First of all, Paul called them “men of flesh.” The Greeks believed that human flesh in and of itself was evil, which is why they had a hard time with the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Paul did not fall into the Greek way of thinking, but he said our flesh is evil because it has been polluted with sin. So when he called the Corinthians “men of flesh,” he was saying they were enslaved to the corrupt desires of their old sin nature.

In Galatians 5, Paul gave us a great checklist for carnality. He said, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (v. 16). The desire of the flesh is our corrupt desire to satisfy legitimate needs in an illegitimate way. Then Paul listed some “deeds of the flesh”: “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (vv. 19-21). If any of these characteristics fit you, then you may be a carnal Christian, a person of the flesh.

The second phrase Paul used in 1 Corinthians 3:1 to describe carnality is “infants in Christ.” Babies are precious things. But when a person who is ten years old or thirty years old acts like a baby, there is nothing precious about that.

In the same way, there are spiritually stunted people in the church, people who have been saved for five or ten or thirty years, yet they still act like spiritual babies. You see, spiritual maturity has nothing to do with age; it is a condition of the heart. Christians who are spiritually stunted throw temper tantrums when they do not get their way. They are always intent on fulfilling their own desires regardless of the fallout to other people. That is what the Corinthian Christians were like: they were completely self-centered.

Turning Point Devotion

Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.
2 Peter 3:12

One thought has occupied the minds of some of history’s greatest Christians: the soon return of Christ.

A little book called the Didache is among the earliest documents in Church history. There we read, “Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come.” Cyril wrote in the fourth century: “But let us wait and look for the Lord’s coming upon the clouds from heaven. Then shall angelic trumpets sound.” Skipping to the sixteenth century, we read this by John Calvin: “We must hunger after Christ until the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom.” In the eighteenth century, John Wesley said: “The Spirit in the heart of the true believer says with earnest desire, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’” And in the twentieth century, evangelist Billy Graham said: “Many times when I go to bed at night I think to myself that before I awaken Christ may come.”

Are you expecting Christ to come today? Perhaps this hour? “Be ready,” Jesus said, “for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

48.r. Wilderness – 12.x. “Take the count of the plunder”

Num 31:25-40 The LORD said to Moses, “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD. And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.” And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, and the LORD’s tribute of sheep was 675. The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 72. The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD’s tribute was 61. The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons.

“The booty is equally divided between the people and the soldiers; a five-hundredth part being given to the Lord, and a fiftieth part to the Levites.” (Clarke)

This accounting of spoil from the defeat of the Midianites shows a remarkable amount of plunder. Israel’s officers made this remarkable report to Moses and Eleazar. They took 12,000 men to battle against the Midianites, and not a man of them was missing. “This wondrous indication of Yahweh’s providence and protection would provide the armies of Israel with assurance and confidence for the coming campaigns in the land of Canaan.” (Guzik)

There was a lot of plunder. There was no death to any of Israel’s army. God determined the distribution of the plunder. This act of the sovereignty of God and His awesome power over the assignments given to Israel is given to us in scripture as another example of God’s love and provision, and His wrath and judgment. No matter what people may think, God is in control and His purposes and plans are right and just and holy. There can be no question of this. We may think some things to harsh and other things to soft, but how God directs His grace, mercy, love, anger, wrath, or judgment is His alone. It will always be just and right and holy.

48.q. “Wilderness” – 12.w. “Have you let all the women live?”

Num 31:14  And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.

Num 31:15  Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live?

Num 31:16  Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

Num 31:17  Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

Num 31:18  But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. (Henry)

Treatment of the Prisoners. – When Moses went out to the front of the camp with Eleazar and the princes of the congregation to meet the returning warriors, he was angry with the commanders, because they had left all the women alive, since it was they who had been the cause, at Balaam’s instigation, of the falling away of the Israelites from Jehovah to worship Peor; and he commanded all the male children to be slain, and every woman who had lain with a man, and only the young girls who had hitherto had no connection with a man to be left alive. (Brown)

Moses was angry because the children of Israel failed to see the great danger of sexual immorality and idolatry posed by these women who before had led the men of Israel into these exact sins. God’s people may be deceived by things that were a threat, but do not seem to be a present danger. The Israelite officers of the army thought these women were safe, but they were more dangerous to Israel than an army of mighty warriors. Israel could overcome mighty warriors if they were spiritually strong; but if they were seduced into immorality and idolatry, they would certainly fall. We often think of many things as dangerous to us as the people of God – hostile government, secular humanism, academic attack, and so forth. But when God’s people accept things among them that open the door to immorality and idolatry, this can be a much greater danger than any of those other things.

God has the right to judge not only individuals but also communities of all different sizes. Such judgments go beyond punishing individuals for their personal guilt; judgment comes upon the society as a whole, including those who may not be personally and individually guilty (such as children; the little ones). Sometimes God sends these judgments directly (as in the Genesis flood or with Sodom and Gomorrah), and sometimes God sends nations as instruments of His judgment (as with the Assyrians against the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians against the southern kingdom of Judah). In the broader conquest of Canaan, God uniquely used His people (Israel) as that instrument of judgment.

This harsh judgment often makes us uncomfortable but is rooted in both God’s fundamental right to judge (Psalm 9:8, 50:6), and in His merciful granting of much time for people to repent (Genesis 15:16). We can trust that God is a righteous judge (Genesis 18:25, Psalm 7:11). (Guzik)

“For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is right.” (Clarke)

“The nations today are at risk from the judgment of God. This is true whether they acknowledge it or not. One day that judgment will come. At that time there will be no weeping over women and boys who died in ancient Midian three and a half millennia ago; at that time the judgment of God will transcend anything ever written in the harshest Scripture.” (Allen)

48.p. “Wilderness” – 12.v. “They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses”

Num 31:7  They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male.

Num 31:8  They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

Num 31:9  And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.

Num 31:10  All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,

Num 31:11  and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.

Num 31:12  Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

There was this material difference between the wars of other nations and those of the Jews, that the former followed the bent of their own passions; whereas the Jews were only the ministers or executioners of divine justice, most evidently appointed to this work by God himself, as he manifested by a train of miracles wrought among and for them, such as had never been known on the earth before. So that no consequence can be deduced from their conduct in their wars, to warrant the like conduct in other people. (Benson)

It is a terrible thing to fall under the vengeance of God. Can you imagine the wrath God has stored up in this time of grace and mercy towards those who have not only rejected God but have also rejected and denied the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their redemption? Through God’s grace, mercy, and love He has reached out to His creation with an offer of restitution, forgiveness, and salvation – to reject or deny His Son, Jesus Christ, is to say to God; “I don’t need you, I don’t believe in you, I will do as I please, I willfully reject and deny any need of your grace, mercy, and love”. And yet, God in all of His holiness, grace, mercy, and love, and not wanting any to perish and spend eternity in Hell, sent His Son to redeem all mankind if they would but, believe, trust, cling to, rely on, obey, and follow Jesus Christ for their salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life.

Judgment, wrath, and anger are reserved but a time is coming when these will be unleashed on mankind. No one will be able to stand against the power and might of God.

48.o. “Wilderness” – 12.u. “Execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian.”

Num 31:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Num 31:2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

Num 31:3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian.

Num 31:4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.”

Num 31:5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins. (Henry)

Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites,…. For the injury they had done them, by sending their daughters among them, who enticed them to commit uncleanness with them, and then drew them into the worship of their idols, which brought the wrath of God upon them, and for which 24,000 persons were slain. (Gill)

The emphasis is on the fact that the LORD spoke to Moses in initiating this attack. This wasn’t about personal revenge, the conquest of territory, or the lust for plunder. “The war is announced by the Lord, not Moses. The war was not regarded by Moses as motivated by petty jealousy. It was ‘the Lord’s vengeance’ because of the wickedness of the Midianites, who caused the seduction of the Israelites in the pagan worship system of Baal of Peor.” (Allen)

In this circumstance, Israel was in a unique role – with a special call to be an instrument of God’s vengeance upon the varied people of and near Canaan. This is something no individual, acting on their own authority, can rightly take upon themselves today. There is also no community defined as the people of God (such as a church congregation or denomination) that has the same unique place that ancient Israel had in God’s plan. (This was something God called Israel to do together as a people, not just a few individual tribes. God wanted them to think and act as a unified people, despite their tribal differences. Guzik)

48.n. “Wilderness” – 12.t. “Vows of Women”

Num 30:3  “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth,

Num 30:4  and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:6  “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,

Num 30:7  and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:9  (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)

Num 30:12  But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her.

Num 30:16  These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.

Significantly, women were able to make vows and have a direct dealing with God. Even young women (with the approval of their father) could make promises to God, vow offerings to Him, or pledge seasons of self-denial to the LORD. “The very fact that women were making vows in this antique age is a step of great significance.” The father of a young woman in such circumstances also had the right to disapprove of his daughter’s vows, and to declare the vow invalid. He could approve of her vow by silence, with silence being understood as agreement. (Guzik)

But if her father held her back when he heard of it, i.e., forbade her fulfilling it, it was not to stand or remain in force, and Jehovah would forgive her because of her father’s refusal. Obedience to a father stood higher than a self-imposed religious service.(Keil)

If a husband objected to vows made by his wife, he had the right to overrule her. God considered the wife released from such disapproved vows. “The husband, as the male authority figure in the relationship, may choose from several courses of action: (1) permit the vow or oath to remain in effect by default—no action, (2) negate the obligation, or (3) affirm the commitment by word or deed.” if the husband confirmed his wife’s vow (either by silence or by specific approval), then he was responsible to make sure the vow was fulfilled (he shall bear her guilt).

That the widow and the divorced woman have the same status regarding the making of vows is significant. Such vows made by a woman not living with her parents and not married to a husband were considered binding. Any vows she made shall stand against her. “A woman who was no longer under the patriarchal authority of her father or her husband, whether by his death or by divorce, possessed the same status and responsibility of a man with regard to vows and obligations.”

This was an outworking of the principle of headship. When God declares someone to be in a position of rightful authority and others are expected to submit to that authority, the head is accountable before God for the result. When God grants authority, He also commands accountability. (Guzik)

“These regulations establish the headship of the father and the husband in regard to matters which belong to religion. And the significance of them lies in this, that no intrusion of the priest is permitted…. the father or husband was the family head and the judge. No countenance whatever is given to any official interference.” (Watson)

Pathway to Victory. – Devotion

Baby Talk

I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.

–1 Corinthians 3:1

“Dear Ann Landers: I’m an attractive 23-year-old woman with a great job, money in the bank, and a wonderful fiancé. . . . When I’m feeling really stressed or tired, I dress and act like a baby. I have adult-size diapers, rubber pants, baby pajamas, etc. I put these on, feed myself baby food from a jar and drink juice from a bottle. Then I fall asleep with a pacifier and a ‘blankie.’ . . .

“I know I can’t keep it from my fiancé forever. I just can’t muster the courage to tell him, and I’m desperate for help. Please advise. Signed, Twenty-Three-Year-Old Baby in Ohio.”

There is something humorous about the thought of a grown person dressed in a baby bonnet and shaking a rattle. It is a pretty funny picture–except when it happens in the church. When people who should be grown spiritually act like spiritual babies, the result is tragic, not only for the individual Christian but for the church as well. And it is the problem of spiritually stunted Christians that Paul addressed in the passage we are going to study this week.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul said there are two kinds of Christians: spiritually mature believers and carnal Christians. The carnal Christian is a slave to his old desires, his old habits, his old way of life because he never grows beyond the baby stage as a Christian. He resembles a non-Christian in both his actions and his attitudes. As commentator William Barclay wrote, “[His] interests and aims do not go beyond physical life.” Everything about his existence is centered in this world. Paul referred to him as a fleshly believer.

Do you know Christians like that? They cannot maintain any spiritual discipline in their life. They have no interest in reading the Bible, no interest in praying, no interest in sharing the gospel. Going to church is a chore. They are very self-centered–just like a baby, they can only think of themselves. They throw temper-tantrums in the church whenever they do not get their way. They are carnal. They are fleshly.

Paul had a strong word of rebuke for the church at Corinth and for us today. Because to be a carnal Christian is not acceptable before God.

Will Graham Devotion

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

It seems like every new day brings fresh reports of massive natural or man-made tragedies: Tornadoes, fires, floods, riots, shootings, and more. Closer to home, it’s very likely that you have encountered a divorce, a lost job, debilitating or life-threatening health problems, or some other heartbreaking trial.

It is completely natural to ask why God would allow something like this to happen, why there is so much pain in this world, and why you have been affected while others seem to have it easy.

To be honest, I don’t have the answers. There are a few things that I do know, because they are promised to us in the Bible.

God is in control. While we all want the mountaintop experiences—the wonderful times when everything is going well—those moments are few and fleeting. There is no golden ticket to an easy life.

In fact, Jesus told us in John 16:33 that the opposite is true: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Yes, there will be hard times—it’s guaranteed—but there’s also a promise: Christ has overcome the world and He is in control.

God promises that good will result from your suffering. My grandfather, Billy Graham, once said, “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.” Both the mountaintops and the valleys of life make us cry out to Jesus. The mountaintops cause us to praise God, while the valleys cause us cling to God.

If you put your faith in Jesus, He will take your suffering and use it to a positive end. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

You may be traveling a valley that is incredibly difficult and painful. However, I pray that you will take solace in knowing that God has a plan. You may not get to see the fruit this side of Heaven, but even now He is working through you. Your life matters!

God will walk beside you. In John 11, we read the story of Jesus’ friend Lazarus, who became ill and died. When Jesus arrived four days later, everybody—especially Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha—were mourning, and Jesus mourned as well. John 11:33 says, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (ESV). Jesus wept alongside Mary and Martha as He walked with them through their valley of sorrow, even though He knew what He was about to do. The tears turned to joy when Jesus miraculously raised Lazarus to life.

Similarly, God is not abandoning you in the midst of your darkest hour. You might not see a miracle on the level of Lazarus, but God understands your pain, is with you, and desires to comfort you in your suffering.

God promises eternity for His children. Further, God promises a glorious existence in Heaven, which waits on the other side of the painful realities of this world. Those who put their faith and hope in Jesus will experience what is described in Revelations 21:4: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” What an amazing promise!

My friends, short of the Lord’s return, each of us will die at some point. In the scope of eternity, the important thing isn’t when you stand before God, but where you stand with God. If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus, cling to Him. If you haven’t, please don’t put it off any longer. He’s the hope you’re searching for, and the only true and lasting remedy in this broken world.

Don’t wait. Trust in Jesus right now.

Pathway to Victory. – “The Carnal Christian At Church”

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?

–James 4:1

Even though the power of that old sin nature has been broken, its influence in our lives remains. And carnal Christians have become enslaved to the selfish desires of their old nature.

Second, they are self-centered. When you think about it, there is no one more self-centered than a baby–all she cares about is getting her needs met. And it is the same way with carnal Christians. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:3: “Since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” These carnal Christians in the Corinthian church, whom Paul called “infants in Christ” (v. 1), all wanted their own way. And whenever there are immature people in a marriage, in a friendship, or in a church who are each intent on getting their own way, you are going to have conflict. James 4:1 says, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”

When you hear people in the church who are always complaining about the music or the sermons or the programs, you are dealing with baby Christians. They think the church exists to do everything the way they want it done. But the church is not Burger King–you do not get to have it your way all the time. The church is not about you or me; it is about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our focus ought to be not on people but on God. That is why the writer of Hebrews said, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2).