Daily in the Word

“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.”

2 Samuel 11:1–2

The beginning of the greatest failure of David’s life was a simple decision—he stayed behind in Jerusalem when it was time to fight rather than going into the field with the army. We are not told what led to David’s foolish choice, but we do know the tragic result. He was exposed to a temptation that he would never have seen if he had been where he was supposed to be, and doing what he was supposed to be doing. While there is a time and a place for rest, and it is important for us to care for our health and our bodies, there is also a great danger in avoiding responsibilities and remaining idle.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.” When we are not doing what we should, we are opening the door to all kinds of trouble. We must never forget that we have an active, aggressive adversary who is constantly looking for ways to bring us down. Peter, who knew about failing to be alert to Satan’s attacks—if he had watched and prayed with Jesus instead of falling asleep, he might have claimed the Lord rather than denying Him—wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The devil does not take days off, and we cannot afford to help him by being idle when we should be working.

“But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.”

Philippians 2:19–22

In the late 1800s, a preacher in England went to visit a member of his congregation who had taken ill. The man worked the lowly job of a street sweeper. The preacher inquired as to whether anyone had visited the sick man, and was shocked to be told that William Gladstone, the Prime Minister of England, had just left the home. When he asked why Gladstone had visited a man without position or power, the sick man replied, “He always had a nice word for me when he passed my crossing, and when I was not there, he missed me. He asked the man who had taken my place where I was, and when he was told, he put it down on paper, so he called to see me.” He went on to tell his pastor that Gladstone had taken time to read the Bible and pray with him before leaving.

All of us have people in our lives who need a kind and comforting word from someone who cares. Too many times we fail to give it to them because we are not attentive and alert to what is happening around us. It is easy for us to be caught up in the busyness of our daily lives, without noticing those who are in need. Instead, we should take time to consider the needs of those around us, and offer the kind and caring words that can make all the difference to someone with a hurting heart.

Though we cannot guarantee that someone will care for us, we can make sure that we care about others.

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

1 Corinthians 2:13–15

In 1799, Pierre-Francois Bouchard, a soldier in Napoleon’s army fighting in Egypt made one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history—what is now known as the Rosetta Stone. Students of history had long recognized Egyptian hieroglyphic pictures as a written record, but had been unable to decipher what they meant. The stone contained the same text in both hieroglyphics and in ancient Greek, allowing the Egyptian written language to be understood for the first time. Information that they had not previously been able to translate could now be learned.

The Bible is a perfect book, inspired by God and completely without error. Yet the truth in its pages is like a foreign language to those who do not know the Lord. They may see the words, but they cannot comprehend the truth of Scripture. Such understanding and comprehension only comes through the work of the Holy Spirit.

And even as believers, we are not meant to rely on our own intellect and understanding when it comes to handling the Word of God. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Instead we are to rely on the indwelling Spirit of God. One of His primary works in our lives is to help us understand and apply what God has given us in His Word. Of course we should study and try to learn as much as we can from the Bible, but we cannot succeed without His help.

The Bible is not grasped and understood through great intelligence, but through Divine power.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.”

Isaiah 26:3–5

In 1555, England was riven by religious disputes. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and determined to undo the work of her father, Henry VIII, in establishing the Church of England. All those who were not Catholic were at risk. Nearly three hundred were executed during her five year reign, and one of those was a prominent theologian named Nicholas Ridley.

The night before Ridley was to be burned at the stake, his brother visited him and offered to spend the night with him. Ridley declined, saying, “I intend (God willing) to go to bed, and sleep as quietly tonight, as ever I did.” As he was being tied to the stake the next day, Ridley prayed, “Oh, Heavenly Father, I give unto Thee most hearty thanks that Thou hast called me to be a professor of Thee, even unto death. I beseech Thee, Lord God, have mercy on this realm of England, and deliver it from all her enemies.”

No matter how severe a trial we may be called to face, God’s peace is available if we trust in Him and pray. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). The problems we face are not meant to be faced alone, but as children of God we never have to act alone. He is always there when we call on Him.

Worry in our lives reveals that we are not praying and trusting God as we should.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:13–16

When Dr. Alexander McKenzie was teaching at Andover Seminary, in the late 1800s, he wanted a way to help his students grasp the nature of Christ. He gave them this assignment: “I [told] them to get a sheet of paper and divide it into three columns. In the first column, they were to write every passage where Christ is spoken of as God-man; in the second column, all the passages where Christ is spoken of as God alone; and in the third, all the passages where He is spoken of as man alone. The first column and the second column filled right up, but as to the third column, I never found a passage speaking of Christ as man alone.”

Misunderstandings about Jesus abound in our day. Most people do not see Him as both completely God and completely man, and the only Saviour and hope of Heaven. Some Christians have been influenced by the opinions and doctrines of the world and fail to understand the true nature and character of the Lord. Jesus is perfect, high and holy and the Messiah whose coming was promised for centuries before He appeared. God’s plan for us is that we become like His Son. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). If our vision of who Jesus is becomes clouded, we will not be shaped into His image.

Recognizing Jesus for who He really is must precede our growing to become more like Him.