DAY 345    Read 1 Peter.

Today's reading:  No positive date can be established for Peter's epistle to Christians scattered throughout what is now Turkey.  Interval evidence suggests the time during or just preceding Nero's persecution of Christians about A.D. 64 or 65.

Memory gem:  "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).

Thought for today:
Peter writes that Christ "went and preached unto the spirits in prison"  (1 Peter 3:19).

We ask, When did this preaching take place?  The answer is in the passage of Scripture itself.  Notice the words: "when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah."

That clause settles it.  Christ preached to those "spirits in prison" when God's mercy was pleading with souls just before the Flood came in the days of Noah.

Now we read in the verse 19, "By which also he [that is, Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison."  "By which" refers back to the preceding verse--to the "Spirit," the Holy Spirit of God, through whom Christ spoke.  Our Saviour's preaching back in the days of Noah was "by the Spirit," and we have the words of Scripture to that effect (see Genesis 6:3).  The Holy Spirit was the agency of that preaching.  The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, through Noah, gave a message of warning to that pre-Flood generation, just as Christ preached through His apostles by the Holy Spirit and as today He preaches through earnest men in the same way.  The gospel is not preached on earth by Christ Himself in the flesh, but by His servants; yet it is counted just the same as if it were done by Him.  It is called the "gospel of Christ," but it is preached by Christ's representatives, His true ministers.

But someone asks: "What about the phrase 'spirits in prison'?  How can 'spirits' mean living people?"  Is it possible for a man to be in spiritual bondage while alive in this world?  The Bible says so.  In Hebrews 2:14, 15, we read that Jesus purposed "through death" to "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

In fact, there are thousands of "spirits in prison" right now.  There is deliverance for you right now.

DAY 344    Read Philippians.

Today's reading:  Paul--still a prisoner in Rome--wrote to the believers in Philippi as a friend to friends.  He gave good spiritual counsel.  A recurring theme in this letter is the advice to rejoice.

Memory gem:  "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice"  (Philippians 4:4).

Thought for today:
Every true Christian has a right to be happy, and ought to be happy.  Faith in God should bring joy.  The psalmist says, "My soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation"  (Psalm 35:9).

Why shouldn't we be glad?  Jesus says we should be happy.  Our sins have been forgiven.  Jesus is alive and, through His Holy Spirit, is with us now.

By faith, Christians can keep themselves in the atmosphere of Christ's love.  We should not spend our time going over all our sorrows, disappointments, and troubles; but we should think of the happy times we have had, of the interesting things, the beautiful things.  God's mercy has been over us; Christ's presence has been with us.  Let us put our confidence in Him and look for joy.

We may be called upon to suffer for Christ's sake.  If so, think of these words in 1 Peter 4:14: "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye."  Why?  "For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation"  (Isaiah 61:10).

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Difficult or obscure words:
Philippians 1:1.  "Bishops"--from a Greek word meaning "overseers," "superintendent," or "guardian" over the church.  Not a high ranked clergyman with authority over many pastors and churches as bishops of a later era.
Philippians 1:1.  "Deacons"--from a Greek word meaning "servants" or "helpers."

DAY 343   Read Colossians.


Today's reading:  Colossians is another letter written from Rome during Paul's first imprisonment.  Like Galatians, it was written specifically to combat false doctrines threatening the believers.

Memory gem:  "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving"  (Colossians 2:6, 7).

Thought for today:
While the law of God is eternal in character, it would not be true to say that the rites and ceremonies which God gave to Israel as a nation are eternal.  This ceremonial system consisted mainly of types and shadows.  All the offerings, feast days, even the priesthood itself, were typical of the sacrifice and ministry of Christ our Lord; and they all met their glorious fulfillment in the offering of our Saviour on Calvary's cross.  This, we believe, is what was meant by the apostle Paul when he wrote that Christ "abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances"  (Ephesians 2:15).

Every sacrifice of bleeding lambs pointed forward to Jesus.  He was the reality that cast the shadow.  Today we have the Lord's Supper, which is a form or ordinance that points back to Jesus.  If we were to sacrifice lambs on the altar today, we would be denying that Christ had yet appeared.

The Old Testament promised a Saviour, in prophecy and ceremony, in feast and sacrifice.  The New Testament reveals a Saviour who came and fulfilled the promises.  He was the true "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"  (John 1:29).  He will come again to receive unto Himself all those who are His.  To each one of us comes His precious invitation: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"  (Matthew 11:28).

Are you weary of the burden of sin?  Then accept His invitation, "Come."  Come to Christ now!

DAY 342    Read Ephesians 4 through 6.

Today's reading:  Paul had good practical advice for the Christians in Ephesus--good for us too.  To illustrate our battle with the powers of evil, he uses the armor worn by Roman soldiers.

Memory gem:  "Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand"  (Ephesians 6:13).

Thought for today:
Today, every Christian needs a sword.  The Christian's life is not a joke, not a vacation.  It is a battle and a march, and in this battle we need the whole armor of God; especially do we need the sword.

What is this sword that we need?  It is "the sword of the Spirit."  Do you have this weapon?  The Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, is the invincible sword.  Its edge is never turned, its strength is never broken, it defeats every enemy.  There is nothing like it to pierce the heart of men.

There is nothing like it to turn aside the attacks of Satan.  That's how Jesus used it.  He met the most specious arguments of His enemies with quotations from the Holy Scriptures.  He faced the greatest theologians of His day with plain, unvarnished declarations of Scripture.  And when He met the great tempter face-to-face, He defeated him with mighty sword thrusts--"It is written,"  "It is written,"  "It is written"  (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

DAY 341    Read Acts 28; Ephesians 1 through 3.

Today's reading:  The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome.  The rest of his story we have to piece out from his own writings and from tradition.  We are reasonably certain that the Epistle to the Ephesians was written during these two years in Rome.


Memory gem:  "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast"  (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Thought for today:
When sin first entered the world, God's grace was already there.  It declared that if the sinner would accept the death of Christ instead of his own death--to which he had been condemned by his transgression of God's law--then the sinner might go free.  Christ's life was guaranteed to the sinner in Eden, and men were saved on that guarantee, even though Christ did not die upon the cross for four thousand years.  They looked forward by faith to the Redeemer who was to come.  We look back to the cross for salvation and celebrate the Lord's Supper to show our faith in the Redeemer who did come.

We know that the grace of God was extended to men before the cross, because we read in Genesis 6:8 that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."  And Titus 2:11 says, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men."  So God's grace is worldwide and extends to all the ages of time.

Not one person will enter heaven who has not been saved by grace.  Salvation cannot be earned.  It comes only as a gift of God through faith.  People were not saved in the old dispensation by keeping the law and in the new dispensation by grace.  In every dispensation and at all times, people have been saved by grace--and grace alone.

If men before the cross could have been saved by their own efforts, then they could do something that no one can do now.  In that case, in heaven they could be telling of their own power to earn salvation, while all the redeemed since the cross would be praising Christ as the one who had given them eternal life.  In such a situation heaven would be divided.  But, thank God, it will not be so.  There will be no divided heaven.  Everyone who gets there will be ascribing praise to Christ for His gift of eternal life.

DAY 340    Read Acts 25 through 27.

Today's reading:  Unable to receive a fair trial before the vacillating provincial governors, Paul exercises his right as a Roman citizen by appealing to the emperor.  His trip to Rome turns out to be a thrilling adventure.

Memory gem:  "There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee"  (Acts 27:23, 24).

Thought for today:
The twenty-seventh chapter of Acts is the greatest shipwreck story of all time, and there was a real reporter right there to write it down.  When you read that chapter, you are right in the storm with the apostle and the doctor-reporter.  You hear the wind whistle through the rigging, the boom of the waves, the crashing of the mast, the snapping of ropes.  You see the anchor dragging behind, the sailors trying to get out of the ship.  Through the night you hear the thunder of the breakers on an unseen shore.  The ship caught between the rocks, is being smashed to pieces.  See those bobbing heads through the waves--some passengers escaping on pieces of the ship--all getting to land safely.

Then you know what happened--a big bonfire was built.  Everyone huddled around it, shivering with the cold, trying to dry out, the apostle Paul with them.  He gathered a large bundle of sticks; and as he threw them on the fire, a venomous viper fastened itself on his hand.  The crowd stood looking at him.  In their superstition they assumed that he was some murderer, who, while he had escaped the vengeance of the sea, was now by divine justice about to die.  When the apostle shook off the viper into the fire and no harm came to him, they changed their minds and thought he was a god.  After that they had every confidence in him.

Friend, from this experience we should learn to shake off the vipers of unbelief, sin, evil tempers, bad language, doubt, idolatry, prejudice--all things that ruin our influence in the community, in the church, and our standing with God.  Their poison enfeebles us and repels others.  Let's shake them off!  Then we will find a new endowment of spiritual power, joy, and peace in living, and at last a home in the heavenly land and a life that measures with the life of God.

DAY 339    Read Acts 22 through 24.

Today's reading:  Paul, having been arrested as a disturber of the peace, tries to quiet the disturbance by speaking to the angry mob.  The Roman commander decides that the only safe course is to send Paul to the Roman governor.

Memory gem:  "As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee"  (Acts 24:25).

Thought for today:
Many a sermon has been preached about Paul before Felix; but should it not rather be called "Felix before Paul"?  Before the interview was ended, Paul was the judge, and Felix, the governor, was condemned.  Felix and his brother Pallas were servants of the emperor of Rome and had won great favor at court.  For several years Felix had been the procurator of the Roman province of Judea, and the Roman historian Tacitus tells us in one of his bitterest sentences that "he wielded his kingly authority with the spirit of a slave, with all cruelty and lust."

Drusilla knew of the true God, though she had drifted away from obedience to His law of purity and righteousness.  It was before this notorious couple--Felix and Drusilla--that the apostle Paul, by special appointment, spoke concerning the faith in Christ.  "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled"  (Acts 24:25).

The apostle might have spoken of something else before these two notorious sinners.  He might have spoken as a Greek philosopher, anxious to please his hearers.  But no, he spoke of "righteousness" before an unjust judge; of temperance and self-control before this sinful self-indulgent pair; of "judgement to come" before these two who thought they could do anything without any moral obligation.  Felix did not wish to be inconvenienced, to be troubled, to be distracted from his joys and sins.  This man of perpetual compromise, this man with the habit of adjournment, adjourned Paul's case.  He deferred it.  But here before Paul he had adjourned his own case.

Let us leave Felix with the silence of ages, and look into our own hearts.  What do we say?  Are we still waiting for a convenient season?  It will never be more convenient than right now.

DAY 338    Read Acts 20:3 through chapter 21.

Today's reading:  Paul and his company leave Corinth for the trip to Jerusalem.  At a weekend stopover in Troas, Paul holds a farewell meeting with believers.  Then he goes on toward Jerusalem, despite repeated warnings.

Memory gem:  "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him"  (Colossians 2:6).

Thought for today:
In the New Testament, the first day of the week is mentioned eight times (see Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).  Six of these texts refer to the same day, on which the resurrection of our Lord occurred.  In 1 Corinthians 16:2 the apostle Paul directed the saints to look after their secular affairs on the first day of the week.

In all the New Testament there is a record of only one religious meeting held upon that day, and even that was a night meeting after midnight (see Acts 20:7-12).  There is no intimation that those early believers ever held a meeting on the first day of the week, either before or after that one time, or that it was their custom to meet on that day.

There is no scriptural record of any requirement to "break bread" upon the first day of the week.  Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper on Thursday evening, as is clear from Luke 22, and the disciples broke bread every day, according to Acts 2:42-46.

Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that the first day of the week commemorates the resurrection of Christ.  This concept is a tradition of man which makes void the law of God (see Matthew 15:19).  We are plainly told in Romans 6:3-5 that Christian baptism commemorates the burial and resurrection of our Lord.

Finally, the New Testament is totally silent with regard to any change of the Sabbath day or to any sacredness of the first day.  It is true that, several centuries after Christ, Christians began gradually to apply the fourth commandment to the first day.

We must remember that true righteousness, which is true commandment keeping, comes not by our own efforts to keep any law, even God's holy law.  It comes only by faith in Christ, whose holy righteousness, through the grace of God, is counted to us when we believe.  As converted regenerated Christians, it is our duty to walk in all the light that comes to us.

DAY 337    Read Romans 15 and 16.

Today's reading concludes the book of Romans.  Paul closes his argument on a triumphant note of joy in the Lord.  Then he adds a chapter of greetings and blessings.

Memory gem:  "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost"  (Romans 15:13).

Thought for today:
Are you enjoying your Christian life?  If you are not, friend, you need to seek the Lord for a new birth.

Don't be like the man who sailed from New Orleans to New York.  He had come down from Kansas or Nebraska; and, as he had never been on the water before, he was looking forward to this boat trip.  After he had bought his ticket, he had only $1.75 to last him until he got to New York where some friends were going to give him a job.  He knew the trip would take four or five days, so he said to himself, "I'll just get a bag, and fill it full of crackers and cheese and will eat that until I get to New York."

On the ocean you often develop an appetite.  At noon he heard the luncheon bell ring, and everybody went down to the dining room.  He could smell the cooking food, and it made him hungry, so he went behind the smokestack, got out the sack, and began to eat crackers and cheese.  By the evening of the second day, the man found his cheese moldy and the crackers were all soaked up with sea air.  He got the steward to one side and said, "I am a poor man and I am about starved.  What would one meal cost?"

The steward said, "What is the matter with you?  Are you crazy?"

"No, but I am hungry.  I think I could afford one meal."

"Well, why don't you go down and eat?  Don't you know that when you bought your ticket, you paid for your meals all the way to New York?  Go down to the dining room and eat."

Many a Christian today is doing that very thing spiritually.  He is living spiritually on crackers and cheese while God wants us there at the supper table to enjoy the good things of His kingdom.

Friend, every day we can be happy, no matter what comes.  That is what is in store when we are children of God, when we have been born again.  Oh, my brother, sister, friend, live up to your opportunities and your privileges.

DAY 336    Read Romans 12 through 14.

Today's reading:  In these chapters Paul gives practical advice on the Christian's relationship with other people in daily life, including our duties as citizens.

Memory gem:  "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's"  (Mark 12:17).

Thought for today:
A true Christian will be the best citizen of his country.  He will be faithful and peace-loving.  He will not cheat on his taxes, for he is commanded by the Lord to "render therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor"  (Romans 13:7).

He is commanded to "be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work"  (Titus 3:1).

A true Christian is to submit himself "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake"  (1 Peter 2:13).  He is to pray for the rulers of the land and for the peace of the realm  (see 1 Timothy 2:1, 2).

As a citizen he should enjoy freedom of speech and of action.  He should enjoy the right of appeal against accusation.  There should be no condemnation without fair trial.  He should have freedom to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience so long as he does not interfere with the rights of others.

Do we have real conviction?  Do we know what we believe?  Do we have a real trust in God?  As Dr. William Temple, archbishop of Canterbury (1942-1944), said: "Freedom of conscience, that is the sacred thing.  Not freedom to do what I choose or to fulfill my own purpose, but freedom to do what I ought, and to fulfill God's purpose for me."

Would it not be well for each of us to open up the great Book of God and study again the principles of religious freedom, religious liberty?  Should these principles not be taught to our children?  Should they not be preached in every pulpit?  In this way, and this way alone, we may have a new birth of freedom.