“Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”

— 1 John 3:12 KJV

Wickedness will sometimes do all it can to suppress righteousness. Jesus said that light has come into the world, but men prefer darkness because their deeds are evil.

Cain was of that wicked one, of Satan, of whom Jesus said that he was a murderer from the beginning and who inspired Cain to his terrible deed of murder. The term that is used in the Greek text for “slew,”—he slew his brother—is an unusual term, and it tells us something about the brutality of the deed that was involved. The term might very accurately be described or translated as “butchered.” The original text means to slit the throat, and apparently Cain did a very thorough job on his brother.

Why did he do it? Because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous. We see here a horrifying picture of the evil capabilities of the human heart and of the total depravity of man.

Envy had goaded Cain to such a place, because of the fact that the righteousness of his brother was an indictment against him, that he was brought to the place of even killing Abel. Sadly, virtually everyone has experienced at some time or another in his own life the feeling of envy, which, as someone noted, withers at another’s joy, while hating the excellence it cannot reach. Ask God to purify your heart from envy, so it will never take root there.

O Lord, it is hard to understand man’s cruelty to man and when we see evil all around us, we are horrified by it. But when we see the dirty fingerprints of Satan even on our own heart, we shudder and run to You for cleansing…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN KEEP
ENVY IN OUR HEARTS IN CHECK.

“…We should love one another, not like Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. …”

— 1 John 3:11 – 12

In 1 John, the beloved apostle talks about the importance of love. He contrasts that with hate as seen in Cain, who killed his brother Abel.

First, he holds up a picture of Cain and, secondly, a picture of Christ. Cain, the prototype of hatred, and Christ, the prototype of love, stand in stark contrast one to the other and are indicative of the children of the Devil and the children of God.

We will remember that Christ taught that there are two families in this world. There is not a fatherhood of God and a brotherhood of man as some people vainly wish and proclaim. But Jesus said there are two fatherhoods and there are two brotherhoods. There are two families: there is the fatherhood of God and the fatherhood of Satan. There is an antipathy on the part of the family of Satan toward the family of God, which is as long as history and is worldwide and never ending.

Cain was the prototype murderer—the first slayer of men—the one who was to begin the bloodletting that was going to end in a great river, even a great sea of blood, to this very day. Cain was of his father, of Satan, of whom Jesus said that he was a murderer from the beginning. Those born of God do not hate, like Cain, but strive to love, like Christ.

Father God, many claim to want love and world peace, but hatred is strong and seems to be all around us. Thank You that love is more powerful than hate and that one day, love will conquer and You will triumph over all evil…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
OVERCOME HATE WITH LOVE.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God.”

— Philippians 4:6

When Abraham Lincoln was a circuit rider for the courts as a lawyer, going to wherever the courts were being held in small towns, he had to cross a lot of rivers. That included the notorious Fox River, which, in times of rain, was most turbulent and extremely dangerous.

One night he and a colleague had crossed several rivers in the days before, and his companion had said to him, “If these are this bad, what in the world is it going to be like when we try to cross the Fox?” And it just so happened that that night, as they stayed in an inn, there was a Methodist circuit rider there who had been traveling those parts for almost fifty years. And they asked him if he knew about the Fox River, and he said, “Oh, my, yes. I know all about that. I have been crossing it innumerable times for many years.” And they asked if he had any advice about how they might cross it safely. He said, “Absolutely. I have discovered that there is one secret about the Fox River which I never fail to keep in mind.” He said, “I never cross it until I reach it.”

Well, I think that all of us have faced a great many Fox Rivers that we have “crossed” when we were yet miles away. By the time we have arrived at them, we discover that a drought has come, and the river has dried up. Turn your worries over to God. Instead of worrying, pray and give thanks—and watch God take care of your Fox River by the time you get there.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for taking care of so many of the problems we have worried about. We see Your hand straightening out our path, and we thank You for sending Your angel before us…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN TURN
OUR WORRIES OVER TO GOD.

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love his brother remains in death.”

— 1 John 3:14

The scripture commands us to examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith and it makes clear that it is possible because of the deception of our own hearts, to be self-deceived and to be in error concerning our own salvation. I am sure that there are numerous people within the church of Christ who assume that they are saved and yet are not.

In 1 John, he lays down some key principles that help us understand this. He says, for example, “The one who does righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7).

He also looks at the specific subject of love, especially as the sign and test of our divine sonship. John begins by saying that this is the message that we heard from the beginning that we should love one another. This was the new commandment that Christ gave—that we should love one another, as He has loved us.

It is this commandment that John picks up on at this point and begins to describe to us. Not only was it the new commandment that summed up the ethical teaching of Jesus, but more than that it is the sign and test of whether or not we are part of the family of God. Whether we indeed have been saved or whether we deceive ourselves. How do we know we are saved? We have a love for our brothers and sisters in Christ that was not there before.

God of love, increase our love for You and our love for our fellow Christians. We only love because You loved us first. We pray today that Your love will so fill our hearts that it will overflow to the people around us…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

“Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no more be a reproach.”

— Nehemiah 2:17

Nehemiah was a great man of God and yet a most unusual one. He wrote no psalms, directing the people of God to lifting up their hearts in exaltation and worship as David did. He did not leave us with hundreds of proverbs with which to guide our daily lives as Solomon did.

He wrote no epistles instructing us in the faith so that we may be built up in our spiritual knowledge. He did none of these things. However, what he did was quite unusual: He built a wall. It is most remarkable that the Bible contains an entire book written about the subject of building a wall.

It was, or course, a most important wall; it was the wall that would protect Jerusalem and its temple (which had been rebuilt) from the attack of enemies. Nehemiah well knew that the temple had been destroyed before only after the walls had been breached and broken down. He knew that if the religion of God’s people was to continue, there must at least be some hiatus in the singing of psalms and the teaching of proverbs, for there was a practical job to do—the wall must be rebuilt.

God calls His children to do different things. We each have our part in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. The key is to make sure that we are on track to faithfully carry out what He has called us to do—even if it is to build a wall.

Lord, our protector, thank You for watching over Your people. Help us to protect and preserve that which You have entrusted to us. Let us gladly do the tasks You assign us, whether they are glamorous or menial…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
COMPLETE ANY TASK HE ASSIGNS US.

“If it is displeasing to you to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve…”

— Joshua 24:15

Our culture seems to worship youth and warehouse the elderly. But there are many instances in the Bible where God uses elderly people who were committed to Him.

Did you ever stop to think that Joshua was just a young man when he left Egypt? Then 40 years passed by while he was in the wilderness, and then another 50 years or more passed, and by then Joshua was an old man. He was now a man of 110 years and during all of that time he had been faithful and he had trusted in the Lord and believed His promise and with unwavering faithfulness had gone on serving the Lord as God called him to do as a warrior for God.

And so at last the aged Joshua, 110 years old, gathers together the people of Israel at Shechem and there with flowing grey locks, he calls upon them again to renew their faith and to trust in the Lord and to live for Him and he utters those famous words, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He said that on the very day of his death, 110 years old—and for all of that time he had been doing just that.

Whether you are old or young, don’t think that the Lord cannot use you if you commit yourself to Him. May we write Joshua’s words on our heart—to actively choose to serve the Lord.

Lord, my heart gives a resounding YES, as for me and my house, we will serve You. Help us to do so faithfully at any age and in all circumstances…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE WILL
SERVE HIM THROUGH ALL OF LIFE.

“And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

— Acts 1:8

Friendship with the world can cloud our vision of Christ. Even the old legend of King Arthur teaches that principle.

Jesus wants us to tell others about Him, so that they too may come to experience His forgiveness of sins. There is great joy in spiritual reproduction.

I remember the words of Dr. Manford Gutzke, professor of English Bible at Columbia Theological Seminary. He said, “Gentlemen, you can always tell the difference between a real rose and a milliner’s rose made in a flower shop. The real rose may be beaten by the winds, it may be eaten by the cat, it may have holes from worms in it, while the milliner’s rose may be a beauty to behold. But one thing is certain, the milliner’s rose will never produce another rose.”

Which are you? The real thing or a fake? A nominal Christian never produces another Christian, but real Christians do. That’s one of the easiest ways to tell. So determine that you are going to witness for Christ. I hope you will determine that you are going to witness to someone every week. If you don’t know how to do that, you ought to learn how, and there are programs, such as Evangelism Explosion, that are more than happy to train you. But if you can’t do that, and until you do, at least invite them to come to church. Ask God to use you to help others follow Jesus.

Lord of the harvest, give me strength for today to be a Christian with a winsome and active witness. May the people I invest my time in know You and love You as I do…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE REPRODUCING CHRISTIANS.

“You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God?”

— James 4:4

Friendship with the world can cloud our vision of Christ. Even the old legend of King Arthur teaches that principle.

Knights of the Round Table sought after the Holy Grail, which was purported to be the cup from which Christ had drunk at the Last Supper. The fact that they would spend their whole lives seeking after that cup is difficult for us to see. That was an age of much superstition, but nevertheless there are some truths to be learned from the legend.

There was only one Sir Galahad. According to the original tale, he kept the eyes of his soul upon that goal. By resisting temptation and by resisting a life of ease, he plodded onward until at last it was revealed to him through a great oak tree.

He saw the Grail resplendent in the heavens. He dismounted from his white horse and stood fascinated by the vision, which lighted up his armor. When discussing this ethereal vision later with the King, Arthur wisely noted this vision was for him, but not the others.

There is something to say for those who are pure in heart that they shall see God, and one of the consequences of impurity in our lives is that the vision of God grows dim and fades away. Have you wondered why it seems that God is far away, hard to find? Ah, my friends, upon what have your eyes been feasting? Where have your thoughts been dallying? Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Holy God, give me the strength to turn away from the lure of this world and all the vain things that charm me most. “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my life” and keep my thoughts heavenward so I will not lose sight of You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
KEEP OUR VISION OF HIM.

“…I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

— 1 Kings 19:14

God can use one man or woman of conviction, even while the rest cower in fear. Think of the great Athanasius who lived in the 300s. At the time, the deity of Christ had come under such enormous attack that it seems that the majority, even within the church, were denying the very deity of Christ. Athanasius, this bold defender of the deity of Christ, seemed to be the only one willing to take a stand. He was even banished from the Roman Empire five times, but he came back. It is possible that without his steadfast stance, we might not even know about our divine savior Jesus Christ.

If it weren’t for the boldness of Martin Luther, we might not even know about justification by faith. I think about William Carey, the first Protestant missionary who carried the Gospel to India. Carey said, “One thing I can do is plod,” and so with determination he plodded along and he translated the Bible into numerous different languages. One time one of those translations went up in flames, and he had no back up. But what did he do? Quit? No, he plodded with true determination, and he did it all over again.

Elijah thought he was the only one standing for God in the days of wicked Ahab, but God had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal. May the Lord find us faithful, even if we are in the minority.

Almighty Father, thank You for raising up men and women through the centuries who have stood contra mundum. Raise up people in our time that will stand strong and show the world Your truth…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
STAND AGAINST THE WORLD.

“…in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season…”

— Psalm 1:2-3

The godly man is described in Psalm 1 as one who loves the Word of the Lord and ruminates on it in the morning and in the evening. By being so grounded in the Scriptures, he becomes like a tree with deep roots. But many people do not have deep roots, and so they hardly grow.

The Japanese have a way of taking what ordinarily are large trees and reducing them into tiny little trees and the way they do that is, first of all, cutting off the tap root. Those trees then are only able to use the surface roots, the smaller surface roots of the plant; and so the tree just doesn’t grow very much.

And that is the way it is with most people in this world. Their tap root does not go down deep into the Word of God, and so all they have for nourishment are those surface roots that are sucking up the things of this world. Consequently their spiritual growth is badly stunted and they will never show spiritual depth. They will never persevere unto the end and be saved. They will never be like Martin Luther, who could stand before the Diet of Worms and say, “Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me.” Therefore, he would not recant anything. Spending quality time in the meditation of the Bible is the key to true spiritual depth.

Lord of the Vineyard, thank You for cultivating and fertilizing and digging around me. Let my roots grow deep past the top soil and down to the nourishing rich soil of Your Word…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR
ROOTS CAN GROW STRONG.