“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

— Colossians 1:13

There are those whose theology does not allow them to admit that Jesus Christ has a kingdom today. They believe that His kingdom is not to be established until He returns a second time. Therefore, they cannot allow that the stone cut out without hands landed upon the Roman Empire (in Daniel 2:34-35), and that it depicted Christ coming to establish His kingdom. They cannot allow that it is a picture of Christ coming to establish His kingdom in the midst of the Roman Empire, and which brought down the empire. They have to see it as something in the future.

Now they give a number of theological reasons for their views, but none of them allow that Christ already has a kingdom. In fact, I have heard people refer to Christ as our Prophet, Priest and soon coming King. But according to the Reformers and the Reformed churches in general, He is King.

So does Jesus Christ have a kingdom today? That is a question worth asking. When Paul wrote the sentence above to the Colossians, it says that He transferred us—past tense. It is an accomplished fact. We have been translated/transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son. I am thoroughly convinced that Jesus Christ is presently a King, that His kingdom is already established. Of course, the day is yet to come, when the world will see the fullness of His kingdom. Regardless of our theological differences, there is no doubt that it is Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords and no one else.

Our Father in heaven, give us strength and wisdom today to read Your Word correctly. Thank You that You are a king, Lord Jesus—not only a king, but the King of kings—the eternal King of Your kingdom in which You have placed us. Thank You that You have set us in Your kingdom of light…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE HAIL
AND HONOR CHRIST THE KING.

“After this I saw in the visions at night a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”

— Daniel 7:7

Hundreds of years before it arose, Daniel foresaw the Roman Empire. The same ten horns in this verse are like the ten toes of the image described in Daniel 2, believed to represent ten rulers of the Roman Empire.

This beast (verse 7) is not given a name. It is more dreadful than any of the previous beasts and is exceedingly strong with great iron teeth. The beast devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all of the rest.

When Rome came onto the scene, it was a republic, which made it different from all of the monarchies that had come before until finally Caesar Augustus made himself emperor.

I don’t know that we can be dogmatic about our interpretation here. But I believe we see here a prediction of the long war against God that took place during the Roman Empire. Their rulers blasphemed greatly and had themselves called gods. They waged war against the saints. But eventually, God judged the wicked empire and toppled it. Also, Rome was a picture of the war against God that was to come. Though His kingdom has many enemies, even today, they are destined to fail.

Sovereign Lord, grant us the strength today to see clearly Your work in history. Help us to understand how the rulers and kingdoms of this world topple and fade away, while Your kingdom is eternal. Let us fear You alone and no earthly ruler, no matter how powerful they may become…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE RECOGNIZE
HE IS SOVEREIGN OVER HISTORY.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost…”

— Titus 3:5, kjv

This world does not operate on grace; it operates on the basis of merit, on the basis of justice. Quid pro quo, this for that; you do this, you get that. That is the way the entire world operates—on the basis of justice or equity.

Early in my ministry, I went to preach in a jail, and a man snapped at me that all he demanded was justice. I said if he got justice, the floor would open up and send him to hell.

What we need is mercy, not justice.

Consider the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the famous couple accused of being Soviet spies who gave away our atomic secrets. They were convicted for espionage by the jury and were sentenced to death. Their lawyers said to Judge Kaufman, “Your honor, all my clients ask for is justice.”

Judge Kaufman replied, “What your clients have asked for, this court has given them. What you really mean, is what they want is mercy, and that, this court is not empowered to give.”

But that is precisely what our God—the Judge of all of the earth—is able to do: grant us mercy. That is the wondrous news of the Gospel.

While none of us is perfect, and none of us has lived up to God’s standard, and all of us have fallen short, Jesus Christ came to do what we are unable to do. In His mercy, He saved us by His blood.

Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace, which alone saves us through faith in You. Forgive us when we presume on Your mercy. Thank You, Jesus, for paying a debt You did not owe at a price that we could never pay…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN RELY ON GOD’S MERCY.

“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.”

— Acts 22:6

Consider the resurrection of Jesus in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, the apostle. By seeing the risen Christ, Saul knew in an instant, Christianity was true after all.

In that instant on the road to Damascus, the whole world of Saul, the Pharisee, was changed. He had believed quite emphatically that with the ignominious death of Jesus the “Imposter” upon a cross, the true God had conquered, and the end of that life was sealed forever. He believed that Jesus was exposed for the fraud that He was, and God had put His seal upon the truth of the religion of the Jews.

Now, suddenly, everything was turned topsy-turvy. God had obviously raised Jesus from the dead, for He was alive and He was glorified. He was evidently the Son of God as He had said, raised from the dead. He was, indeed, the Living Messiah, as He had claimed. Paul’s world was completely changed. In that brief moment the life of Saul was transformed. Now he knew the truth.

Paul had believed, like so many persecutors of the church, that he was doing God a favor. He believed that the Christians were wrong and that he was doing God’s will. Then Jesus revealed Himself, and in an instant Saul realized he was wrong. The resurrection of Christ changes everything.

Lord Jesus, we praise You that although You died for the sake of our trespasses and sins, You were made alive by Your Father. We praise You that in an instant You can change the hearts of even the most antagonistic of souls…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN SEE LIFE
THROUGH THE GRID OF THE RESURRECTION.

“We had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”

— 2 Corinthians 1:9

“Sweet are the uses of adversity.” At least so said the bard from Stratfordon- Avon. I am afraid, however, if actually put to the test of a vote, there would be an almost unanimous disagreement with Mr. Shakespeare on that point. “Bitter” is the word. Crushing, wracking, wrenching, discouraging, heartbreaking, and faith-shattering are the uses of adversity. This, I am sure, would be the attitude of most people.

Several years ago I received a call from a woman who was an atheist. Several times in the midst of her conversation she referred to one tragedy or another, always to be followed by the comment: And where was God then?

I suppose there is nothing that causes more people to stumble in the matter of faith than the problem of suffering, because none of us is exempt in this fallen world. We all face it at one time or another in our lives.

But God uses troubles in our lives to clear away the dross. He lets us undergo suffering that we might be of comfort for those undergoing similar problems. Most important is that we will never be like Jesus without the crucible of Jesus, the most desirable person who ever lived, who was portrayed as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). If we would be like Jesus, we will have to pass through the valley of the shadow.

Dear Lord, give me strength for today to not lose hope in You whenever I suffer. Help me to realize that You are purifying me. Also, help me to weep with those who weep and to be a comfort to those around me who are suffering…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN PERSEVERE
EVEN THROUGH SUFFERING.

“…the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…”

— Ecclesiastes 9:11

It is the victory of faith that enables us to go on in the final count. When you think of Abraham Lincoln, what qualities come to your mind? Would it be compassion? Concern for the little man? Justice? Humor? I think if we really knew Abraham Lincoln, we would know that the overriding quality of his character was nothing other than perseverance. He was simply a man who persevered to the end.

Abraham Lincoln was a failure. He was a miserable, wretched, repeated failure. As a young man, he ran for the state legislature and was overwhelmingly defeated. He then went into business, failed completely, and spent the next seventeen years paying off the debts of a no-good partner. Although he did win a Congressional seat once, he was not able to successfully return to Congress. After that, he tried to get an appointment to the U. S. Land Office and was turned down.

He then decided that what he ought to do was to run for the Senate of the United States and he was pounded into the ground. He was defeated here, and he was defeated there; he failed in this, and he failed at that; he was overwhelmed here, and he was overwhelmed there; he was a loser, until he ran for the presidency of the United States and became one of the greatest men this world has ever known.

The character of a loser is that he quits. Deep down, Abraham Lincoln was never a loser at all because he never quit.

Lord, give me strength for today to persist in doing what I believe You have laid on my heart to accomplish. Even if I have to plod along and deal with one setback after another, help me to persevere in the end. Spiritually, I thank You that You have promised to finish in me what You have started…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN OVERCOME
ONE SETBACK AFTER ANOTHER.

“O you simple, understand wisdom, and you fools, be of an understanding heart.”

— Proverbs 8:5

Certainly, we should be seeking wisdom. But in one sense the Bible presents wisdom as seeking us. We can see this is the great wisdom chapter of Proverbs 8.

In the first eleven verses we see an introduction of Wisdom personified as a woman standing at the gate calling forth boldly for all to come and hear what she has to say. She sets forth her reasons why men should trust in her in contrast to the seductive, sinful women who are described in the preceding chapters.

Then in verses 12-21, Wisdom displays her various excellencies and points out what she has accomplished and what she continues to accomplish in the lives of those who have sought after her.

In the second half of Proverbs 8, we see that Wisdom is to be sought after and acquired. By seeking Wisdom, we are seeking God. We see here an adumbration, a foreshadowing, of the incarnate Christ. We see that there is something more here than just a human wisdom, but here is the One by whom God created the universe. The creation poem found in verse 22 and following is similar to the Logos passage in John 1.

Finally, in the last few verses of Proverbs 8, again Wisdom articulates the duty of all to harken to her instructions. By Wisdom, God created the world.

God is the source of all wisdom, and He wants us to walk in His wisdom.

Lord Jesus Christ, give us strength today to live in Your wisdom. Help us to see that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to You. Grant us Your wisdom that we might know Your thoughts and practice right thinking…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN WALK IN HIS WISDOM.

“Why, my soul, are you cast down? Why do you groan within me? Wait for God; I will yet thank Him, For He is my deliverance and my God.”

— Psalm 42:11

From the depths of the psalmist’s sorrow, he calls out unto the depths of the mercy of God, knowing that help shall come, so he has put his hope in the Lord. Consider how many times God has turned things around in a sudden way.

Who would have thought:

• In the hour when Lazarus lay stinking in his tomb, that soon he should be rejoicing around the table with his Redeemer?
• When Jonah was in the depths of the sea that soon he would be preaching at Nineveh?
• When Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty monarch of Babylon, was out munching on the grass in the forest, that one day soon he would again be sitting upon the throne in Babylon?
• When Joseph was deep in the prison in Egypt, that soon he would be prime minister of the greatest nation in the world at that time?
• When Job was sitting there on a dunghill scraping off his sores in the midst of his sorrow, that soon he would be rise up and be richer and more blessed in everything in this world?

Put your hope in God, despite your circumstances. As the hymn notes, “Hast thou not seen how thy desires ‘ere have been granted in what He ordaineth?”

Heavenly Father, give us strength today to praise You in the midst of trouble to wait upon You and to remember that our lives are in Your hands and You will turn all things to benefit my soul and Your kingdom…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN RECOGNIZE THAT
GOD CAN TURN THINGS AROUND IN AN INSTANT.

“Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem…They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”

— Daniel 5:3-4

The grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar was the king who held a great pagan feast, using the goblets stolen from the Jewish Temple some decades before. Belshazzar went white when he saw God’s literal handwriting on the wall
against him.

Now that story of Belshazzar the king and the astounding events of that night of his great feast have lessons which are as fresh today as they were when they were first given:

1. Here is a picture of the foolishness of those who trust in merely the things of this world. How foolish was Belshazzar to trust in the impregnable walls of Babylon—the walls that were so easily breached by diverting the river
   Euphrates.
2. It reminds us that those who will not study history are doomed to repeat it. Belshazzar had a tremendous lesson from his grandfather of humbling oneself before God. Nonetheless, Belshazzar went on his way to his
   unexpected destruction.
3. Belshazzar’s sin was not just drunkenness and debauchery, but the superabounding sin of impiety and blasphemy.

Lord, God of history, teach us to heed those who have gone before us and give us the strength to live a godly life in the midst of a blasphemous people. Help us to remember that all who mock Your name and flaunt their sin in Your face will be called to account and that it is Your people who will triumph…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
LIVE AN HONORABLE LIFE.

“And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to Him.”

— Mark 1:13

We seem to be living in the time when angels are getting much attention, even in movies or television. One of the most common myths is the idea that an angel was once a human being and now is in process of earning his wings by returning to earth and doing good things. But an angel never was and never will be anything other than an angel. And a human being never was and never will be anything other than a human being. They are separate orders of creation.

All of the angels were made at once. They did not descend from original parents as we did, but they were all created at the same time and they do not procreate.

Angels are far superior to us in almost any way that you can imagine. They are wiser, they are holier—at least those who have kept their first estate and are not fallen angels. The devil and demons are all angels. They are fallen, sinful angels that took part in a rebellion and now are loosed upon this earth, but they are still fallen angels.

Angels are also much more powerful than we are. We realize that in the Old Testament we read of one angel who destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. The Bible makes it very plain that you are not to take on the devil in your strength, and only by Christ do we have any possibility of winning any contests that we may have with him.

Jesus, King of the Angels, give me strength today to know my place in creation, a little lower than the angels, but crowned with glory and honor. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for having dominion over both Your angels, the ministering spirits who do Your will, and the fallen angels who seek to cause us harm. Thank You for Your angels who do Your will…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
WELCOME THE HELP OF HIS ANGELS.