October 10 Daily Devotional

Remember God's Law

Charles and Norma Ellis

Bible Reading:

Malachi 4:1-6

¹For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
²But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
³And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
⁴Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
⁶And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Devotional:

What is John the Baptist (coming in the spirit of Elijah) going to do? What does Malachi mean when he says that John is going to turn the hearts of the parents and children to each other? Is he going to destroy the generation gap?

When the gospel of repentance and faith in the Saviour which John began to proclaim takes hold in a home it does indeed do away with the generation gap! In the home committed to Christ there is peace. There are no struggles for supremacy. The humble parent seeks to lead the child in God's way. The obedient child delights to be led. There is openness and communication. All speak the truth in love. This is embraced in the prophecy of Malachi.

In a special sense, too, the fathers of the faith, the Old Testament stalwarts, are to be thought of as being turned to the children who will be coming to God from the other side of Calvary. Together, we all by God's Spirit are facing our Father in heaven as a unified family.

As we are about to enter the New Testament era Malachi gives us the formula for holy living as the family of God: Remember God's law. Grace will be poured out in a new way at the cross and at Pentecost but the law will not be abandoned. It has permanent use as a revelation of God's nature. It shows us our sins and acts as a schoolmaster to drive us to Christ. And it is His appointed guide for holy living appropriate in His family.

Remember God's law!

We are happy to have obtained permission to post as our current daily devotional Heirs Together of Life: Daily Bible Reading for Husbands and Wives, published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Don't be misled by the subtitle. As the book's "Preface" indicates (see below), although Heirs Together of Life is "especially prepared for couples,"the authors declare, "Since the basis for this guide is God's Word, we believe it would have value for any reader."

Charles and Norma Ellis are husband and wife and the authors not only of Heirs Together of Life (which was first published in 1980 and continues in print today), but also of Wells of Salvation (first published in 1985, and likewise still in print today). The latter contains a series of short studies covering the entire book of Isaiah, while the former contains a series of almost 200 short studies covering the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Both books by the Ellises can be ordered from the publisher, The Banner of Truth Trust. We trust that these daily Bible readings, posted daily on our site, will be helpful to you in your Christian walk before God. Whether married or not, all of us are members of families and members of the family of God.

Charles Ellis was educated at Wheaton College and Westminster Theological Seminary. Upon graduation from Westminster (where he earned not only a Th.B. but also a Th.M.), he was ordained to the ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and pastored a number of OPC churches, including Immanuel OPC in West Collingswood, New Jersey; First OPC in Cincinnati, Ohio; Covenant OPC in East Orange, New Jersey; Knox OPC in Silver Spring, Maryland; and Lakeview OPC in Rockport, Maine. Less biographical information is available about his wife, but it is known that they served as parents of seven children. After retiring from the ministry, Charles Ellis went to be with the Lord in 2003, but he and his wife left us with a beautiful legacy in the two books they have given to the world, and we are proud to share the daily Bible readings from Heirs Together of Life here with you.