December 20 Daily Devotional

Bible Readings:

Psalm 133:1-3, King James Version:
¹Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
²It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
³As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Mark 3:22-27, KJV:
²²And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
²³And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
²⁴And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
²⁵And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
²⁶And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
²⁷No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

John 17:9-11, 17, 20-23, KJV:
⁹I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
¹⁰And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
¹¹And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are....
¹⁷Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth....
²⁰Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
²¹That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
²²And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
²³I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me....

Ephesians 1:3, 7-10, 15-23, KJV:
³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ...
⁷In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
⁸Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
⁹Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
¹⁰That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him....
¹⁵Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
¹⁶Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
¹⁷That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-13, KJV:
¹I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
²With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
³Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
⁵One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
⁶One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all....
¹¹And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
¹²For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
¹³Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Devotional:

It is said that a common foe often unites those who would otherwise not agree. So during World War II democratic United States found in communistic Russia an ally against Germany and Japan though Stalin was no less a dictator than Hitler. The forces of evil in this world are found to be united against God and His people, though among the wicked there is self-seeking and greed. The common foe of evil is God. Pilate and Herod were united when Jesus was the object of their hatred and scorn. Compromise with each other is possible but not with their common foe. Let them be together on this ground, for if Jesus is to triumph it will mean the end of their power.

In unity is strength. We sing and thrill to the words,

"Like a mighty army moves the church of God.

   Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod;

We are not divided, all one body we,

   One in hope and doctrine, one in charity."

We hope for the day when the visible church will truly reflect the unity of the invisible church. For the unity of the evil one's hosts will only be matched by the unity of Christ's people. But as David, Israel's champion, met and bested Goliath of the Philistines and led God's people in triumph, so Christ in whom believers are one has met and conquered Satan, binding him as a strong man is bound, and has spoiled his house. The strength of the unity of God's people is the power of their Head and King. At Babel men were confounded in the carrying out of their purposes. Herod and Pilate were revealed to be instruments in the hand of God for redemption of His people, and in our day church union which suppresses truth in the interest of unity will not receive the blessing of God. Even political union based upon the belief that man is capable without God's help of solving problems of the world will at Christ's coming receive a stunning blow. God's purpose is that in the dispensation of the fullness of times all things might be gathered together in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). For in that unity is salvation from sin which at first placed man in communion with man against God.

We are very happy to make available to you this month these devotionals by the late Rev. LeRoy B. Oliver. They originally appeared in The Presbyerian Guardian during the late 1940's.

The description of his "Your Family Altar" page in The Presbyterian Guardian also fits this Web page: "The page is designed for both private and family use, whichever is most convenient in your case. If you do not have family worship in your home, we hope you will begin, and suggest using these readings. They should not, however, take the place of reading books of the Bible, or the Bible itself, through in regular course." It is those who abide (continue) in the Word who are truly Christ's disciples, who know the truth, and who experience freedom in Him (John 8:31-32). May these devotionals be used for the building up of God's people and to the glory of God.