July 9

Evening ... References:-->Genesis 1:4
And God divided the light from the darkness. A believer has two principles at
work within him. In his natural estate he was subject to one principle only,
which was darkness; now light has entered, and the two principles disagree. Mark
the apostle Paul's words in the seventh chapter of Romans: "I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of
God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is
in my members." How is this state of things occasioned? "The Lord divided the
light from the darkness." Darkness, by itself, is quiet and undisturbed, but
when the Lord sends in light, there is a conflict, for the one is in opposition
to the other: a conflict which will never cease till the believer is altogether
light in the Lord. If there be a division within the individual Christian, there
is certain to be a division without. So soon as the Lord gives to any man light,
he proceeds to separate himself from the darkness around; he secedes from a
merely worldly religion of outward ceremonial, for nothing short of the gospel
of Christ will now satisfy him, and he withdraws himself from worldly society
and frivolous amusements, and seeks the company of the saints, for "We know we
have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." The light
gathers to itself, and the darkness to itself. What God has divided, let us
never try to unite, but as Christ went without the camp, bearing His reproach,
so let us come out from the ungodly, and be a peculiar people. He was holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners; and, as He was, so we are to be
nonconformists to the world, dissenting from all sin, and distinguished from the
rest of mankind by our likeness to our Master.July 10

Morning ... References: -->Ephesians 2:19
Fellow citizens with the saints. What is meant by our being citizens in heaven?
It means that we are under heaven's government. Christ the king of heaven reigns
in our hearts; our daily prayer is, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven." The proclamations issued from the throne of glory are freely received
by us: the decrees of the Great King we cheerfully obey. Then as citizens of the
New Jerusalem, we share heaven's honours. The glory which belongs to beatified
saints belongs to us, for we are already sons of God, already princes of the
blood imperial; already we wear the spotless robe of Jesu's righteousness;
already we have angels for our servitors, saints for our companions, Christ for
our Brother, God for our Father, and a crown of immortality for our reward. We
share the honours of citizenship, for we have come to the general assembly and
Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven. As citizens, we have
common rights to all the property of heaven. Ours are its gates of pearl and
walls of chrysolite; ours the azure light of the city that needs no candle nor
light of the sun; ours the river of the water of life, and the twelve manner of
fruits which grow on the trees planted on the banks thereof; there is nought in
heaven that belongeth not to us. "Things present, or things to come," all are
ours. Also as citizens of heaven we enjoy its delights. Do they there rejoice
over sinners that repent-prodigals that have returned? So do we. Do they chant
the glories of triumphant grace? We do the same. Do they cast their crowns at
Jesu's feet? Such honours as we have we cast there too. Are they charmed with
His smile? It is not less sweet to us who dwell below. Do they look forward,
waiting for His second advent? We also look and long for His appearing. If,
then, we are thus citizens of heaven, let our walk and actions be consistent
with our high dignity.

Genesis 2:15 (New King James Version) Change American Standard Version
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Young's Literal Translation

(15) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend
and keep it.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.Very simply and in a straightforward way,
God states the purpose for which He created the garden, and begins to reveal
foundational parts of the training program for Adam and Eve. Spiritually, this
principle extends to His modern children as well.
Adam's job in the Garden was to "tend and keep" or "cultivate and guard." A
deeper study of the words show that in combination, tending or cultivating is a
form of keeping. Cultivation is the effort a farmer makes to ensure that he will
produce as bountiful a crop as possible. He plows the ground, fertilizes it,
plants the seed, then he promotes further growth by watering, weeding, and so
forth. If the farmer is lazy, if he fails to cultivate his ground, if he does
nothing to promote growth, then what occurs? Nature follows its course and the
farm begins to degenerate!
This law can be illustrated by somewhat different examples. Suppose you own a
new house, complete with a fresh coat of paint on the exterior. If nothing is
ever done to maintain the house in good condition, the house will degenerate
very quickly. The same applies to an automobile. If you never change the oil,
never lubricate it, never inflate the tires to the right pressure, never wash
it, degeneracy results. It is part of the law of the universe. If a thing is not
maintained, if nothing is done to guard against decay, degeneration will surely
occur. If nothing is done to cultivate, nature will take its course, producing
degeneration.
In very simple terminology, God's purpose is accomplished because men and women
cultivate and guard. They cultivate what is provided to them in terms of both
physical and spiritual things. If cultivation occurs, it will guard against
degeneration. So another principle begins to emerge: Not only must sound
training come from pure doctrine, but we must make an effort to cultivate,
producing more fruit and greater growth. If we neglect this great salvation, our
spiritual lives are going to degenerate. The truths that we formerly held in
high esteem will begin to slip away.
At the very beginning of the book, God warns of a natural tendency in everything
toward disintegration.

John W. Ritenbaugh
From Guard the Truth!



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