LOVER’S OF TRUTH

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LOVER’S OF TRUTH

Morning, October 25

 

“For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.” 

— 2 John 2

 

Once let the truth of God obtain an entrance into the human heart and subdue the whole man unto itself, no power human or infernal can dislodge it. We entertain it not as a guest but as the master of the house—this is a Christian necessity, he is no Christian who doth not thus believe. Those who feel the vital power of the gospel, and know the might of the Holy Ghost as he opens, applies, and seals the Lord’s Word, would sooner be torn to pieces than be rent away from the gospel of their salvation. What a thousand mercies are wrapped up in the assurance that the truth will be with us for ever; will be our living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege, without it our faith were little worth. Some truths we outgrow and leave behind, for they are but rudiments and lessons for beginners, but we cannot thus deal with Divine truth, for though it is sweet food for babes, it is in the highest sense strong meat for men. The truth that we are sinners is painfully with us to humble and make us watchful; the more blessed truth that whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus shall be saved, abides with us as our hope and joy. Experience, so far from loosening our hold of the doctrines of grace, has knit us to them more and more firmly; our grounds and motives for believing are now more strong, more numerous than ever, and we have reason to expect that it will be so till in death we clasp the Saviour in our arms. 

 

Wherever this abiding love of truth can be discovered, we are bound to exercise our love. No narrow circle can contain our gracious sympathies, wide as the election of grace must be our communion of heart. Much of error may be mingled with truth received, let us war with the error but still love the brother for the measure of truth which we see in him; above all let us love and spread the truth ourselves. 

 

 Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Authority And Independence

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November 2nd

Authority and independence

If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments. John 14:15 (R.V.).

Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of oneness of spirit. That is why when Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF—you do not need to unless you like. “If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself”; let him give up his right to himself to Me. Our Lord is not talking of eternal positions, but of being of value to Himself in this order of things, that is why He sounds so stern (cf. Luke 14:26). Never interpret these words apart from the One who uttered them.

The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. Jesus Christ will not help me to obey Him, I must obey Him; and when I do obey Him, I fulfil my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean, but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I shall discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When once God’s Redemption comes to the point of obedience in a human soul, it always creates. If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.

 

 Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

Living In Faith

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LIVING IN FAITH

“As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord.” — Colossians 2:6

 

The life of faith is represented as receiving—an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours his salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us—a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ—to take him as God’s free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine. 

 

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain him! 

 

 Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Everlasting Arms Of Jesus

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“Underneath are the everlasting arms.” 

— Deuteronomy 33:27

 

God—the eternal God—is himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet “underneath” thee “are everlasting arms.” Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ’s great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as “the uttermost”; and to the uttermost he saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.” He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”—they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him avail nothing. 

 

This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”—arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary.” 

 

 Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

VISION & DESTINY

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VISION & DESTINY

 

Jesus never lost focus of His destiny, which was the cross on Calvary.  His focus was on the Father’s will and the vision and destiny that the Father had for Him.  We too must hold onto the visions and callings that the Lord has given us. We must continue the good fight of faith and continue towards the high calling through Christ Jesus.  When John the Baptist was imprisoned his circumstances caused him to doubt and be discouraged to the point of even questioning the Lord.  

 

Luke 7:18–23 (NKJV)

18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

 

We must not allow our circumstances or tribulations define who Jesus is in our lives.  We must keep our eyes, minds and heart focused on the Lord for we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. 

 

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

 

Philippians 3:14 (NKJV)

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

Sometimes even those closest to you may not embrace nor understand the vision and destiny that the Lord has given you because it is your destiny, your calling and the Lord’s desire for you alone.  Don’t be discouraged or disappointed as all things work together for the goodness and glory of God.  It is very likely and often the case that as you overcome your trials and tribulations walking in faith that the Grace and Glory of God is witnessed by others.  There is no testimony with a test, we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony! 

 

Revelation 12:11 (NKJV)

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

 

Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

 

There is no greater honor than to serve the Lord!

 

John 12:26 (NKJV)

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

 

Joshua 24 15 fullscreen

Walking In Truth

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“For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.” 

— 3 John 3

 

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretence. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the woof and warp of our being. If it be in us, we cannot henceforth part with it. A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the centre of the lantern through the glass: when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain worms colours the cocoons of silk which they spin: and just so the nutriment upon which a man’s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed proceeding from him. To walk in the truth, imports a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity—the natural product of those principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man’s conversation. Be it ours to-day, O gracious Spirit, to be ruled and governed by thy divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, lest it extend its malignant influence to our daily walk among men. 

 

 Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

LOOKING TO GOD AND OTHERS

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Looking to God and Others


Jeremiah 37:1–38:28; Romans 9:1–12; Proverbs 23:19–35

We have a natural tendency to be concerned with our own condition. As redeemed people, God is transforming us from being self-centered people—concerned with our own ambitions—to other-centered people who want to see God’s work done in and around us. Sometimes even our spiritual concerns point us inward. But God’s work in us shouldn’t be just about us.

Paul sets a startling example in his concern for those who hadn’t come to know Christ: “I am telling the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit—that my grief is great and there is constant distress in my heart. For I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my fellow countrymen according to the flesh” (Rom 9:1–3).

Although he was called especially to be an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was deeply concerned about the spiritual state of the Jewish people—his own people. The promise of the Messiah was given to them, yet many refused to believe the fulfillment of this promise, the redeeming work of Christ. They weren’t aware of the fulfillment of that promise given especially to them. Paul was so grieved by their rejection of their salvation that he was willing to be accursed for their sakes.

God is at work in us—transforming us for His purpose. We should be keenly aware of His work. But our gaze shouldn’t be fixed inward. We should be looking to God, amazed by His grace and His concern for people like us. As we are changed into His likeness, we should be caught up in caring for the things that deeply concern Him. We should care about the people He wants to be transformed to His likeness. He is molding and shaping us into His likeness so that we can be His instruments, His agents on earth. The people we meet and the situations we encounter are all opportunities to reflect Christ—not because we want to be holy examples, but because we have a task to do.

How is God’s work transforming you to be deeply concerned about the spiritual state of others? Who can you pray for? Who can you reach out to?

 

 Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

PRINCE OF PEACE

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JESUS OUR PRINCE OF PEACE

 

Don’t settle for merely attempting to find peace from earthly sources or possessions, you must encounter peace! The Prince of Peace! Once you encounter Peace (JESUS), all the earthly mindsets and methods of obtaining peace become shattered. Earthly possessions once thought to bring peace have no value or substance of peace for you have encountered the Prince of Peace! Pure undefiled Love, Peace, Grace and Mercy! The Lord is my source and portion!


Isaiah 9:6 (AMP)
6 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. [Isa. 25:1; 40:9-11; Matt. 28:18; Luke 2:11.]


Ephesians 3:18 (AMP)
18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

John 16:33 (AMP)
33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Psalm 119:57 (AMP)
57 You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to keep Your words.

WORLDLINESS VS. KINGDOM

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The Kingdom of Heaven is Like …

Genesis 19:30–21:21; Matthew 13:44–14:36; Ecclesiastes 4:8–16

Few in the world have sold everything to pursue an idea. Yet Jesus claims those who discover the kingdom of heaven are willing to do so. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field” (Matt 13:44). It seems that hardly any of us are equally willing to give up everything for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

 

The realization that Jesus has brought the kingdom of heaven to earth presents us with a choice. Will we decide that His kingdom is worth more than all things, or will we devalue it by equating it with worldly treasures?

 

There are many types of currency, not just money: reputation, occupational status, and social media popularity are just a few. But the kingdom is much more than material or monetary ideas. It’s about giving our gifts, thoughts, and wealth. It’s about being willing to sacrifice everything when God asks.

 

Putting aside God’s priorities in our lives can be far too easy—probably because He is not standing in front of us, nagging us to do His work. But there won’t be another day to get around to God’s work. Instead, those who believe in Christ (the righteous) will be separated from everyone else (the wicked). In the meantime, our job is to lead the “wicked” to the ways of Christ (Matt 13:44–50). We’re called to do His work, day by day. And we’re called to work as if we don’t have another chance—as if nothing in the world is more valuable.

 

 Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

SPIRITUAL REMODELING VS. REBUILDING

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SPIRITUAL REMODELING VS. REBUILDING

 

Mark 14:58 (AMP)

58 We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) which is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.

 

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (AMP)

19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,

20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

 

Spiritual remodeling is not spiritual rebuilding.  While it’s easier and more pleasant to work with what we have and perform improvements based on our personal beliefs through “remodeling” what is needed is for us to be spiritually rebuilt, totally new. Scratching the surface is superficial yet if we have died in Christ there is nothing left of us, we are totally new creations in Christ Jesus making Jesus Lord and the “old man” has passed away and the “birth” (born again) person is totally new.  For “ALL” things have passed away.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)

17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

 

Galatians 2:20 (AMP)

20 I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

 

Old things are torn away, broken apart and TOTAL spiritual reconstruction takes place through the love, mercy and grace of Jesus. There are no shortcuts or improvising in spiritual rebuilding for the author and finisher of our faith Christ Jesus is the creator of the universe including you and I.  We are being spiritually rebuilt by the Lord Jesus; for all things were made through Him, by Him and for Him.  As you go through this “rebuilding” process Jesus is with you every step of the way for He will never leave you or forsake you and His mercy endures forever.

 

Colossians 1:16 (AMP)

16 For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

 

Deuteronomy 31:6 (AMP)

6 Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you.

 

Our thoughts and beliefs on what we think we need verses what Jesus knows we need are in conflict and the “flesh wars against” the spirit of the Lord.  Often we find ourselves in our own “personal wilderness” being separated from the earthly and ungodly influences that have separated us from our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus.  While we are in this “wilderness” our fleshly nature is being crucified as the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit is rebuilding us tearing down fortified strongholds, lies, hurts and pain as we come to the end of “self” being rebuilt into the likeness and image of our Creator.  The love of God/Jesus is restoring us back into our divine identity before the fall of man.  What you are experiencing is a separation from an earthly way and mindset of life.  We are seated in heavenly places yet we live here on earth.  We are in the earth but not of the earth, thus the conflict is real and the renewing of our minds is continual through the Spirit of the Lord and the Living Word of God.

 

Galatians 5:17 (AMP)

17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.

 

1 John 2:15–17 (AMP)

15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

17 And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.

 

Proverbs 14:12 (AMP)

12 There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

 

Ephesians 2:6–7 (AMP)

6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

7 He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.

 

Isaiah was “undone”, Paul said it was no longer he that lived but Christ in him.  When the Lord Jesus reveals himself to us we too will be “undone” desiring nothing but total transformation being rebuilt into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus.  

 

Jesus wants “all of us” and not just part of us.  He doesn’t remodel you He rebuilds you!  Don’t settle for used when you can have new!  We must embrace the mercy, love and grace of the Lord Jesus.  The rebuilding process is continual while we are here on earth surrounded by a fallen nature and ungodly influence, none of us are exempt from the continual renewal of our minds through the Word of God and we must cast down every stronghold which exalts itself against the knowledge of God/Christ Jesus.

 

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 (AMP)

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,

5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

 

1 Corinthians 3:19 (AMP)

19 For this world’s wisdom is foolishness (absurdity and stupidity) with God, for it is written, He lays hold of the wise in their [own] craftiness; [Job 5:13.]

 

Praise the Lord Jesus for He will never leave you or forsake you and you too can overcome the world through Christ Jesus.  May the peace, love and grace of Jesus be your strength, High Tower, Fortress and Abiding Place!

 

John 16:33 (AMP)

33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

 

Psalm 91:1 (AMP)

HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

 

Proverbs 18:10 (AMP)

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong.

 

Blessings, peace and grace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.