Verse of the day — 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
1 Thessalonians 5:24(NASB)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
Worshipful Prayer
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV)
There are many ways in our Christian life where we have to get adjusted to the will of the Lord. The will of the Lord is not always an easy thing for our flesh; and so very often, we have to have a real battle to get adjusted to the will of the Lord on some particular matter; and prayer is the time in which that adjustment has to be done. It is just possible that some of us are having a battle over the will of God on something. Well, this is the time to get through with that issue. Our prayer times give us the great opportunity of getting right into line with the will of God on all matters....
True prayer is the prayer of confession and humiliation! True prayer is the time of absolute committal and surrender and submission to the Lord! True prayer is the time for getting right into line with the will of God on all matters! Now these three things, we could call negative things. Of course they are not negative when we have to face them, they are very positive matters. But when we come to the fourth thing, we move over a bit to another side; and I am sure that this first time of prayer in the case of Paul was a time of deep worship. What does worship come out from? What is it that leads us to worship? What is the true nature and spirit of worship? Is it not a deep unspeakable gratitude for the grace of God? We only worship in the measure in which we appreciate the grace of God.... You remember that a favorite way to Paul of opening his letters was with three words: "Grace, mercy, and peace, be unto you." That was the foundation of everything for Paul. Wonderful grace, grace that could never be explained; boundless mercy; and peace with God. That was surely the consciousness of this man during his prayer. It was the prayer of deep worship for the grace of God, and that must have a place in all true prayer.
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.
For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. § Whatever things were written before were writ- ten for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? § Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.
Neh. 9:17; 2 Peter 3:9, 2 Peter 3:15; 1 Tim. 1:16; Rom. 15:4, Rom. 2:4; Joel 2:13
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
The words of the Lord are pure words.
Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it. § The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. § Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You … I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. § Brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. § As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.
We are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. § Nor handling the word of God deceitfully.
Ps. 12:6; Ps. 119:140; Ps.19:8; Prov. 30:5,6; Ps. 119:11,15; Phil. 4:8; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Cor. 2:17; 2 Cor. 4:2
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
Home Free!
Hath made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:5).
The Father has placed us in His very heart, and He intends for our heart to find its place there.
"Think of the fast embrace with which I find myself held, right to the heart of my Father, when I discern my position in His Beloved Son. Grace, absolute sovereign grace, has set me there - to show its exceeding riches throughout time and eternity. What could effort of mine have done in this matter? What can failure of mine undo?" -F.W.G.
"The first action of the Spirit in the soul for growth is to assure you of the Father's love for you, and then you are not thinking about yourself or your own state, but of Him; though no doubt you will be greatly exercised as to how you are answering to that love. Now you know you have a living bond with the Lord Jesus, you are linked with Him in spirit, and a new interest altogether is awakened in your heart; it is with Him you are occupied." -J.B.S.
"If I have lost the world and its things, what have I gained? I have a Person, and the love of that Person for my heart. And when I think of who that Person is, and how He has brought divine love to me, and how He draws my heart to Himself in an ineffable scene of divine affections, I begin to taste divine satisfaction."
"The Lord Jesus by His death has undertaken to remove all my unsuitability. And by that death I am entitled to be with the Father and the Son as one set free from all that attached to me as a child of fallen Adam. It is a love which has removed for its own satisfaction everything that I am morally as of the race of Adam, so that I might be free in the presence of that love." -C.A.C.
"Hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
Humble Submission
So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were travelling with the Lord Jesus, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.
Acts 1:21-22
Christ’s Silent Years
Many long years had passed from the day that the young Jesus was lost in the temple. Many silent years rolled by from that memorable day when Jesus returned home to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, his parents, and lived in humble obedience to them. But as Jesus grew into manhood, in that little town of Nazareth, there was another youth that was maturing into the office to which he had been born – John the Baptist.
Christ’s Forerunner
John had been called, before his conception, to be the forerunner of God’s Messiah. John was called as a voice in the wilderness – to proclaim forth the kingdom of God. John was anointed to call the people of Israel to repent – to return to their Lord God. John was to proclaim: Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29.
Elizabeth and Mary
We know that John the Baptist and Jesus were relatives for we read that their mothers were cousins – one was from the house of Judah and one of the lineage of Levi. John was of the priestly line while Jesus of Nazareth was of the house of king David. Both were called of God and filled with the Spirit. Both grew-up in relative obscurity. Both John and Jesus had godly mothers that taught their sons the things of God. Both Elizabeth and Mary must have pondered the futures of their unique offspring.
Gabriel’s Visitation
What secrets must have been exchanged and what joy must have filled both hearts as they talked together of the 2 visitations of the angel Gabriel, to tell the good news. When John emerged onto the world stage, he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He was a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
An All-Season Watch
Watch therefore and pray always
Luke 21:36Pray without ceasing
1 Thessalonians 5:17
High Standard
The literal translation of this verse in Luke begins:-“watch ye, then – in every season..” And the verse continues :- “praying…” Jesus sets an incredibly high standard – watching in every season and praying. Paul also sets a seemingly unreachable goal – pray without ceasing.
Spiritual Behaviour
To watch in every season and pray without ceasing seems an unrealistic request, and yet we find both Christ and Paul giving believers a seemingly impossible task, but the physical action must be transliterated into a spiritual behaviour. Am I to be continually gazing out of the window or be forever crouched on my knees? Am I to neglect the daily duties of life or adopt the attitude of some pious monk?
Godly Principle
Not at all. But the injunction is to keep Christ as the pivotal point of all life. We are to pray continuously in the spirit and to be always watchful in spirit and truth. Spiritual watching and spiritual praying are two sides of the same spiritual coin. The Pharisees and religious leaders failed to understand the ‘spirit’ of the Law. They became entangled in their attempts to perform the spiritual in the physical,` They tried to carry out the letter of the command rather than the godly principle.
Spiritually Alert
We too must grasp the spirit of Christ’s earnest entreaties to watch and pray. We too must be unceasingly spiritual alert maintaining an unbroken attitude of heart. We are to clothe ourselves with a temperament of anticipated watchfulness. We are to develop a perspective of ceaseless prayerfulness. We are to watch and pray in spirit and in truth, at all times and without ceasing.
Spiritually Equipped
For what purpose are we implored to carry out this magnificent task….? Often it’s in the context of Christ’s return. We are to be spiritually ready for His return. Often it’s connected with Satan’s attacks and we must be spiritually equipped. We are to be ready: for we do not know the day or the time that our
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