Verse of the day — Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Matthew 14:31(HCSB)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
Deeper Revelation of Christ
To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. (Revelation 2:17)
God always keeps the revelation of Himself in Christ bound up with practical situations. You and I can never get revelation other than in connection with some necessity. We cannot get it simply as a matter of information. That is information, that is not revelation. We cannot get it by studying. When the Lord gave the manna in the wilderness (a type of Christ as the Bread from heaven), He stipulated very strongly that not one fragment more than the day's need was to be gathered, and that if they went beyond the measure of immediate need, disease and death would break out and overtake them. The principle, the law, of the manna, is that God keeps revelation of Himself in Christ bound up with practical situations of necessity, and we are not going to have revelation as mere teaching, doctrine, interpretation, theory, or anything as a thing, which means that God is going to put you and me into situations where only the revelation of Christ can help us and save us....
Now then, that is why the Lord would keep us in situations which are acute, real. The Lord is against our getting out on theoretical lines with truth, out on technical lines. Oh, let us shun technique as a thing in itself and recognize this, that, although the New Testament has in it a technique, we cannot merely extract the technique and apply it. We have to come into New Testament situations to get a revelation of Christ to meet that situation. So that the Holy Spirit's way with us is to bring us into living, actual conditions and situations, and needs, in which only some fresh knowledge of the Lord Jesus can be our deliverance, our salvation, our life, and then to give us, not a revelation of truth, but a revelation of the Person, new knowledge of the Person, that we come to see Christ in some way that just meets our need. We are not drawing upon an "it," but upon a "Him."
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. § God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” § Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. § Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. § He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.
1 Cor. 1:9; Heb. 10:23; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 John 1:3; 1 Peter 4:13; Eph. 3:17; Eph. 3:18; Eph. 3:19; 1 John 4:15; 1 John 3:24
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
We are His workmanship.
The king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. § The temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. § Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. § Who once were not a people but are now the people of God.
You are God’s building. § Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. § Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Eph. 2:10; 1 Kings 5:17; 1 Kings 6:7; 1 Peter 2:5; Eph. 2:20; Eph. 2:21 Eph. 2:22; 1 Pet. 2:10; 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Cor. 5:5
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
Contrasting Hearts
The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (James 5:11).
There are two hearts that we learn in the process of suffering: our own sinful heart, and our Father's loving heart.
"There is a Divine mystery in suffering, a strange and supernatural power in it, which has never been fathomed by human reason. There never has been known great saintliness of soul which did not pass through great suffering. When the suffering soul reaches a calm sweet carelessness, when it can inwardly smile at its own suffering, and does not even ask the Father to deliver it from suffering, then it has wrought its blessed ministry; then patience has its perfect work; then the crucifixion begins to weave itself into a crown." -T.W.
"There is no place for learning the tender sympathy of the Lord Jesus, and the blessings of the Father's love and patience and care, as in the trials of the wilderness journey. True, we must first have reached by faith the Canaan to which we have already come in the Lord Jesus. Then we find that this world is not the sphere in which the Father can bless us fully; but that there is no place where our own heart is more thoroughly learned, and the heart of the Lord Jesus, as in the wilderness journey." -F.G.P.
"Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children; My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him' (Heb. 12:5). I am not to despise the child-training, like a duck in the rain, indifferent to it, braving as it were everything; neither am I to faint when. . . rebuked of Him,' like a hen in the rain, which is a miserable object. I am neither to be miserable nor indifferent, but thoughtful and exercised." -J.B.S.
"The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort" (2 Cor. 1:3).
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
True Consecration
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself… that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
John 17:19
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that every believer has TWO ‘lives’ the old life and the new life.
1 the old sin nature from Adam and
2 the new born again life of Christ
Old Nature
Any attempt whatsoever to consecrate the old Adamic life will lead to certain failure. God organised it that way.. for He’ll have absolutely nothing to do with the OLD. But what a blow to the believer who wants to consecrate his old life and tries to do so. This too often has a devastating effect on believers as life becomes increasingly hard. He wants to live a consecrated life, as outlined in scripture, but find it’s impossible. And God planned it so – for only self-failure can bring forth true consecration.
The Process
The apostle Paul is probably the most logical and methodical thinker in all Scripture. Step by step he lays out the entire process that takes a believer to true consecration – and the best example is in the book of Romans chapters 6-8. He explains in Romans chapter 6, where you want to get to – a life lived for God. He explains in chapter 7 that it is impossible to ever live a life for God – our way. Then he takes you into the realms of how it is possible, but only God’s way.
Romans 7
The one who has experienced the failure of Romans 7 is a vessel God can use. This almost never happens in the early flush of faith – but after decades of training... for the old sin nature must be recognised for what it is – a life of self.
Succinct Outline
Metcalf gives a succinct outline of the problem and the solution – he writes:- The modern teaching of consecration, which is tantamount to the consecration of the ‘old man,’ seeks to bypass the death sentence and, and therefore, only leads to frustration and failure. When, however, you and I are prepared, in simple
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
The Hope of Glory
Messiah and Saviour
To know Christ as Saviour is to know Him as Son of God and Son of Man. He is the anointed Christ, the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world. He is the last Adam and the perfect Man. He is the eternal incarnate Word of God. To know Christ as Saviour is to know that we have been reconciled with God forever. To know Christ as Saviour is to know peace in our soul and have rest in our heart.
New Creation
Through Him, the world was spoken into being, and by Him, the universe is sustained. Through His death sin was conquered and by His resurrection death was vanquished. Through His Spirit, we are a new creation and by His grace, we have abundance of life.
Faithful and True
His titles are as numerous as the stars and His designations are eternally glorious. His attributes are without measure and His unchanging character is faithful and true. His name is wonderful; He is altogether lovely; He is my beloved, and He is our saviour – and to know Jesus as saviour is the only thing worth knowing in time and into eternity.
Person of Christ
The person of Christ is in history pre-eminent and His work on the cross is finished. From the genesis of the world to His final revelation the supremacy of Christ is central. From eternity past to the ages to come the centrality of the Lord Jesus is predominant. To know Christ as our Saviour is the single and most important component of life.
Plan of God
The mind of the Godhead and father-heart of God planned a mighty mystery. In the eternal council chambers of heaven, a divine secret was planned and purposed, and proceeding from God’s cherished mystery was born the eternal plan of God – a special plan, hid in His heart – that in the ages to come, Christ would be all in all.
Hidden Mystery
And so in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to carry out His heavenly plan. And by
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