Verse of the day — John 16:21
When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.
John 16:21(HCSB)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
The Full Measure of Christ
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. (Ephesians 1:3,4 NLT)
That which has been chosen before the foundation of the world and which has been foreordained unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. That is the fullness of God thought for His own, as a full, comprehensive, utter thought. We have not yet come into all those blessings, not because God has not given them, but because we have not grown up into them. We have not grown up into Him in all things. That is the point of our word, the urge to come to God thought, the measure of Christ.
What is God thought? The full measure of Christ, the fullness of the stature of Christ. That is God thought for us. Let us lay hold of God thoughts; let us by faith appropriate those thoughts, let us believe in God thoughts, let us seek to get into line with those thoughts, and take the Holy Spirit and His energies to form us, and constitute us, that God thoughts may become living expressions in us. That is His purpose: to bring us to the full measure of Christ. All that we need to do is to state that as a definite fact, but, mark you, it represents a tremendous responsibility. We cannot talk, and hear about things like that without coming under tremendous responsibility. If this is the revelation of God from heaven in Christ through His Word and to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, then it involves us in very great responsibility. Is it necessary to speak about responsibility? Ought not God thought for us really draw out our hearts in unspeakable gratitude and worship? Ought we not to recognize these other words here associated with the calling: ccording to the good pleasure of His will,the Lord delight? You remember what Joshua and Caleb said when they reported on the land: f the Lord delight in us He will bring us in.That is only what we have here. Christ is the Land of God fullness, and it is according to the good pleasure of His will that we should come into that fullness.
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.
Both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” § In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. § You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. § Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it! § Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. § My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. § Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
Luke 8:21; Heb. 2:11,12; Gal. 5:6; John 15:14; Luke 11:28; Matt. 7:21; John 4:34; 1 John 1:6; 1 John 2:5
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
What are you doing here, Elijah?
He knows the way that I take. § O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways … Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? … If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. § The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. § Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. § A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.
Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. § The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. § As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.
1 Kings 19:9; Job 23:10; Ps. 139:1,2; Ps. 139:3,7; Ps. 139:9,10; James 5:17; Prov. 29:25; Ps. 37:24; Prov. 24:16; Gal. 6:9; Matt. 26:41; Ps. 103:13
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
Progress Via Process
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God" (Ps. 42:1).
The believer in the midst of processing, is progressing.
"If spiritual thirst is the language of your heart, there is great blessing in store for you. When believers are being turned upside-down and inside-out they are apt to be much discouraged, and to have their souls disquieted' within them. But even amid the exercise the Father would give us the encouragement of knowing that He has taken us up to bring us into inconceivable blessing.
"We must travel through these processings, for the simple reason that if the Lord Jesus is to be everything, the old man must be nothing, and it is often times a long journey to reach this point in the history of the soul. Hence the long, dreary, and painful years of self-occupation' through which most believers drag their slow steps of spiritual progress." -C.A.C.
"The old man may not always appear deceitful and hateful; on the contrary, it may be cultured, refined, and religious. Whatever its behaviour, it is still changeless flesh, unimprovable, incorrigible, and incurable. There remains, then, no remedy but that which the Father has provided - condemnation, crucifixion, death with the Lord Jesus." -G.M.
"He remaineth; and He leads us into experiences of desolation here in order that we may not only see how little we know Him as the source of all joy, but in order that we may turn to Him and find not only relief, but full resources in Himself. It is only in solitude that we come to realize this." -J.B.S.
Right down to Romans 7:24 -
"Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
Appropriating God’s Wonderful Truth
To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians.1:6
Fixed Status
Until we can believe that we are accepted in the Beloved.. we believe the opposite. Until we can accept that we are complete in Him.. we will think we are incomplete. Being accepted in Christ and complete in Him is the fixed status of all believers. But chose to disbelieve the truth, and you will build up a lie in your mind.
Complete in Christ
All those that are born from above are already complete in Christ. Accepting that we are complete in Christ is just believing the Scripture as truth. Believing that we are accepted in Christ is simply trusting God’s word, as fact.
Lying Influences
Circumstances of life and wickedness in the world may seem to scream the reverse, but you must never base your faith in Christ Jesus on your feelings – nor must you allow the circumstances of life to influence your trust in God.
Feeling or Faith
Feelings will lie, and circumstances can fabricate the truth of God’s word. Your faith is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness – and because you are in Him, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to you.
Receiving Truth
Until His Word is trusted Christian maturity in our lives will be hindered. The kissing cousin to faith in God’s word, is appropriating the truth in our heart. The counter side of the coin of trust is a practical reception of the word of God.
Appropriating Truth
To appropriate God’s Truth is to take as an actuality what is already yours. To appropriate His Word, is to accept as a practical reality what belongs to you. To appropriate Scripture is to take on board what is already ours as a gift from God. It is to hear God and operate on it as an unfailing reality. It is to receive and act on His word as fixed, factual truth. It is appropriate – is to take, accept, receive, and act upon God’s unfailing word.
William
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
Rightly Divided
The Plan of God
How vital it is for the believer to rightly divide the Word of Truth. God has a plan for Israel and God has a plan for Christ's Body, the Church.. and He has a plan for those in the tribulation and one for those in the millennium – and His overall plan and purpose is to bring everything into Christ. The plan of God is laid out in the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The Christian needs to seek and see where he is in God’s plan and time-line.
Law and Prophets
Moses, the Jews, the Law, and the Prophets all came before the cross.. teaching the good news of the coming Messiah and His coming kingdom rule. And Israel was chosen as God’s people and given the Law and the Prophets.. but they disobeyed as a nation and God had to set Israel aside for a period.
The Purpose of Law
The standard of the Law was perfect but impossible for Israel to achieve. The Law is a schoolmaster to show that we cannot be righteous of ourselves. The Law is a teacher to point us to Christ – to show us the way and to point to truth. But many in that period of Law found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.. for many in that period of Law BELIEVED the Word of the Lord. And many were made righteous in Christ, as recorded in Hebrews chapter 11.
Gospel of the Kingdom
Then Christ was born and the four gospels announced to Israel, 'your King is here!' Israel’s long waiting for their King and His long promised Kingdom had arrived, and the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached to the lost sheep of the house of Israel – and Israel as a nation was to believe on the Son of Man – repent and be baptised, as recorded in Holy writ.
Perfect Standard
And the life that Christ lived was a life lived under the Law. And the life that Christ lived was a perfect life, an exemplary life, the perfect standard.. so
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