Verse of the day — Isaiah 26:3
You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you.
Isaiah 26:3(ISV)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
A Circumcised Heart
He shall see [the fruit] of the travail of His souland be satisfied. (Isaiah 53:11 AMP)
Well, we know more than the Prophet Isaiah knew about that! We have been with Him in Gethsemane in the time of the travail of His soul, and we are with Him, on the other side of the travail. How many are the seed of Christ since then! Dear friends, if ever you are tempted to think that Christians are few, and that we are only a very small people in the millions of this world open the windows! Look into the book of the Revelation: great multitude, which no man could numberten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.The number cannot be expressed in human language and they have been gathered since the travail of the Lord Jesus. He is indeed seeing His seed! Gethsemane has been the most fruitful garden in all history and you and I are of His seed! We are born out of His travail and are in the covenant made with the new Israel.
But do remember that the meaning and the value of the covenant depend upon our devotion to the Lord! This is a thing which is so evident: the greatest fruitfulness has always come from the lives most devoted to the Lord, the people of the undivided heart. This covenant has two sides.... The New Testament takes many warnings from the history of Israel, and we may fail of all that that covenant means if our hearts are divided and we try to live life in two worlds. We never lose anything when the Lord has everything, and that is what it means to have a circumcised heart. May that be true of everyone!
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God … has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. § God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:18,19; 2 Cor. 5:20,21; 1 John 4:8,9; 1 John 4:10,11
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord.
He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” … Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest.
Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?
To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. § If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense … Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Prov. 20:27; John 8:7,9; Gen. 3:11; James 4:17; 1 John 3:20,21; Rom. 14:20,22; Ps. 139:23,24
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
Canaan Conflict
We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance . . . may be ours" (Num. 32:32).
If our Lord were to give rest from the processing required for spiritual growth, by what means would He accomplish His work in us? True, the war has been won at Calvary, but there are many "mopping up" battles to be fought. Victory is ours, but we must learn how to wear our armor and handle our weapons. We must also come to know and appreciate our Captain as we enter into what He has accomplished on our behalf.
"The Christian who imagines that life in the Promised Land is one of rest from temptation and conflict, is due for a surprise. There is not less temptation, but more strong and subtle temptation. There is no less conflict, but more constant conflict. The difference lies in the fact that in Canaan the battle is not fought under our own leadership, but under that of the Victorious Man with the drawn sword, who has never suffered defeat. It is not rest from conflict, but rest in conflict. In Canaan, Israel lost only one battle in seven years, and that was because of culpable disobedience and sin." -O.S.
"It has been well said that spiritual believers are honored with warfare in the front line areas. There the fiercest pressure of the enemy is known. But they are also privileged to witness the enemy's crushing defeat, so abundant is the power of God, and thus highly is the spiritual believer honored." -L.S.C.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.... This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord" (Isa. 54:17).
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
God, My Rest (Study In God - All I Need-14)
Study - GOD, All I Need
Come unto Me, all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you REST.
Matthew 11:28
Need for Rest
How we all greatly long for rest.. not merely a break in life’s routine, or a cessation from the round of daily toils, but a peace and harmony within. A calmness and tranquillity, deep in our inner being. I may be physically resting, but my soul may be ceaselessly in turmoil. I may be doing nothing.. but maintain an inward disorder of raging confusion. I may be sleeping on feather pillows, but be restless within and far from being at ease.
Call to Rest
Thoughts and imaginations of what may be, can combine to tremblings and turmoil. Fears within and fancies without can amalgamate to demolish any semblance of rest. But amid the turmoil of life; the confusion of hearts; the agitations of living, we have an invitation from the God of Rest… to come aside and rest awhile… The Psalmist gently reminds us to, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.. and He shall give thee the desires of your heart.. Rest, I say.. Rest in the Lord. Psalm 37:7
Response to Rest
"We all will be receiving a wonderful heavenly rest, one day", I hear you say…"but I need rest from my restlessness and agitations, here and now…" But never forget that if God sees the last gasping breath of a tiny sparrow, fluttering helplessly to the ground – will He not much more care for you, and provide the rest He has promised you?
Responsibility to Rest
How seriously we need to take hold of the Lord’s personal invitation…Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly of heart – and you shall find rest for your soul, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:29 A yoke is used for uniting two oxen to draw a heavy load.. but one bullock alone soon becomes exhausted, with the weight of responsibility. But Christ
Secret
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Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
God, My Truth (Study In God - All I Need-15)
Study - GOD, All I Need
Question of Truth
What is TRUTH? This was the piercing question that fell from the lips of Pilate and this question is the root of the inner, penetrative searchings, that are found deep within the heart of all humanity. For that which is not founded on the truth of the Word of God, fragments into a tissue and lies. That which is not rooted in the truth of the gospel of Christ, lies buried in a sea of distortion. Building our lives on anything other than truth, is to stand on shifting sand – for only truth from God will endure, while all lies and part-truths, distortions and falsities will be swept away.
Knowledge of Truth
Knowledge of the truth is no insignificant advantage, for it affects every facet of life. Understanding the truth affects the eternal soul of man.. through time and into eternity, for as the apostle Paul reminds us, no foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 How it must please the heart of God when believers can be described like Gauis – a man of truth. It was John who wrote his letter to Gauis saying, 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 1:3
Distortions of Truth
Often, in a heart damaged by life’s traumas, the truth becomes distorted – even the truth of God becomes twisted and perverted through the influence of sin. The truth of the gracious Father-heart of God Who loves with an infinite love can sometimes become twisted. The truth of His Father-heart of love has at times become warped and distorted, as He is manipulated into the image of a demanding brother; a scornful mother; an abusive father… as God’s love and His forgiveness; His promises and His precepts are twisted to blaspheme His holy character. Many will not face the truth that their view of God could be thus distorted. Some are unresponsive when help and
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
The Difficult Path
Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:26
Waiting in Life
Your path is difficult, very difficult for you. Often you have to wait in life. No work in life is as hard as waiting. Wait – wait for God. Micah 7:7 tells us: I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 Wait – Wait for the Father.
Waiting for God
Like the disciples, we must wait God’s time. We must wait for the promise of the Father, they were told in Acts 1:4. Wait – Wait for Me. Just as Isaiah 49:3 reminded us: I am the LORD – they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Waiting on God
Wait – wait on Me. Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and e shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD. Again I say WAIT. All movement and motion is easier than still, calm waiting. Wait, and I will show you My will. I prove My love by setting you the task of waiting. Waiting FOR Me and waiting ON Me. I am your Father – I will not overwhelm your spiritual strength, I will come to you – walking on the stormy waters of life’s confusion, as you paddle on your helpless raft, 'mid oceans tempestuous turbulence. I am your Saviour – I will uphold you with My righteous right hand, lest you sink beneath the squally waves of life’s uncertainties. Look, One comes to hold you up. One, like as unto the Son of Man. Oh, wait child of God.
Waiting Soul
Wait for God; Wait for the Father; Wait on Me – Wait I say on the Lord I said:- I will wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. Psalm 130:5