Verse of the day — John 13:35
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:35(NASB)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
The Light of God
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
Light is transparency; light is clearness; light is absolute purity; light is honesty; light is openness of character. Light hides nothing; its whole action and nature is contrary to hiding anything. It has nothing to hide; it shows everything; it shows all: in other words, it is not deceitful. It does not want to cover anything, or to pretend or make-believe that something is other than what it is. Light is single; it is not double; there is no duplicity about light. And light is just - light! There is no darkness at all, where there is light.... How many shades and aspects of darkness there are! - a whole vocabulary of words. The Spirit has come to bring all that to an end by applying the Cross, in which it was all brought to an end in the Person of the Lord Jesus; to work out the meaning of the Cross in our lives, so that everything that belongs to that kingdom of darkness is removed: so that in the end, with us too, there is no darkness at all. Is that really what we think of, when we think of having, receiving, and being filled with the Holy Spirit? Here again, perhaps, a little re-shaping of our ideas is called for. It is true that He is many other things, as well as light: He is the Spirit of Power, He is the Spirit of Wisdom; yes, He is many other things; but, with them all, He is this. And we must not make more of those demonstration aspects of the Spirit, in power, in gifts and capacities, in works, than we do of His character side. If He really does His work in you and in me, He will make us to be people who can bear to be looked into without any fear, without any drawing of the blinds. Our lives and our motives will bear looking into.
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. § You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. § Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed. § Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! § He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. § 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.
Matt. 5:48; Gen. 17:1; Lev. 20:26; 1 Cor. 6:20; Col. 2:10; Titus 2:14; 2 Peter 3:14; Ps. 119:1; James 1:25 Ps. 139:23,24
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. § Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. § Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. § Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected.
Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. § For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
2 Cor 7:1; Ps. 51:6; Titus 2:12; Matt. 5:16; Phil. 3:12; 1 John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:5 ; Eph. 4:12,13
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
Apprehended To Apprehend
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord" (Phil. 3:8).
Positionally, our Father subjected our old nature to the Cross and its resultant death. Experientially, He applies the work of the Cross to our old life, thereby progressively holding it in the grip of that death. He is "unforming" the old nature in death, and conforming the new nature in life.
"Life more abundant requires that what He did for us shall be made good in us. In His Cross He dealt with our sins, and He also dealt with ourselves; but that is something which has to be made good progressively. It is as we ourselves are dealt with in the power of the Cross that the way is made for His life to express itself in ever deepening fulness.
"The fact is that it is the old life which is in the way of the new life and its full expression. It is the natural life which obstructs the course of the divine life. Thus what has been done for us has to be done in us, and as it is done in us that life becomes more than a deposit, more than a simple, though glorious possession; it becomes a deepening, growing power, a fulness of expression." -T. A-S.
"You may have been in the fires and have been having a pretty hard and painful time in your spiritual life, but that only means that God has been preparing you for something more. No, God is not a God who believes in bringing everything to an end. He is always after something more. And if He has to clear the way for something more by devastating methods (Cross), well, that is all right, for it is something more that He is after. There is so much more, far, far transcending all our asking or thinking."
"I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12).
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
VFR verses IFR - Growing In Grace (25)
Growing In Grace - STUDYYou foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?
Galatians 3:1
For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God….. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing
Galatians 2:19-21
Rules of Grace Life
Living by grace is the antithesis to the way that man has learned to live in this world. The life of grace can only be understood if one has learned how to live by faith, and then apply it. You see, living by faith does not come naturally.. indeed it’s a most unnatural way to live. But it is nonetheless a fact of the Christian life. The reason is that the human mind thinks that we can merit something from God and this is the basis of all religious thinking – and much Christian teaching. If only we would take to heart what is laid out in Scripture, and just believe Him! Most of us have to admit that we went for years as a believer not knowing how to ‘believe‘. Probably most of us still admit that faith can be difficult, yet faith is what is required and without faith, it is impossible to please God.
An Aeronautic Example
Let me give you an aeronautical example: A pilot of an airplane has two methods to fly his craft. He has two ways that he can navigate his aeroplane – either VFR or IFR.
VFR means – Visual Flight Rules
IFR means – Instrument Flight Rules
VFR or Visual Flight Rule flying means that you navigate the plane by means of sight. You look at the horizon to recognise your relationship to the earth, you bank left or right, and return to your position by means of what you see. IFR or Instrument Flight Rule flying means that you have no outside frame of reference by which to navigate – nothing! You have no input or feedback from your senses at all. You navigate your craft only by means of
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
Just Be…
Godly Instruction
BE ye holy; for I am holy 1 Peter 1:16. BE ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48. BE perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4. As many as BE perfect, be thus minded, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Philippians 3:1. BE ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, Romans 12:2.
Your Calling
What is your calling? What is the work to which you have been called? God is calling out of the gentiles a people for His name.. men and women who are ready and willing to die to self and live to Christ. God is calling out of the gentiles a people for His name.. those prepared to suffer the consequences – to be conformed into His image.
Faithful Servants
God is calling out of the gentiles a people for His name.. individuals who through patient endurance will finish life’s race. God is calling out of the gentiles a people for His name.. people who will be awarded gold, silver, and precious stones – disciples who will one day hear Him: say well done good and faithful servant? How is this great honour to be achieved? How could this honour be lost? How are we to run the race to win and achieve this incredible prize.. or suffer loss? How do we ensure our inheritance is gained and secure – and not despised or lost?
Lawful Striving
We need to pay heed to the Word of God which instructs us in godly living. We must hearken to the apostle's directions to strive lawfully to receive the crown. But how do we strive lawfully? What does this mean? Well, it means to take note of the instructions that God gives us through His Word. Be holy… Be perfect…. Be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
His Workmanship
We are first to be His workmanship.. created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Eph.2:10. There is nothing
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