Verse of the day — Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:18(NASB)
Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
He Loved them unto the Uttermost
Don just pretend to love others. Really love themLove each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. (Romans 12:9,10 NLT)
"He loved them unto the uttermost." And I think in that statement, there is the most wonderful thing that ever came into this world. Jesus had had a lot of trouble with those men. They had often misunderstood Him. They had often disappointed Him. They were really a very poor lot of men.... He knew what a poor lot of men they were, but He loved them unto the uttermost. That is the first thing about this love. It is not offended by our failures. He does not withdraw His love because we make mistakes. We may often disappoint Him, we may often fail Him, we may often grieve His heart, but He goes on loving us. He loves us unto the uttermost, right to the end. He is not offended by our failures. That is a very different kind of love from our love. This is God's love in Christ....
You know, it is so easy to talk about love, to pretend to love, to use the language of love, to sing hymns about love, and it can all be sentimental; perhaps we all know people who have told us that they love us, but very often they are the very people who have hurt us most. Now, the love of Jesus was not sentimental, it was practical. He did not go in with His disciples and say, 'Brothers, I do love you very much.' He showed that He loved them by what He did for them. It was not sentimental love, it was practical love. And this is the love with which He loved them unto the uttermost.... These things which characterize the love of Christ for His own ought to characterize us in love for others. That is why the Holy Spirit has come. So that as He loved us to the uttermost, so ought we to love one another.
Morning Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! § My brethren, you … have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. § Not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ. § The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. § Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Rom. 6:14; Rom. 6:15; Rom. 7:4; 1 Cor. 9:21; 1 Cor. 15:56,57; Rom. 8:2; John 8:34; John 8:36; Gal. 5:1
Evening Daily Light by Samuel Bagster
A double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. § Let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. § Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
No longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love … grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.
Abide in Me. § Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
James 1:8; Luke 9:62; Heb. 11:6; James 1:6,7; Mark 11:24; Eph. 4:14,15; John 15:4; 1 Cor. 15:58
None but the Hungry Heart by Miles Stanford
The Heart Of The Matter
You. . . hath He reconciled" (Col. 1:21).
Our Father's Cross-love was personal; we were there in the Son. Our Father's heart-love is personal; we are hidden there in the Son.
"Have you ever thought of the Father dealing with you not as to what you are in yourself, but as to where He has positioned you in His Son? Have you ever thought that it is the affections of the Father's heart which flow down to us where we are, seeing us in the Son, not in our poor wretched selves? What we are in the old man is not the thing to scan, but what we are, and where we are, in the Son; and what there is in the living affections of the Father, who has raised us up together with His Son, and has given us all heavenly blessings in Him." -G.V.W.
"Nothing can make up for a lack of personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. Intimacy with Himself is certainly the secret of true devotedness. Occupation with Him, the heart readily detects, and rejects the voice of the stranger, and cannot but own the Lord's claims to be paramount. Nothing so thoroughly tests the state of our hearts, as whether or not we have intimacy with the Lord Jesus Himself." -H.H.S.
"A great deal of our time is spent in learning that there is nothing here to meet the requirements of our new affections. There is a wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, and yet no city is found to dwell in. But our Father allows this in order that His children may find that their desires can only be satisfied by and in Him. We must learn that we are not of this world." -J.B.S
"To present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight" (Col. 1:22).
Devotional Studies by Elizabeth Haworth
Grace and Truth - Perfect MAN Eternal SON (29)
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17
Face of Christ
The Law was indeed given to Israel through Moses, but the unfailing love of God and His everlasting faithfulness is seen reflected in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. The beauty of grace and truth is contrasted with the stark reality of the Mosaic Law, for the Law was given by Moses – but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Sparkling Jewels
The sparkling glory of the combined elements of grace and truth shimmer like two precious jewels – in stark contradistinction, with the dark backcloth of the Law. The beloved apostle in his gospel is unveiling the qualities and attributes of the Lord Jesus, one by one – as he reveals that: in the beginning was the eternal Word of God.
The Law
He is the eternal Word, the incarnate Word – the Word of God made flesh, forever, and He is also Light and Life – contrasting with all that is of darkness and death. The Mosaic Law was perfect in all respects, but the Law was a ministration of death, for the perfect requirements of the Law could never be attained by man’s own merit.
The Cross
But God in His love and mercy sent grace and truth through the incarnate Word.. so that all that believe in His name would not perish – but have everlasting life. The expression of God’s grace is seen in the gift of His Son and His work on the cross, so that by believing on the person of Jesus Christ we may have life in His name.
God’s Grace
Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them death – so the marvellous grace of God now rules instead, giving us right-standing with God and resulting in eternal life – through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Law requires works, which could never reach the perfection required of God. but grace and truth has come to us all through the lovely Lord Jesus Christ, so that by
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Knowing Jesus Devotional by Elizabeth Haworth
A Sanctified Body Given to the Lord
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Say ye – I am Your sign…”
Ezekiel 12:11So that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:7
Dedicated to God
Consecration is being ‘set apart’ for the Lord. Consecration is being separated for His plans and purposes. Many saints have been distinguished in this way – set-aside for His purpose. What is the motivation of consecration; what is the point of being set-aside? What is the reason for this distinguishing mark; what does this isolation mean? What does it mean to be sanctified – to be dedicated unto God?
Principle of Consecrated
The principle of consecration is that God might use that one as a sign –‘His sign.’ Not only as a sign of His immeasurable grace in the ages to come, but here and now, in the corner of the field where He has planted you. And every consecrated saint points in one-way or another to Jesus Christ.
Paul: Set Apart
Paul was ”set apart for the gospel of God” – he was consecrated unto God. And like so many before him, Paul was used of God as a sign to point to Christ. And like others before him he was required to suffer greatly – to be a ‘sign’. ”for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1Corinthians 4:9
Nehemiah: Set Apart
The world laughs at the one sanctified unto God – set apart to do His will. Just as the world scorned the dedication of Nehemiah as he built Jerusalem’s wall, And down through the generations Nehemiah became a sign in so many ways.
Moses: Set Apart
Moses was a sign to Israel, through his life and through his disobedience! This humble man was used of God, to save His people from Egypt’s oppression. This great man was chosen and separated by God, to be His mouthpiece, And this consecrated saint was once disobedient – and had to be judged.. Oh! Moses, that great prophet of God was
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