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DAY 4                                                                      SEPTEMBER 16, 2015   
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"I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST;

IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME;

AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH 

I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD,

WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME."

(Galatians 2:20) 

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RAISE UP THE STANDARD!
 
"...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1b, 2)
 
Morning Devotion: Feasting in His Presence - Read John 6:35-40

Jesus had just finished telling the crowd that God was offering them divine bread that would provide eternal life, and they responded affirmatively: "Lord, give us this bread always" (v.34).  They were expecting a miracle bread that would prolong their physical life, but what Jesus was offering them would transform their life for all eternity.  He declared to them, "I am the Bread of Life."  This was the first of seven names that Jesus used in His teaching as He began to reveal who He was and why He was sent.  These next 40 days, as we take up our cross and follow Christ, we will be studying these "self-descriptions" of Jesus as we feast on the One Who has been sent from above to save us from our sin and fill us with His love.  
 
When God first introduced Himself to Moses as "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14), He revealed Himself as the dependable, trustworthy and faithful God.  A person's name was vitally important to the Jews, because it was a representation of their full character.  Moses was prevented from seeing the fullness of God, but he was able to hear it proclaimed: "The LORD, The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin..." (Exodus 34:6-7a).  Jesus came in the fullness of the Godhead, expressing the magnificence of God by name, and demonstrating the majesty of God as He lived and walked among the people of His day.  His name encompassed all that He was, is, and ever will be, therefore the Father gave His Son the name that is above all other names.
 
"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:9-11) 
  
With every word He spoke, and everything He did, Jesus' life was a bold declaration that He had been sent from heaven to do the Father's will."For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Even though Jesus was fully God, His dependence upon the Father was vital to accomplishing the work He had been sent to do.  "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work" (John 4:34). As His followers, it is critical that we learn to trust God for our daily bread and become intentional about feasting on the spiritual food He has placed in our hands - the Holy Bible - EVERY DAY!  The work we have been commissioned to do is a heavenly and holy assignment.  As His ambassadors we can't lead others where we haven't been one ourselves.  Jesus came to offer His life as spiritual food for a spiritually starved world, and we must make every effort to be nourished in the knowledge of Him so we can continue His work.  Jesus provided for us the standard we are to live by, as He Himself went to the Father daily in prayer to be nourished and strengthened in the divine presence, so He could do the work He had been sent to do. If we claim to be true follower's of Jesus Christ we must be willing to do the same - for we bear His glorious and holy name!
 
This morning as we digest our spiritual breakfast, may we, like Ezekiel and John, savor the Word of God as sweet honey on our tongue, but let us not ignore the bitter feeling in the pit of our stomach, as we are gravely reminded of the many who remain separated from God (reference Ezekiel 3:3; Revelation 10:9-11).  When we sit at our tables we offer words of grace to God for our food, however when we sit at the Lord's table He offers us grace as our food. Let us take time now to pray and ask God for the grace this spiritually starved world so desperately needs, and may we willingly dispense His grace to all those He brings across our paths today. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Heavenly Father,
You have promised that "he who comes to Me
will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me
will never be thirsty."
You have sent Your Son into the world
so we could experience life to the full.
Everything good from Your hand flows
through Christ into our lives.
We praise You that we rest secure in the knowledge
that none of all that You have given
to Your beloved Son will be lost.
And we rejoice that we will indeed be
raised up with You in the last day.
Help us now to live our lives in the fullness
of Your grace and surrendered to Your
perfect will, so that Your Kingdom come
and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Thank You for our daily bread.
In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

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REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD!
 
"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)
 
Afternoon Devotion: Filled with His Power - Read John 6:44
 
The Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save mankind from the punishment of sin and death, but men do not come to Jesus on their own initiative, they are divinely drawn.  "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him upon the last day" (v.44).  It is the Heavenly Father who draws men to His Son; and it is the Holy Spirit who convicts man of his sin and helps him recognize his need for a Savior. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me..." (v.37a).  The Lord draws us to Himself in love.  "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
 
The Lord draws men to Himself and offers them an endless well of life-giving water that will never run dry.  "...he who believes in Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35b).  Water is another one of those basic necessities we need for life.  We may be able to survive without food for great lengths of time (40 days, at least!), but it is virtually impossible to survive more than three days without water. Approximately 57% of the human body is made up of water, and it is vital that we replenish it on a daily basis.  Water is also necessary for the land to remain fertile and productive.  Throughout Scripture we read how important it was for there to be a water source or well for the people to camp around.  Today there is still a great percentage of our world that does not have a fresh water source to tap into.  In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well His life giving water:  "...whoever drinks the water I give Him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (v. 14).  She, like the crowd who gathered around Jesus demanding the bread He had to offer, did not fully grasp the reality of what He was offering.  This eternal spring of living water is the gift of the Spirit who indwells those who are  drawn to the Lord and believe in Him for salvation.  "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body...and we were all given one Spirit to drink" (1 Corinthians 12:13).
 
The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is a eternal spring of living water which enables us to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ in all holiness, and empowers us in love to accomplish the work we have been commissioned to do, so we will be "poured out like a drink offering" upon a spiritually parched world (2 Timothy 4:6). The Lord wants to be an endless source of living bread and water to His people, but our flesh often craves after other artificial sources that just don't satisfy.  "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2:13). 

The Holy Spirit gives us victory over the flesh.  His divine power has conquered our will.  He calls us to withdraw from the world and its enticements, and draws us into the divine presence, so we will go deeper into the eternal source of our supply and drink deeply from that river of delights who alone can satisfy.  "They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights.  For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light" (Psalm 36:8-9).  This afternoon let us take time to repent of those idols in our life that have become obstacles blocking the spiritual flow of God's goodness and grace and are hindering us from offering  His refreshing drink to a world dying of thirst.  Let us pray and ask the Lord to empty us of anything stagnant  or poisonous in our life that has left us parched, wilted, and ineffective.  May we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and purify and cleanse us, so our wills can be conformed completely to His will.  Let us ask the Lord to awaken His Church and prepare His people to receive a fresh outpouring of His Spirit so we will be refreshed and enabled to accomplish the work of His kingdom as we await our Bridegroom's return (reference Joel 2: 28-32).  And let us not forget to pray for those across the globe who desperately need clean water to drink as well as the more important, pure, life giving water that Jesus Christ has to offer. 
 
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit."
(Romans 15:13)

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RESTORE PRAISE!
 
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever, Amen!" (Revelation 7:12)
 
Evening Devotion: Focused on His Praise - Read Psalm 147
 
All that the Lord offers us is a gift of His extraordinary and sacrificial love.  He draws us to Himself, and then continues to work in and through us for our good and His glory.  He has given us the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit to revive and purify us, so that we are enabled and empowered for the work He has called us to do.  The Lord provides everything we need.
 
"The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your soul in drought,
and strengthen your bones;
you shall be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."
(Isaiah 58:11) 
 
This evening let us offer up a prayer of praise to our great God and Savior for His redeeming work on our behalf, for the sovereign work of the Heavenly Father, and for the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as they work together to accomplish their holy purposes in and through our lives to the glory of God.  May we come before the Lord with humble hearts knowing that it was the Father who drew us to Himself, and it was not because of anything we have done.  "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!" (1 John 3:1)
 
Let us praise our Father in heaven for the divine appointments He places in our path each day, and for giving us wondrous opportunities to bear witness to His glorious grace and mercy in our lives.  May we not miss or waste any opportunity in our day to radiate His light and offer a refreshing drink to those around us who are stumbling around in this dark world and dying of spiritual thirst.  Let us praise Him that He bears the responsibility for drawing men to Himself, and our responsibility is simply to be obedient to sharing His glorious salvation message with others. 
 
As we meditate on this evening's Psalm, let us lift up a song of praise for the Lord's abundant provision of grace in our lives, for the wondrous presence of His Holy Spirit who comforts and guides us into all truth, for the boldness and power to be His witnesses in the world, for the glorious privilege of being His child, and the all-surpassing peace that pervades our lives because we are His and there is nothing that can separate us from His love.  As we end our day let us return to where we began it, in the worship of His great and glorious Name. 


"Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our LORD, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praises on the harp to our God."
(Psalm 147:1-7)


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