|
|
|
|
 |
DAY 5 SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
_____________________________________________________________
"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)
_____________________________________________________________
|
|
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 6:45-51
God dispensed His grace upon the world through His Son Jesus Christ. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us" (John 1:14a). This verse goes on to say, "and we beheld His glory..." (v. 14b). Up to this point the eyes of mankind could not look upon God without the fear of dying. Jesus confirmed this by telling the people, "No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only He has seen the Father" (John 6:46). We are drawn to God first by our hearing (Romans 10:17), but then, as we learn from Him, we see Him through the eyes of faith. "Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me" (v. 45b). The people had boasted to Jesus about the manna their fathers had eaten, which they had seen with their eyes and picked up with their hands and ate, but this bread only preserved and supported their life. Jesus stood before them and explained that He is the "living bread" sent from heaven to save their life. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (v. 51).
How dearly the Father desires that we be nourished in the knowledge of His Son. His greatest priority for our life is a life of deepening intimacy with Him. The knowledge He wants us to glean from Him is not meant to rest in the pages of a book on some abandoned shelf, but to take root in our hearts so that we would be abandoned to Him. To truly know God is to experience God. This depth of knowledge enlists the entire body in the learning process - the heart, mind and soul. This is not merely head knowledge - but heart knowledge. The process of transferring the knowledge of God from the six inches from our head to our hearts cannot be achieved from a textbook, rather it is often accomplished through trial. Jesus showed us, from the onset of His earthly ministry, that the lessons God has for us to learn would come from a place of tribulation, testing, and temptation. At the end of His 40 day fast in the desert, when hunger and temptation set in, Jesus demonstrated to us that His Word would be our most valuable and effective weapon to achieve victory in the midst of weakness and spiritual warfare (reference Matthew 4:1-11). It is therefore vital that we feed on God's Word so that we will be prepared to face the trials that will inevitably come into our life (reference 1 Peter 4:12-13). "They are not just idle words for you - they are your life" (Deuteronomy 32:47a).
Let us take a moment today to consider the many books, magazines, articles, and newspapers we have read; all the research we have done to learn a new activity, language, or skill; all the knowledge and education we have gained to become an authority in a subject or profession. Education and knowledge may be important to achieving a successful life in this world, and while our freedom and ability to get an education should not be taken for granted, the greatest, most productive, and most impactful use of our time will come from the attention we give to knowing God - by spending time with Him in His Word, and in communion with Him in prayer. The Holy Bible is not just a book, it is a person - the person of Jesus Christ. In Him alone do we find our life; Jesus offers us abundant life. This morning, let us offer a prayer of gratitude for the privilege of owning a copy of the Holy Bible, and the freedom we have to study it and share it. That freedom came at a great cost and is being trampled on today. If we don't use it, we will surely lose it! Let us lift up our "Sword of the Spirit" and pray for those around the world who are literally laying their lives on the line every day to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost. May we utilize the time we have each day to study God's Word, which so many have fought to preserve; and may we "declare it fearlessly as we should" (Ephesians 6:20b), making the most of every opportunity to share this "living bread" with the spiritually hungry around us.
Heavenly Father,
"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the skies."
Thank You that we have been invited
to feast on the "abundance of Your house"
through the "living bread" You
have provide through Your Son, Jesus Christ.
You have opened our eyes to behold His glory,
and we have gazed upon perfect love and purity.
We declare with all our heart that there is nothing
in this world that will ever satisfy -
stir within us a deeper hunger
for the Eternal Word which You have
given for the life of the world.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
_____________________________________
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 6:63
Our life is a gift from God (reference Genesis 2:7). It is a very precious and fragile thing. A gift that the world (without the Light of Christ) misunderstands, as they seek desperately to preserve their own lives, while at the same time failing to protect the lives of the innocent and unborn. When Jesus came into the world, He came to offer us an even higher quality of life - everlasting life. "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men" (John 1:4). To achieve that life for us required the great sacrifice of His own life; which He willingly and obediently laid down on the cross. "...which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:51b).
The new life God gives us comes through the Spirit. "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (v.63). The Spirit that was deposited in us when we first believed (a result of the salvation achieved for us through the sacrificial and atoning death of Christ Jesus) is a life-producing presence. "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). It is the Spirit of God who leads us into all truth and writes God's Word upon our hearts (v.3). Additionally, it is the Holy Spirit who prompts us to hunger for God's Word, and empowers us to walk in His ways fueled by that spiritual nourishment we have ingested. What the world has to offer us only leads to death, but the Spirit makes us alive. It is therefore the Lord's desire that we walk in the fullness of the spiritual life He has given us. May this daily discipline of meeting with the Lord three times a day for our spiritual meals awaken our spiritual appetite, and stir us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let us use this time to tap into that fountain of irrepressible life, so we will be abundantly and eternally full; pressed down, shaken, and running over; saturating the world with God's amazing grace and abounding love!
"For this reason, ever since I heard about
your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you
remembering you in my prayers.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope
to which He has called you,
the riches of His glorious inheritance of the saints,
and His incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of His mighty strength,
which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from
the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority,
power and dominion, and every title that can be given,
not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
And God placed all things under His feet and appointed
Him to be head over everything for the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills
everything in every way."
(Ephesians 1:15-23)
___________________________________
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 148
As we come to the end of our day may all the worries, concerns, anxieties, and questions that are crowding our mind be cast aside as we turn our attention to the praise of our Lord. God spared nothing when He opened up the storehouse of heaven and flooded the earth with living water from His throne in the Person of Jesus Christ, His One and Only Son. He is a gracious, good, and benevolent Heavenly Father who gives us His very best. He knows our every need and will not fail in His tender care of those who earnestly seek Him (reference Psalm 34:10). May we set aside our earthly striving, and surrender ourselves fully into the capable and compassionate hands of our Heavenly Father, who reserves nothing but His best for the chosen, crowned, children of the King! How dearly loved we are!
"Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for His name alone is exalted;
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
He has raised up for His people a horn,
the praise of all His saints,
of Israel, the people close to His heart.
Praise the LORD!"
(Psalm 148:13-14)
Beloved, sometimes God's best is a painful thorn that pricks your heart in a way that you can hardly bare. Please know that sometimes the trials that cross your path are given to unlock a door to deeper knowledge and understanding of the Lord. The heartbreak and heartache you may be experiencing gained you access to the deepest place of God's heart - a place that few may never get the opportunity to experience. Remember His knowledge is experiential, not academic. You will never know the depths of God's love by simply reading about it. If He has opened up your heart and allowed you to experience the agony and anguish of heartbreak, betrayal, or disappointment you've gained access to the secret place of God and have an insight to His heart you never would have known otherwise. "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10b). Your trial has touched His heart, and He has allowed you to enter into the Holy of Holies - His heart - so your heart can be expanded and filled with greater portions of His love. May you abide deeply under the compassionate folds of His tender wing as He binds your wounds and heals your broken heart (reference Psalm 147:3). The gift you have received will someday be used to set someone else free! Praise Him for He knows your every need - even if the rose covered path is currently strewn with thorns. Trust that He will always give His best to you! He adores you! "He will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6b). This poem was sent to me from a friend during one of my deepest trials. I pray it will minister to your heart the way it did mine.
The THORN
by Martha Snell Nicholson
I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
and begged Him for one priceless gift
which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand but as I would depart,
I cried, 'But, Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.'
He said, 'My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt but sore.
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face."
|
|
_________________________________
|
Join Our Mailing List!
Click HERE if you have missed any of the previous day's emails.
CRUCIFIED
(c) 2011, Traci A Alexander. All Rights Reserved. ________________________________________ Upcoming Prayer and Worship Events:
David's Tent DCSeptember 11th, 2015 through November 8th, 2016 www.davidstentdc.org Worship City Transformation &
David's Tent NashvilleSeptember 28th through October 4th, 2015 www.worshipcity.usFRC Values Voter SummitSeptember 25th-27th, 2015 www.valuesvotersummit.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
