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DAY 12                                                                   SEPTEMBER 24, 2015   
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crucified header nails      

 

"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 9:35-41
 

As surely as the sun rises each morning, the light of Jesus is shining upon us.  His light lifts us out of gloom of doubt and despair and sets us high upon a rock where we can bask in the warmth of His eternal glow.  The natural sunlight is a lamp which illuminates the glorious intricacies of God's wondrous creation. The great Artist of the universe spared no detail on His earthly canvas; in sight, in sound, in color, in texture, in movement, in order, in everything; and all of this is just a small sampling of His majestic handiwork.  How blessed we are to gaze upon His creative work with our natural eyes - it is a feast for the eyes!  But how much more so are we, who have believed in the One who is the "true light" of the world, to have our "spiritual" eyes open to see through eyes of faith the very One whose hand is in every brushstroke.  We know, with full assurance, that this is just a taste of the promised kingdom that is to come, as our spiritual eyes and ears are awakened to hear the sound of creation groaning for that glorious day when it, too, will be "liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into glorious freedom" (Romans 8:21). 

The Light of the world, Jesus Christ, opened our eyes to see the world, in which we live, in a new light.  We now, having seen the Father through the light of Jesus, see our present world through the lens of eternity.  The spiritual vision we have been given allows us to see all things from a kingdom perspective of which we are now heirs (reference Romans 8:17). "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!...now we are children of God, and what we will be has not been made known.  But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3).

From the moment the blind man received sight from Jesus he was put on trial and asked to give an account of his healing.  He had been blind all his life, but when confronted by the Son of God, he was able to see in a way none of the teachers of the law could see.  "Now that is remarkable!  You don't know where He comes from, yet He opened my eyes" (John 9:30).   As Christians, we are put under the microscope of the unbelieving world who cannot understand the change that has happened to us because they don't have proper vision to see.  The man who had been born blind had an eye-opening experience with Jesus Christ and no amount of questioning or criticism would cause him to deny what he knew experientially and personally.  As believers we should "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). The Pharisees rejected the man's testimony and threw him out; they cast judgment on the blind man when they were the ones who were, in fact, blind.  This man's testimony was meant to open their eyes to see the Christ, but they rejected God's gift and brought judgment on themselves.  "For judgment I have come into the world so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (John 9:39).

The light of Christ reveals the true nature of men's hearts.  Jesus came into the world to meet every human need, but there are some who, in their blindness, can't recognize their need no matter how much light they are exposed to.  "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains" (v.41).  Man is without excuse as the natural light of the creation reveals God's "eternal power and divine nature" and the light of Christ exposes their sinful nature. Jesus' presence in the world naturally divides the darkness from the light and we will all be given the opportunity to choose sides.  May we radiate His light brilliantly while it is still day that all the world will be exposed to His glorious light!

Jesus pursues each one of us personally to open our eyes that we might see Him and believe.  The man born blind was rejected by men who claimed to see, but was received by Christ who saw him as He purposed him to be.  "...when He found him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' (John 9:35b). "Then the man said, 'Lord, I believe; and he worshiped Him" (v.38).  When the blind man's natural eyes were opened he was able to testify to the miraculous work of God, but when his spiritual eyes were open he fell down in worship of Holy God.  Jesus opens our eyes so we will testify of His love and learn to worship the Creator and not the created thing.  God opens our eyes that we might see the one who loves us endlessly.  May our day be spent in worship of the One who gives us spiritual eyes to see, and Who provides our every need. 


Heavenly Father,
"I lift my eyes to You whose throne is in heaven"
(Psalm 123:1)
"Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things in Your law."
(Psalm 119:18)
"Turn my eyes away from worthless things and preserve my
life according to Your Word." (v. 37).
Thank You for revealing Yourself to me
and for allowing me the privilege of gazing upon
Your beauty and holiness.
Guard my eyes and help me to daily keep them fixed
on You as I seek to spend time with You
in Your Word and in prayer.
"May the eyes of the hearts of all of Your children
be enlightened to know the hope to which they have
been called, the riches of the glorious
inheritance of the saints" that You have so
graciously bestowed upon us.
(Ephesians 1:18)
Be glorified in all that I watch, see, say, do,
entertain, and pursue - and may my
utmost pursuit and desire always be for You.
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 Luke 11:33-34
 
In the parable of the lighted lamp we are told that "the eye is the lamp of the body." It is vitally important as ambassadors of light that we guard our eyes and be cautious about what we entertain and let in to our range of sight, so we will in no way diminish our Lord's light in this world. Job was careful to make a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1).  "When your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light."   When we are full of light in the Lord, there is no room for darkness.  And our vision is much sharper to recognize evil when it begins to encroach.  We must be diligent about spending time in the Word of God, which "is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path" (Psalm 119:105), so our spiritual vision will not grow dim.   God will fill us full of light if we are willing, and our view of Him will grow spectacularly clear.  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).
 
God has given us an extraordinary blessing by opening our eyes to see His kingdom.  However, this new vantage point we have been given comes with tremendous responsibility.  Now that our "spiritual eyes" have been opened we have no excuse for our sin.  "If I had not come and spoke to them, they would not be guilty of sin.  Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22). We have seen the Light and been set free from the bondage of sin and death.  We no longer live in the darkness, but are children of the light.  It is an offense to God, when we, His children, allow His holy temple (our bodies) to be polluted in any manner by any kind of sin or evil (reference 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  We, who have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, are without excuse.  We must be careful in our judgment of a world who is blind and living in darkness, when we have had our eyes opened and walk in the light.

This afternoon let us set aside some time to really take an assessment of our hearts and lives.  Let us pray and ask God to shine His light into the dark recesses of our heart and expose those things that we have hidden from Him (He sees it already and knows all that we have done!).  Ask Him to not only prick our own hearts to the truth of deception we have allowed into our lives, but to also prick the hearts of all believers and send a spirit of conviction into the spiritually dull eyes and ears of the church, so a renewed sense of offense to the things of the world would stir in our hearts and cause us to rise up and defend the Holy name of our Lord. The Scriptures give us list of vices (reference Galatians 5:16-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 22:15) and virtues (reference Galatians 5:22-26; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 4:2; 5:9; Colossians 3:12-15) that can help as we pray and ask God to help us conquer those sinful desires as we live out the new life He has given us in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Praise God for the gift of His Wonderful Counselor who leads us into all truth and rescues us from the trappings of this evil and deceptive world!  May we not reject His promptings as the Pharisees of Jesus' day did.

Let us commit to keeping our eyes healthy by fixing them firmly and singularly on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Let us pursue what is good and run from all that is evil. "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes" (Psalm 101:3a).  May our eyes be ever on the Lord as we go about our day, looking for Him in the midst of us, seeking Him diligently in His Word, gazing upon His beauty as we meet Him in our prayer closet, and making the most of every opportunity to share of His goodness and glory with everyone we meet; that their blinded eyes would be opened to see Jesus more clearly.


"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue
and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.
The things which you have learned and received and heard
and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
(Philippians 4:8-9)


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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 27
 
This evening we turn to one of my favorite Psalms.  I consider the fourth verse to be one of my life verses, but the entire twenty-seventh chapter is my life chapter.  In these verses we find the benefits of unbroken communion and fellowship with God.  Here we are safe from the intrigues of evil men, and find the protection and strength of the saints of God who trust in Him and are wrapped in the light of Christ.  This could be a picture of our prayer closet - where we can close ourselves off from the ever-encroaching darkness of the world and bask in the light of the Lord to gain strength and clarity for the day.    The more corrupt and wicked the world becomes, the more we need to enter into that place of ever-increasing light in the presence of God and wait upon our Lord.  May it be the ever-growing desire of our hearts to dwell in the presence of the Lord; and may His beauty, goodness and glory be the single desire of our souls.  Let us praise His holy name for filling our eyes with His glorious Light and satisfying our souls with His infinite and abundant life. 

 
"The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
that will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
in the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, "Seek My face,"
my heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
that I would see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD; be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
(Psalm 27:1, 4-5, 7-8, 13-14)

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