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DAY 20 OCTOBER 2, 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)
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RAISE UP THE STANDARD!
"To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy - to the Only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 24)
Morning Devotion: Feasting in His Presence - Read John 5:19-30
Our faithful, loving, compassionate Shepherd-Savior has opened to us the gate to a life of peace, security, and abundance. He is ever watchful to see that we are feasting from the fertile field that He has provided for us to be nourished by (His Word!); so we will be, not only, strong and able to stand in these evil days when so much of the world tempts and tries us in an attempt to draw us away from our faith in and devotion to the Lord, but also, found faithful when we stand before our Judge one day. All believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, not for punishment, but for reward. "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son...Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:22, 24). The
Jesus Christ is the Source of all spiritual life. "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will" (v.21). The Kingdom has been committed to the Son, and He has full authority and jurisdiction to reconcile the world to the Father and to grant eternal life to those who believe. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, raises the spiritually dead to spiritual life. When Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me" (John 11:42). The power with which the Father raised the physically dead, was committed to His Son so that He would have authority to raise from death to life whomever He will. This divine power which raises the dead to life, is the same power which makes a Christian. And He has made this present resurrection as simple as hearing His voice and believing in the One who sent Him - just as He said in the hearing of all the people at Lazarus' grave. Beloved, if we hear the voice of the Lord and obey Him, we will surely live. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert..." (Hebrews 3:7, 8a). How true the Word of the Lord is that "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). These are not just idle words for us - they are our life (Deuteronomy 32:47)! Jesus is our life - let us heed His voice today! In these protracted periods of prayer and fasting our ears become more in tune to the voice of our Shepherd. The more we deny the flesh and feed the spiritual life within us the greater our spiritual discernment and clarity of vision. It is important to keep a journal and write down those things the Lord is speaking, and take the time each day to dig deeper into the Word of God to gain deeper understanding and greater revelation for His plans and purposes for our lives and ministries. May our hearts be deeply in tune with our Shepherds' and open to share His good news with those He brings across our path today, so they too can be resurrected from death to life! "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!...Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:14-15, 17).
Heavenly Father,
"Blessed by Your glorious name,
and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are the LORD.
You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,
and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to everything, and the
multitudes of heaven worship You."
(Nehemiah 9:5b-6)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion
and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in our troubles..."
(2 Corinthians 1:3, 4a)
Lord, we pray for the peace and comfort of those
families who are weeping for their loved ones
who were injured or killed in yesterday's
shooting in Oregon.
Lord, You said that "all men will hate you
because of Me," and You have told us to
"not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. Rather,
be afraid of the One who can destroy both
soul and body in hell...so do not be afraid;
you are worth more than many sparrows."
Lord Jesus You were hated by men,
but Your comfort was in knowing the Father
loved You. May those who suffer because of
Christ take courage and comfort in the
knowledge that they are dearly beloved of the Father.
May we, who call ourselves Christians,
give the honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ that is due His holy name.
"Whoever acknowledges Me before men,
I will also acknowledge him before My Father
in heaven. But whoever disowns Me
before men, I will disown him before
My Father in heaven."
(Matthew 10:22, 28, 32)
Be magnified and glorified in our lives we pray.
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 James 5:7-9
It is the Lord's desire that the heart of His people remain on fire with a passionate desire to know Him, and to make Him known to others. In our reading yesterday, the heart's of the people of the church of Laodicea had grown lukewarm and greatly needed to be reignited with spiritual fervor for the Lord. When the Body of Christ begins to lose its' connection to the Head, which is Christ Jesus, the heart loses its passion and begins to grow cold. If left unchecked, it will soon become hardened. "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12a). A sign that the heart is beginning to grow cold is a growing impatience with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We must be on guard for the subtle seeds of division that are being planted and cultivated in the church. The enemy loves to sow seeds of discord and division in the church. We must remember that our duty and goal is Christ and Him crucified, and our common enemy is the enemies of the cross. We must work together to build each other up, not tear each other apart. Our strength in these trying times is our unity in Christ. "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:7-9).
Jesus said,"I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" (John 12:47b). The cross is God's judgment on the world. The greatest threat to our life is sin; and God moves swiftly to deal with it. The Lord's loving rebuke to the Church in Laodicea was issued to wake up this foolish church who had become weak and ineffective because they were relying on their own resources rather than the Word of God (reference Revelation 3:19). They left God outside the doors of the church, and the sad result was their spiritual power had fizzled out. They had lost their spiritual perspective and were measuring the work of God by the ways of the world. Today, we care more about public opinion, and while we are in some ways accountable to society, we forget that we are held accountable to God first and foremost. In our world of secular humanism and moral relativity, where "everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6), the focus is on personal accountability and societal acceptance. But God, who gave us life, says we are not able to judge ourselves adequately, therefore we are held accountable to God as our Maker and Judge. This was the belief of our nation at one time, and it is time for us to believe this again - for the Judge is standing at the door!
This afternoon as we pray, let us offer a prayer of gratitude to the only one who is qualified to judge us - Jesus Christ - because He put on our humanity and became one of us, and the Father gave Him all authority to execute judgment. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). He is our great sympathizer and Advocate. Let us therefore pray without ceasing and patiently endure suffering and cruel treatment as we work to achieve justice and advance Christ's kingdom in this earth. "You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:8).
"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in this matter.
For the time has come for judgment
to begin in the house of God;
and if it begins with us first,
what will be the end of those who do not obey
the gospel of God?
Now "If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
Therefore let those who suffer according
to the will of God commit their souls to Him
in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."
(1 Peter 4:16-19)
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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 75
The Lord has graciously poured out His love upon us when we deserved nothing but His wrath. How blessed we are to have been welcomed into His fold and allowed to feast on the abundance of His eternal kingdom. We now have the humble privilege of sharing the good news of His kingdom with others, sadly, however sometimes our heart gets in the way and we pass judgment instead of offering the grace that was poured out upon us so abundantly. "You judge by human standards, I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, My decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me" (John 8:15-16). All wisdom belongs to the Lord who alone judges righteously. He will judge all at the appointed time, but for now He stands at the door and extends His mercy and grace. Let us praise Him for extending the scepter of His gracious hand, and saving us from the wrath to come; and for giving us the patience to persevere while we wait for that which is of infinite worth. "For there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).
Beloved, we have made it to the midpoint of our journey. It can seem like we still have a long way to go, but let us be encouraged that our hearts are being expanded to be filled with more of the love of God as we seek to take on His heart. Let us keep feasting on God's Holy Word with our eyes fixed on Jesus, and press onward and upward toward the goal (reference Philippians 3:14), as we sing this song of praise to the true Judge of all the earth!
"We give thanks to You, O God,
we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare
that Your name is near.
When I choose the proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly.
I said to the boastful,
'Do not deal boastfully,'
and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn.
Do not lift up your horn on high;
do not speak with a stiff neck.'
For exaltation comes neither from the east
nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one, and exalts another.
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup.
And the wine is red;
it is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
drain and drink down.
But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted."
(Psalm 75)
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