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DAY 26 OCTOBER 8, 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 10:17-18
Our good Shepherd gave up His life willingly and obediently to accomplish the will of the Father. He demonstrated the surrendered life for us as He voluntarily suffered and died on our behalf. "The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again" (John 10:17-18a). Jesus died so we could have life - an abundant and fruitful life on this earth, and an eternal life with the Father in heaven. "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism unto death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4). God alone is the Lord of life; He alone has the power to give life, to lay it down, and to take it up again. Jesus conquered death and the grave - He yielded to death having laid down His life, but then He took it up again so that we might have life in Him. "...He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (Matthew 22:32b). Jesus Christ was sent by the Father and given all authority from the Father to put death to death. He is the good shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it" (John 5:21). Only those who believe in the Son of God will experience this life; those who do not will die in their sins (reference John 8:24). The choice we make to follow the good shepherd is a matter of life or death! "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death" (John 8:51).
The Father gave His Son authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. No one took His life from Him, He gave it as an act of the will - the will of the Father and of the Son's desire to please the Father (reference John 6:38; 8:28-29). "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above" (John 19:11). Jesus' life was placed in His own hands and He gave it freely for us so we could have life in Him. His death and resurrection were all part of God's Sovereign plan for us to experience life in Him. "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory" (Luke 24:26). Our good Shepherd loves us so much that He willingly suffered and bled and died so we would not have to face eternity separated from the Father. Once we grasp the reality of the awesome choice He made to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us, we can't help but be compelled to lay our lives at His feet. This morning, as we reflect on the extraordinary sacrifice our Savior made for us, let us take time to consider what sacrifice we are making to see that the work He accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection is continuing to be made known (reference Matthew 28:18-20). All the power and authority Jesus was given to accomplish the Father's will He pours into our lives so we can die to ourselves and live for Him. May we live fully surrendered lives, and willingly and obediently lay ourselves on the altar in prayer and allow Christ to live and reign in our lives today!
Heavenly Father,
"For You are great and do marvelous deeds;
You alone are God.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in Your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear Your name.
I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify Your name forever.
For great is Your love toward me;
You have delivered me from the depths of the grave."
(Psalm 86:10-13)
Fill me daily with Your truth and make me
a worthy vessel of Your righteousness.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Help me to not run from the pain when
You allow me to be broken so that Your light and love
may shine through this earthen vessel and reveal Your glory to the world. Let Your living water pour forth from my life and become the healing salve that will bring restoration and revival to Your land.
For the glory and praise of Your holy name I 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 2 Corinthians 4:1-18
The heavenly Father gave His only Son to suffer and die that we might have life; and Jesus willingly chose to suffer and face death on our behalf. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering" (Hebrews 2:9-10). Our loving Shepherd counted the cost and didn't hesitate to do what was necessary for us to be able to be counted as one of the sheep of His flock. "Yet it was the LORD's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:10-11a). Jesus was never disrobed of His deity, but He did humble Himself and put on our garment of flesh so He could take our place and conquer sin and death. In doing this He provided for us a glorious garment of salvation and a robe of righteousness, and will one day bestow on His saints a crown of glory and honor. Today, our great high priest remains clothed in a garment of human flesh for all eternity; this badge of honor He wears as an eternal reminder of the price He paid for us. We will one day look upon our Savior-Shepherd and cast our crowns at His feet - for He alone is worthy to receive glory and honor and thanks and praise!
As servants of Jesus Christ, who have had the light of the gospel shine in our hearts, it should be our joy and honor to preach Christ Crucified and to suffer on His behalf; when we do we share in our Lord's sufferings. We do not suffer alone, for our loving Shepherd sympathizes with us; He has suffered as we have, and more than we ever will. "For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2:17-18). The life of Christ is made manifest in our suffering and the lives of the people around us benefit from our trials and spiritual growth. "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body"
(2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
He is the potter and we are the clay (reference Isaiah 64:8), and our faithful Shepherd places a firm hold on us as He shapes and conforms us to His will and good purposes; He then places us in the fiery kiln of trial and affliction to purify us and make us a holy and worthy vessel through which He will use to let His light shine through (reference Malachi 3:2-3). "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). When the clay jars of our lives are broken, and we are emptied of ourselves, we will then have room enough to be filled with more of the grace of God, and become a fitting vessel through which He can bring refreshment to a spiritually parched and weary world. Beloved, we should never be surprised at the trials we go through, for they have been sifted through the nail scarred hands of our loving Savior who has already walked that path before us and prepared the way for us to see His glory in a way we never thought possible. Whatever trial we may be facing today; whatever pain and suffering we may be enduring; whatever ache or anguish may be breaking our heart; may we trust that the Lord always has our good and His glory in mind. "For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body" (v. 11). How blessed we are to be able to come to our faithful shepherd and exchange our burdens for the weight of His glory! May the frail clay jar of our lives be filled to the full measure of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God as we drink deeply from His "river of delights." Let us pray for patient endurance in our trials and suffering and ask the Father to break us open and pour us out as a drink offering to quench the thirst of another parched soul. Praise Him for we are "being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory..." (vv. 16b, 17).
"But God raised Him from the dead,
freeing Him from the agony of death,
because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.
David said this about Him: 'I saw the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me
to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence."
(Acts 2:24-28)
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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 23:4
Our good and faithful Shepherd has paved the path before us with His own blood, tears, pain and suffering. There is not a single step we will take in this life that He has not already walked before us and lovingly and thoughtfully prepared the way to achieve what He has purposed for our life and His Kingdom. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). As His well-beloved children we have nothing to fear as we travel this life, no matter what dangers or distresses may lay in our path, for He is with us. The presence of our good shepherd is a comfort to us and we find rest and peace in His promise: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5b). Beloved, our shepherd is walking us safely through the dark shadows of this life and nothing can harm us or separate us from His love.
While we may not fully understand the painful trial we may be facing today, we can trust that the loving hand of our Shepherd is guiding us along the way to experience a deeper level of devotion and trust that could not come to us any other way. It's been said that "Faith is our walk, but fellowship is our rest." May we find rest in our good shepherd today as we spend these intimate moments abiding in Him in His Word and prayer; and may our trust in Him grow more and more each and every day as trials, difficulties, or pains come our way. May we be willing to submit to Him as He guides us with His rod and staff, and be thankful that He has given us this reassuring sign that He is with us and has not left us to wander on our own.
"Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?
Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
You will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor and comfort me once again"
(Psalm 71:19-21)
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