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DAY 34                                                                  OCTOBER 16, 2015 _____________________________________________________________      
 

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!
 
"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 20:26-31

When Jesus returned the following week to the house where He had shown Himself in His resurrected state to the disciples, He found them still hidden behind closed doors, for fear of the Jews. This time Thomas, who was not in the room with the others the week prior,  wanted to see for himself all that the other disciples had shared with him.  He desired for himself the same proof that they had the joy of receiving; and Jesus was more than willing to accommodate His doubting disciple.  "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand in My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27).  And upon seeing the truth with his own eyes, Thomas was satisfied, and he believed.  "My Lord and my God!" (v. 28).  Thomas and the other disciples had grabbed hold of Jesus.  They had seen the Lord in the flesh, and they believed what they had seen with their eyes and felt with their hands.  But the time would come when Jesus would no longer be with them in the flesh, and they would have to walk by faith and not by sight, and lead others along that same path.  "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (v. 29b).
   
 Jesus made sure His disciples had all the convincing proofs they needed to confirm their faith, because they were being commissioned to continue His work and carry His message of salvation to the world.  What a blessing it was in the beginning of the church to have the Lord tarry with the disciples those forty days between His resurrection and ascension. "After His suffering, He showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).  What comfort He brought them as He stood in the midst of them. "Peace to you!"(v. 26b).  What encouragement, hope, and joy they received from the Lord those precious days after the resurrection, as He showed Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts were loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book" (v.30).  The Holy Spirit would direct them what they were to share and what they were to record for future generations, the rest was purposed to make them bold and relentless witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name"(v. 31).
 
The gospel was written to bring sinners to the Savior, and to convince them of their need of Him; so they will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing in these things they might have eternal life through His name.  Jesus' words to Thomas are spoken to us today:  "Stop doubting and believe."  Theirs was a flesh and blood faith, but ours is a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit and His Word.  All that was necessary to bring us to believe was written down; everything we need to embrace Jesus as Thomas did is recorded for us - not another word is needed - only faith.  "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).  This morning as we tarry in our prayer closet just a little longer, delighting in the presence of the Lord, let us ask ourselves if we have truly laid hold of Christ - is He truly our Lord and our God?  If He is, then we have the promise of life in His name - infinite, abundant, irrepressible life through Jesus Christ is ours.  Let us therefore lay hold of every precious promise of His Word, and grab the hem of His garment and not let go until we obtain the inexhaustible riches of His grace and mercy for those He has placed in our circle of influence, and whom He desires to bless today.
  
Heavenly Father,
"Who is it that overcomes the world?
Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
(1 John 5:5)
Thank You, Lord, for Your faithful scribes
and messengers who have preserved and proclaimed
Your gospel message throughout the generations
so that it would one day fall as fresh manna on my ears.
And thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening my ears
to hear, and opening my heart that I might
believe the truth of the gospel and receive life in Jesus' name.
You alone have the words of life.
Thank You for writing them on my heart.
Help me to be a diligent student of Your Word so that I will
know Your truth and be prepared to give the reason for the hope
that I have in You.  Make me a bold and fearless witness who
will proclaim with confidence
the glorious message of Your Salvation so that many others
will also be set free from the shackles of sin and death
and find life in Jesus' name.
Be glorified in my life 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 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation of our belief.  The power of the resurrection given to us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has raised us from spiritual death unto a glorious new life in Christ.  It is through the power of the resurrected life that we are able (and compelled) to proclaim the message of life to a spiritually dead world.  Between His crucifixion on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the grave, Jesus Christ faced the last great enemy of our souls, death (reference 1 Corinthians 15:26). "Death has been swallowed up in victory.  'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' " (v. 54b, 55).  In order to achieve for us spiritual and eternal life, Jesus had to shut the mouth of the grave.  "I will ransom you from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death..." (Hosea 13:14a).   The great devour-er of human souls would be swallowed up forever through the work of Jesus Christ who was willing to die for all mankind and face the monster who is never satisfied (reference Isaiah 25:8).  "Death and Destruction are never satisfied..." (Proverbs 27:20).  
 
When Jesus appeared to the disciples they had been hiding behind locked doors for fear of death.  Jesus knocked down the enemy that was holding them captive and keeping them paralyzed, unable to do the work they were being called to do.  "...so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14b, 15).  The key to unlocking the door that has us trapped in a place of fear and death and opening the way to for us to experience  confidence and life, is belief.   "I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).  The devil can only influence people to sin, and as a result of their response, cause them to fall under sins penalty which is death.  "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).  Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and Hades and has complete authority and control of their dominion (reference Revelation 1:18). 
 
Jesus Christ is alive forever, and He has conquered death on our behalf; He will completely destroy death when He returns to defeat all His enemies at the great white throne judgment when death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).  It was sin that placed us under death's power, but it is Christ's sacrificial work on the cross that set us free from its shackles. "...but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10).  As believers, we are "more than conquerors through Him who loved us;"  and Who gave His life up for us so we would no longer be the food that satisfies the appetite of the grave (Romans 8:37).  Jesus defeated death for us, so we have no reason to be defeated by sin.  Our sin took Jesus to the depths of the grave to face that greedy monster death, and we should not allow ourselves to be swallowed up again by living a life of sin (reference Galatians 5:1).  We have been given all the power we need to flee from temptation and sin (reference 1 Timothy 6:11-16).  Satan is only taunting us to trap us and get us to fall in that pit again.  Let us not feed that fleshly appetite that will only lead to feeding the insatiable appetite of that monster called death.  Jesus has already conquered sin and death for us - that is not a war we have to fight.  We need to wield our mighty sword of the Spirit and walk in the newness of life that we have been given, instead of giving in to the old life that we were so accustomed to living. 
 
We are faced with death all day long; the culture of sin, immorality, and corruption that pervades today is a culture of death that seeks only to create victims to satisfy the appetite of the great monster, death.  The grave however is never satisfied (reference Proverbs 30:15-16).  Jesus is the only one who could, and who did, pay the ransom price to redeem us from the grave.  Let us therefore focus our attention on feeding our spiritual appetites with the Word of God, so we can be nourished and strengthened to carry His message of life to another poor, hungry soul that is destined for the grave.  We never have to fear death as long as we believe in the One who has given us life!  May we take the keys we've been given and unlock the door of those prisoners who are held captive in their fear, and open the way for them to believe in Jesus Christ, so they can be set free to experience the beauty and glory of His eternal life (reference Matthew 16:19)!

"But God's Word is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect,
that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
with eternal glory.
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we disown Him, He will also disown us;
If we are faithless, He will remain faithful,
for He cannot disown Himself."
(2 Timothy 2:9b-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 49
  
Praise God that we do not have to fear death.  As believers, our eternal destination is secure and we can live our lives with confidence, peace and joy.  As we look forward to that glorious day when there will be no more pain and death (reference Revelation 21:4), let us make the most of every opportunity now to share the gospel message with others who are living without hope and are fearful of death.  We all have to face death at some point in our life, but through Christ we have the divine opportunity to choose life now and experience the blessings of spiritual life on earth and eternal life with Him in heaven.  As Christians, our life is not our own, therefore let us make every effort to honor the extraordinary sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and accept His gift of life with gratitude and humility, and live our lives in obedience and with all purity and holiness, so that others may hear and believe the message that has transformed our lives for all eternity.  Let us lift up our heads and open our hearts, and offer our Lord a sacrifice of praise for redeeming our life from the pit and rescuing us from sin and the grave.  Praise His glorious name! 
 
 
"Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
both low and high, rich and poor alike:
My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding...
Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me...
No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him -
the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough -
that he should live on forever and not see decay.
But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.
Like sheep they are destined for the grave,
and death will feed on them...
But God will redeem my life from the grave;
He will surely take me to Himself."
(Psalm 49:1-3, 5-9, 12, 14a, 15)
 
    

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