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DAY 39 OCTOBER 21, 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 14:25-31
Jesus is the head of the Church, which is His body, and the connecting component between the two is the heart filled with holy love; love for God, and love for one another. Jesus had just answered the disciples question by telling them that if they truly love Him, then they will keep His commands. Obedience is the natural response to love. In the marriage ceremony few include the traditional words of "submit" and "obey" because they don't understand that the marriage ceremony is symbolic of Christ's marriage to the Church; and the exchange of vows is a commitment to obey the command of love. Our commitment to love one another follows our commitment to love God. When we speak our vows we are speaking them to God and committing to love our spouse in the same manner He loves His church (see Ephesians 5:22-33). To love, honor and obey Christ is evidence of our intimacy with Him. When we truly love someone we want to care for them and give them the best of ourselves. The purest and strongest expression of our love for God is in our obedience to Him.
When we open our hearts to God to experience deepening intimacy with Him, our desire to obey Him will soon follow, and He will come and make His home with us. Our heart becomes His abode. And if God is to reside there, then surely it must be a holy place for His presence to dwell. Jesus followed up His response to His disciples by telling them that the Holy Spirit would come to help them. Their hearts, opened in love and moved with deep affection to obey, would be filled with His peace that surpasses all understanding. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). The world offers a counterfeit love which is selfish rather than selfless; it is concerned only with fulfilling its own desires and pleasures, rather than desiring to bring pleasure to God. True love, godly love, brings peace to the heart, rest for the soul, and joy for living. God's love removes all fear from the heart. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear" (1 John 4:18a). He purifies our hearts through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit as we submit to His instruction, and as we learn to obey His commands; and He fills us with His presence and peace. Jesus confirmed His promise of peace by telling His disciples that He was going to the Father. This should bring us even greater comfort and peace; because in His going to the Father, Jesus made room for the Spirit of the Father to dwell with us so we could experience deeper fellowship with Him, and gain access to the vast riches of His eternal Kingdom for the advancement of His kingdom in this world. "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ' I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). This morning, as we linger in our prayer closets, let us offer up a prayer of gratitude for the heights the Lord has taken us to experience the presence of the Father, and for all the love and peace He has poured into our hearts because of the fellowship we have with Him. May our hearts continue to be closely knit to the Father's heart, and may we take on His heart of love and compassion for the lost and the wounded in the world. Let us pray for the church to be revived in love, and find its' heart once again for those things which bless the heart of the Father, so we, the body, can reconnect to the Head, which is Christ Jesus our Lord (Colossians 2:19).
"I will sing for the One I love"
(Isaiah 5:1a)
Thank You for Your endless and eternal love which
You have poured into my life; and for the peace
and contentment that I now have because of
the great expression of Your love.
Help me to show Your love to the world
as You have shown it to me by being obedient
even unto death so that I might experience Your amazing love.
"I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen
Your Body with power with Your Spirit in our inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.
And I pray that, being rooted and established in love,
we may have power together with all the saints,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -
that we might be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
(Ephesians 3:16-19)
May we always love the Lord our God and continue
to walk daily in Your ways until the whole earth is
filled with the glory of God and lifts up Your name
in eternal praise. Be glorified as I walk in Your peace
and follow Your path of love today.
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 13:1-13
The relationship that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit provides the model of perfection that God is looking for in all relationships. The unity and diversity of the trinity provides the bases for how the Lord has established His spiritual body, the church, to function. Each part of the God-head has a vital and important role, and no part competes with the other; they work together in perfect unison. At the heart of this perfect union we find the bases and motivation for all God does - Love! This is the way He has called us to live and walk - the way of love! "And now I will show you the most excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31).
When Jesus walked this earth He exemplified the love of the Father by obeying all the Father had commanded for Him to do, by laying down His life for us, and by giving us His Spirit who has poured His love into our hearts (reference Romans 5:5). This is His high and holy standard which He has set for us to follow. "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). This is the most important lesson Jesus taught as He lived and fulfilled His mission on this earth; for without love as the motivation behind the work we do, our work is useless (and destructive) and powerless to affect the world for the glory of God. Love is the native language of the child of God, if we don't "speak the truth in love" the words we speak are nothing but noise (reference 1 Corinthians 13:1).
The mark of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and those He has commanded us to love (reference Matthew 22:37-40). Paul had witnessed the abuses of God's spiritual gifts within the church and he wrote these beautiful words in Chapter 13 to exhort the people to stop walking in a divisive and selfish way, but rather fulfill the command of Christ and walk in love. "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love" (2 John 6). Beloved, God has given us the Holy Spirit of complete knowledge to lead us into His Truth and guide us to walk the path of love that the Father prepared for us by sending His Son to crucify sin and the flesh on the cross. May the knowledge we are growing in through God's Word be used to enrich and edify the lives of believers so the Body of Christ can be built up. "Knowledge puffs up but love builds up" (1 Corinthians 8:1b). May we grow in His grace and walk in His love each and every day. Let us take some time to meditate on these wonderful words of love in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. May we give all of our heart to God, and ask Him to replace it with His heart so full of love that the overflow of our lives will bring a blessing of God's grace and love into all of our relationships today.
"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Love never fails."
(1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)
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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 107
The Lord has displayed His love for us in the most extraordinary way. He laid down His life so we could experience the full weight of the Father's love and glory and live in His love with Him for all eternity. The self-sacrificial way God expresses His love for us is the way He expects, and commands, for us to show His love to others (reference John 15:17). As believers, the life we now live is not our own; the love He has poured into us through His Holy Spirit is not meant for our benefit alone; all that He has done for us is meant to be shared, so that His Body can grow to maturity and experience the fullness of His love for all eternity. As we grow in His love may we find ourselves falling more deeply in love with the One Who is love, and may we grow to love the way He loves. Let us return to our First Love and give Him the love He has so graciously and abundantly and sacrificially poured out upon us. May we learn to respond in love when we face the difficult and painful trials of this life; when we do we choose to walk the more excellent way. "Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14). When we walk the path of godly love we are walking an eternal, enduring path that will lead us to a high and holy place - into the presence of the One who will never fail or disappoint us! Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad for His amazing love!
"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men,
for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.
Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the great love of the LORD."
(Psalm 107:1-2a, 8-9, 21-22, 31-32, 43)
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