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JANUARY READINGS

JANUARY 1 AN OPEN DOOR

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Rev. 3:8

“Behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither.” Rev. 4:1

In the many cycles of God’s dealings with man, we are often brought to a new circumstance, a bend in the road with a new direction, a fresh start with a change of jobs, or just another measurement of time called a new year. The attitude in which we face these challenges is vital in respect to the progress to be made, and the victories to be experienced. I John 4:18 says, “Fear hath torment”. The Greek word translated here as ‘torment’ literally means, ‘restraint’. It also holds within it the meaning of ‘a pruning’ which signifies a holding back, a restriction of growth. Fear prohibits one from going on to perfection, for it draws back from the unknown, and confines us to the limitations of that which we have already experienced. Therefore we must gird up our minds, knowing that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”, (II Timothy 1:7). And His love in us will “cast out all fear”.

Inasmuch as “the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way,” (Psalm 37:23), we can courageously accept the challenge of AN OPEN DOOR, knowing that He goes before us to lead step by step. It is God that hath set before us this ‘open door’, and “If God be for us, who can be against us? – In all these things we are (become) more than conquerors through Him that loved us,” (Romans 8:31, 37)

Beyond all the natural realms, however, there is also that OPEN DOOR FOR NEW SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS. “Come up hither” bespeaks of a transition, an end to the former, the limitations of the ‘in part’, a prophecy, a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom, fragmentary and incomplete: and now to become partakers of the CREATIVE WORD for the new order of His kingdom.

JANUARY 2 LOOK AND LIVE

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)

Israel was murmuring and complaining again during their wilderness journey, and God sent fiery serpents among the people, correctional chastening. Then Moses was instructed to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole, and whomever a serpent bit, when he looked at the brazen serpent, he lived. So also Christ was lifted up on a pole (cross), and now whosoever looks to Him, believes in Him, shall live.

Jesus foretold in the latter days, “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”, (Luke 21:26). This looking at the negative conditions is devastating. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold,” (Matt. 24:12). To see natural conditions – wars and rumors of wars, famines earthquakes floods, fires, is hard enough to cope with, but when combined with the abounding of iniquity the view is enough to cause ‘heart failure’.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER VIEW, and Jude writes, verse 21, of “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”. And Jesus instructed that “when these things begin to come to pass, then LOOK UP, AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS; FOR YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH”, (Luke 21:31).

One can see all the evil abounding and become despondent and afraid, or they can look “unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith”, and LIVE. Paul joyously proclaimed, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound”, (Rom. 5:20). Therefore, we look for new manifestations of His grace to super-abound and counter-balance all negative expressions. Looking for His mercy, looking for His grace, looking for the redemption drawing nigh.

What seest thou? I hear the answer, which He gives to me:
I see in Christ a full salvation, perfect victory!

JANUARY 3 THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

While we have our word ‘obedience’ in this verse, we also have it in its negative fore, as ‘disobedience’, so that rather than having a SUBMISSIVE HEARKENING, the negative is A HEARING AMISS, or, a wrong hearing. Since obedience is a right hearing and then correct action thereto, disobedience is simply a wrong hearing, or a hearing amiss, and then acting in kind. But disobedience can also include listening to a wrong voice, the voice of a stranger, so that the action, or obedience then rendered is to the wrong source. This Paul explained when he wrote, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness,” (Romans 6:16).

For by one man’s disobedience, by his listening to the voice of a stranger, many were made sinners. Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the bestial system of this world, as represented by the serpent, and found that sin was at the door, and death by sin.

But, by the obedience of One, our Lord Jesus Christ, shall many be made righteous. Yet, not as by one that sinned, so the gift – for there is a MUCH MORE quality and quantity in the obedience unto life. “For since by man came death, by man also the resurrection of the dead. For as by Adam all die, even so by Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Corinthians 15:21-22).

Every time we hear amiss we will propagate disobedience. But every time we hear the True Voice we will increase the fruits of obedience. Such is the challenge before us, until all of self that would respond to the world is brought to an end, and then we become a part of HIS OBEDIENCE which brings us into a daily, experimental participation of His resurrection life.

Perfect in obedience, sealing up the sum,
They are the true expression of His kingdom come.

JANUARY 4 MINE EARS THOU HAST DIGGED

“Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; mine ear hast thou opened.” (Psalm 40:6)

Into the consciousness of the Psalmist came the new knowledge that God no longer required or desired the sacrifices of animals. This in itself is quite unique inasmuch as Israel was deeply involved in the form and ceremony of such sacrifices. It would be a certain thing that David, with a deep desire for God, would have been used to offering much to the Lord in the way of these burnt offerings. Yet there were these moments of inner realization when he knew that these ‘exterior offerings’ in the natural realm were no longer desired by the Lord.

With the doing away of this old order, comes the statement, “MINE EARS THOU HAST OPENED’, followed by a further response, “Lo, I come, I delight to do your will, O God’. With a consciousness that there is no longer any satisfaction found in the old, there is a necessity of having our ears opened to find out what the new shall be, accompanied with the surrender to find our delight in the further revelation of His will, Ready and willing to follow whatever the new order shall be.

Interesting that for this word, ears ‘opened’, the Hebrew reads, “mine ears hast Thou digged”. When our ears have been stopped up by all the debris, the noise of creeds and commandments of man’s tradition, they must be cleared out to hear a pure and direct “Thus saith the Lord”. Paul writes “so many kinds of voices in the world”, (I Corinthians14: 10). But Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” (John 10:27).

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them,” (Prov. 20:12). These are gifts from God, rare treasures, and happy is the one that possesses them.

“Lord, close my ears to the din of the world, and open them to hear Thy voice, that I might delight in Thy will today.” Amen.

JANUARY 5 EARS OPENED IN PRESSURE

“He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression (Hebrew word for ‘oppression’ is ‘pressured’).”
(Job 36:15)

We sometimes wonder shy all this PRESSURE is coming our way, and for sure there are manifold reason, for God works many things through the same set of circumstances. But one of the purposes of pressure is to help open our ears, pressing out all of that which clogged the passage and kept the TRUE SOUNDS from entering in.

Paul exhorted the disciples to continue in the faith, and “that we must through much tribulation (Greek, ‘PRESSURE’ enter into the kingdom of God,” (Acts 14:22). Thus we see a dual working to this pressure, it is pressing us OUT OF THE OLD and pressing us INTO THE NEW. God is a wise economist; He can use the same pain to be death pangs to the old, and birth pangs for the new. The same pressure that is pushing out all the old debris that has clogged our hearing is also preparing the way for the entrance of the new message from God.

“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God shall come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped,” (Isa. 35:4-5). We rejoice, this is a precious promise, and we reach out to embrace its victory. Ah, but the preceding verse prepares the way: “The wilderness and the solitary way shall be glad for them.” It takes the processings of the wilderness disciplines and the solitary place to prepare us to hear even more clearly the VOICE of the Lord.

“He that is of God heareth God’s words,” (John 8:47). Called aside from the multitudes, processed by the pressures of the day, His apprehended ones are hearing His voice. They are His firstfruits of a new creation order, and they shall declare His praises to the ends of the earth.

Lord, my ears, they must be opened if Thy message I would hear,
Spare Thou not the cleansing process till Thy still small voice is clear.

JANUARY 6 A MIND RENEWED INTO CHRIST

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23)

The negative forces seek to control with all their propaganda and brainwashing. Many a battle is being fought and won in the mind, making it a vital necessity that we “put out of the way once for all everything that would impede the free action of your mind, be calm and collected in spirit, and set your hope perfectly, wholly, unchangeably, without doubt and despondency, upon the grace that is being brought to you upon the occasion of the revelation of Jesus Christ,” (I Peter 1:13, Wuest).

With the Lord’s dealings with our thinking, there also comes a stripping away of the façade and masquerade, which we have put forth because of our ‘thoughts’ of the past. We thought we ought to act a certain way to have an image of spirituality, which was not a true manifestation of what we really were, but super-imposed as a disguise of what we thought we should appear. Now we are challenged to “change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your minds,” (Romans 12:2 Wuest).

We rejoice in the truth, “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Col. 1:27), because it is His Spirit dwelling within. Yet, because of the trappings of the carnal mind it has been difficult to give expression of this INNER LIFE OF CHRIST. Now, the more we are “renewed in the spirit of our mind”, the more we can LIVE OUT that which HE is BECOMING in us. This is more than just the mental gymnastics of our own self-efforts. It is the energizing of His Spirit upon our human spirit, which in turn takes dominion over our mind and brings our mind into subjection to the Spirit of Truth. May it become the ‘norm’ of our life to just be thinking HIS thoughts, that we might “shew forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light,” (I Peter 2:9).

JANUARY 7 SELAH!

“Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah.” (Psalm 3:8)

The word ‘selah’ is frequently found in the Psalms, which the Amplified translation gives as “PAUSE AND CALMLY THINK OF THAT”. This is timely advice, and we need to have more ‘selah times’ when we seriously consider and remember the works of the Lord; of His glorious plan of salvation working in us, even in the nitty-gritty of our everyday living.

Christendom, through its many religious institutions, has caused men to become very negative-conscious, sin-conscious, devil-conscious, until people have much difficulty when they desire to become GOD-CONSCIOUS. To un-learn all the nonsense that has been taught about the power of the devil, and the inferred weakness of God, requires some diligent effort on the part of the believer progressing into truth. We sing with joy and reverence, “How great Thou art!” and seek to develop a deeper consciousness of Christ, of His supremacy – His Lordship – His total control over all that touches our lives. Then when new troubles arise, some disaster seems to engulf us, far too often the first thought people have is ‘the devil did it’. Thus they forget that God is ordering our steps through the day, that He controls the interplay of good and evil according to the need of our development into full spiritual maturity. Hence, it is essential that we learn to “set our minds on things above,” (Colossians 3:2).

As a part of this fixing our mind upon Christ, we need to often “pause and calmly think” on His goodness, His salvation freely given to us. I like the word ‘calmly’ in this thinking process. Emotions and feelings have their place in our experience, but not to the extent that we fail to gain a lasting, solid, clear thought of what God is doing. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he," (Proverbs 23:7). “His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,” (Psalm 112:7).

JANUARY 8 THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS

“If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared (held in reverential awe).” (Psalm 130:3-4)

In His teaching, Jesus gives new light on forgiveness, when we read, ”Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven,” (Luke 6:37). His grace is sufficient to freely forgive all our sin, and He does, praise God, but it is also to be discovered that in order for a believer to comprehend more of the nature of this forgiveness, and to really and truly know that he has been forgiven, he must also learn to forgive others. Many a child of God carries a secret load of guilt-feelings, subconsciously tormented with thoughts that possibly God might still hold something against them. So when troubles come their way, to test and develop them, they think of it only in terms of how God must yet be punishing them. How little do they understand forgiveness!

Let it be remembered, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him,” (Psalm 103:10-11). Furthermore, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us”. Think of that! This action of God is based completely upon His own grace and mercy. When a sin is forgiven, God does not bring it back at a later time and punish us for it. Such ideas defame the character of God! Even Peter wrote of how false teachers would bring in “heresies of destruction, denying even the Lord that bought them”, (II Peter 2:1). The King James Version gives “damnable heresies”. It is truly a destructive heresy, even worse; it is a heresy of damnation, a very false teaching of wrathful punishment. The GOSPEL in no way teaches this gruesome idea, all of God’s judgments are correctional, with a view to peace and full restoration and victory. His forgiveness is all encompassing. We also learn to forgive by having wrongs done against us, and at the same time learn new depths of how we ourselves have been forgiven of all our iniquities.

JANUARY 9 HE CURES MY DEPRAVITIES

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. –Who healeth all thy diseases.” (Psalm 103:2-3)

Ferrar Fenton gives a beautiful rendering here, “And all my depravities cured”. Disease, or dis-ease has reached into every avenue of our being, body, soul, and spirit. The depravity of man is exceedingly great, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Praise God, this disease of heart can be cured, for our God is able to make whole again.

By no means would we infer that all sickness is the result of sin in our life, such would not be true at all. But it is a fact that we are more prone to treat the symptoms than to dig in and find the cause and cure it. Many doctors now know that much illness is rooted deeper then just the physical body. Some root of bitterness, jealousy, envy, unforgiveness, etc., these depravities of soul and spirit can cause much outward distress. But our Great Physician cures them all. One might not be able to discern and analyze all these things in themselves, but we can go to the Healer for our deliverance.

Jesus said, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. - I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” (Matt. 9:12-13). For “the Son of man is come to save…”(Matt. 18:11). This word ‘save’ is from the Greek word ‘sozo’ meaning TO SAVE, KEEP SOUND. Salvation is more than finding a lost one, it is bringing that one back into TOTAL SOUNDNESS.

So complete is the scope of His healing, that He declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” (Luke 4:18).

JANUARY 10 REDEEMED FROM CORRUPTION

“ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” (Psalm 103:4)

Destruction – the Hebrew here is actually ‘corruption. Paul emphatically declared, “for this corruptible must put on incorruption,” (I Cor. 15:53). It is a cause for rejoicing to find redemption includes a complete change, that we will be clothed upon with incorruption, i.e., brought into a state where we cannot be corrupted.

We read that Jesus Christ “hath abolished (Greek, to make thoroughly inactive) death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”, (II Tim. 1:10). Note this word ‘immortality’, a mis-translation in King James, for the Greek word is INCORRUPTION. The wages of sin is death, but it is self-evident that if there be no sin, then there would be no consequence of sin, no wages to be reaped. We would enter into a state of deathlessness (immortality), that is true, but if we are made incorruptible, it is unnecessary to add that we are immortal. The crowning glory of that more abundant life which Jesus gives is LIFE IN AN INCORRUPTIBLE BODY. What a redemption! Freed from all change and decay.

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust,” (II Peter 1:4). The divine nature is incapable of being corrupted. This fulfills the scripture, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin because he is born of God”, I John 3:9).

There is a place of incorruptibility; it is in the fullness of the divine nature. It is to the praise of our Redeemer that He takes that which was marred, torn, ruined and transforms it completely into His image, crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Radiating the splendor of His creative hand, death forever abolished, clothed with His righteousness, we shall be found to His praise.

JANUARY 11 SATISFIED WITH GOOD

“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:5)

Moffatt translates this, “He gives you all your heart’s desire’. For the word ’mouth’ is the Hebrew word ‘adi’, translated elsewhere as ornament, or thing that is desired. Psalm 32:9 is the only other time this word is given as ‘mouth’, speaking of how the mouth of a horse must be held in with bit and bridle, because this controls the horse and keeps him from plunging in every direction just to satisfy his own desire for a tender morsel.

The Amplified is beautiful in its indication that He satisfies “your necessity and desire at your personal age with good”. As ones desires modify with changing ages, yet Christ can satisfy every desire for youth or adult, young or old, and He does so with GOOD, that which is for our profit, until we are developed and strong, OVERCOMING, soaring with victory as an eagle soars with its renewed vigor after it has passed through its change, its moulting season.

”Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart,” (Psalm 37:4). When He imparts to us our desires, they are right desires, pure desires, and assured of fulfillment. The more we delight ourselves in Him, the more He purifies our desires from the corruptible things to satisfy the lust of the flesh, and brings them into harmony with His perfect will for us – then He lavishly fulfills these desires.

There is another word used in the Scriptures, translated as ‘LUST’, which means an over-desire, or a perverted desire, because it goes beyond the bound of that which is right and pure. When self is dealt with, and we come into the pureness of right desires, how precious are the ways in which He satisfies them – always with GOOD.

We bless Thee Lord for each desire, You give, and then fulfill,
Until our heart is satisfied, complete within Thy will.

JANUARY 12 WHEN THE OUTWARD PERISHES

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward is renewed day by day.” (II Corinthians 4:16)

There are times when it seems that all the outward is falling apart, gripped by the tyranny of change and decay, nothing is stable or enduring, for “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope,” (Romans 8:20).

But the promise remains, “the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God,” (Romans 8:21). For God hath ordained there shall come the time of “regeneration”(Matthew 19:28), when there shall begin a universal change, and the process of degeneration shall be reversed, and new creation life be manifested. Praise God for this glorious hope.

Yet now, in the midst of all this death and decay, in contra-distinction to its ravaging of the outward, the inward man can be renewed day by day. Made new again by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increased strength…They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as the eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29,31)

They shall “renew their strength”. Significant that in the Hebrew text this word ‘renew’ is actually ‘CHANGE’. As we wait upon the Lord we change our strength, from the weakness of the flesh, into the might of His Spirit, until we are able to say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”, (Phil. 4:13). Thus we shall “go from strength to strength” until at last we appear before God in Zion.

JANUARY 13 REAPING HIS SPIRIT- LIFE

“God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

Man has taken this truth as a basis for his own carnal thought, ‘life is what you make it, for you reap what you sow’. That is only a half-truth. It is the Word that “as a man soweth, that shall He also reap”, but there is another truth involved, it is dealing more specifically with ‘which realm are we sowing into’, giving emphasis to the fact that you do not sow into the flesh, and out of the flesh reap spiritual life. Every seed bears after its own kind.

Natural man takes and makes it an iron-clad rule that leaves out the sovereignty of God, and the grace of God. How often have we even sowed into the flesh, and yet never reaped. Sowed an angry word, but only received a soft answer in return, because of the love and kindness of the one with whom we were angry. When God does not allow the seed sown to bear fruit, He has many ways of nullifying the reaping. If He sends a flood, the seed is washed away. If He sends a drought, it doesn’t germinate and grow. If even the birds come and devour the seed, no harvest, etc. But only what He purposes to ultimately use does He allow to happen, so if it happens, hard as it may seem to bear, somewhere down the road He purposes to cause it all to work together into our good, and for His praise. Thus the Psalmist declared, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain,” (Psalm 76:10).

But the challenge is, the more we sow into the Spirit, the more we shall out of the Spirit reap life, joy, and peace. The natural, however sweet it might appear for a time, never fully satisfies, but IN HIM there are pleasures ever more – enduring for all time.

JANUARY 14 VICTORY IN OUR ‘NOW’

“I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2)

To “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” (II Peter 3:18), means there is progression, and the vision steadily grows brighter in the midst of, and perhaps because of the many pressures of the day. While it is true that we wait for the totality of fulfillment, it is not all ‘in the future’ either, for we are finding that HE IS IN OUR NOW. The more there is yieldedness to the Holy Spirit, and He inworks the Divine Will, the more there is a daily victorious living.

Yet, there are many who are aptly described in a quote gleaned along the way. We habitually stand in our ‘now’ and look back by faith to see the past filled with God. “ We look forward and see Him inhabiting our future, but our ‘now’ is uninhabited except for ourselves. Thus, we are guilty of a kind of pro-tem atheism, which leaves us alone in the universe, while, for the time, God is not. We talk of Him much and loudly, but we secretly think of Him as being absent. We inhabit an interval between the God who was, and the God who will be.” Unquote.

Praise God! We find Him far more than some Historical Being who delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, or preserved Daniel in a lion’s den. He is more than the Future King of some great millennial reign, for “God is our refuge and strength, A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE. – THE lord of hosts is with us,” (Psalm 46:1, 11). Furthermore, Jesus constantly proclaimed a realm of “I AM”, not “I was”, nor “I will be”, but simply “I AM”. It is into this dimension that we desire to live, and move and have our being. Finding in Him a victorious NOW, knowing that “this is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” (Psalm 118:24).

January 15 ONE SPIRIT IN CHRIST

Only let your conversation (manner of behaviour) be as it becometh the gospel of Christ; - that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27)

Paul proceeds to give some valuable instruction for our daily living, with the words, STAND FAST IN ONE SPIRIT”. While this can be taken to refer to our relationship with other believers, the emphasis must not just be on our oneness with each other, because this will never be accomplished until we are first one with Christ. “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,” (I Cor. 6:17). Only in the measure that we are ONE SPIRIT IN CHRIST can we, also, become one spirit with each other. HE is the Head, we are to be joined to Him, and it is self-evident that if the whole body is joined unto the Head, they cannot be very far from each other.

Joined unto the LORD. This necessitates our yielding up of all our own rights, will, self-hood, to acknowledge that HE ALONE IS LORD IN OUR LIFE. When we are “one spirit” with Him, there are no more two spirits, (His, and ours, in some form of contra-distinction to each other) for this union of oneness in Him precludes it. True, there is a losing of our own carnal-self identity, to become identified in Him, but what blessing awaits those who can pray, and mean it, “not my will, but Thine, be done”.

Surely the more we have surrendered all of our ‘rights’ to the Lord, the less we will seek to maintain such ‘rights’ with our brethren, for these ‘rights’ are no longer ours, and whatever God wills for us, that is what we desire. This surrender takes all the ‘fight’ out of us, and we cease to be enemies with ourselves, and, therefore, find it much easier to be joined in peace with our brethren, that in one spirit we might together follow on to know the Lord ever more.

For of this world thou hast no part
When He doth dwell within thy heart,
Not of this world, He said of those
Whom He hath called, whom He hath chose.

JANUARY 16 IN NOTHING BE TERRIFIED

“And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”
Philippians 1:28

The word ‘adversaries’ is the Greek word ‘antikeimai” meaning, to be laid in opposition. This word doesn’t necessarily mean the devil, though sometimes this is our opposition. But there is an entirely different word used in I Peter 5:9 where it speaks of “your adversary the devil”, and uses the Greek word ‘antidikos’, meaning opponent at law. The devil would argue with us concerning the laws of God, as in the garden, when the serpent said, “Yes, hath God said…” and then proceeded to imply other meanings to the law of God, to distort and confuse, using some half-truths to produce deception.

But Paul also wrote that “a great effectual door is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries”, (I Cor. 16:9). Obstacles of opposition that are placed in our pathway for our OVERCOMING. We need not be terrified by any of the opposition allowed, planned, yes, ordained to cross our path, yes. But even if the opposition is more than just circumstance, manifest in the form of people, still, there is no need to be startled or frightened. “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist”, (Luke 21:15).

When we live in a now-consciousness that “Lo, I am with you always” (Matt, 28:20), there is a sense of security in Christ, and He is in our NOW. Knowing our own weakness, we are afraid, but to DWELL IN GOD, to know His power, we learn to rest in HIS CONTROL of all that comes our way. He said: “I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries,” (Exodus 23:22).

In nothing terrified, and He
Shall lead thee on in victory.
Thou art His own, and He is thine,
A union rare, a love divine.

JANUARY 17 HE EVER WORKS HIS PLEASURE

“So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please.” (Isaiah 5:11)

The Psalmist often gave expression to his thoughts on the omnipotence and the sovereignty of God, as when he said, “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased,” (Ps. 115:3). Or again, “For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places,” (Ps. 135:5-6). To this Paul readily gives his assent, by teaching that God “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,” (Eph. 1:11),

HE IS ABOVE ALL. He does rule over all. He raises up kings and abases them according to His own plan and purpose. We believe this, and rejoice in it, for this is OUR God. But, there is also a fact to be reckoned with, for in all the exercise of His will and purpose there is not one particle of perverseness or selfishness involved. He performs His will because He knows it is in the best interest of all His creation, for He alone has the knowledge and wisdom necessary to make the right judgment. His nature is LOVE, and love motivates all His actions – toward us, as an elect firstfruit to become a new creation, and towards all the world, which shall be delivered from the bondage of sin and shame in due time.

“God is love,” (I John 4:16). We quote it, write mottoes of it to hang upon our walls, yet find it difficult to believe. “God so loved the world that He gave…” and continues to give out of His boundless supply until He shall have reconciled every man unto Himself, and lifted every creature into the highest realms of glory, to fulfill in each one that purpose for which we are created. It is the working out of a purpose in which He is well pleased. A victory that is totally secure in Himself, and joyously and freely shared with us through His grace.

JANUARY 18 TILL HE PLEASE

“I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” (Song of Solomon 2:4)

There are times which all believers pass through when it seems as if He is veiled from our consciousness, He has hidden Himself, and all of our earnest cries of “where art Thou, Lord?” awaken no response. We search the Word for a quickening, and find none. We pray, but the words seem so empty. The storms seem to mount in intensity, and we are reminded of the record, when Jesus was asleep in the boat, while the great storm raged about Him and His disciples. We would seek to awaken Him. “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). It is then this verse from the Song of Solomon comes softly into the heart, “stir not up, nor awake my love, till He please”. If only the disciples had waited a little while longer, no doubt He would have arisen in His own time. Even if He had slept on, would the boat have sunk when He was resting therein? “He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

Methinks that one of the deep processings of God is this ‘silence of God’, and our learning to TRUST AND WAIT, wait without fretting or complaining, but sustained by the knowledge that He is mindful of us, even when He is not pouring in revelation, or flooding us with blessing.

No need to pound the altar, to storm heaven, to press the Spirit into action, to command, demand, and insist that God meet us at our own ‘timings’. We come to that place of surrender where HIS WILL is all that we desire, and if He pleases to remain silent, then what pleases Him pleases us, also. His ways are best, and His timings are perfect. This is not an inworking of grace to be taken lightly, nor will it be understood by those who clamor for action, but it is for those who have experienced His inner rest and peace, they know they are His, and all is well.

JANUARY 19 LEAPING ON THE MOUNTAINS

“The voice of my Beloved! Behold, He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” (Song of Solomon 2:8)

We would hear His voice! What is the message of the hour? He is coming, and He is “leaping upon the mountains, He is skipping upon the hills”, Praise God, “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17)

“Every mountain and hill shall be brought low.” (Luke 3:5). We prayed for a revival, we fasted, cried, pleaded with Him, “Lord, come to us”. He waits until we have reached that point of desperation, when we are ready to receive Him no matter how He comes. Then, as we hear His voice, we find it is a call to repentance, to holiness, to a deeper consecration, and He leaps on all our mountains. Mountains are symbolic of kingdoms. Man is prone to build his kingdoms, raising up a monument unto himself, to make a name for himself. But to see the establishment of HIS KINGDOM it is necessary that all ‘the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ”, (Rev. 11:15). The greater the kingdom of man, the harder He will leap upon it, until all is subdued before Him.

But there is mercy in all of His judgments. He does not leap upon the hills, He lightly skips upon them. But everything that has reared its lofty peak into the heights, projecting the will of man to its peak, there comes the heavy foot of God to bring it low again. We find ourselves leveled before Him.

Yet, it is not all a matter of crushing, subduing, for there follows the merciful restoration of our God, as “every valley shall be filled, - and thee crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God,” (Luke 3:5,6). Then the glory of the Lord shall fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea. All shall be found to His praise, and He alone shall be exalted.

JANUARY 20 OUT OF THE WILDERNESS

“Jesus…was led by the Spirit into the wilderness – And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” (Luke 4:1,14)

It was a complete operation of the Spirit unto victory, all of the trial and testing in the wilderness, and the return again in power. Nor is it an experience that is His alone, but all those who would be filled with His power, His life, His glory, share the wilderness experience as a part of the processings, and of them we also read, “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the powders of the merchant?” (Song of Solomon 3:6).

Well we know about the wilderness, with its dry, barren areas; or its tangled underbrush, which hems us in from all sides, or its wild and unknown expanses filled with wild beasts and terrifying noises. The purpose for all this? (Duet. 8:2), “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee…in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep His commandments, or no.”

Then we read of a company that returns, like pillars of smoke, perfumed, to be a sweet smelling savour, a life that has been touched with the bitter experiences, the crushings, and now HIS DIVINE FRAGRANCE shall permeate the whole. With myrrh – a very bitter gum resin used for perfume, and as part of the “anointing oil”. The wilderness processings will bring out the sweet fragrance of His nature, and remove the stench of our own self-righteousness. With frankincense – which, among other uses, was also for sacrificial fumigation. Dying to self is neither easy nor sweet, but He knows what to apply so there will be no lingering odours of the flesh. When the work is finished, there is a return of a people that shall “shew forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light,” (I Peter 2:9). “That we should be to the praise of His glory,” (Ephesians 1:12). The delights of the return are wonders unspeakable.

JANUARY 21 NOTHING WITHHELD

“For not I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12)

All on the altar! Total surrender! These words have been uttered again and again, though I am sure we little did not comprehend the scope of their meaning, nor to what extent the Lord would require of us. It has been well stated, “true surrender is a crisis that leads to a process”. We face that moment of truth before the Lord, in our heart a surrender is made on that issuer, then it is worked out by experience through the processings, which follow.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went”, (Heb. 11:8). We view this committal and marvel at his faith, yet this was but the first step along the path of surrender, which was to unfold as he went. Over and over the Lord required of Abraham a relinquishing of his rights, plans, possessions. And finally, that ultimate test, Isaac on the altar.

Man does not know his own heart, nor how he will respond to that test which will be required of him, until he is tried. It is more of a revelation to us, of ourselves, than it is to God, for He already knows what is in the heart of man. Long before the birth of Isaac, God had already said of Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment”, (Gen. 18:19). Then the severity of the testing, and Abraham was called to offer up his only son – he obeyed, and the blessing was given. “By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only: that in blessing I will bless thee… because thou hast obeyed My voice.” (Gen. 22:15-18).

January 22 GRAFTED INTO THE VINE

“Abide in Me, and I in you. And the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” (John 15:4)

All that the Father has put into the Vine, the engrafted branches are to draw out, as they abide in the Vine. Severed from the Vine we are sure to wither and fade away, but in abiding in Him we have access to all the resources resident in the Vine. One may not know at present just what all it means by the word ‘fullness’ but that need not hinder us from saying, “whatever God means by it, that is what we desire”. Furthermore, since salvation is declared to be “to the uttermost”, (Heb. 7:25), He will not let us be satisfied with anything less, nor will He cease His work in us until we have been brought into this full glory in Him.

The word ‘branch’ used here, from the Greek ‘klema’, means a cutting, a slip. Same expression used in our grafting today, slips, shoots, or a cutting. Not the big stiff branches, but those tender little twigs. Even while some would exalt themselves, heady, high-minded, we need to remember that God is taking His humble ones, and merging them into one with His fullness. We recognize our nothingness that we might receive of His all-sufficiency.

Engraft means to insert a cutting or slip into another plant so that a permanent union is effected. Williams’s translation bears out this thought of UNION, “You must remain in union with Me and I will remain in union with you. Just as no branch by itself can bear fruit unless it remains united to the vine, so you cannot unless you REMAIN IN UNION WITH ME.” It is not some weird relationship with ‘in and out’ or ‘up and down’ experience, but a permanent union so that the branch constantly draws the life and vitality of the vine. A union that endures through all ages to come, a true everlasting life.

O wonder of the ages, O miracle divine,
Each life a new creation when grafted to the Vine.

JANUARY 23 IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK

“And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand.” (Exodus 33:21-22)

There has been a cleft made in the Rock, there is a secret place in the bosom of our Saviour, for there was a rent made in His side making possible an entrance for us. To be hidden in the Most High we have both strength and complete protection. Coming INTO HIM is more than just an initial act of faith, it is, indeed a process.

“For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth,” (Heb. 12:6). Note this word ‘receiveth’, which in this case comes from a Greek word that means to receive alongside. God said to Moses, “There is a place by Me,” “He that DWELLETH in the secret place of the most High…to ABIDE under the shadow of The Almighty,”(Ps. 91:1). And it was at Calvary that there was a cleft made in His side, to open up the new and living way into His bosom. Now to be received, the writer to the Hebrews points out, includes all of the chastenings, which condition and discipline us, until we are prepared to be received into His fullness. Our processings are for a purpose; it is that He might receive us into Himself, there to ABIDE in HIS ETERNAL DWELLING.

Abiding in the cleft of the Rock means abiding in a consciousness of His presence. The storm may rage without, but it cannot touch His life within. He dwells within us, and we are dwelling in Him, no more dependent on the circumstances without, or finding it necessary to search out a meeting to receive a blessing, but resting in HIM in joy and peace. To be in the rock means we have fixed our trust in God. Prayer is no more a ‘lobbying’ to persuade God to do a certain thing our way, but rather it is a time of communion, a sweet fellowship of praise and worship, rejoicing in His goodness and way of victory.

JANUARY 24 FELLOWSHIP

“God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:9)

The Greek word for ‘fellowship’ is ‘koinonia’, synonymous with communion, and literally means, ‘the act of using a thing in common.’ We might wonder why our fellowship with some people is so limited; it is because we have very little in common for sharing. Often times it seems to be on a very low level, just natural things – news, weather, family interests, etc. And we yearn for that deeper level of sharing on those spiritual things, which enrich the inner man. Praise God, the Scripture does foresee that day when “the watchmen see eye to eye”, (Isaiah 52:8), when we “all come into the unity of the faith”, (Eph. 4:13). Till then, regardless of our fellowship with others, the greatest and best of all communion is that which is shared with our Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Tis not among the clam’ring throng
That mixes up the right with wrong,
With faster beat and wild-wind song,
That fellowship is mine.

But when I find a lone retreat
In spirit, at the Master’s feet,
And at His table freely eat,
‘Tis fellowship divine.

His blood, His body, yea, His life
Imparted now, quells inner strife,
And clears the atmosphere that’s rife,
For fellowship’s design.

So, if a lonely path you walk,
While thru the night a terror doth stalk,
Just still thy heart, and hear God talk,
And fellowship is thine.

JANUARY 25 CALLED FROM THE WOMB

“The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)

Jeremiah knew this experience, and stated, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,” (Jer. 1:5). What a glorious, marvelous understanding that all of our life is in the hand of God, known unto Him, and He alone can direct every step. We are fitted into His purpose of the ages in perfect timing because He knew us before ever we were brought forth from the womb. He set us apart to be apprehended and perfected, every part of this plan was fully known unto Him before we began our earthly sojourn.

Paul also repeats this same truth in Gal. 1:15-16, “It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace to reveal His Son IN me…” But perhaps none saw it any clearer than the Psalmist, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written, before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16, Amplified). When we consider that the Lord has called us from the womb, set us apart unto Himself even then, and has absolutely ordered our pathway to this point, then we are able to view our entire past, mistakes and all, without any condemnation, because we realize that He has, and is, using it all for our development, to work in us the wonders of His grace.

Along with the supportive knowledge that we were known of God from our very beginning, comes the next statement that He even made mention of our name. Modern research has discovered that sometimes a child has been mis-named and it causes inner frustration because their being is not in harmony with their name. In the new creation realm we shall, also, have a name. God knows that name, and is preparing us to qualify so that we shall bear it in joy and victory, and in all the nature and character that shall be to His praise.

JANUARY 26 HE LIGHTS MY CANDLE

“For Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.” (Psalm 18:28)

Among the proverbs of Solomon, we read, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly,” (Prov. 20:27). “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” (I Cor. 2:11). Although a man’s ‘spirit’ is his ‘candle’, yet he walks in darkness until such a time as God lights that candle, till God quickens us by His holy Spirit, and His light shines within.

Christendom’s tradition teaches that God will light the candle of a few, and take them to heaven, while the vast majority of mankind is doomed to eternity in some hell. But the Word declares, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, “He was the true Light, which lighteth EVERY man that cometh into the world,” (John 1:9). Though it be “EVERY MAN in his own order”, (I Corinthians 15:23), nevertheless, “by Christ shall ALL be made alive”. God will not abandon His creation with the process only half done – just the natural creation brought forth. “First the natural, afterwards that which is spiritual,” (I Cor. 15:46). Thus, He has purposed “that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even IN Him,” (Eph. 1:10). This purpose shall be fulfilled. Brought into the LIFE of Christ, so that every creature shall know the blessing of that finished work of redemption, the creative work that results in a spiritual creation.

Then shall be fulfilled the promise, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined,” (Isaiah 9:2).

When God lights our candle, it is to make us one with the light, so that in turn He might send us forth to bring light to those who are in darkness. “I will give thee to be a light to the nations, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6).

JANUARY 27 A HOPE SUSTAINED

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:24-25)

There are several things that come more clearly into view with the passing of time than when we are abundantly blessed with zeal in our youth. As time passes over our heads, we are made aware of the fact that all of God’s purposes, thoughts and intents may not be consummated in this generation. Many would like to see God hurry and culminate His plans so that they might escape some of the processings and trials which they face, or even to escape physical death. But there is a place of rest and peace in Christ where we learn to abide “IN HIS TIMINGS”, and those things, which He has purposed.

Paul also writes “hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Spirit which is given unto us,” (Romans 5:5). Knowing that “love never faileth” and therefore will ultimately gain the victory in all things, the more His love dwells in us, the more it strengthens our hope and sustains us through the waiting.

The many aspects of hope are too vast to give in one brief listing, and they are individually quickened and enlarged to us according to the need we have along the way. The hope of the resurrection sustains those who have lost a loved one, knowing that we shall be united again in that day. The ache within, as we miss them, yearns for a soon fulfillment, but the knowledge that resurrection is a FACT sustains our hope and we wait on. Paul also speaks of how “he that ploweth should plow in hope”, (I Cor. 9:10), for the work of preparation, sowing the seed, care during the growing season, all is linked to the hope of a harvest to come. Plans initiated are carried out with hope that ultimately they will be realized in victory. But for sure, our greatest hope is embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fact that He shall return and receive us into Himself, to see Him as He is!

JANUARY 28 BECOMING HIS SERVANTS

“And He said unto me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:3)

It is a lofty position to which we are called, and for which we are being prepared. Sonship, yes. Kings and priests, yes. But why equipped with such power and glory? TO SERVE! For it is written, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, AND MY SERVANT whom I have chosen”, (Isaiah 43:10).

When we think of witnesses, we cannot refer to the old idea of a soap-box in a park where one preaches away at the passerby. Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me…” The Greek word for ‘witness’ is ‘martus’ from which we get our English word MARTYR. A martyr is one who gives his life for the message he declares. It requires the enduement of the holy Spirit to enable us to BE OUR MESSAGE, our whole life given to manifest that message. A state of being that proclaims the truth regardless of whether we speak or not.

To witness to the truth is to give your life to that truth. Even more, we read that it was to “BE witnesses UNTO ME”. Not to talk about Him, not just to build cathedrals in His honour, but to live and give our whole life UNTO HIM, so that every action, every word, all that WE ARE is a declaration unto Him, pointing others to Him, exalting Him.

Furthermore, receiving the inflow of the Spirit gives us the power to be able to lay down our own self-life, that HIS LIFE might be lived through us. “God so loved the world that HE GAVE…” Our giving is first unto Him, and then dispersed abroad to all those who are in need of Him. Of the same Israel that it is written, “Ye are My servants,” it is also written, “And in thee shall all nations be blessed”, (Gal. 3:8). Right now the greatest service that we can give to others is to die out to all our own ego-self, that the living of HIS LIFE becomes its own declaration that it is truly the best life, to His glory and praise.

JANUARY 29 PURGED AND PURIFIED

“And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: and I will purge out from among you the rebels (that which is rebellious).” (Ezekiel 20:37-38)

We now recognize that He is the CAUSE of our passing under the rod. “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth”, (Heb. 13:6). No more do we see the rod as a token of His wrath, because He is angry with us, but now we see THE ROD IS A TOKEN OF HIS LOVE, that He might receive us unto Himself – after we have been purged so as to be presented before Him blameless, with exceeding joy.

He says, “I will cause…I will bring…I will purge…” for it is all totally His work. He is both “the Author and the Finisher” of our salvation.

“I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest (Hebrew, PURGE) them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts”, (Eccl. 3:18). This is one of the hard parts of the deep purging process, to finally see your self for what you really are in the old bestial nature, with a heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked. But though we are exposed to ourselves, when He has finished the purging, we shall be found to His praise, and we shall rejoice.

“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, - the wise shall understand,” (Daniel 12:10). Are we beginning to understand His purgings?

Divine selection as He apprehends a people for purification, to make them an instrument for His use, for His glory. “I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? And I will not give My glory unto another,” (Isa. 48:10-11). That which He has purposed to share His glory with must be pure, lest it cast a reflection on His own purity. “Be ye holy for I am holy,” is not only a command, it is a glorious position to be experienced, with joy and life that overflows.

JANUARY 30 THE POLISHED SHAFT

“In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me. (Isaiah 49:2)

With all the purgings and purifyings – the polishings until we are pure in the image of Christ, there is also that becoming HIDDEN IN HIM, tucked away in His quiver (case to carry His arrows), until that day when He sends forth HIS ARROWS to subdue the adversary and bring all things into subjection to Himself.

Hidden in God’s quiver, far, far out of sight,
‘Neath the shadow of His hand, lies an arrow bright.

Chosen and ordained of old, prepared by God to be
A messenger of truth to set the captives free.

Long that arrow’s waited for the break of day,
When by the Sprit’s pow’r it speeds across the way.

Long the preparation ‘neath the Master’s hand,
While tenderly He teaches to follow His command.

Shapened to be useful, with nought to stain or mar,
Stripped of every burden that it may travel far.

Polished shaft of beauty, Image of the Son,
Rest assured God will complete what He has begun.

Arrow of deliverance, all the world shall see,
No more veiled with shadows, but now reality.

With the speed of lightning ‘cross the vaulted skies,
Hasten, O ye arrow, and claim redemption’s prize.

“He hath bent His bow, and made it ready. He ordaineth His arrows against the persecutors.” (Psalm 7:12-13)

JANUARY 31 NARROW IS THE WAY

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth into life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14)

“Without a way there is no going.
Without the truth there is no knowing.
Without His life there is no living.”

As we pick up the record of Saul (Paul), we read that he desired letters to Damascus, to the synagogue, “that if he found any of THIS WAY, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem”, (Acts 9:2). It was not just any old cult that he was after, but those who were in THIS WAY. All of his efforts were channeled and directed towards persecuting those of a specific way, identified only as THIS WAY.

Jesus clearly stated, “I am the door: by Me if any enter in he shall be saved…” but if he “climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber”, (John 10:9,1).

There are those who claim to be apprehended for THIS WAY, and yet will delve into the writings of the Far East, with its so-called ascended masters, because they say there is a ‘grain of truth’ in the writings. It may even be that the terminology sounds much the same as the Word, and that some of the principles correspond, but it is ‘some other way’, and we need not try to glean truth from any other source, when in Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”, (Colossians 2:3).

He is THE Door, and He is THE Way, to come any other way makes us a part of the thief and robber crowd. This has nothing to do with ‘my way’, nor what I would teach, as if we alone knew the truth; it is the call of HIS SPIRIT to forsake all the ways of self, all the kingdoms of men, leaving the things of the world behind, stripped of all its lusts and self-centeredness, that we might follow Him into that more abundant life. It is a narrow way because we must “suffer the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him”, (Phil. 3:8-9); and yet once we are IN HIM, the horizons are unlimited.

Used by Permission

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