Day 22
Today's Scripture
Colossians 1:21-29
Prayer in the Father’s Honor “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God!” Luke 1:35
If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child—the right of always being face-to-face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, “Why did you want me to turn here, or to go over there? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.
Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (Galatians 4:19), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now—no room for quiet, holy fellowship, and oneness with the Father.
Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, and suffering so that His purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to “…fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24) When we think of what it takes to “fill up,” there is always something yet to be done.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, we’re depending on You to form Yourself in us. To exhibit the evidence of Your innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father in us. Thank You for empowering us to exercise our rights as Your children. Hosting You and Your presence is our honor. We want to remain committed to You on behalf of Your passion for us to be Your representative. Pray in us Your Will to be done!
Day 23
Today's Scripture
John 16:25-33
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing “…Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (Galatians 4:19) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name…” (John 16:26) What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature, but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?
Today's Prayer
Jesus, we are Your temple to work in and through us. We desire that Your sonship manifests in our human flesh to demonstrate Your pleasure, Will, Way, and Life. Help us to keep our common sense in check. We need You in complete control and prominent as Lord of our lives. We submit our humanity to You so that You can work through us moment by moment.
Day 24
Today's Scripture
John 7:37-42
The Ministry of the Unnoticed “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Matthew 5:3
The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This literally means, “Blessed are the paupers.” Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s strength of will or the beauty of his character – things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, “Decide for Jesus Christ,” emphasizes something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him – something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, “Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom.” I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness—I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.
The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord. “He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water…” (John 7:38) And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.
Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something inspiring.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, help us to realize our poverty without You. To know that we are truly blessed in our poverty; that we have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence without You as our source. Deliver us from the lie that says our influence is the reason others are attracted to You. Help us to remain devoted to our need of You as Lord of our every breath.
Day 25
Today's Scripture
Matthew 7:7-17
“I Indeed…But He” “I indeed baptize you with water…but “He…will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:11
Have I ever come to the point in my life where I can say, “I indeed…but He…”? Until that moment comes, I will never know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means. I indeed am at the end, and I cannot do anything more—but He begins right there—He does the things that no one else can ever do. Am I prepared for His coming? Jesus cannot come and do His work in me as long as anything is blocking the way, whether it is something good or bad. When He comes to me, am I prepared for Him to drag every wrong thing I have ever done into the light? That is exactly where He comes. Wherever I know I am unclean is where He will put His feet and stand, and wherever I think I am clean is where He will remove His feet and walk away.
Repentance does not cause a sense of sin, it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance.
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John is not speaking here of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience but as a work performed by Jesus Christ.
“He will baptize you.” The only experience that those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit are ever conscious of is the experience of sensing their absolute unworthiness.
“I indeed” was this in the past, “but He” came and something miraculous happened. Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, thank You for the work of the Spirit You are devoted to developing in us. Help us to embrace the Truth of Life; to know that we are at our end, and we cannot do anything more. Bring everything in us that is not of YOU into the light. Help us to be reminded of our unworthiness of You and Your presence so that we stop defending our actions. Help us to grow in our attitude of repentance continually so that You can do everything You desire in us and through us.
Day 26
Today's Scripture
Mark 9:1-10
The Place of Exaltation “…Jesus too…them up on a high mountain apart by themselves…” Mark 9:2
We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley .(Mark 9:14-18) We are not made for the mountains, sunrises, or other beautiful attractions in life; those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God. However, we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.
We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actuality, it should be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, “What’s the use of this experience?” We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.
Today's Prayer
Thank you Jesus for every mountain top experience You give us. Prepare and empower us to embrace the valleys of this world. Help us to navigate with joy the circumstances and challenges that You have ordered in our path today. Comfort us with Your voice as we serve Your Will in this world. Build Your character in us and demonstrate Your hope through us as we spread Your good news. Have Your way!
