Blessed Reality: by Andrew Murray

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30

During His last day with His disciples, the Lord Jesus made several references to
being “in Christ Jesus.”  “When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20).  Following that in 15:5 “Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.”  “If you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!” (15:7).  We cannot apply these promises unless we first prayerfully accept the words “in Christ.”

Paul expressed the same thought in Romans 6:4, “We…are buried with Christ.”  “You should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).  “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  And in Ephesians 1:3 “How we praise God…who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.”  Colossians 2:6 “Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him.”  Colossinas 4:12 “…Asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident of the whole will of God.”  By faith take hold of the truth that “God establishes us in Christ” and then follow the leading of the Spirit in prayer.

The Strength of the Christian: by Andrew Murray

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10
Since we as Christians have no strength of our own, where may we get it? Paul had spoken of this power in the earlier part of Ephesians (1:17-20). He had prayed for God to give them the Spirit that they might know the greatness of His power which He displayed when He raised Christ from the dead. This is a literal truth: the greatness of His power which raised Christ from dead works in every believer. We may believe what Paul is saying without ever experiencing it. That is why Paul prays that God would teach us to believe in His mighty power.

Ephesians 3:16-17
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love

Paul asks the Father to strengthen them by His Spirit, that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith. Then in verse 20 he says, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"

Read over these Scriptures again and pray for God’s Spirit to make these words real to you. Believe in the divine power working in you. Pray that the Holy Spirit may reveal it to you. Appropriate the promise that God will show His power in your heart, supplying all your needs. It is clear that much time is needed with the Father and the Son, if you would experience the power of God within you. 

To me, to live is Christ! by TA Sparks

To me, to live is Christ. Philippians 1:21

In the wilderness the whole of our natural life is brought out, and we come to know our weakness and emptiness; that we have nothing. Thus it is that we now find everything in Christ and so can go over and possess. What is the secret of possession, of coming into our inheritance? It is that we have come to the place where all things are "in Christ" and He is everything – our very Life and being. Our flesh is cut off and we know as the deepest thing in our being, that unless God does everything in us by His Spirit, all is of no value. We must come to an end of our own working in order to come into His fullness. It is so easy to sit down in our weakness and nurse ourselves, but the Lord says at that point, "Arise and possess." Your inheritance is not here on earth, it is in Christ in the heavenlies; not in yourselves, your fullness is in Him. It is ever His Fullness over against your emptiness; His Strength over against your weakness; your inheritance is all He is, as typified to Israel by the land flowing with milk and honey.

Paul says of Timothy, "he worketh the work of the Lord" (1 Cor. 16:10). There is to be an end of our works so far as we are concerned, nothing of us, as out from ourselves; but God says, in effect: "with your nothingness I will possess the heavens and the earth." Oh, to be such a people, chastened and emptied of self, for the Holy Spirit by His energies to display the moral glories of the Lord Jesus in us and so through us. "To the intent that now unto principalities and powers might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10,11). "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace... for we are His workmanship" (Eph. 2:7,10).

Leave Room for God by Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest)

But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased Galatians 1:15

 As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him— to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “…when it pleased God….”

Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.

Our Lord the Object of Faith for Salvation: by AW Tozer

… Preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:). Acts 10:36

It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help but with no intention of obeying Him, for Christ’s saviourhood is forever united to His lordship.

Look at the apostle’s instruction and admonition: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

There the Lord is the object of faith for salvation! And when the Philippian jailer asked the way to be saved, Paul replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Paul did not tell him to believe on the Saviour with the thought that he could later take up the matter of His lordship and settle it at his own convenience. To Paul there could be no division of offices. Christ must be Lord or He will not be Saviour!

There is no intention here to teach that our first saving contact with Christ brings perfect knowledge of all He is to us. The contrary is true. Ages upon ages will hardly be long enough to allow us to experience all the riches of His grace.

As we discover new meanings in His titles and make them ours we will grow in the knowledge of our Lord and the many forms of love He wears exalted on His throne!

Nurturing Spirituality: part 5:

The Process, Product, and Context of Discipleship

What Does The Product of Discipleship Look Like in the Believer?  It should look like Jesus.  It should be the manifest presence of the Living God, who dwells in the believer, pressing forth in our lives, taking ground that is rightfully His and conforming us to His Image.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

1. Personal Development

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,  for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Proverbs 2:1-11
 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

2. Skills 

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.  One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,  and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"  Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.  The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." 2 Samuel 11:1-5
 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. 2 Samuel 11:27
 He who answers before listening-- that is his folly and his shame. Proverbs 18:13
 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

3. Relationships

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:27
 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,  who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.  Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."  In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Timothy 2:14-21

The True Christian Is the Practicing Christian: by AW Tozer

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

The supreme purpose of the Christian religion is to make men like God in order that they may act like God. In Christ the verbs “to be” and “to do” follow each other in that order.

True religion leads to moral action. The only true Christian is the practicing Christian. Such a one is in very reality an incarnation of Christ as Christ is the incarnation of God; not in the same degree and fullness of perfection, for there is nothing in the moral universe equal to that awful mystery of godliness which joined God and man in eternal union in the person of the Man Christ Jesus; but as the fullness of the Godhead was and is in Christ, so Christ is in the nature of the one who believes in Him in the manner prescribed in the Scriptures.

Just as in eternity God acted like Himself and when incarnated in human flesh still continued in all His conduct to be true to His holiness, so does He when He enters the nature of a believing man. This is the method by which He makes the redeemed man holy.

The faith of Christ was never intended to be an end in itself nor to serve instead of something else. In the minds of some teachers faith stands in lieu of moral conduct and every inquirer after God must take his choice between the two. We are presented with the well-known either/or: either we have faith or we have works, and faith saves while works damn us. This error has lowered the moral standards of the church!

Have You Ever Been Alone with God? by Oswald Chambers

When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10

His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).

As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.

Life = Christ: by TA Sparks

Everything was created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)

The key to everything with God is Life.... We must realize that Christ's ascendancy, supremacy, power, ability and all that goes with Headship, is in terms of His prerogative of Life. He is the Son, vested with Life; He has the right given Him of God to give Life to as many as believe. That is why He is Head. You can set up people in office and make Popes of them and they may make great claims, but what does it amount to? When you come up against death, what can they do? But bring in one who has the power of life over death, be he ever so humble on this earth, he is head, he is master, he is lord. You may bring all the greatest physicians that the world knows into the presence of death, and when death takes charge, they are helpless. But supposing you bring in a little, insignificant person who is nobody, with no capabilities whatever in this world, no training, and that one be invested with the power of life over death, he rules out all these others, they are as nothing in his presence, he is lord of the situation.

Christ is Head, not just by appointment, but in terms of Life. We may be very insignificant people on this earth, nothing at all to be taken account of by the world, but if only we have Christ in fullness of Life we are in a supreme position, we make all the great organizations and institutions as nothing. It is a spiritual thing, the impact of Christ; not tradition, not history, not theology, but the spiritual power of His presence in terms of Life through faith and righteousness. 

The Flock of God: Safe in Jesus Christ: by AW Tozer

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but  because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;  not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:2-4

The people who want to know God and walk with God, those who have learned to recognize the voice of the good Shepherd, will always be at home in a Spirit-filled congregation.

It is sad indeed that some have never heard the voice of the Shepherd. His voice is as tender as a lullaby and as strong as the wind and as mighty as the sound of many waters. The people who have learned to hear and recognize the voice of Jesus—that healing, musical, solemn, beautiful voice of Jesus in His church—are always at home where everything centers around Him.

The true Christian church can be a conglomeration of everything under the sun. That is, we may have Calvinists and Arminians and Methodists and Baptists and all sorts of others, and yet we are all together on one thing—Jesus Christ is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption! He is All in all, and the people of the Lord who have learned to hear the voice of the Shepherd gravitate towards that kind of church!

They may not be so sure about who else is present, but they know the Lord is present and they are sensitive to that.

Do you find your own heart sensitive to the Lord’s presence or are you among those who are “samplers” “and “nibblers”? God help you if you are, for the child of the king is a sheep who loves his Shepherd and he stays close to Him! That’s the only safe place for a sheep. Stay close to Jesus and all of the wolves in the world cannot get a tooth in you!