CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS: "Imitation of Christ" -Thomas a Kempis

 

The Imitation of Christ

OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH



Happy is the man whom Truth by itself doth teach, not by figures and transient words, but as it is in itself.


(1) Our own judgment and feelings often deceive us, and we discern but little of the truth. What doth it profit to argue about hidden and dark things, concerning which we shall not be even reproved in the judgment, because we knew them not? 


Oh, grievous folly, to neglect the things which are profitable and necessary, and to give our minds to things which are curious and hurtful! Having eyes, we see not.




2. And what have we to do with talk about genus and species! He to whom the Eternal Word speaketh is free from multiplied questionings. From this One Word are all things, and all things speak of Him; and this is the Beginning which also speaketh unto us.

(2) No man without Him understandeth or rightly judgeth. 


The man to whom all things are one, who bringeth all things to one, who seeth all things in one, he is able to remain steadfast of spirit, and at rest in God. O God, who art the Truth, make me one with Thee in everlasting love.


 It wearieth me oftentimes to read and listen to many things; in Thee is all that I wish for and desire. Let all the doctors hold their peace; let all creation keep silence before Thee: speak Thou alone to me.




3. The more a man hath unity and simplicity in himself, the more things and the deeper things he understandeth; and that without labour, because he receiveth the light of understanding from above. 

The spirit which is pure, sincere, and steadfast, is not distracted though it hath many works to do, because it doth all things to the honour of God, and striveth to be free from all thoughts of self-seeking. 


Who is so full of hindrance and annoyance to thee as thine own undisciplined heart? A man who is good and devout arrangeth beforehand within his own heart the works which he hath to do abroad; and so is not drawn away by the desires of his evil will, but subjecteth everything to the judgment of right reason. 


Who hath a harder battle to fight than he who striveth for self-mastery? And this should be our endeavour, even to master self, and thus daily to grow stronger than self, and go on unto perfection.




4. All perfection hath some imperfection joined to it in this life, and all our power of sight is not without some darkness. A lowly knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than the deep searching of man's learning. 


Not that learning is to be blamed, nor the taking account of anything that is good; but a good conscience and a holy life is better than all. And because many seek knowledge rather than good living, therefore they go astray, and bear little or no fruit.




5. O if they would give that diligence to the rooting out of vice and the planting of virtue which they give unto vain questionings: there had not been so many evil doings and stumbling-blocks among the laity, nor such ill living among houses of religion. 


Of a surety, at the Day of Judgment it will be demanded of us, not what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how holily we have lived. 


Tell me, where now are all those masters and teachers, whom thou knewest well, whilst they were yet with you, and flourished in learning? Their stalls are now filled by others, who perhaps never have one thought concerning them. 


Whilst they lived they seemed to be somewhat, but now no one speaks of them.




6. Oh how quickly passeth the glory of the world away! Would that their life and knowledge had agreed together! For then would they have read and inquired unto good purpose. 

How many perish through empty learning in this world, who care little for serving God. And because they love to be great more than to be humble, therefore they "have become vain in their imaginations." 

He only is truly great, who hath great charity. He is truly great who deemeth himself small, and counteth all height of honour as nothing. He is the truly wise man, who counteth all earthly things as dung that he may win Christ. 


And he is the truly learned man, who doeth the will of God, and forsaketh his own will.

(1) Psalm xciv. 12; Numbers xii. 8. (2) John viii. 25 (Vulg.).

CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS: "Morning & Evening" -C.H. Spurgeon


Morning...
Philippians 3:8
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. 

I cannot know Jesus through another person's acquaintance with Him. No, I must know Him myself; I must know Him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge-I must know Him, not as the visionary dreams of Him, but as the Word reveals Him. 

I must know His natures, divine and human. I must know His offices-His attributes-His works-His shame-His glory.

 I must meditate upon Him until I "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." 

It will be an affectionate knowledge of Him; indeed, if I know Him at all, I must love Him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of Him will be a satisfying knowledge. 

When I know my Saviour, my mind will be full to the brim-I shall feel that I have that which my spirit panted after. "This is that bread whereof if a man eat he shall never hunger." At the same time it will be an exciting knowledge; the more I know of my Beloved, the more I shall want to know. 

The higher I climb the loftier will be the summits which invite my eager footsteps. I shall want the more as I get the more. Like the miser's treasure, my gold will make me covet more. 

To conclude; this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one; in fact, so elevating, that sometimes it will completely bear me up above all trials, and doubts, and sorrows; and it will, while I enjoy it, make me something more than "Man that is born of woman, who is of few days, and full of trouble"; for it will fling about me the immortality of the everliving Saviour, and gird me with the golden girdle of His eternal joy. Come, my soul, sit at Jesus's feet and learn of Him all this day.

Evening...
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world.

If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. 

Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. 

But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. 

Would you attain the full assurance of faith? you cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian-you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world.

 It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. 

Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. 

O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. 

Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.

CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS: "Lord both of the dead and living." - Daily Light


MORNING
Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

It pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. - Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? - We thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that be died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. - Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God.
ROM. 14:9. Isa. 53:10,11. Luke. 24:26. II Cor. 5:14,15. Acts. 2:36. I Pet. 1:20,21.
EVENING
Give us this day our daily bread.


I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. - His bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. - The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. - Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, ... that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. - Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
MATT. 6:11. Psa. 37:25. Isa. 33:16. I Kgs. 17:6. Phi. 4:19. Heb. 13:5. Deut. 8:3. -John 6:32 34.

CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS: "God Revealed" -A.W.Tozer

TOZER DEVOTIONAL

God Revealed



The word person in this context is difficult of comprehension. Church history testifies to the difficulties theologians have had with it. Sometimes the person of God has been called substance. Sometimes it has been called essence. 
The Godhead cannot be comprehended by the human mind. But the eternal God sustains, upholds, stands beneath all that composes the vast created universe. And Jesus Christ has been presented to us as the exact representation of God's person—all that God is.

The words exact representation, of course, have their origin in the pressed-upon-wax seal that authenticated a dignitary's document or letter. The incarnate Jesus Christ gives visible shape and authenticity to deity. 
When the invisible God became visible, He was Jesus Christ. When the God who could not be seen nor touched came to dwell among us, He was Jesus Christ.

I have not suggested this picture of our Lord Jesus Christ as a kind of theological argument. I am simply trying to state, in the best way I can, what the Holy Spirit has spoken through the consecrated writer of the letter to the Hebrews.

Verse

Jesus answered: ' Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.' John 14:9

Thought

What is God the Father like? Gaze upon Christ. He is the exact representation of God because he is God. See how Chist related to people, circumstances, suffering. You are seeing the invisible God revealed.

Prayer

You, O Lord, have revealed God to me. Humbly but confidently, I can come to the Father in Your name

CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS: "The Key To The Missionary" -My Utmost for His Highest


The Key To The Missionary

10
14
2013
All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. — Matthew 28:18-20


The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. 

We are apt to look upon Our Lord as One Who assists us in our enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. 

He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simply says – "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." 

Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.

"Then the eleven disciples went . . unto a mountain where Jesus had appointed them." v. 16. If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him for myself, and how to get alone with Him; I must take time to worship the Being Whose Name I bear. "Come unto Me" – that is the place to meet Jesus. 

Are you weary and heavy laden? 

How many missionaries are! 

We banish those marvellous words of the universal Sovereign of the world to the threshold of an after-meeting; they are the words of Jesus to His disciples.

"Go ye therefore. . . ." Go simply means live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say – Go into Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, but, "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me" in all these places. He undertakes to establish the goings.

"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you. . . " – that is the way to keep going in our personal lives. Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings.

"None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself . . ." That is how to keep going till we’re gone.
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2

DAILY DEVOTIONS: "THREE PARTS" -WordDevo

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THREE PARTS

There is always three parts to Creation;
Everything that is created in some way has three parts.

God is
Father, Son, Spirit

Because of Who He is, How He is, What He is;
GOD

Everything that was created has three parts.

YOU ARE THREE PARTS
Body, Soul, Spirit

Each part has needs, strengths, weakness
God made us that way.

He made us likened unto Himself
Yet separate, unique and distinctive.

If you deal with yourself as
Body, Soul, and Spirit

You treat yourself completely.
If you do not

You are incomplete.

When You have a relationship with 
the Father; the Son; the Spirit

You are complete.

Many Christian today are incomplete
simply because they do not know who they are

BODY SOUL AND SPIRIT

or

WHO GOD IS
Father, Son Spirit.

To be mature
You must deal with yourself in all areas of Life

To be Godly
You must deal with all aspects and person God is.

FATHER, SON, SPIRIT



DAILY DEVOTIONS: "Go Forward" -Mike MacIntosh

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And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward."
Exodus 14:15


Leadership is never easy. If you've ever been in a place of leadership, you probably know what it feels like to have people second-guess your every decision, complain behind your back, and talk negatively about you. Can you imagine, then, how Moses must have felt, tasked to lead 1-2 million Israelites through the wilderness? 
And can you imagine the sheer panic that must have broken loose amongst the Israelites as they realized they were being pursued by the entire Egyptian army? Here they were, the Red Sea ahead of them, and Pharaoh's armies behind them. They feared for their lives; they were trapped.

Having spent the past 430 years in slavery, the Israelites had no experience in warfare. In fact, they probably possessed not a single sword, arrow, or combat weapon. And with so much at stake, not only did they complain to Moses, they actually accused him of wanting them killed. "Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?" they cried to Moses (Exodus 14:11). 
Moses must have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, but when he cried out to the Lord for direction, God said, "Why do you cry to Me? Go forward" (Exodus 14:15).

Moses simply needed a reminder: It was God who had "led the people by way...of the Red Sea" (Exodus 13:18). And it was God who "went before them...in a pillar of cloud...and a pillar of fire" (Exodus 13:21). 
Moses had embarked on a journey without even a map to follow -- his only task was, literally, to follow God. Each day, he pursued the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. His destination each day was not a city, landmark, or border -- it was the pillar, itself.

You see, not only does God lead us; He goes ahead of us. He doesn't just point us towards our destination -- He is our destination. When we live a life in pursuit of God, His will becomes our only aim, and His provision becomes our only need. 
When our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we realize that we have no need to fear -- even when we feel trapped on all sides, because His "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).

Sometimes we make following Jesus more difficult than it needs to be, especially when we feel pressed on all sides. "How will I accomplish this? How will I pay for that?" 
Sometimes we complain about, and like the Israelites, even accuse others for our problems. And sometimes we are the ones, like Moses, being blamed. But just as the Lord led the Israelites across the Red Sea, so He wants to lead you through the trials you face in your life today. 
You must take your eyes off the oceans of problems before you, and make Him your only focus. 
Today, make Jesus your destination, and, like Moses, "go forward."

DAILY DEVOTIONS: "Satan hates you" -Kay Arthur

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“The children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”- 1 John 3:10-12

Satan hates you and has a horrible plan for your life and that plan includes murder!

The first human murderer, Cain, is described as being “of the evil one and slew his brother”. Satan influenced him to murder his brother. From the very beginning Satan was a murderer. He deceived Eve, and brought death into the world through Adam. 

We’re not taking away from Adam’s guilt here, but the Bible lays the charge of murder on the deceiver first. Murder is the specialty of the devil. He either wants you dead, or he wants you to be a murderer so he can move into His second role, the accuser.
You may not have physically murdered someone but have you torn others down instead of building them up with your words?

DAILY DEVOTIONS: "Leadership" -David McGee

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Leadership - Monday, October 14th 2013
Amos 2:1
"For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime."
NKJV


As Israel was coming through the desert to the promised land, Balak, the king of Moab attempted to bribe God's prophet to curse God's people. Obviously, Balak was not a good leader as time and time again he dismissed God's words in order to advance his own kingdom. 

While Balak had the opportunity to submit to God, he chose not to and he and his people ended up suffering the consequences. Unlike the Moabites, it's important for the church to have godly leaders.

Leaders inside the church have a responsibility to remain faithful to scripture and stand firm on God's Word so that others will see this and be encouraged to do the same. In 1 Timothy, the Lord supplies qualifications for those who enter into leadership. These qualifications include being faithful to the body of Christ and their families. 

They must be self-controlled, peace loving and gentle. Living inside these guidelines, leaders are best equipped to guide others into a life dedicated to our Lord.

Life Lesson: Strong leadership in the church is important.

Dear Father,
Thank You for Your Word and for the godly leaders in my life. Father, I pray that You would continue to be with those in church leadership as they seek You. 

Give them wisdom and discernment as they teach, counsel and care for those in the body of Christ. Lord, protect them from the enemy and fill them with Your Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

DAILY DEVOTIONS: "The great turning point" -Bob Coy


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The great turning point
Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry; and for their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies. Psalms 106:44-45 (NKJV)


Psalm 106 begins as a record of Israel's wrongs. In verse after verse, we read how God's chosen people sinned and strayed from Him. It's a humbling history of how they failed at every twist and turn on the path the Lord put them on. From provoking Him to anger in Egypt to complaining in the wilderness, they always seemed to do the wrong thing.

Fortunately, the Psalm doesn't end on that note. There's a turn that takes place in verses 44 and 45. Focus shifts from the multitude of Israel's sins to the multitude of God's mercies. And it's here, in the midst of God's mercies, that hope erupts. At this point, the Psalm's tone changes from a lament to a celebration of praise.

Notice that God's Word doesn't deny the reality of Israel's sin but fully acknowledges it. However, it doesn't end there, it declares there is something far greater and bigger that trumps it…God's mercy, and at the end of the day this is what ultimately matters.

We need to remember that the great turning point in life, whether it's Israel's sin or our own, is the mercy of the Lord. No matter how humbling the history of wrongs, no matter how deep the dive into depravity, the mercy of God is able to turn the most heart-wrenching lament into a heartfelt celebration of praise.

Freedom from our sin can't come from covering it up or pretending it doesn't exist. It has to happen through acknowledging and confessing it and trusting that the multitude of our wrongs finds a complete covering in the multitude of God's mercies.

Father, may we always seek forgiveness and refuge in the multitude of Your mercies...and remember that your mercy is the great turning point in our lives.
Think about it… 
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?

DAILY DEVOTIONS: "The Suffering Savior (Psalm 22)" -Ray Steadman

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The Suffering Savior  (Psalm 22)

Read the Scripture: Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1a).
In many ways this is the most amazing of all the psalms. In it we have a picture of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus painted by the psalmist David one thousand years before Jesus Christ was born. It constitutes one of the most amazing predictions of all time.
At least nine specific events or aspects of the crucifixion are described here in minute detail. All of them were fulfilled during the six hours in which Jesus hung upon the cross. Moreover, the latter part of the psalm clearly depicts the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. 
The probability that the predictions of these nine events would be fulfilled by chance in one person, on one afternoon is inconceivably small. The chance that all this could occur by accident is beyond any realm of possibility our minds could imagine. Yet all was fulfilled as predicted in this amazing psalm.
It is common knowledge that on November 22, 1963, President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while riding down a Dallas street in a car. Suppose there had been in existence a document that predicted this event, and we knew it had been written in AD 963. 
That was about the time of the height of the Byzantine Empire, when most of the Western world was ruled from Constantinople, much of Europe was only sparsely inhabited by barbarian tribes, and America was not yet discovered.
Suppose that a document had been prepared in that ancient day that predicted that a time would come when a man of great prominence, head of a great nation, would be riding down a street of a large city in a metal chariot not drawn by horses and would suddenly and violently die as a little piece of metal hurled from a weapon made of wood and iron penetrated his brain. 
This weapon would be aimed at him from the window of a tall building, and his death would have worldwide effect and cause worldwide mourning. You can imagine with what awe such a document would be viewed today. Such a prediction would be similar to what we have in Psalm 22. 
That hypothetical prediction would have been made even before the invention of the automobile or firearms and five hundred years before the discovery of America. It would be regarded as fantastically accurate. Yet we have that very sort of thing in this psalm.
The psalm has two major divisions. The first twenty-one verses recount for us the torments of an unknown sufferer who is entirely alone and is crying out to God in His agony. Many scholars assert that these first twenty-one verses represent the thoughts that went through the mind of the Savior as He hung upon the cross and suffered there. 
From verse twenty-two to the end the sufferer is no longer alone but is in the midst of a large company and is praising God and shouting in victory. It ends with His claiming the worship of the entire world.
Lord Jesus, it is unfathomable to me what You endured on the cross. Thank You for Your willingness to suffer and die. I worship you as my Savior and Lord.
Life Application: When Jesus became sin for us He endured unthinkable separation from the Father fulfilling amazing prophecy. What implication does that have for us today?
We hope you were blessed by this daily devotional.
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