Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Galatians 5
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Friday, July 3, 2026
Agape Love
Agape Love
By A.W. Tozer
"Love," said Meister Eckhart, "is the will to, the intention." By that definition, it is possible to obey the divine command to love our neighbor. We may not in a thousand years be able to feel a surge of emotion toward certain "neighbors," but we can go before God and solemnly will to love them, and the love will come. By prayer and an application of the inworking power of God, we may set our faces to will the good of our neighbor and not his evil all the days of our lives, and that is love. The emotion may follow, or there may be no appreciable change in our feelings toward him, but the intention is what matters. We will his peace and prosperity and put ourselves at his disposal to help him in every way possible, even to the laying down of our lives for his sake.
Love, then, is a principle of good will and is to a large extent under our control. That it can be fanned into a blazing fire is not denied here. Certainly God's love for us has a mighty charge of feeling in it, but beneath it all is a set principle that wills our peace. Probably the love of God for mankind was never more beautifully stated than by the angel at the birth of Christ: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to man on whom his favor rests."
Thursday, July 2, 2026
The LORD says, "I will restore what you lost
Miller's Year Book—a Year's Daily Readings
J. R. Miller, 1895
The LORD says, "I will restore what you lost to the stripping locusts, the cutting locusts, the swarming locusts, and the hopping locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you!" Joel 2:25
It is God who says, "I will restore." Only the divine hand can do it. Christ is the restorer, for he has made atonement for us.
Wherever there is a Christian who is hurt by sin or sorrow—the face of the Christ on the cross, beams on it with healing in its beams. "By his stripes—we are healed." By his wounding—our wounds are cured. His visage was marred—that the marring of sin in our faces might be changed to beauty. By his sorrows—our sorrows are comforted.
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
The purpose of the Bible
Treasures from J.R. Miller
1840 — 1912
(choice excerpts)
The purpose of the Bible
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness — so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Paul has no uncertain word about the inspiration of the Scriptures. The Bible alone is the Word of God. Holy men wrote it as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. There are other good books in the world — but none like the Word of God.
We ought to read the Bible reverently — since God speaks to us in its pages.
We ought to believe it — for His Word must be absolutely true.
We should obey it — since what God commands must be right.
We may yield our whole life to its influence — to be guided and fashioned by it.
Scripture is profitable for teaching — that is, for instruction in all matters that concern life.
It is profitable for rebuking — it shows us our sins, our follies, our mistakes.
It is profitable for correcting — to bring us back from wrong ways to right ways.
It is profitable for training in righteousness — it gives us instruction for all true and beautiful living.
"So that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." The purpose of the Bible is to make complete men of us. If
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
The Seen and the Unseen By T. Austin-Sparks
The Seen and the Unseen
(The 1928 Motto)
Faith is the victory that overcometh and "faith is the conviction of the reality of things not seen."
If this is true then the secret of victory is the capacity for and the deliberate persistence in looking - not at things seen but at the "things not seen." So it has always proved to be in the history and experience of God's people. Paralysis, defeat, disaster have always been consequent upon judgment after the sight of the eyes (the eyes of the natural senses). Victory has always issued sooner or later from someone's assurance of and discernment of the Divine resources and realities behind all else.
How often this twofold issue upon this one principle is seen in the scriptural record of the experience of men. How often deliverance was because someone was given spiritual and moral ascendency because in their close walk with God their inner eyes refused the tyrany of their outer and were given to a spontaneous "LOOKING OFF"! How often the effect of the Divine admonition by which triumphant emergence came was negatively "NOT AT THINGS SEEN," and positively "BUT AT THE THINGS NOT SEEN." And when "things" were hidden for faith's purifying, the sum total of all the things was "HIM Who is invisible."
So when a deep sea lies ahead, a ten times hardened and infuriated Pharoah and his host hotly pursue, unnegotiable peaks rise on either side - a humanly impossible situation - but the saving attitude is "Not at the things seen, BUT" and what a "but"!
A land of promise, of fulfilment, of realisation, the entering into the purpose of long and painful preparation lies immediately before. But, as is so often the case, one big final challenge to spirituality as against carnality stands between an exodus and an eisodus. Gigantic difficulties demonstrate before the senses and God waits in the dim unseen.
Again the issue of going over and in, or back and out rests upon a capacity to apprehend the Supreme Asset, and the exhortation is again heard - "NOT AT THE THINGS SEEN."
A prophet's servant who depends upon another's spiritual perception and has none of his own will see only the forces of earth beleaguering the city and will be petrified with fear and paralysed with apprehensiveness, but the prophet who has a firsthand fellowship with God sees the mountains round about filled with "the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof."
An apostle who has seen what others have been blind to because of their grossness; and because they do not know the Lord finds his supreme opportunity when all else in the company are terrorised and in dismay because of thing's seen - storm, tempest, havoc, darkness, threatening destruction. Everything falls into his hands because his resources begin where men's end and his confidence is not resting in "the things seen" but in "the things not seen."
Thus we might illustrate ad libitum. Satan succeeds along a line which captures the senses of body and soul, and many of God's sincerest children are led away by an appeal thereto. God seeks His ends in and through the spirit, deeper than feeling or seeing, deeper than sensation or emotion or reason.
Satan is great at demonstrations.
God is great at hiding Himself, in order that he may be sought out in spirit and in truth. If the Church is a heavenly body, if the law of her life is faith, and if the pilgrimage of faith is translation and transition from the earthlies to the heavenlies, from the natural to the spiritual, then surely we may expect that the nearer she comes to the end of her journey the more acute will become the demand for spiritual vision, discernment, and perception. The more will Satan seek success by deception on the ground of the senses, and the more will the Lord make the true life in Himself spiritual, divorced from earthly proof, evidence, and gratification, one of the pure essence of faith, looking "Not at the things seen," or FOR things seen. The spirit of pilgrimage is that of "strangers on the earth," and the sense of strangeness and estrangement in the earthlies must necessarily increase even to an agony of home-sickness for the things which are heavenly.
So we gather up the word; victory, spiritual progress, and transcendant service lie in the direction of a spiritual capacity to recognise, draw upon, and rest in those Divine things unseen, but all inclusively "HIMSELF." "JESUS."
Take this motto word by word, bit by bit.
"WHILE." - May it be all the time, no lapses because we ceased to look away.
"WE LOOK." - Deliberately, fixedly, in faith.
"NOT AT THE THINGS SEEN." - Let this be a check, a warning, a rebuke, a correction, in the hours of the seeming.
"BUT." - Every adversity and difficulty may be very real, actual or threatening - "But -".
"THE THINGS NOT SEEN." - And perhaps the supreme reality, though so often hidden from the natural consciousness - "Christ IN YOU."
"LOOKING OFF." - Oh, for a trained and spontaneous gravitation of looking off - from - unto.
First published in "A Witness and A Testimony" magazine, Jan-Feb 1928, Vol 6-1
In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks' wishes that what was freely received should be freely given, his writings are not copyrighted. Therefore, we ask if you choose to share them with others, please respect his wishes and offer them freely - free of changes, free of charge and free of copyright.
Monday, June 29, 2026
"Therefore, choose" (Deut. xxx. 19).
"Therefore, choose" (Deut. xxx. 19).
Men are choosing every day the spiritual or earthly. And as we choose we are taking our place unconsciously with the friends of Christ, or the world. It is not merely what ye say, it is what we prefer.
When Solomon made his great choice at Gibeon, God said to him, "Because this was in thine heart to ask wisdom, therefore will I give it unto thee, and all else besides that thou didst not choose." It was not merely that he said it because it was right to say, and would please God if he said it.
But it was the thing his heart preferred, and God saw it in his heart and gave it to him with all besides that he had not chosen. What are we choosing, beloved? It is our choice that settles our destiny.
It is not how we feel, but how we purpose. Have we chosen the good part? Have we said, "Whatever else I am or have, let me be God's child, let me have His favor and blessing, let me please Him?" Or have we said, "I must have this thing, and then I will see about religion." Alas, God has seen what was in thine heart, and perhaps He has already said, "They have their reward."
We and Our Times are in God's Hands
We and Our Times are in God's Hands
By A.W. Tozer
The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here. He is not a waif of the wide world, a foundling of time and space, but a saint of the Lord and the darling of His particular care.
All this is not mere dreaming, not a comforting creed woven as a garment to warm the shivering hearts of lonely, frightened souls in a dark and unfriendly world. Rather it is of the essence of truth, a fair summation of the teaching of the Bible on the subject and should be received reverently and joyously along with everything else which is taught in the Scriptures of truth.
Here then I doubt no more, But in His pleasure rest, Whose wisdom, love and truth, and power Engage to make me blest.
Saturday, June 27, 2026
"Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. v. 18).
"Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. v. 18).
Some of the effects of being filled with the Spirit are:
1 Holiness of heart and life. This is not the perfection of the human nature, but the holiness of the divine nature dwelling within.
2 Fulness of joy so that the heart is constantly radiant. This does not depend on circumstances, but fills the spirit with holy laughter in the midst of the most trying surroundings.
3 Fulness of wisdom, light and knowledge, causing us to see things as He sees them.
4 An elevation, improvement and quickening of the mind by an ability to receive the fulfilment of the promise, "We have the mind of Christ."
5 An equal quickening of the physical life. The body was made for the Holy Ghost, as well as the mind and soul.
6 An ability to pray the prayer of the Holy Ghost. If He is in us there will be a strange accordance with God's working in the world around us. There is a divine harmony between the Spirit and Providence.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Not "Ought" but "Are"
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Not "Ought" but "Are"
By Theodore Epp
Colossians 2:10-15
Realizing that all of the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is then awesome to consider that we "are complete in him" (Col. 2:10). We are filled with His fullness.
Notice it does not say we ought to be complete in Him; it says we are complete in Him. Of course, believers are to constantly grow in the knowledge of Him as they progress from babes in Christ to those who are spiritually mature. But the completeness exists from the moment of salvation. This is why it can be said in 2 Peter 1:3 that Christ "hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness."
Even in our day, it is common for people to tell believers, "It is wonderful that you know Christ as Saviour and that you are endeavoring to live the Christian life the best you can, but you need something special in order to really have all that God wants you to have." They may not say it in quite these words, but this sort of teaching is causing mass confusion among Christians today. But what we need to understand is that, having trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour, we are complete in Him and need nothing else.
There is no special ordinance or any special experience that needs to be tacked on to the Person and work of Christ. What can be added that the believer does not already possess in Jesus Christ? Our need is simply to appropriate what we have in Christ and thus, by faith, live accordingly.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3).
Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of unhewn stones. Deu 27:6
Our Daily Homily 
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"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:10
"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:10
The Spirit of God which dwelleth in a man, making his body his temple, searcheth the deep things of God; for there is in these deep things a most heavenly treasure, which is to be searched into that it may be found.
What depths do we sometimes see in a single text of Scripture as opened to the understanding, or applied to the heart; what a depth in the blood of Christ: how it "cleanseth from all sin," and if from all sin it must cleanse away millions of millions of the foulest sins of the foulest sinners.
What a depth in his bleeding, dying love that could stoop so low to lift us so high! What a depth in his pity and compassion to extend itself to such guilty, vile transgressors as we are! What depth in the eternal counsels and unspeakable wisdom of God to contrive such a plan as was accomplished and brought to light in the incarnation and death of his dear Son, that thus mercy and justice might meet together without jar or discord, every attribute of God be fully honoured, and yet that those who deserved hell should be lifted up into the enjoyment of heaven. What depths, too, there are in our own heart, not merely of sin but of grace, for true religion has its depths which the Spirit searches and brings to view.
Thus if we have any faith, it lies very deep, for it is hidden in the heart, and sometimes so hidden as to be almost, if not altogether, out of sight. The Spirit then searches for it, and brings it out and up. So if we have any love, it strikes its root into the inmost recesses of our affections, and therefore needs to be searched into; or any hope, it lies like the anchor at the bottom of the sea. It therefore has to be searched into that it may be made manifest that it is sure and steadfast and enters within the veil.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Counting the Cost
George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons 
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UNCLEAN BY COMPARISON
UNCLEAN BY COMPARISON
By A.W. Tozer
In the Old Testament, whenever the living God revealed Himself in some way to humankind, terror and amazement were the reactions. People saw themselves as guilty and unclean by comparison!
In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John describes the overwhelming nature of his encounter with the Lord of glory. Although a believer and an apostle, John sank down in abject humility and fear when the risen, glorified Lord Jesus appeared before him on Patmos. Our glorified Lord did not condemn John. He knew that John's weakness was the reaction to revealed divine strength. He knew that John's sense of unworthiness was the instant reaction to absolute holiness.
Along with John, every redeemed human being needs the humility of spirit that can only be brought about by the manifest Presence of God. Jesus at once reassured John, stooping to place a nail-pierced hand on the prostrate apostle, and saying: "Do not be afraid. I am the Living One. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and hades."
Boasting That Brings Blessing! By Theodore Epp
Boasting That Brings Blessing!
By Theodore Epp
Galatians 6:11-18
It is remarkable to realize that the crucifixion is a way of life, not just a way of death. Christ's crucifixion was not the end of His redemptive work, for He arose from the grave and provided us with the resurrection life.
Romans 6:7 says, "But he that is dead [has died] is freed from sin." This means that the person who has died is free from the claims, power, slavery and allurements of sin.
The basis for Paul's glorying is the cross of Christ. The Judaizers had sought their own glory, but this led only to failure. The kind of self-life they lived through imposing rules and regulations ended in accomplishments that produced self-glory.
But all of these self-accomplishments were reached in the sphere of the flesh nature and therefore ended in pride.
This has always been a danger facing Christians, and it is no less today. There is too much Christian life and testimony on a fleshly level.
Paul's boast and joy and delight was in the One whom the world had crucified. God set His hand of approval on His Son, who was crucified, by raising Him from the dead.
What is your boast today?
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24).
"The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them." Exodus 14:19
Miller's Year Book—a Year's Daily Readings
J. R. Miller, 1895
"The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them." Exodus 14:19
It is not always guidance that we most need. Sometimes we must stand still, with danger all around us, and then God goes behind us to shelter us. He always suits himself to our need. When we require guidance—he leads us. But when we need protection—he puts himself between us and the danger.
There is something very striking in this picture the divine presence moving from before, and becoming a wall between Israel and their enemies. There are some mother-birds, storks for instance,
which cover their young with their own body in time of peril, to shield them, receiving the dart themselves. Human love often interposes itself as a shield to protect its own. On the cross, Jesus bared his bosom to receive the storm of wrath—that on his people no blast of the awful tempest might strike!
But not only does Christ put himself between us and our sins; he puts himself also between us and danger. The Lord God is our shield. Many of our dangers come upon us from behind. They are stealthy, insidious, assaulting us when we are unaware of their nearness. The tempter is cunning and shrewd. He does not meet us full-front. It is a comfort to know that Christ comes behind us—when it is there we need the protection.
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Even in the midst of life's trials, uncertainties, and sorrows
Even in the midst of life's trials, uncertainties, and sorrows
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The doctrine of Divine Providence is a profound and comforting truth, that reminds us of God's sovereign control over all things. This principle assures us that our Heavenly Father is not a distant, unconcerned deity—but rather a loving, all-powerful Creator, who intimately governs all the affairs of His universe, and every detail of our individual lives.
Nothing happens by luck, or chance, or accident—but rather by the wise, good, and purposeful hand of our Almighty Governor. Even in the midst of life's trials, uncertainties, and sorrows, we can take solace in the knowledge that our steps are ordered by the Lord, that He works all things together for the eternal good of those who love Him, and that His providential care extends to the most insignificant sparrow and the flowers of the field.
Though His ways are incomprehensible, we can trust . . .
that God's Providence is perfect,
that His timing is impeccable, and
that His plans for us are for our eternal good, and His glory!
As we walk by faith and not by sight, let us continually praise the Lord for His sovereign and loving oversight—resting in the assurance that our lives are safely held in the palm of His almighty hand. Though the future may be uncertain from our limited perspective, we can be certain that our Heavenly Father's Providence will unfailingly come to pass!
"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" Romans 11:33