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"
 |
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 
|
"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 
|
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
(Anonymous) LISTEN to audio! Download Audio
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
Do not be afraid!
Do not be afraid!
Charles Spurgeon, et al.
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Isaiah 43:1-3
"Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!"
Fear often grips our hearts when we face uncertainty, suffering, and trials. But God speaks directly to His redeemed people: "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you!" This is not a mere suggestion--it is a divine command grounded in His sovereign grace. He has purchased us at the highest cost--the blood of His darling Son, Jesus Christ! 1 Peter 1:18-19
Because we are ransomed, we are also called by name. This is the personal love of God toward each of His redeemed people--He knows each of us intimately, and claims us as His own. What a comfort to know that our identity is not found in our struggles, failures, or circumstances--but in the unchanging truth that we are God's redeemed children! Our trials may seem overwhelming, but they can never undo what Christ has secured for us. We belong to Him, and nothing can snatch us from His omnipotent and loving hand! John 10:28-29
The Christian life is not free from suffering, but it is never without God's presence. The Lord does not say IF you go through deep waters, but WHEN. This world is filled with trials, but the promise is sure: "I will be with you!"
Deep waters will not drown you. When trouble comes like a flood, God holds us fast. The waves may crash, but they cannot pull us from His omnipotent grip! Psalm 93:4
Rivers of difficulty will not sweep you away. Temptations, sorrows, and hardships may rise--but our foundation in Christ remains forever firm.
Fires of oppression will not consume you. Just as God preserved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, He will sustain us through every trial. Daniel 3:25
We do not walk alone. The sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, is our Savior. He leads us, refines us, and upholds us by His wisdom and power. Every trial, though painful, is used by God to purify our faith and deepen our dependence on Him. 1 Peter 1:6-7
You may measure the heavens with a ruler, you may weigh the mountains in scales--but the love of Christ, who shall measure that!
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Romans 8:38-39
Be Cautious When You Criticize
Be Cautious When You Criticize
By Theodore Epp
Romans 14:10-13
When we realize that each of us must give an account to God, it will cause us to be more cautious about criticizing a Christian brother.
We will then heed what 1 Corinthians 4:5 says: "So do not make any hasty or premature judgments before the time when the Lord comes [again], for He will both bring to light the secret things that are [now hidden] in darkness, and disclose and expose the [secret] aims (motives and purposes) of hearts. Then every man will receive his [due] commendation from God" (Amplified).
This is advice that Paul gave to the Corinthians, and it applies just as directly to each believer today.
We shall all be judged one day--not by each other's standards and not even by our own standards. We shall be judged by the standards of Christ. Before God alone, we shall give an account for our own actions and not for those of the other person.
I do not have to give an account for you, and you do not have to give an account for me. Before God, I will have to give an account for myself.
No wonder Paul said, "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way" (Rom. 14:13). In other words, we should stop turning critical eyes on each other.
This is sometimes a difficult instruction to follow. It is natural to always justify oneself and one's own actions in the face of what others are doing. It is natural to criticize the other person because he does not see or do things our way.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
When ye go, ye shall not go empty
When ye go, ye shall not go empty
By A.B. Simpson
When we are really emptied He delights to fill us with Himself and the Holy Spirit. it is very precious to be conscious of nothing good in ourselves; but are we also conscious of His great goodness? We may be ready to admit our own disability' but are we as ready to admit His ability? There are many Christians who can say, "I am not sufficient of [thyself) to think any thing as of [myself]; . . . but the number is very small who can say, [My] sufficiency is of God (2 Corinthians 3:5).
Are you convinced that He is able to provide every want in you, or do you feel that you must supply it yourself? Do you believe that God does supply every lack in your heart and life, so that all stumbling is taken away and you are endowed with power for His service? Our Savior, at Cana, ordered the waterpots to be filled to the brim. Then the water was made into wine, but not until the vessels were full. God wants His children always to have a full heart.
Time with God
Time with God
By A.W. Tozer
Moses was dead, but the God of Moses still lived. Nothing had changed and nothing had been lost. Nothing of God dies when a man of God dies.
Here we acknowledge (and there is fear and wonder in the thought) the essential unity of God's nature, the timeless persistence of His changeless Being through out eternity and time. Here we begin to see and feel the Eternal Continuum. Begin where we will, God is there first. He is Alpha and Omega.
. . . . I am often caused to wish that there were some way to bring modern Christians into a deeper spiritual life painlessly by short easy lessons; but such wishes are vain. No short cut exists. God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him. He must count no time wasted which is spent in the cultivation of His acquaintance.
We talk of Him much and loudly, but we secretly think of Him as being absent, and we think of ourselves as inhabiting a parenthetic interval between the God who was and the God who will be. And we are lonely with an ancient and cosmic loneliness. We are each like a little child lost in a crowded market, who has strayed but a few feet from its mother, yet because she cannot be seen the child is inconsolable. So we try by every method devised . . . to relieve our fears and heal our hidden sadness; but with all our efforts we remain unhappy still, with the settled despair of men alone in a vast and deserted universe. (A. W. Tozer, The Divine Conquest, pp. 21-23).
And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. . . . And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are (John 17:3, 11).
Monday, June 22, 2026
Prayer and Faith
Prayer and Faith
By A.W. Tozer
It is . . . critically important that the Christian take full advantage of every provision God has made to save him from delusion. These are prayer, faith, constant meditation on the Scriptures, obedience, humility, hard, serious thought and the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
1. Prayer is not a sure fire protection against error for the reason that there are many kinds of prayer and some of them are worse than useless. The prophets of Baal leaped upon the altar in a frenzy of prayer, but their cries went unregarded because they prayed to a god that did not exist.
The God the Pharisees prayed to did exist, but He refused to listen to them because of their self-righteousness and pride. From them we may well learn a profitable lesson in reverse.
In spite of the difficulties we encounter when we pray, prayer is a powerful and effective way to get right, stay right and stay free from error. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).
All things else being equal, the praying man is less likely to think wrong than the man who neglects to pray. "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).
2. The apostle Paul calls faith a shield. The man of faith can walk at ease, protected by his simple confidence in God. God loves to be trusted, and He puts all heaven at the disposal of the trusting soul. But when we talk of faith let us know what we mean.
Faith is not optimism, though it may breed optimism; it is not cheerfulness, though the man of faith is likely to be reasonably cheerful; it is not a vague sense of well-being or a tender appreciation for the beauty of human togetherness. Faith is confidence in God's self-revelation as found in the Holy Scriptures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)