Hungry Heart Daily Devotional Anthology -mjs

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1-14. THE ALL-PERVADING CROSS

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

It will save years of frustration and effort for one to understand that prayer can never be learned, or developed. Prayer is the outflow of the new life; as one grows, as the Cross frees the new from the old, there is the growth of effective prayer.

"Without the Cross, prayer becomes a mere religious formality without prayer, the Cross is arrested in its purpose. As the Cross works in us, keeping in the place of death every assertion of the old man, and everything in our natures that is against God, our spirit finds a clear way up to the communion at the throne and a clear way out into conflict with our enemy.

''Prayer is the spring of power in conflict, and conflict gives the proof of the value and need of prayer. It cannot be too frequently emphasized that for the believer, the ground or basis of prayer is the death of Jesus Christ the victory won by the Son of God on Calvary, just as the ground and basis of His intercession at this moment is His propitiation. Away from the Cross prayer becomes nothing more than an ecclesiastical ordinance or a religious exercise expressed in devotional phrases; and I beg of you, when you read a book on prayer, to find out the place in it which the author gives to the Cross, and you will be able to estimate its value." -G.W.

"God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you" (1 Samuel 12:23).

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1-15. "DISCIPLE ALL NATIONS"

"If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed" (John 8:31).

The plague of personal work is the quick, the easy, the maneuvered decision. No matter how long it takes, our Lord allows the necessary time for a heart to be prepared of the Spirit in order that it might be truly born of the Spirit. Adequate preparation before bringing the soul to Christ will eliminate much disappointment and frustration (for all concerned) after conversion. Once we see that the Lord Jesus saves individuals with the purpose of making them His disciples, we will aim to be more thorough in our witnessing and subsequent soul-winning.

"The commission given to the apostles was to make disciples, not just 'converts,' of all nations; and we can never set aside our Lord's commands without laying up for ourselves a whole store of unnecessary suffering and frustration. I wonder how many promising 'converts' have been swept into the ranks of the sects whose teachings are based in error, because of this omission?"

"In our day we promote elaborate 'follow-up' schemes to keep our 'converts' in the right way, but I sometimes wonder if a little more time spent right at the outset in ensuring that these converts are properly 'born,' so that they can be receptive of the Spirit's teaching, would not save much heartache and make certain that God's work in their lives is done in His way." -J.C.M.

"Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock" (Zechariah 11:17, ASV).

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1-16. MUTUAL VIEWPOINT

"That ye may know what is the hope of His calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18).

In order to share effectively with needy believers it is essential to know what the Father has purposed for His own. And this understanding results from personal growth in the Lord Jesus. Those who are merely well-versed may be able to teach, but they cannot truly share; their understanding of the needs of the heart is deficient, and this becomes all too evident to the hearers. Head-knowledge (study) must be integrated with heart-knowledge (experience) in order for there to be Spirit-motivated sharing.

"The true hope makes all the difference to us in our ministry. Our expectations have been personally proven. It makes possible joy in the midst of sorrow, confidence in the midst of defeat. It changes our attitude toward those to whom we minister. We see them not as they are at the moment but as we know the Lord is going to make them. Then patience and forgiveness are easy, for we already see the Lord's finished work. It changes our prayer for them. We ask not for some little progress or partial blessing for them but for the Lord's complete victory. It changes our teaching ministry to them. Instead of fearfully giving a little more of God's truth, we confidently declare all the counsel of God. There is ever before us the joy of the finished work which we know the Lord is going to accomplish." -A.M.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

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What did John the baptist mean by "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30)? He was referring to that part which determines what he is--his nature; less activity of the old-nature and more activity of the new nature.

You may have heard it said that "if we desire to accept God, He accepts us the way we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way." It's the addition of our new nature that changes us at rebirth because this nature is partaker of Christ's divine nature (1Pet 1:4; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10).

What we do doesn't determine what we are but reveals what we are (Mt 12:33; Luk 6:44). What we are determines what we do and this is all determined by our "nature".  A sinner isn't a sinner because he sins. He sins because he's a sinner!

1-17. RESTFUL ACTIVITY

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15).

There is a great difference between sloth, and rest; between deadness, and quietness. There is also a vast difference between constant nervous busyness, and Spirit-controlled activity; between working for God, and having Him do His work through us. It is the infinite difference between self, and Christ,

"In God and man working together, there is nothing of the idea of a partnership between two partners who each contribute their share to a work. Rather, the true plan is that of co-operation founded on subordination. As the Lord Jesus was entirely dependent on the Father for all His words and all His works, so the believer can do nothing of himself. What he can do of himself is altogether sinful. He must therefore cease entirely from his own doing, and wait for the working of God in him. As he ceases from self-effort, faith assures him that God does what He has undertaken, and works in him.

"And what God does is to renew, to sanctify, and waken all his energies to their most useful power. So that just in proportion as he yields himself a truly passive instrument in the hand of the Father, will he be wielded of Him as the active instrument of His will and power. The soul in which the wondrous combination of quiet passivity with the highest activity is most completely realized, has the deepest experience of what the Christian life is." -A.M.

"So He fed them according to the integrity of His heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of His hands" (Psalm 78:72).

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"The blessings of God become confusing when we think they must be earned, because our motives become misguided labors. All His blessings come to us, not by merit but by way of sovereign appointment, which are preordained, being foreknown. To sincerely work for God cannot be discouraged but how to work is the issue because this determines its fruitfulness.

God continually increases the believers walk to involve more from the new man--through the Spirit, than that from the old man. As God ceased (rested) from creating in the natural realm, never needing to repeat it, so does He cause the believer, "from glory to glory", to cease from his old-man-related works. "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his own works as God did from His" (Heb 4:10).

Works do not produce faith, but is the evidence of faith for, "I will show you my faith by my works” (Jam 2:18). Works are said here to “show faith”, not produce it. Vast difference!"  -Netchaplain

 
1-18. DEVELOPED GIFT

"But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil" (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Though we receive our faith from Him, it must be developed in us by Him. Undeveloped faith never progresses beyond the babe-in-Christ, milk-of-the-Word stage. "But solid food is for adults that is, for those who through constant practice have their spiritual faculties carefully trained to distinguish good from evil. Therefore leaving elementary instruction about the Christ, let us advance to mature manhood" (Hebrews 5:14-6:1, Weymouth).

"You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. God gives us promises in a quiet hour; He seals our covenants with great and gracious words. Then He steps back and waits while we believe; then He lets the tempter come, and the test seems to contradict all that He has spoken. It is then that faith wins its crown. Then is the time to look into His face and say, 'I believe, Lord, that it shall be done as it was told me.'"

"Without trials of faith we should all be ruined. These trials give us opportunities of linking on to the mighty promises of God and finding through the trials come blessing that wonderfully glorifies Him, or else, missing God, turns the blessing into a burden that fills the heart with weariness and pain." -G.W.

"Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (James 5:11).

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Everything we have of God in our salvation is regulated by our "patience" because Jesus said in Luke 21:19, "By your patience possess your souls” and James wrote, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (1:4).

The more we trust that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28), the lesser is the effort required to apply patience because it's easier to await that which we're assured of.

 

 1-19. NOT "HOW?" BUT "WHAT?"

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you" (2 Corinthians 9:.

Once we come to rest in the fact of what He has accomplished for us in Christ, there need be no concern as to how and when He will carry it out in our daily life.

"How many a child of God remains weak and timid because, instead of being occupied with what God has promised, he is considering how it can be fulfilled. But we have nothing to do with the how; it is enough that our Father has given us His Word. Whatever, therefore, may be the nature of the suffering or trial through which we have to pass, let us ever account that God is able to fulfill all His promises.

"Let nothing ever lead us to doubt the certainty of His Word, though we may be utterly at a loss to understand the manner in which He may see fit to accomplish it. We shall then be able to testify, with Joshua of old: 'Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof' (Joshua 23:14)." -E.H.

Our Father often encourages the weak in faith by giving speedy answers to prayer; but the strong in faith will be further developed by God's delays. Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith, but opportunities of honoring God by our steadfast confidence in Him."

"For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

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1-20. SATISFYING PORTION

"God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever" (Psalm 73.26).

Finally, when all else fails us, we find that God is enough. That which we most need in life; love, unfailing love; is abundantly and satisfyingly ours in the Lord Jesus. But we so often seek it elsewhere.

"Nothing can be sweeter than the repose in divine love when it is known and the heart is free to rest in it. The soul may have a long journey to reach it experientially; there may be many needs and exercises to be met and removed on the way; self and the world will have to be learned; but the great end of all our exercises; and, I may add, of all our deliverances; is that we rest in the thoughts of divine love, and that love becomes in a very real way the portion of our hearts. If our hearts are not in the circle of divine love they have really got nothing, for as Christians we have no portion on earth. Thank God! it is a blessed and satisfying portion." -C.A.C.

"There is no reserve in God's love; He has given the best in heaven for the worst on earth, and in this way has rebuked distrust and established confidence, so that 'the works of the devil' might be undone in our hearts. If we only want what God gives us we shall be perfectly happy. Nothing is of real value to us that we cannot take from our Father's hand and thank Him for."

"And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God" (2 Thessalonians

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1-21. PREARRANGED

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Colossians 2:6).

How readily and eagerly we take His Word when He says, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2), yet how slow of heart we are to believe that He has prepared a walk for us, here and now! "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time) that we should walk in them living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live" (Ephesians 2:10, Amp.).

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3, ASV). If you can run over in your mind and find one single blessing with which God might bless us today, with which He has not already blessed us, then what He told Paul is not true at all, because He said, 'God hath....' It is all done, 'It is finished.' God hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies! The great pity of it all is that we are saying 'O God bless us, bless us in this, bless us in that! and it is all done; He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenlies. It is our place to believe and receive." -L.L.L.

"According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

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1-22. FREEDOM TO "BE"

"Having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter"(Romans 7:6, ASV).

The law was applied to the natural man, that he might produce; grace is given to the spiritual man, that He might produce.

"Almost every believer makes the same mistake as the Galatian Christians. Very few learn at conversion at once that it is only by faith that we stand, and walk, and live. They have no conception of the meaning of the Word about being dead to the law, freed from the law, about the freedom with which Christ makes us free (Romans 7:6). Regarding the law as a divine ordinance for our direction, they consider themselves prepared and fitted by conversion to take up the fulfillment of the law as a natural duty. They cannot understand that it is not to the law, but to a living Person, that we are now bound, and that our obedience and growth are only possible by the unceasing faith in His power and life ever working in us (Philippians 2:13)." -A.M.

"Good and holy and perfect as the law of God is, it is entirely powerless either to justify or sanctify. It cannot in any way make the old nature better; neither is it the rule of the new nature. The old man is not subject to it, and the new man does not need it. The new creation has another object before it, and another power that acts upon it, in order to produce what is lovely and acceptable to God Christ the object, realized by the power of the Holy Spirit." -W.K.

"Not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life" (Hebrews 7:16).

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1-23. FEET FIRST

"Mary . . . sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His Word. But Martha was encumbered about much serving" (Luke 10:39,40).

A malingering student will make a poor servant; a diligent student will make a good servant. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed" (2 Timothy 2:15).

"Do not look for service, look for preparation for it. Everyone has to serve an apprenticeship. We do not know what we are to be fitted for, but if we keep at His feet He will prepare us for the very thing for which He has designed us. We hinder both ourselves and His work by attempting things to which we have not been called."

"If you begin with serving (as many do nowadays), you will never truly sit at His feet; whereas if you begin with looking unto Him you will soon serve well, wisely and acceptably. When the serving quiets the conscience, and the sitting is overlooked and neglected, the enemy gains an advantage, for it is at the sitting that the conscience is enlightened, and the pleasure and mind of the Lord become better known. I never met with anyone making his service prominent who knew what it was to sit at the Master's feet; but, thank God, I know indefatigable workers who enjoy sitting at His feet above any service. It is clear that those who abide in Him must be most competent to serve, and most in His confidence, which, after all, is the clue to all effective service" -J.B.S.

"Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters... so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God" (Psalm 123:2).

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The responsibility of fruit production is the Lord's. Ours is, as the text discloses, to bear or display it, for it is the vine that produces the fruit and not the branch. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (John 15:.

This means the fruit, i.e. righteousness, holiness, justification and sanctification always originates from Christ and cannot be replicated, but must be transferred by imputation. “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (not in ourselves--1 Cor 1:30, 31). -NC

 
1-24. ABIDE IN ABUNDANCE

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me" (John 15:4).

The quality of the fruit of the branch depends upon the quality of the life of the vine. Neither quality nor quantity is the product of the branch, for the branch merely receives what is produced by the vine.

"To walk with God in hallowed fellowship is not only the secret of joy and growth, it is the condition of all acceptable service, of all real usefulness. The value of what we do depends very much upon what we are. And what we are depends upon where we abide. The mightiest power for usefulness is the quiet influence of a life that abides habitually in the secret place of the Most High. Such an one dwells in the source of all life, of all purity, of all fruitfulness." -E.H.H.

"It is just a matter of taking a position that is already yours. The enemy has filled the minds of many believers with the delusion that they are poor, and in their poverty they must work and grind and toil in order to buy the blessings which are already theirs in Christ. It is time to see that all you need you have in Christ. There is no need of yours which is not fully met in Him. And you are in Him. You only need to take the position which is already yours. Abide!" -D.T.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:.

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Our warfare is not a win or lose battle but a won war, for Christ, “having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:15).

This means regardless of how decadent the Lord shows us of our still-indwelling old self and how good we think we're supposed to be, we’re to rest in God’s resolution to it all, in His Son’s atonement and not confide in our works to effect acceptance and assurance.

The ever-abiding sin, self, Satan and society teaches and causes us to depend only on God for us to be “kept in perfect peace” (Isa 26:3). -NC


1-25. AUTHOR OF PEACE

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33).

The day we were saved, total war was declared between sinful self and the Holy Spirit. Lasting peace will come when we rest in Calvary's conquest of sin and self, and allow that victory to be applied by the faithful Spirit of God.

"The Holy Spirit does not reason from what man is for God, but from what God is to man. Souls reason from what they are in themselves as to whether God can accept them. He does not accept you thus; you are looking for righteousness in yourself as a ground of acceptance with Him. You cannot get peace in this way. 'But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us'" (Romans 5:.

"The Holy Spirit always reasons down from what God is, and this produces a total change in my soul. It is not that I abhor my sins; indeed I may have been walking very well; but it is 'I abhor myself.' The Holy Spirit shows us what we are, and that is one reason why He often seems to be very hard and does not give peace to the soul, as we are not relieved until we frankly, from our hearts, acknowledge what we are. Until the soul comes to that point He does not give it peace He could not; it would be healing the wound slightly. The soul has to go on until it finds there is nothing to rest on but the Cross-proved goodness of God; and then if God be for us, who can be against us?'' -J.N.D.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"(Philippians 4:7).

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1-26. PARTAKERS

"If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Peter 2:20).

Affliction and suffering are the lot of all men, the privilege of all believers. Our sufferings bring forth need, and our need brings forth His comfort and consolation. Blessed need! "As ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation" (2 Corinthians 1:7). Blessed promise!

"If you aspire to be a son of consolation; if you would partake of the priestly gift of sympathy; if you would pour something beyond commonplace consolation into a tempted heart; if you would pass through the intercourse of daily life with the delicate tact that never inflicts pain; you must be content to pay the price of a costly education; like Him, you must suffer."

"There are blessings which we cannot obtain if we cannot accept and endure suffering. There are joys that can come to us only through sorrow. There are revealings of divine truth which we can get only when earth's lights have gone out. There are harvests which can flow only after the plowshare has done its work."

"Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry. We must go down into 'depths' if we would experience this most precious of God's gifts comfort, and thus be prepared to be coworkers together with Him."

"I take... pleasure in weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecution, and difficulties, which I endure for Christ's sake, for it is when I am consciously weak that I am really strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10, Wms.).

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Confiding in self voids Christ’s place of support in us and only self-condemnation can result because it puts the responsibility of atonement on our works instead of the Lord’s finished works of salvation. We can take pleasure in the good works Christ produces through us, for it is by them our Father is glorified (Mat 5:16). I believe our works can affect our fellowship with God and our eternal rewards (Mat 13:23; Mar 4:20; Luke 16:10-13; 1 Cor.3:13, 14), but they do not determine our union with Him, or His blessings to us in this life. Therefore, we can “rest in God” knowing, “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

It isn’t that we’re not to have confidence. The issue is where confidence is placed and when it is in Christ, there’s no place to be found for a self-condemning conscience. “Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, [then] have we confidence toward God” (1John 3:21).

It’s been well stated that “if we are disappointed it’s because we’ve trusted in the arm of flesh, for God does not disappoint.” -NC


1-27. CHRlST-CONFlDENCE

"For we worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3).

Contrary to general opinion, there is no place for self-confidence in the Christian life. Confidence is essential, but not from the source of self. The awakened believer is so keenly aware of the sinful self-life that, for him, self-confidence is out of the question. In time, his "O wretched man" complex is replaced by "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24, 25). Christ-confidence is the basis for the healthy Christian's walk. Sinful self-confidence is the basis for the sickly Christian's defeat.

"Our Father takes all things from under our feet until we have nothing left but Him. God has always the highest goal in view, namely, to lead us into the denial of self. Everything is directed toward teaching us to entrust ourselves to Him. Therefore we must often suffer defeat. You fight with all your might against sin and find yourself surrounded by failure. You pray fervently and sincerely: 'O God, help me and stay by me.' But it seems that He does not hear. You cry yet more earnestly for help, but He seems to have no concern for you. Is He then really merciless? No! Just because He is merciful, He cannot help you. If He did, you would not be free from your self-confidence; you would not learn to fight the good fight of faith and thus obtain the victory which the Master has won; you would not learn to say 'the Lord Jesus only,' but you would still continue to say 'Jesus and I.'"

"For the Lord shall be thy confidence" (Proverb 3.26).

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1-28. MATRICULATION

"My grace suffices for you, for power matures in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9, Weymouth).

There can be no true and intelligent rejection of the self-life without thorough heart preparation by the Holy Spirit. We read in the Word that self is to be hated and rejected, but the development of this attitude may be long removed from the initial revelation. Years of processing separate Romans Three from Colossians Three, in our experience.

"Why are we so deficient in divine power? Simply because we do not like the way it begins. Its beginning is to hate one's own life, and this is an awful start; but there is no 'tower' built without it. You must refuse human material, or you cannot build to true structure. Power enabled Elisha to take hold of his own clothes and tear them into two pieces. It begins with self-abnegation. This explains the reason why there is so little power. Very often one lingers over his losses like an exile, but he must rise out of it; he must bury his dead out of his sight; it is a great day when that comes to pass, and then he can be useful to others." -J.B.S.

"To be willing to accept crucifixion with Christ, to leave all yourself, your plans and your longings, your abilities and your possessions, all of them at the Cross, so that you only trust and love and live for the Lord Jesus, hurts a great deal. It requires an absolute venture of faith; but beyond it, God says, 'much fruit.' And the way to it is 'into the ground and die it is the only way; His way."

"Most gladly therefore will I boast of my infirmities rather than complain of them; in order that Christ's power may overshadow me" (2 Corinthians 12:9, Weymouth.).