Hungry Heart Daily Devotional Anthology -mjs

[Netchaplain]

It is understandably so, that early on in the believer’s walk there is a desire to serve Christ, but serving Him out of pure gratitude and working for His blessings are entirely at variance.  The former puts Himself in center view; the latter puts what He provides in center view and can engender legalistic-covenantism, which is unbelief because it falsely assumes there is a requirement of a greater “supply” (Phil 4:19) than what God provides. 

It is bereft of limited trust in the work of Christ, not accepting that His atonement was “sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9) and thereby presuming to need man’s assistance.  This is the Israelite-error which was manifested first in their deliverance from Egypt after a four-hundred and thirty year captivity (Ex 12:41), then in the wilderness and finally at the offering of Christ’s ”New Covenant” (Luk 22:20 - Israel’s salvation will come later).
 
God provided everything Israel needed for deliverance from Egypt and in the wilderness, but their unbelief evidenced mistrust during their exodus (Ex 14:11, 12) and in their wilderness-wandering (Ex 16:3).  The same problem continues not only with the generality of Israel but also among the Gentile Christian’s, presuming man must somehow repay God for salvation or at least offer self in service to retain it; of which neither can suffice, but only manifests the ominous Israelite-error extant in contemporary Christendom.
- NC

BOLD BELIEF

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19).

We enter our Father's presence when we believe He has already positioned us there in His Son.

"The Lord Jesus' work on the Cross gave us present entrance into the Holiest of All. What removed our sins rent the veil; and those who believe are positioned in the innermost sanctuary even now. Boldness to enter there on any pretension of our love or holiness, of nature or even divine ordinance, would be shameless presumption. In Hebrews Ten it is calmly claimed for believers, who are exhorted in the strongest terms to approach by faith the Father's presence without a doubt or a cloud, now.

"Boldness to enter the Father's presence is due to the shed Blood of the Savior. Only unbelief hinders. It is a new and living way which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh; we honor Him by abiding there in the fullest confidence that pleases the Father. Being born of the Father we are abidingly His children. As such we have the right to take our place before Him. It is our privilege to think of ourselves according to what we are as being one spirit with the Lord Jesus; and this is ever maintained by Him.

"What we are by grace, as in Him before the Father, is unchangeable, and our interests are in His hands. Beloved, do our failures, our sins, in anywise alter what He is there before the face of our Father? What He is there is what we are, not of course in ourselves, but as being in the Lord Jesus who is our Life." -C.A.C.

"There are two basic things that the believer has to learn. One is, you are not to have the man here and the place where he is, the other is, you do have another Man, and the place where He is."

"By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us" (Hebrews 10:20).

WithChrist.org
 

[Netchaplain]

We are saved not only from something (sin) but also for something (fellowship).  Scripture is occasionally repetitious concerning many truths for our learning and reassurance.  It seems to me that our dealings with the “old man” (sinful nature) is predominant because this is the only avenue by which any opposition can approach us in our “new man”.  How fervent our desire is for the Spirit’s teaching and leading will be evident in our desire for the Word with His guidance; along with how much we desire to live without the control of our “old man” (Rom 6:12, 14).
- NC

    DETHRONEMENT

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty" (Galatians 5:13).

Our "No" to the old will be absolutely ineffective unless we are standing upon the facts of the new.

"At the Cross the old man was crucified and buried. When I plant my feet on that fact and say, 'No, as for me, I stand in the Lord Jesus as my life,' its governing power is broken. It is not annihilated or eradicated, but it has lost its throne. It is a greater testimony to the power of the Father to let that thing be in us and give us dominion over it, than to eradicate it to begin with. We want to get clear in our minds that the Father does not mean to improve the old man on the one hand, nor to remove it on the other. The fact that it does not go away or get better does not mean that we are not growing." -N.D.

"Our having been crucified with the Lord Jesus was to make the body of sin of none effect while we live by faith, but the old man can become active and dominant in the walk of the believer when faith becomes dormant and inactive. It is not the Father's will that sin should have dominion over any child of His; all died with the Lord Jesus, all were united with Him in crucifixion, but few enter into the joy of the freedom of the sons of God, because they do not believe His Word.

"Will you not now bow before your Father and thank Him regardless of feeling? It may take a day or a month, I do not know how long, but I do know that when any child of God will believe and begin to express that faith in thanksgiving, day by day thanking Him for the fact which one may not yet have experienced, the Holy Spirit will lead that one into a glorious personal realization of his identification with the Lord Jesus in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension." -L.L.L.

"They who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17).

WithChrist.org
 

[Netchaplain]

I wanted to share this special note for those who spend time in the Bible concerning Scriptural-verse-studying. I realize many, if not most have not made it a practice to utilize a Bible Commentary, but I want to encourage you to attempt to do so for reasons I believe you would soon realize.

Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets (and teachers) have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). It should not need emphasized to realize this is no less applicable concerning our truth-searching in every way we may conceive; otherwise we may be unknowingly limiting useful avenues by which the Holy Spirit teaches Scripture.

I realize there are some who might be hesitant to compare their beliefs with other sources due to concerns that it may negatively affect their present beliefs, but limiting the comparing of them to other Christian’s beliefs also limits the “testing” of yours.

Until you may or may not find this to become a useful means, I would like to recommend John Gill’s Bible commentary (http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/gill/) because in my experiences with commentaries his seems, to me, to be the most inclusive and studious. As we already know, the Holy Spirit is the teacher to all Christians who seek Biblical truths and this includes many (not all) who are commentators who have spent the majority of their lives being used of the Spirit to share insight that one would not otherwise have opportunity to compare with.  (Gill's commentary on the link listed is also among others so always check at the top for his name).

I would greatly appreciate those who would share their opinion (in this thread) concerning this issue, especially if you try this and find it helpful. God’s blessings to your Families and God be blessed!
Bob (NC)


MERCIFUL DEATH

"Set your affection on things above. . . for ye died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2, 3).

The spiritual recession that occurs after the early joys of the new birth is not necessarily backsliding at all. The discovery of the sinful old man is the first and foremost step in the discovery of the righteous Christ-life.

"We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So often the believer is more taken up with his own self-consciousness than with the Father's scriptural revelation of Himself. His revelation is one thing; my self-consciousness is quite another "

"It gladdens the heart to hear the new convert speak of the blessings he has received, and of his new-found joy in those blessings; but we can often see very distinctly that he is wrapping all these benefits of grace round himself, and we feel pretty sure that he will have to learn some lessons presently that will take the shine out of him. He will have to learn what a poor wretched thing he is, as in the flesh, that his heart may be transferred to a new center altogether.

"Nothing can be more distasteful to a spiritual mind than to hear people professedly giving a Christian testimony which begins and ends with themselves. It is for the effectual displacement of all this, and to transfer the heart to an entirely new center, that the revelation of the old man is divinely necessary for our souls. The Father has to come in and detach us from that which is our natural center, that He may link our affections with another Person–even with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ–and make Him everything to our hearts, so that our association with Him may be known, and may become the deep, abiding joy of our souls." -C.A.C.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

[Netchaplain]

Even though the ”Protestant Reformation” has brought much religious freedom to the generality of Christendom, it did not address the “identification” truths of our “new man” in Christ and our “old man” in Adam; which is constantly addressed by Paul.  Our part concerning this dichotomy-of-natures involves a follow-up of how to each will be yielded; “whether of sin leading to death” (not born-again) or of obedience leading to righteousness” (born-again—Rom 6:16)?  This involves the “putting off” of the old and the “putting on” of the new (Eph 4:22-24); and God will ensure the latter for those born-again, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).
 
Though these natures are not entities such as beings, they no less contain a power or “law” (Rom 7) which determines what an entity (person or angel) is.  The “enmity” (Rom 8:7) between the two does not present a situation as to which will win or lose, that has already been settled (Rom 6:6), which ultimately evidences the regenerate and Spirit-controlled life, “so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17).  Therefore everyone born-again will eventually evidence the Spirit-controlled life at their individual progressions, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29 NKJV).
- NC

 ME, MYSELF, AND I

"Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24).

While both are essential, it is far more difficult to get to know the old man than it is to know the Lord Jesus. Many who know something of Him, know little or nothing of themselves.

"There is not a more difficult lesson in the Christian life than to come to a true knowledge of what the flesh is. Its terrible power, its secret and universal rule, and the blinding it exerts in keeping us from the knowledge of what it is, are the cause of all our sin and evil. Hence it comes that so few really believe in their absolute inability to obey God or to believe in His love. And there is nothing that can deliver us from it but that entire willingness to die to the old man, which comes when by faith we understand that we have died in Christ Jesus." -A.M.

"It seems that God's Spirit has to take every growing believer through a drastic process of self-exposure. That fleshly principle lurking within has to be looked in the face. Its presumptuous claim to be a sufficient source of wisdom and ability has to be exposed in its big lie. Its save-yourself attitude has to be recognized and rejected. And such knowledge can only come through failure, humiliation and despair." -N.G.

"If you come to feel, through ever-recurring misery and defeat, that unless Another shall lead you into the land of fruitful obedience your whole Christian career will be a spiritual and moral chaos, then perhaps you are ready to venture your all upon your union with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection."

"There is no joy like that of realizing our nothingness, while at the same time reposing upon the Father's all-sufficiency."

"I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Romans 7:25).

WithChrist.org

[Netchaplain]

For those concerned about the “NBTHH” devotionals, I’m letting you know that the WithChrist.org web site has received a request from the current copyright owner of Miles Stanford’s publications to discontinue presentation of his materials on the internet through their web site and I am now waiting for permission as to whether or not I can continue sharing the materials in my capacity (using materials purchased over the years from their book site).

In the last thirteen years of my thirty-six year Christian walk I have been studying dispensation doctrines from theologians of the last few centuries and have found them to be as applicable to spiritual growth in Christ and as faithful, accurate and sincere to the truths of Scripture that can be expected. It has recently come to my attention that many earnest truth-seeking Christians have been unaware of the spiritual-growth teachings available within dispensation doctrine.

One prime example of concern is that there is a significant number of Christians opposing the Scriptural truth related to receiving salvation pertaining to the essential doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.” To understand this is pertinent to spiritual growth, as Scripture teaches that the receiving of salvation is a monolithic work of God, apart from any interjections of man. Scripture also teaches that regeneration will eventually manifest itself by “good works” (Mat 5:16; Jam 2:18). Even though true works will follow the believer, we must be clear they have no effect as to the retention of salvation, considering this can only be maintained in the same manner it is received—by Grace (Jude 1:24).

It is acceptable to have differing beliefs concerning non-essential-for-receiving-salvation doctrine, but there should not be variances concerning essential-for-receiving-salvation doctrine. The entirety of Scripture is clear in revealing that salvation comes by “Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.” This is due by “Grace” alone; therefore any alteration of this truism will only consign one to the un-restful taskmaster of “Legalistic Covetanism”, which is salvation by works (salvation evidenced by works is accurate - Jam 2:18) and is a one-eighty degree comparison to salvation by grace (Eph 2:8, 9).

“By Grace—Through Faith” is Scripture's sole proponent when revealing the method of entering Salvation; thus, transposing this order of terms (i.e. by faith instead of "by grace") is failure to understand and faithfully represent Scripture, leaving one to the destitution of his own interpretation. Since receiving salvation is “not by works” (Eph 2:9) it mandates the categorizing of “faith” as a gift of God. Concerning works and justification, Strong’s dictionary defines justification (G1344) in two categories (below); each containing a variant definition which, of course, is in accordance with contextual usage. Justification in reference to man’s work designs the concept of an outward manifestation of an inward, simultaneous work of grace. The crux of the matter is not to attempt to desire any personal credit because, "in all things He has the preeminence" (Col 1:18).

Justification:
1. To render righteous (“justified by His blood” Rom 5:9). This is prior to any work of man (other than reception) and is simultaneous with salvation, because the believer cannot produce the righteousness of God, but rather Christ is, “made unto us . . . righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).

2. To show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous. (“by works a man is justified” Jam 2:24). This is God working through man, to be seen by man—after receiving salvation; “that they may see your good works” (Mat 5:16). The phrase “your good works” are actually still God’s works being evident to others by Him using us.

[nChrist]

For those concerned about the “NBTHH” devotionals, I’m letting you know that the WithChrist.org web site has received a request from the current copyright owner of Miles Stanford’s publications to discontinue presentation of his materials on the internet through their web site and I am now waiting for permission as to whether or not I can continue sharing the materials in my capacity (using materials purchased over the years from their book site).

I'm sorry to hear this. I hope that everything gets worked out.

[Netchaplain]

I'm sorry to hear this. I hope that everything gets worked out.

Thank you Brother for sharing your concern on the issue and "Thanks Again"!--for your labors of Christian love through this site.