“…by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God…”

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matt. 4:2-4

Jesus was tempted concerning food when He was hungry.

He answered Satan by declaring the Word concerning food.

He has left an example for us how to overcome in temptations: confess in faith God’s Word that answers the temptation.

Lord, may I overcome by declaring the Word the Spirit gives me.

“Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” Prov. 8:34

Lord, I wait to hear your voice: speak to me.

Partaking of Christ — living bread from heaven — sustains our spiritual life.

“As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” John 6:57

Lord, may I hunger for the bread from heaven, and eat of it. 

“As soon as we put aside the Word of God, we lay ourselves open to the solicitation of the many voices that speak within our hearts…. We must not content ourselves with the Spirit without the written Word or with the Word without the Spirit… The Word is the chosen vehicle of the Spirit.”

F.B. Meyer, quoted in His Victorious Indwelling, Nick Harrison

 

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

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Lord, may the Holy Spirit remind me to confess your Word in temptations.

Father, let me love your Word, eat it as my food for the inner man, and live by it.

You give me daily bread, O Father (Matt. 6:11).

May my heart be awake to hear your voice as you speak morning by morning (Isa. 50:4).

Lord, let me eat your Word, and live. Let me wait for the Word that proceeds from your mouth.

Lord, speak to your servant through your Word.

May my heart thirst for Your Word – the living Word, even Christ. Amen.

“Watch ye therefore, and pray always”

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Luke 21:34-36

 

 As we desire the spirit of prayer, let us offer ourselves to God in entire consecration.

The Lord has promised to make us joyful in the house of prayer. “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”  Isa. 56:7

Watchfulness, prayer, and looking for the Lord’s coming — these things belong together.

 

 

In your mercy, Lord, you are calling me to prayer.

Lord, I earnestly desire the spirit of prayer. Let me learn to love the place of prayer (Matt. 6:6). Let me learn to find prayer as my joy.

Help me to take heed and be watchful of my thoughts, my words, my actions, my time, my habits, what happens in me, what happens around me, what I read, my eating and drinking, and the cares of life.

May I be found sincerely longing for you to come, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).  Amen.

Let Us Love One Another

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1 John 4:7-9

If we would know God as love, we should know Him in Christ, looking to the love of the Savior suffering on the cross (1 John 3:16; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9; Rom. 5:8). The Holy Spirit enlightens our heart to know God as love (Rom. 5:5).

Knowing God as love moves us to love others, and we know that we have passed from death to life.

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren…” 1 John 3:14

Lord, may I not fail to love and show mercy today.

Father, may my heart rest in your love for me, John 17:23.

I give thanks for your love that gave your Son for me.

You loved me when I was dead in sin, Lord, Eph. 2:4-6;

And raised me up to life eternal, Eph. 2:4-6,

And ever keep me in life, 1 John 4:9.

 

Let my thoughts, my motives, and my prayers

Be of love.

Let me love you with all my heart,

And love others with your love. Amen.

“…but of God that sheweth mercy.”

 

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Rom. 9: 16

There is infinite comfort and assurance in trusting in God’s mercies, for His mercies are infinite (Ps. 103:11).

We find rest.

Lord, let me begin my day in the rest of faith – faith in your mercy; and, end my day with the rest of faith.

New mercies sustain us morning by morning (Lam. 3:22-23).

As we give thanks for His new mercies, we are satisfied and refreshed in a new way.

We may safely trust God for mercy.

…I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. Psalm 13: 5

Help me, Lord, to learn this anew today and each new day. Amen.

  

Your mercies, O Father of mercies and God of all comfort! I come for your mercy.

Your mercies are sure for me when I ask humbly.

May your mercies come to me this morning.

Your mercies are new every morning.

May I not depend on my willing, O Lord, but depend on your grace to help me to will.

I come to do your will, O my God. May your mercies sustain me.  

May I not depend on my running, O Lord, but depend on your grace to help me to run in your footsteps. 

I praise you for your mercy, Lord. I thank you for your mercy.  I rejoice in your mercy.

Amen.

“…Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…”

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Heb. 11:17-19

‘Altar’ means place of slaughter. When we are tried, and we pray, “Lord, I am on the altar,“ we are partaking of Abraham’s faith, and we are partaking of Abraham’s blessings.

The prayer, ‘Lord, I am on the altar,’ identifies us with Christ on the cross. In the New Testament, Christ Himself is on the altar, Heb. 13:10-12; He is the offering on the altar; and He is the priest who ministers. It is on the altar that the fire from the heaven – the Holy Spirit – falls, as it fell on the altar in the Tabernacle, Lev. 9:24, and on the altar in Solomon’s temple, 2 Chr. 7: 1. The Holy Spirit falls on us as we offer ourselves.

Jesus said that the altar sanctifies the offering, Matt. 23:19. When we offer ourselves upon Christ as our altar, we are sanctified, we are perfected, Heb. 10:10-14: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all….For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

As Abraham was offering his son, he received the faith for resurrection, Heb. 11:18-19: “…Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” The faith that justifies us (Rom. 5:1) is made perfect by such offering, James 2:21-22.

  

In the time of testing, Lord, may I remember Abraham. He would rather have placed himself on the altar. He would rather have died himself. In the time of testing, O God, let me pray, ‘Lord, I am on the altar’: my will is on the altar, my desires are on the altar.

As Abraham was offering his son, he received faith for resurrection, Heb.11: 19. As I offer myself this morning, Lord, grant me faith for resurrection.  May I live as one raised from the dead, Rom.6: 13. Lord I bless you for this grace. Lord, I give you glory. Amen.

“…it [was needful for] Christ to suffer…”

“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved (was needful or fitting for) Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day”

Luke 24:45-46

[The risen Lord was speaking to the disciples.]

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev. 2:10

This church – Smyrna – was faultless, yet had to suffer.

“Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” Ps. 119: 73

See similar prayers in vv. 34, 125, 169, and 144 of the same chapter. It is comforting to pray with these verses and ask for understanding when suffering.

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints…” Eph. 1:18

This was Paul’s prayer for the church – let us pray for ourselves and for one another accordingly.

“Understanding is the reward of faith.” St. Augustine, 354 – 430 A.D

Open my understanding, Lord, that I may understand your Word, especially the Word concerning your sufferings, death and resurrection. May the Holy Spirit show me how you suffered for my sake. May this understanding sustain me in my trials, and keep me faithful. Let me understand that it is necessary for me to suffer. Let me be thankful for your calling, Lord. Amen.

“…the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort…”

 

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

2 Cor. 1:3-5

In this passage we read that the Father comforts. In John 14 the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter.  In Isaiah 61 we read that Jesus came to comfort those who mourn. Lord God, I give thanks.

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” Matt. 5:4. The blessing is: The comforts of the Lord draw us into close fellowship with Him. God has “oil of joy” – anointing – for our mourning (Isa. 61:3). Offering our sorrows to God – possibly the best offering we can make when we are hurting – draws us into close fellowship with Him, and brings anointing upon our lives. Jesus Christ [Christ = “the anointed”] was “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” Isa. 53:3.

“as the sufferings of Christ abound in us” – we suffer for Christ’s sake in doing God’s will: serving others sacrificially, enduring afflictions patiently, denying our own will in temptations and trials.

[Note: This is the first day of the last quarter of 2014; let us give thanks and trust the Lord.]

 You are the “God of all comfort” for all situations. Father, I bless you for your comforts that are streaming forth towards me unceasingly as light from the sun. I need your comforts always, O Father of mercies and God of all comfort. I bless you for the Comforter — the Holy Spirit.   I trust you for grace so I may comfort someone. Send me to someone who is hurting, Lord. O Father of mercies, may I be found merciful.

I come to you, Lord Jesus: may the Father’s comforts come to me through you. Remembering the sufferings of Christ, I humbly offer to you my light afflictions.

“our consolation also aboundeth by Christ” – Lord, I bless you for your goodness. Lord, I rejoice in your consolations.  Amen.

“…that they all may be one…”

  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 17:20-21

{Jesus prayed this on the eve of His death}

In John 17:20-26 Jesus prayed for the disciples, and for future believers including me. May this faith in your prayer for me unite me with the saints, Lord. We are perfected in oneness with fellow believers, John 17:22-23:  “…I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one…” We are edified by the love of the brethren, Eph. 4: 16: “From whom the whole body fitly joined together…maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love…” See Paul’s longing in Col.2:2: “…That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love…”

 The Lord’s anointing is upon us when we are united in love, Ps. 130:1-3: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments….for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

You prayed for me too, Lord Jesus when you said, “for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” May your prayer avail for me now, Lord, that I be found in this blessing of unity with all the saints of all time, and be made perfect.

This unity is the glory bestowed upon me, Lord.  May I be edified by the love of the brethren – especially those in the local church. May I love them as you loved me, Lord, and may my heart be found blameless in holiness. Amen.

Entering the Narrow Gate

 Let us look for the footprints of Christ that keep our feet in the narrow way.

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously”

1 Pet. 2:21-23

 Let us seek to have the mind of Christ.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who… made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  Phil. 2: 5-8

We walk the narrow way when we walk with Jesus in full obedience. He walked the way of full obedience to the Father, all the way to the death on the cross. Lord, I earnestly ask for grace to walk in obedience.

 Open the eyes of my heart, Lord: Let me see the narrow gate. Let me see the narrow way you walked and the footprints you have left for me. You walked bearing your cross, praying, “not my will, but thine be done”. Let me now walk bearing my cross, praying the same.

I humble myself, Lord, to enter by the narrow gate. I humble myself, Lord, to walk the narrow way. I humble myself, Lord, to walk with the few, or even alone.

Let me look for the footprints you have left for me, Lord Jesus:

Your steps of not sinning,

Your steps of having no deceit in your words,

Your steps of not reviling back when reviled,

Your steps of committing yourself to God, the Righteous Judge. Amen.

“…yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered…”

 

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Heb. 5:7-10

 

 

Concerning the nature of Christ’s sufferings mentioned in the verse above, see Heb. 2:18:

“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

When tempted like us (Heb. 4:15), Jesus chose to set aside His own human desires, and to yield to the Father’s will; there was suffering (self-denial) in making such choices. Note that this learning process was necessary to perfect (prove, or test) Him (Heb. 5:8) as man to be offered for us on the cross. We learn obedience in the same way following Jesus’ footsteps. Such a walk of obedience keeps our feet in the “new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” Heb. 10:20.  Thus identified with our Forerunner (Heb. 6:20), we are helped by Him as we learn obedience.

Every step of learning obedience is a step of faith on the way of the cross: step-by-step I must progress. Learning obedience implies effort, diligence, choice, suffering (self-denial); we also learn to delight in doing God’s will (Ps.40:8), seeing the joy that is set before us, Heb. 12:2.

“when He had offered up prayers …” – See examples in John 12:27 and Matt. 26:39-44. May godly fear help us to pray, and may the Spirit help us to pray, Rom. 8:25.

 

“The moment of temptation is a moment of grace.” Anonymous

“Often it is simply the answers to our prayers that cause many of the difficulties in the Christian life…We pray for submissive spirit, and God sends suffering again, for we learn to be obedient in the same way Christ ‘learned obedience from what he suffered,’ Heb. 5:8.”  from Streams in the Desert.

 

 Lord, I give thanks for the grace you give to learn obedience as I endure in trials and adversities.

 Grant that I pray in godly fear, most earnestly, remembering how you prayed with strong crying and tears.

Lord, you “learned obedience” by the things which you suffered. When things are hard for me, Lord, may I find fellowship with you. Thus may I learn obedience as you did and walk in your steps, the way of perfection. Amen.