Christ New in our Soul and Spirit

Morning and Evening Daily Devotional Today is a new day and year. January, 1 (Morning) Devotion “They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:12 Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “forever with the Lord.” A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year! Daily Bible – http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=king.james.bible.study

Alive: What makes the Christian faith distinct from any other? Every other founder of the major world religion is dead. But Jesus, our resurrection King, is a alive and well! He rose from the dead after being crucified for our sins, and this is what makes the Christian faith distinct from any other.

“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). But Jesus Christ is risen indeed! Because Hw lives and has given us the Holy Spirit, we can live fully alive-reflecting His goodness and glory. Even now, He is making intercession for us as He reigns at the right hand of God. And He will soon come to crush our enemies – Satan, death, and sin – under His beautiful feet. The Good News of the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest news that humanity has ever received. And this month I have an amazing opportunity to boldly share it with the lost. May this help you joyously tell those in your life the most important fact of ALL HISTORY: JESUS IS ALIVE!

If there ever was a time when the world needed hope, grace, unity, and salvation, it’s now. I believe we are living in the most optimized age in history for the spread of the Gospel. As you’ll see in the following pages, ae have technologies no prior generation could imagine, and we’ve done everything possible to reach everyone possible. There’s no better time than now.

No better means: there’s also no better menas for reaching the world than going forth with tears. The apostle Paul didn’t have the technologies we have, but he did have the tears. He told the Ephesians, “You now, from the first day that I came to Aisa, in the manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humanity, with many tears” (Acts 20:18-19).