<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+15:12-27">John 15:12-27</span></span></p><p>We continue meditating on the eighth and final Beatitude. One of the questions that has often puzzled people concerning this matter of suffering and persecution is this: Why is it that Christians, when they do good, are often persecuted, while non-Christians who do the same kind of good are adored? One commentator suggests the reason for this is that when non- Christians do good, other non-Christians find it easy to identify with them and say to themselves: "These people are just like me when I am at my best." The thinking that goes on below the threshold of a non-Christian's mind when he sees other non-Christians doing good is along the line of: "I am probably capable of the same thing myself if the opportunity came my way." The admiration that is then given is a way of paying a compliment to oneself. The Christian who does good has about him or her the atmosphere of another world, and because of this, the non-Christian observes, not just their act of good, but the different motivation that underlies the act. They sense that there is something different about this person, and because they cannot understand or explain the difference, they react with fear and the fear then turns to hostility. Psychologists have a name for this fear - xenophobia. It means fear of someone we do not know or understand. This is why the scribes and Pharisees hated our Lord so much. It wasn't because He was good; it was because He was different. This is the effect Jesus Christ always has upon the world. And to the extent that you reflect His spirit, to that extent you will experience the same reaction. "A Christian's reason for doing good is different"</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, I see that if I just try to do good, the world will applaud me, but if I try to become Christlike, it will hate me. Nevertheless I long to be Christlike. Help me, dear Father, for apart from Your grace, I know it is not possible. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="php+1:1-14">Philippians 1:1-14</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+4:3">Colossians 4:3</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="2ti+1:7-8">2 Timothy 1:7-8</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How did Paul view persecution?</li><li>What was his charge to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"' you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (v. 19)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="jude+1:1-16">Jude 1:1-16</span></span></p><p>What makes the Christian faith different from every other faith? Prince Charles, who is next in line to the British throne, has let it be known that if and when he becomes king he would like to be regarded as Defender of all faiths rather than Defender of the faith - the Christian faith. Living now as we do in a multi-faith rather than a Christian society, he said, it is important that this shift be reflected in the duties of the monarch. No Christian would want to deny any individual or group the right to follow or practice the faith of their choice, but we must be careful that tolerance of other religions does not cause us to fall into the trap of thinking that Christianity is just one religion among many. Decidedly, it is not. Christianity is in a category all by itself. If that belief opens us up to the charge of arrogance, then so be it. Recently, I heard a religious commentator say on television that one religion is as good as another. One religion as good as another? How utterly absurd. It sounds broadminded but actually it is the judgment of ignorance. No one would ever make that statement if they understood the purpose of Christ's coming to this world, His atoning death on the cross, and His glorious resurrection. We are not unmindful of the spiritual glow which comes from other lamps, but our claim for Jesus is the claim He made for Himself - He alone is the Light of the world, and thus utterly indispensable to salvation.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, help me comprehend even more fully and clearly the truths of the faith into which, by Your grace, You have brought me. I cannot live by opinions, I must live by convictions. May Your truths become my convictions. In Christ's Name I pray. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="php+1:1-27">Philippians 1:1-27</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+2:1-8">Galatians 2:1-8</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+9:17">1 Corinthians 9:17</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Paul admonish the Philippians for?</li><li>What was Paul entrusted with?</li></ul></div></div>

"... contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." (v. 3)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="php+1:3-11">Philippians 1:3-11</span></span></p><p>We saw yesterday how the psalmist sensed that despite his doubts and failures he was still accepted by God. But there's more - he realises also that God's restraining hand has been constantly with him: "You hold me by my right hand"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+73:23">Psalm 73:23</span>). What was it, after all, that prevented him going over the brink? It was the protecting hand of God. God Himself had put it in his mind to go into the sanctuary and had thereby turned him round. Realising that, he thinks of the future. What is the future going to be like? His conclusion is that the future is going to be just as secure, for: "You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory" (v. 24). Can you sense the psalmist's security as he contemplates the future? He is saying, in effect: "You are doing this now, holding me by my right hand, protecting me, restraining me, restoring me and delivering me, and I know You will keep on doing this right up to the time when I meet with you in glory." How does God guide us? Through circumstances, through reason, through the fellowship of Christians, but mainly through the Scriptures. The Word of God, when we consult it, unfolds reality, dispels illusion and guides us safely through the snares and problems of this earthly way until we eventually arrive in glory. The psalmist had seen the end of the ungodly and it had helped to change his perspective. Now he sees the end of the godly and thus his perspective becomes even more clear. And what is the end of the godly? It is glory! </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, let the prospect of coming glory fill and thrill my soul this day and every day. Help me never to forget that no matter how hard and difficult my earthly pilgrimage may be, it is as nothing compared to the glory that lies ahead. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1pe+1:1-6">1 Peter 1:1-6</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="jude+1:24">Jude 1:24</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ge+28:15">Genesis 28:15</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Of what was Peter convinced?</li><li>How did Jude put it?</li></ul></div></div>

" he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (v. 6) 

<p>Sometimes it seems that Christians are especially prone to accept passing fads and winds of doctrine. John Blanchard wrote of two tour-bus drivers who were comparing notes. When one mentioned that he had a bus full of Christians, the other said, "Really? What do they believe?" To which the first replied, "Anything I tell them!"</p><p>One minute it may be a food fad. Certain foods are denounced as poison and others are credited with almost magical properties. Or it may be a medicinal fad, claiming spectacular results for some strange weed or extract.</p><p>Christians can be gullible when it comes to financial appeals. In this country, at least, they respond readily to publicity involving orphans or anti-Communist crusades without investigating the integrity of the sponsoring agency.</p><p>Impostors have a heyday among believers. No matter how ridiculous their sob story, they are able to rake in the money.</p><p>Perhaps the problem is that we fail to distinguish between faith and gullibility. Faith believes the surest thing in the universe, that is, the Word of God. Gullibility accepts things as fact without evidence and sometimes in the face of evidence to the contrary.</p><p>God never intended His people to abandon their powers of discernment or their critical faculty. Interspersed in the Bible are such exhortations as the following:</p><p>"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="1th+5:21">1 Thessalonians 5:21</span>),</p><p>"…take forth the precious from the vile" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="jer+15:19">Jeremiah 15:19</span>),</p><p>"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="php+1:9">Philippians 1:9</span> NASB),</p><p>"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="1jo+4:1">1 John 4:1</span> NASB)</p><p>The danger is especially great, of course, in connection with doctrinal fads and novelties. But in many other areas as well it is possible for Christians to get sidetracked or duped with schemes or crazes that they pursue with exaggerated zeal.</p><p> </p>

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

<font size="2" face="Verdana">
<p align="justify">
<i>
This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and 
depth of insight, so that you may be 
able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of 
Christ. (Philippians 1:9,10 NIV)</i></p>

<p align="justify">
Personal, inward, spiritual intelligence is a very rare thing. No wonder that 
the enemy has such a successful line in delusions, counterfeits, and false 
representations. Our greatest safeguard against such will be a deep knowledge of 
the Lord through discipline.





To know the Lord in a real way means 
steadfastness when others are being carried away - steadfastness through times 
of fiery trial. Those who know the Lord do not put forth their own hand and try 
to bring things about. Such are full of love and patience, and do not lose their 
poise when everything seems to be going to pieces. Confidence is an essential 
and inevitable fruit of this knowledge, and in those who know Him there is a 
quiet restful strength which speaks of a great depth of Life.</p>

<p align="justify">Let me point out that in Christ "are all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge hidden," and the Lord's will for us is to come to an ever-growing 
realization and personal appreciation of Him in Whom all the fullness dwells. We 
have only stated facts as to the Lord's will for all His own, and their greatest 
need. The absence of this real knowledge of the Lord has proved to be the most 
tragic factor in the Church's history. Every fresh uprising of an abnormal 
condition has disclosed the appalling weakness amongst Christian people because 
of this lack. Waves of error; the swing of the pendulum to some fresh popular 
acceptance; a great war with its horrors and many-sided tests of faith; all 
these have swept away multitudes and left them in spiritual ruin. 
These things are ever near at hand, and we have written this message to urge 
upon the Lord's people to have very definite dealings with Him that He will take 
every measure with them that they might know Him.</p>



</font>

<p>This devotional contains short daily portions from a selection of Mr. Austin-Sparks' messages. In his own words, “Perhaps this is just like a window opened into heaven. If you get the right window you can see quite a lot. You can see great things and you can see far things. But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!” </p><p>Open Windows messages have been selected and compiled by Austin-Sparks.Net from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the editor and did not always appear within the original message.</p>

Open Windows

On Knowing the Lord

 Knowing the Lord 

<p>You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel. § That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.<br><br>Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. § Be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.<br><br>Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.</p>

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 Blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

<p>Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.<br><br>Therefore you shall be perfect. § Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.<br><br>I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.<br><br>“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.<br><br>There remains … a rest for the people of God. § Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.</p>

Evening Daily Light

 There remains very much land yet to be possessed. 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">9 </sup>And this is my prayer: that your love   may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   </span><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">10 </sup>so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,   </span></p>

And this is my prayer: that your love<cr>1</cr>  may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,<cr>2</cr> 

Philippians 1:9

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,<cr>1</cr> 

Philippians 1:10

 9 And this is my prayer: that your love   may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 And this is my prayer: that your love   may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  

Philippians 1:9-10

<p><span class="bible-text ">And this is my prayer: that your love   may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   </span><span class="bible-text ">so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,   </span></p>

Bible Verse of the Day

January 10, 2023

Philippians 1:9-10 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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