<p>In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. </p><p><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+1:1">John 1:1</span> </p><p>An intelligent plain man, untaught in the truths of Christianity, coming upon this text, would likely conclude that John meant to teach that it is the nature of God to speak, to communicate His thoughts to others. And he would be right. A word is a medium by which thoughts are expressed, and the application of the term to the Eternal Son leads us to believe that self-expression is inherent in the Godhead, that God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation. The whole Bible supports the idea. God is speaking. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice. </p><p>One of the great realities with which we have to deal is the Voice of God in His world. The briefest and only satisfying cosmogony is this: `He spake and it was done.' The why of natural law is the living Voice of God immanent in His creation. And this word of God which brought all worlds into being cannot be understood to mean the Bible, for it is not a written or printed word at all, but the expression of the will of God spoken into the structure of all things. This word of God is the breath of God filling the world with living potentiality. The Voice of God is the most powerful force in nature, indeed the only force in nature, for all energy is here only because the power-filled Word is being spoken. </p><p></p><p>The Bible is the written word of God, and because it is written it is confined and limited by the necessities of ink and paper and leather. The Voice of God, however, is alive and free as the sovereign God is free. `The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.' The life is in the speaking words. God's word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God's word in the universe. It is the present Voice which makes the written Word all- powerful. Otherwise it would lie locked in slumber within the covers of a book. </p><p></p><p>We take a low and primitive view of things when we conceive of God at the creation coming into physical contact with things, shaping and fitting and building like a carpenter. The Bible teaches otherwise: `By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ...For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+33:6,9">Psalms 33:6,9</span>) `Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+11:3">Hebrews 11:3</span>) Again we must remember that God is referring ere not to His written Word, but to His speaking Voice. His world-filling Voice is meant, that Voice which antedates the Bible by uncounted centuries, that Voice which has not been silent since the dawn of creation, but is sounding still throughout the full far reaches of the universe. </p><p></p><p>The Word of God is quick and powerful. In the beginning He spoke to nothing, and it became something. Chaos heard it and became order, darkness heard it and became light. `And God said - - and it was so.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ge+1:9">Genesis 1:9</span>) These twin phrases, as cause and effect, occur throughout the Genesis story of the creation. The said accounts for the so. The so is the said put into the continuous present. That God is here and that He is speaking—these truths are back of all other Bible truths; without them there could be no revelation at all. God did not write a book and send it by messenger to be read at a distance by unaided minds. He spoke a Book and lives in His spoken words, constantly speaking His words and causing the power of them to persist across the years. God breathed on clay and it became a man; He breathes on men and they become clay. `Return ye children of men,' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+90:3">Psalms 90:3</span>) was the word spoken at the Fall by which God decreed the death of every man, and no added word has He needed to speak. The sad procession of mankind across the face of the earth from birth to the grave is proof that His original Word was enough. </p><p></p><p>We have not given sufficient attention to that deep utterance in the Book of John, `That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+1:9">John 1:9</span>) Shift the punctuation around as we will and the truth is still there: the Word of God affects the hearts of all men as light in the soul. In the hearts of all men the light shines, the Word sounds, and there is no escaping them. Something like this would of necessity be so if God is alive and in His world. And John says that it is so. Even those persons who have never heard of the Bible have still been preached to with sufficient clarity to remove every excuse from their hearts forever. `Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while either accusing or else excusing one another.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ro+2:15">Romans 2:15</span>) `For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ro+1:20">Romans 1:20</span>) </p><p></p><p>This universal Voice of God was by the ancient Hebrews often called Wisdom, and was said to be everywhere sounding and searching throughout the earth, seeking some response from the sons of men. The eighth chapter of the Book of Proverbs begins, `Doth not wisdom cry" and understanding put forth her voice"' The writer then pictures wisdom as a beautiful woman standing `in the top of the high places, by the way in the places of the paths.' She sounds her voice from every quarter so that no one may miss hearing it. `Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men.' Then she pleads for the simple and the foolish to give ear to her words. It is spiritual response for which this Wisdom of God is pleading, a response which she has always sought and is but rarely able to secure. The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ears not to hear. </p><p></p><p>This universal Voice has ever sounded, and it has often troubled men even when they did not understand the source of their fears. Could it be that this Voice distilling like a living mist upon the hearts of men has been the undiscovered cause of the troubled conscience and the longing for immortality confessed by millions since the dawn of recorded history" We need not fear to face up to this. The speaking Voice is a fact. How men have reacted to it is for any observer to note. </p><p></p><p>When God spoke out of heaven to our Lord, self-centered men who heard it explained it by natural causes: they said, `It thundered.' This habit of explaining the Voice by appeals to natural law is at the very root of modern science. In the living breathing cosmos there is a mysterious Something, too wonderful, too awful [i.e. `awesome'] for any mind to understand. The believing man does not claim to understand. He falls to his knees and whispers, `God.' The man of earth kneels also, but not to worship. He kneels to examine, to search, to find the cause and the how of things. Just now we happen to be living in a secular age. Our thought habits are those of the scientist, not those of the worshipper. We are more likely to explain than to adore. `It thundered,' we exclaim, and go our earthly way. But still the Voice sounds and searches. The order and life of the world depend upon that Voice, but men are mostly too busy or too stubborn to give attention. </p><p></p><p>Everyone of us has had experiences which we have not been able to explain: a sudden sense of loneliness, or a feeling of wonder or awe in the face of the universal vastness. Or we have had a fleeting visitation of light like an illumination from some other sun, giving us in a quick flash an assurance that we are from another world, that our origins are divine. What we saw there, or felt, or heard, may have been contrary to all that we had been taught in the schools and at wide variance with all our former beliefs and opinions. We were forced to suspend our acquired doubts while, for a moment, the clouds were rolled back and we saw and heard for ourselves. Explain such things as we will, I think we have not been fair to the facts until we allow at least the possibility that such experiences may arise from the Presence of God in the world and His persistent effort to communicate with mankind. Let us not dismiss such an hypothesis too flippantly. </p><p></p><p>It is my own belief (and here I shall not feel bad if no one follows me) that every good and beautiful thing which man has produced in the world has been the result of his faulty and sin-blocked response to the creative Voice sounding over the earth. The moral philosophers who dreamed their high dreams of virtue, the religious thinkers who speculated about God and immortality, the poets and artists who created out of common stuff pure and lasting beauty: how can we explain them" It is not enough to say simply, `It was genius.' What then is genius" Could it be that a genius is a man haunted by the speaking Voice, laboring and striving like one possessed to achieve ends which he only vaguely understands" That the great man may have missed God in his labors, that he may even have spoken or written against God does not destroy the idea I am advancing. God's redemptive revelation in the Holy Scriptures is necessary to saving faith and peace with God. Faith in a risen Saviour is necessary if the vague stirrings toward immortality are to bring us to restful and satisfying communion with God. To me this is a plausible explanation of all that is best outside of Christ. But you can be a good Christian and not accept my thesis. </p><p></p><p>The Voice of God is a friendly Voice. No one need fear to listen to it unless he has already made up his mind to resist it. The blood of Jesus has covered not only the human race but all creation as well. `And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:20">Colossians 1:20</span>) We may safely preach a friendly Heaven. The heavens as well as the earth are filled with the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ex+3">Exodus 3</span>). The perfect blood of atonement secures this forever. </p><p></p><p>Whoever will listen will hear the speaking Heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God. But we may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict God says, `Be still, and know that I am God,' (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+46:10">Psalms 46:10</span>) and still He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence. </p><p></p><p>It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we get alone, preferably with our Bible outspread before us. Then if we will we may draw near to God and begin to hear Him speak to us in our hearts. I think for the average person the progression will be something like this: First a sound as of a Presence walking in the garden. Then a voice, more intelligible, but still far from clear. Then the happy moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures, and that which had been only a sound, or at best a voice, now becomes an intelligible word, warm and intimate and clear as the word of a dear friend. Then will come life and light, and best of all, ability to see and rest in and embrace Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and All. </p><p></p><p>The Bible will never be a living Book to us until we are convinced that God is articulate in His universe. To jump from a dead, impersonal world to a dogmatic Bible is too much for most people. They may admit that they should accept the Bible as the Word of God, and they may try to think of it as such, but they find it impossible to believe that the words there on the page are actually for them. Aman may say, `These words are addressed to me,' and yet in his heart not feel and know that they are. He is the victim of a divided psychology. He tries to think of God as mute everywhere else and vocal only in a book. </p><p></p><p>I believe that much of our religious unbelief is due to a wrong conception of and a wrong feeling for the Scriptures of Truth. A silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever. Now we read the book as the record of what God said when He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. With notions like that in our heads how can we believe" The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God's continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our familiar human words. </p><p></p><p>I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. The prophets habitually said, `Thus saith the Lord.' They meant their hearers to understand that God's speaking is in the continuous present. We may use the past tense properly to indicate that at a certain time a certain word of God was spoken, but a word of God once spoken continues to be spoken, as a child once born continues to be alive, or a world once created continues to exist. And those are but imperfect illustrations, for children die and worlds burn out, but the Word of our God endureth forever. </p><p></p><p>If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God. Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, `Speak, for thy servant heareth.' Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking Voice. Amen.
</p>

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

In the Pursuit of God - The Speaking Voice

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="1jo+4:17-21;5:1-12">1 John 4:17-21;5:1-12</span></span></p><p>Although the love of God is clearly laid out in the Old Testament, why did humankind have to wait so long to have the message spelled out in such clear terms as John uses: God is love? People could not see this sufficiently clearly until they had looked into the face of Jesus. In the life of Jesus is the clearest revelation that God is love. So few of us open ourselves to the love of God. We have more fear of Him than we have love for Him. There is, of course, a godly fear (or reverence), but that is not what I mean. If we fail to comprehend how much we are loved by God, then there will be no energy to turn the machinery of our lives in the way they were meant to turn. When I was a young Christian, whenever I doubted the love of God I was told I should go to Calvary. I never quite understood what that meant until one day I complained to God that He couldn't really love me; if He did, He wouldn't let such things happen as were befalling me. He gave me no answer but showed me the Cross. And as I saw His Son dying there for me, the scales fell from my eyes and I found love for Him flowing out of His love for me. I discovered what the verse at the top of this page meant: "We love because he first loved us." Love for God is not the fruit of labor but the response of our hearts to being loved. It is not something we manufacture; it is something we receive.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O God my Father, save me from believing that my problem is I don't love You enough, when the real problem is I don't know how much I am loved by You. Let the scales fall from my eyes right now and let me see - really see. In Jesus' Name. 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="joh+19:16-30">John 19:16-30</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+2:15-16">Ephesians 2:15-16</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:19-22">Colossians 1:19-22</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 is the result of the Cross?</li><li>Spend some moments in prayer contemplating the Cross.</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

"We love because he first loved us." (v. 19) 

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ge+1:1-12">Genesis 1:1-12</span></span></p><p>We focus on what without doubt is the most noble and loftiest of themes - the nature and character of God. I have noticed that Christians, generally speaking, seem to be preoccupied with knowing more about themselves rather than knowing more about God. Ask any Christian bookshop manager: "What are the best-selling books?" Not those that unfold for us the nature of God, but those that direct us toward such things as how to get a better self-image, how to manage money, how to find inner healing, how to get more excitement out of life, and so on. Not that these subjects are unimportant, but they are explored in a self-absorbed way that gives the idea that the most important thing in life is knowing ourselves better. It isn't. The most important thing in life is knowing God better. John Lancaster, a minister in Cardiff, South Wales, in an article entitled "Where on earth is God?" asks the question: "Given a choice between attending a seminar, say, on the 'Glory of God in Isaiah' and one on 'The Christian and Sex,' to which would you go?" He makes the point also that though the Church often answers the questions that people are asking, the real problem may be that people are not asking the right questions. In today's Church we are far too man-centered, and not God-centered. It is not by accident, I believe, that the Bible opens with the thunderous acclaim: "In the beginning God " I tell you with all the conviction of which I am capable - if God is not our primary focus, then everything else will soon get out of focus.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, from this day help me determine to make You my primary focus. And give me the grace and strength to maintain it, through all the vicissitudes and uncertainties of the days ahead. In Jesus' 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="joh+1:1-5">John 1:1-5</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:15-20">Colossians 1:15-20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+12:2">Hebrews 12:2</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="re+1:8">Revelation 1:8</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did the Lord declare to John the revelator?</li><li>What did the apostle John declare?</li></ul></div></div>

"In the beginning God " (v. 1)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:15-27">Colossians 1:15-27</span></span></p><p>We spend one more day meditating on the text: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Today we ask ourselves: What did Jesus mean by the phrase, "for they will inherit the earth"? It means, so I believe, that when we develop the attitude of meekness, the whole universe is behind us. If, for example, we decide to manifest the attitude of anger and hostility rather than cultivating a meek and quiet spirit, then the anger and hostility becomes, as someone put it, "sand in the machinery of life". The universe has been made in a Christlike fashion. Our text for today shows that when God made the world, He made it to work in the way of Christ: "All things were created by him [Christ] and for him." Edison, the scientist, tried eleven hundred experiments, all of which turned out to be failures. Someone said to him: "You must feel that you have wasted your time." "Oh no," answered Edison, "I simply found out eleven hundred ways how not to do things." This is what is happening in the world right now - humanity is finding out how to live. People are discovering that there are some things which the universe will not approve and some things it will approve. The meek are those who have come to terms with reality and know that they cannot twist it to their own ends or make it approve of what cannot be approved. Whoever has the first word in this universe must always remember that the universe has the last word. The Christian who adopts the attitudes of his Master finds the universe backing him in everything he does. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, thank You for reminding me that life works in one way only - Your way. When I live life as You designed it, then the whole universe works with me. I inherit all things - all that is Yours is mine. Blessed be Your Name for ever. 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+2:1-11">Philippians 2:1-11</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+1:3">John 1:3</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+8:6">1 Corinthians 8:6</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+1:1-2">Hebrews 1:1-2</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 Jesus demonstrate meekness?</li><li>How does this apply to you?</li></ul></div></div>

"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth ' all things were created by him and for him." (v. 16)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+2:12-25">John 2:12-25</span></span></p><p>Yesterday we touched on the statement of a psychiatrist, Dr James Fisher, who said that when searching for the positive attitudes which made for good mental health, he came across the Beatitudes and realised that he need search no longer. After nearly fifty years' experience of helping people with mental, emotional and physical problems he concluded: "If you were to take the total sum of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene - if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage - if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of our Lord's Beatitudes - and it would suffer immeasurably through comparison." Dr Raymond Cramer, a minister and a Christian psychologist, says something similar when he describes the Beatitudes as "the psychology of Jesus". Some may find that expression unacceptable when applied to the Beatitudes, but remember, this is a scientist who is speaking. In studying the laws of human behaviour and seeking to discover what brings a person to his highest point of integration, he came to see that the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes are the clearest and most succinct expression of the principles by which a person can know contentment and inner happiness. In an age which is fascinated with the study of human behaviour, there is only one true psychology - the psychology of Jesus. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, I see that psychology, as well as all other "-ologies", are only valid as they are brought to Your feet. Show me, dear Lord, not just how to live, but how to live abundantly. In Jesus' 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="col+1:1-20">Colossians 1:1-20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+2:9-10">Colossians 2:9-10</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+1:16">John 1:16</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+1:22-23">Ephesians 1:22-23</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Where is fulness found?</li><li>What does this mean for us?</li></ul></div></div>

"He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." (v. 25)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+1:18-31">1 Corinthians 1:18-31</span></span></p><p>Another of the chief differences between Christianity and the world's religions, and something which adherents of other faiths find a major stumbling block, is the cross, which humbles all pride and dashes all hope of self-salvation. It also speaks of the tremendous and uncalculating generosity of God in providing for us a salvation that is without price. Kagawa, the great Japanese Christian, said that it was in the cross that he found Christianity's greatest uniqueness. Listen to his words, spoken some time before his death in 1960: "I am grateful for Shinto, for Buddhism and for Confucianism. I owe much to these faiths. Yet these three faiths utterly failed to minister to my heart's deepest needs. I was a pilgrim journeying upon a long road that had no turning. I was weary, I was footsore. I wandered through a dark and dismal world where tragedies were thick. Buddhism teaches great compassion ... but since the beginning of time, who has declared 'this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many unto the remission of sins'?" Islam, of course, proclaims the mercy of God. Each chapter of the Qur'an is introduced by the words "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful." But they do not tell of a costly and historic display of God's mercy as portrayed by the cross and spoken of in each Gospel. In Islam, Allah is merciful to the meritorious, those who pray, give alms, and fast in Ramadan. In Christianity God is merciful to sinners not because of their good works but because of Christ's sacrifice for them on the cross. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Gracious and merciful Lord, through the cross I see right into Your heart. And what I see there sets my heart on fire. I see Love bleeding for me, saving me, delivering me. Now I can never be the same again. Thank You, dear Father. In Christ's Name. 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="ga+6:1-14">Galatians 6:1-14</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+2:14-16">Ephesians 2:14-16</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:20">Colossians 1:20</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 the cross?</li><li>What is at the heart of the message of the cross?</li></ul></div></div>

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing ..." (v. 18) 

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:1-20">Colossians 1:1-20</span></span></p><p>Does salvation come up from mankind through striving, helped by the Divine, or does it come down to us from above, through the act of God and our receptivity of that act? Is it an attainment or an obtainment? The answers separate Christianity from all other religions. Non-Christian religions teach that salvation is the work of mankind; the Christian faith teaches that salvation is the gift of God - Christianity alone falls into the category of obtainment. Some people try to blunt the sharpness of the question "Does mankind strive to reach up to God or does God come down to redeem mankind through the incarnate Jesus?" by saying the answer is both. But by the very nature of things it cannot be both. The starting points are different. One begins with mankind; the other begins with God. Since the beginnings are different, the endings will be different. The whole of the New Testament revolves around the Person and work of Jesus. In some form or another He is on every page. A letter I received protested against a statement I made which went something like this: "There is only one Person around whom the universe can unite, and that Person is Jesus." "There have been good persons in history," said my correspondent, "why not unite around all of them rather than just one?" Because Christ is the meeting point of the human and the divine. No one else can hold that position. An Indian Hindu said recently: "There is no one else bidding for the heart of humanity except Jesus. There is no one else on the field." There isn't! </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, we want to thank You that when we couldn't come to You, You came down the ladder to us through the Incarnation. We are eternally grateful. 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="eph+1:1-23">Ephesians 1:1-23</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+3:31">John 3:31</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+8:6">1 Corinthians 8:6</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>List some of the things that we have obtained in Christ.</li><li>What did John declare about Jesus?</li></ul></div></div>

"... he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead ..." (v. 18) 

<p>It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself. § Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.<br><br>I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. § “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” § Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity? § Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace. § Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. § Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.</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

 God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them. 

<p>This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you. § The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls. § It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. § And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.” § With His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place … having obtained eternal redemption. § Peace through the blood of His cross. § You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot … manifest in these last times for you.<br><br>Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you … from all your idols. § Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.</p>

 One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 

<p>I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. § “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”<br><br>In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.<br><br>It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself … having made peace through the blood of His cross. § Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness … over the sins that were previously committed … that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. § If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.<br><br>Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.</p>

 Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me. 

<p>Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?<br><br>[He] made peace through the blood of His cross. And, 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 abore reproach in His sight. § In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.<br><br>If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.<br><br>Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.<br><br>The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.</p>

Evening Daily Light

 Enoch walked with God. 

<p>God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them … For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. § [He] made peace through the blood of His cross. And 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 you … He has made alive … , having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. § Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.<br><br>Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.</p>

 He Himself is our peace. 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">20 </sup>and through him to reconcile   to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,   by making peace   through his blood,   shed on the cross. </span></p>

and through him to reconcile<cr>1</cr>  to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,<cr>2</cr>  by making peace<cr>3</cr>  through his blood,<cr>4</cr>  shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:20

 20 and through him to reconcile   to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,   by making peace   through his blood,   shed on the cross.

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 through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

<p><span class="bible-text ">and through him to reconcile   to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,   by making peace   through his blood,   shed on the cross. </span></p>

 and through him to reconcile   to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,   by making peace   through his blood,   shed on the cross.

Bible Verse of the Day

September 6, 2023

Colossians 1:20 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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