<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+1:1-14">Ephesians 1:1-14</span></span></p><p>What is it in the heart of most men and women that rejects the idea of God's free and generous offer of salvation? It is pride, the deadliest of all the deadly sins. Bernard Shaw, an example of a modern-day thinker, said: "Forgiveness is a beggar's refuge. We must pay our debts." But we cannot pay our debts. As our spiritual fathers saw so clearly, the only language we can use in the presence of a God who demands so much and whose demands we are unable to meet is: Just as I am without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. In response to our coming, the free unmerited favor of God flows down to us, cancels our debt, imputes and imparts Christ's righteousness to us. How can Christ's righteousness be imputed and imparted to us? It's His righteousness, not ours. A simple illustration may help to illuminate this point. A dull little boy came home from school one day and said to his mother: "We've won a holiday." The truth was another boy had come top of the region in the examinations and the head teacher decided to give the whole school a holiday. Yet the dull little lad said: "We've won a holiday." Grace is like that. God permits the righteousness of Jesus to cover us and then, as we open ourselves to it - to enter us. He did it, but we benefit from it. Isn't grace really amazing?</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, as I contemplate still further the "riches" of Your grace, once again I have to confess it's truly amazing. No wonder men and women use that term to describe Your grace. No other adjective will do! 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+4:1-19">Philippians 4:1-19</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ti+1:14">1 Timothy 1:14</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="tit+3:6">Titus 3:6</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What has God promised?</li><li>What did Paul testify 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

"In him we have  the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace " (v. 7)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="2ti+1:1-18">2 Timothy 1:1-18</span></span></p><p>Several of the world's religions, when faced with the perplexing issue of Christ's return from the dead, explain it in terms of reincarnation. A proponent of one of the Eastern religions says: "Christ's resurrection was really a reincarnation - another soul in another body." I once heard a Christian minister declare that Paul's reference to Christ as the firstborn from among the dead  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:18">Colossians 1:18</span>) was a clear allusion to reincarnation. There is no doubt that our Lord came from a virgin womb and a virgin tomb, but the body that emerged from the sepulchre was not fashioned in the tomb as it had been when He was an infant in Mary's womb. The body was the same one as before. Others try to explain Christ's resurrection as living on in the recollection of others. "To live in the minds and hearts of those we love," goes a well-known saying often heard at funerals, "is not to die." It has to be acknowledged that some live so vibrantly that it is hard to think of them as dead even after one has attended their funeral. But when we talk about Christ's resurrection, we are not saying He survives in our memories. Recollection is not resurrection. The body which died upon the cross and was laid in the cool tomb on the evening of the first Good Friday was miraculously infused with life once again early in the morning of the first Easter Day. It is as literal and as factual as that. This - nothing less and nothing else - is what we mean by the resurrection of our Lord from the dead.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, I am so thankful that in bringing Your Son back to life You brought 'life and immortality to light' through the gospel. I know this to be true for in You there cannot be such a thing as death. Life is so sure - as sure as You are. 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+1:1-20">Ephesians 1:1-20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ro+4:25">Romans 4:25</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+15:3-5">1 Corinthians 15:3-5</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1th+4:13-15">1 Thessalonians 4:13-15</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Paul say was of first importance?</li><li>What does this mean for those who have experienced resurrection life?</li></ul></div></div>

" ... our Savior, Christ Jesus ... has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light ..." (v. 10)

<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) 

<font size="2" face="Verdana">
<p align="justify"><i>...That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ. (Ephesians 1:10)</i></p>

<p align="justify">There is one comprehensive and 
all-embodying truth which, if it really gained the complete mastery of our 
hearts and dominated our whole consciousness, capturing our will, our hearts, 
and our minds, would really revolutionize everything, just as the new covenant 
represents a revolution from the old covenant. The great truth which embodies 
everything is this: that God has determined that nothing which is not Christ 
shall remain, and He is working toward that end, on the one hand to rid this 
universe of everything that is not Christ; on the other hand to fill this 
universe with that which is Christ. That means that God does not accept or 
recognize anything whatever that is not Christ. Then again, it means that God 
puts His seal upon what is Christ, and it is all a matter of the measure of 
Christ. It is a tremendous thing when that really does come to our hearts with 
the force and the power which it really does represent. It explains everything 
of God's dealings with us. It gives us the key to our problems. It sets us at 
once upon the highway of God's own purpose.</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

Christ in You

 The Highway Of God's Purpose 

<p>One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. § You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. § That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.<br><br>He is not ashamed to call them brethren. § Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother. § Go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father.”<br><br>I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held … Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. § That they should not be made perfect apart from 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

 The whole family in heaven and earth. 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">9 </sup>he  made known to us the mystery   of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed   in Christ, </span><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">10 </sup>to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment  —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.   </span></p>

he<ft>1</ft> made known to us the mystery<cr>1</cr>  of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed<cr>2</cr>  in Christ,

Ephesians 1:9

to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment<cr>1</cr> —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.<cr>2</cr> 

Ephesians 1:10

 9 he  made known to us the mystery   of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed   in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment  —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under 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

 he made known to us the mystery  of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed  in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 

Ephesians 1:9-10

<p><span class="bible-text ">he  made known to us the mystery   of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed   in Christ, </span><span class="bible-text ">to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment  —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.   </span></p>

 he  made known to us the mystery   of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed   in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment  —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.  

Bible Verse of the Day

December 27, 2023

Ephesians 1:9-10 NIV

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