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

Man - The Dwelling Place of God - How to Try the Spirits

For Reading and Meditation:      Ephesians 2:1-10We are acknowledging that in order to understand "grace" we must see it in relation to a Sovereign. As one writer puts it: "Grace is bound to be sovereign since it cannot by its very nature be subject to compulsion." That is why we often refer to it as free grace. There is no reason for grace but grace. I believe the old definition of grace cannot be improved: "Grace is the free unmerited favor of God." At the heart of all true communion with God there lies this gripping truth - God took the initiative. He is more inclined toward us than we are toward Him. We cannot earn His affection. We have simply to receive it. Always the initiative is from God. When you originally came to Him you came because He first drew you. The very faith by which you lay hold of Him is not of yourself; it is, as our text says, "the gift of God." Every step you make on your spiritual pilgrimage is possible because of His grace. I know this teaching affronts modern-day men and women because they like to feel that they can "work their passage to heaven," as one preacher puts it. That is like someone in debt for a million pounds trying to get the one to whom he is indebted to accept his resources of a few pence as being sufficient to clear the debt. Listen to the Word of God again and let it sink deep into your soul: "For it is by grace you have been saved  it is the gift of God." Grace is a gift. You have not to achieve but simply receive.O Father, once again my heart is moved as I realize it was not my merit but Your mercy, acting in grace, that drew You to me, and me to you. All honor and glory be to Your mighty and everlasting Name. Amen.<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>Romans 5:1-21</li><li>Titus 3:7</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How does Paul define grace?</li><li>Write out your own definition of grace.</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

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith  it is the gift of God " (v. 8)

For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 5:1-11We have come now to the seventh positive attitude that makes for good spiritual and mental health: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). This Beatitude seems to have a special relevance to the age through which we are passing, for if there is one thing the world needs at this moment, it is peacemakers. Our generation has never known peace worldwide. One authority says: "During most of our recent history the air has been filled with rumblings of pending war until today, at the so-called peak of scientific enlightenment, the menace of a global conflict threatens our atomic age with suicide." The uncertainty caused by being on the brink of nuclear confrontation, despite the end of the cold war between the East and West, has taken its toll on people of all nations, spiritually and psychologically. Studies show that living in a generation which has the power to annihilate itself in global destruction has a crippling effect upon the minds of thousands, if not millions of people. There was never a time when peacemakers were as important as they are now. And more and more are standing up to be counted on the side of peace. The peace organisations report increasing memberships and their attempts to alert the world to the need for international treaties continues to gain the attention of every section of the media. Yet how strange that most of those who are so concerned for peace between nations fail to see the need for peace between themselves and their Creator. The solemn truth is that no man or woman can become a peacemaker - at least in the biblical sense of the word - until they have found peace within their innermost being. O my Father, help people to come to the realisation that before they can enjoy the peace of God, they must first enjoy peace with God. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<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>Romans 12:9-18</li><li>Romans 14:19</li><li>Proverbs 12:20</li><li>Mark 9:50</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What are we to do?</li><li>Are you a peacemaker?</li></ul></div></div>

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (v. 1)

For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 5:1-8Why should the offer of free salvation in Christ be such a stumbling block to the world? Mainly because it cuts deep into people's pride. Bishop Neill, a writer, says: "... that which we ask the Muslim to look for in Jesus is in itself a cause of grave offense to Muslim pride. We suggest - we cannot do otherwise - that he find a Savior. The Muslim affirms that he has no need of such a thing." Pride adopts the stance: "I can save myself by my fasting, good works, or other meritorious acts." But the message of the gospel is this: there is simply nothing we can do to save ourselves. We must let God save us - or be lost. Helen Woodhouse, another religious writer, says: "We think we must climb to a certain height of goodness before we can reach God, but He doesn't say, 'at the end of the road you may find Me'; rather, 'I am the Way, I am the road under your feet, the road that begins just as low down as you happen to be.'" If we are in a hole, then the way begins in a hole. The moment we give up our pride and turn our face to God, confessing that we can do nothing to save ourselves, that moment we put ourselves in the position where we can be saved. The next step is simply to call out to the Lord and ask Him to save you. If you have never done that before, I urge you - do it today. O God, I see clearly that I can do nothing to save myself, and if I am to be saved then I must look to You to save me. I repent of my sin, and turn to You as Your Word commands. Save me. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.<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>2 Corinthians 9:1-15</li><li>Romans 6:23</li><li>Ephesians 2:8</li><li>John 4:10</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How is salvation described?</li><li>What two responses can we have?</li></ul></div></div>

"... at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." (v. 6) 

For Reading and Meditation:      1 John 4:7-21There have been two great attempts to find God throughout the ages," said Dr. E. Stanley Jones, "one, philosophy, the other, moralism." The attempts of philosophy to find God are represented by the three great philosophical nations - Greece, India, and China. These three nations have taken men and women about as far as it is possible to philosophical reasoning. Philosophy has strained itself to the utmost and yet it has not been successful in finding God. Lao-tzu, the Chinese philosopher, said the final word about God is Silence, and Shankaracharya, the Indian philosopher, said the final word about God is not that. They both concluded at zero. Moralism, likewise, cannot lead to God. The attempt to find God through the law was the noble effort made by the Jews. Never was such a moral system devised as theirs, nor an end result so disappointing. It produced, for instance, the Pharisee who stood in his pride and said: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men" (Luke 18:11). Jesus pronounced doom on the Pharisee's attempt to find God through moralism when He said: "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). They could not reach the kingdom by even their greatest self-effort alone. Both philosophy and moralism fall short. When our best was not good enough, when our highest attempts could not lead to the kingdom, God came down Himself to lift us. Now no one need say in his or her quest for God: "Not that."O God, Your down-reach is my only hope. My up-reach is feeble and goes little higher than my head. Your down-reach, however, goes to the lowest of the low-it reaches me. I take hold of Your grace and I am lifted - to You. Blessed be Your Name forever. Amen.<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>Romans 5:1-8</li><li>Ephesians 2:4-5</li><li>John 3:16</li><li>2 Timothy 3:5</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 moralism?</li><li>What is the heart of Christianity?</li></ul></div></div>

"... God ... sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." (v. 9)

"Knowing that tribulation worketh patience." Romans 5:3 This is a promise in essence if not in form. We have need of patience, and here we see the way of getting it. It is only by enduring that we learn to endure, even as by swimming men learn to swim. You could not learn that art on dry land, nor learn patience without trouble. Is it not worth while to suffer tribulation for the sake of gaining that beautiful equanimity of mind which quietly acquiesces in all the will of God? Yet our text sets forth a singular fact, which is not according to nature but is supernatural. Tribulation in and of itself worketh petulance, unbelief, and rebellion. It is only by the sacred alchemy of grace that it is made to work in us patience. We do not thresh the wheat to lay the dust: yet the flail of tribulation does this upon God's floor. We do not toss a man about in order to give him rest, and yet so the LORD dealeth with His children. Truly this is not the manner of man but greatly redounds to the glory of our all-wise God. Oh, for grace to let my trials bless me! Why should I wish to stay their gracious operation? LORD, I ask Thee to remove my affliction, but I beseech Thee ten times more to remove my impatience. Precious LORD Jesus, with Thy cross engrave the image of Thy patience on my heart.

Another classic from the pen of C.H. Spurgeon that will challenge and inspire you on your daily path to Heaven.

Charles Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook

Let Trials Bless

Sometimes words in the Christian vocabulary have a different meaning than they have in ordinary usage. "Hope" is one of those words.As far as the world is concerned, to hope often means to look forward to something unseen but with no certainty of fulfillment. A man in deep financial trouble may say, "I hope everything will turn out all right," but he has no assurance that it will. His hope may be nothing but wishful thinking. The Christian hope also looks forward to something unseen, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:24 : "Hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" All hope deals in the realm of the future.But what makes the Christian hope different is that it is based on the promise of the Word of God and is therefore absolutely certain. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19 NIV). Hope is "faith laying hold of God's Word and living in the present assurance of what God has promised or predicted" (Woodring). "Notice that I am using hope to mean 'certainty.' Hope in Scripture refers to future events that will happen come what may. Hope is not a delusion to buoy our spirits and keep us going forth blindly to an inevitable fate. It is the basis of all Christian living. It represents ultimate reality" (John White).Because the believer's hope is based on God's promise, it can never lead to shame or disappointment (Romans 5:5). "Hope without God's promises is empty and futile, and often even presumptuous. But based on the promises of God, it rests upon His character and cannot lead to disappointment" (Woodring).The Christian hope is spoken of as a good hope. Our Lord Jesus and God our Father have loved us and have given us "everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (2 Thessalonians 2:16).It is called a blessed hope, referring particularly to the coming of Christ: "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).And it is called a living hope. "In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3 NIV).The Christian's hope enables him to endure seemingly endless delays, tribulation, persecution, and even martyrdom. He knows that these experiences are only pinpricks compared to the coming glory.

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

"Hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:5)

Alps on Alps arise, as the believer presses forward in his course. He beholds a summit, and exclaims, " My God will meet me there, and there will gainsayers be confounded." But when he reaches it, he receives not the expected testimony, and unbelievers make a mock of his disappointed hopes. He would be troubled; but in the absence of the external testimony, he receives an inward sweet assurance of the love and faithfulness of God, and in the very hour of his disappointment, his face shines with a singular joy. Looking up he sees a higher mount. Oh, he exclaims, it is there, not here, that God should meet me. I must reach the higher summit. He reaches it, and it proves to be a new summit of sorrow for him. Again, a wave of heavenly bliss rolls over his heart, and he refuses to be confounded. A still higher peak catches his aspiring eye. Observe now, all his disappointments are real conquests. Those inferior summits mark the way that he must necessarily tread, in his course to the hill of transfiguration. In his great hope he is not confounded, only in his lesser hopes that lay hold of time, place, and circumstance. From every hill of disappointment, he carries off a rich spoil.

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

" Hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts." - Romans 5:5. 

Romans 5:1-11Justification by faith is the starting point in the Christian life. There can be no tree without a root ; no stream without a fountain. The careless, unsaved ones may read about the blessings of redemption, as we have them here in our lesson, and may say, "Yes, they are very beautiful and good." But they never can possess these gifts and blessings, until they have been "justified." And they never can be justified, until they receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Nothing but His blood can put away sin. Nothing but His Spirit can change and renew the life. When we have been "justified" our sins are put forever away. There is, therefore, now no condemnation. We stand before God - as if we had never sinned .<div class="center-it mtb10">"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1. We must stop at these first words and study them carefully. They are the gate at which we must enter the Father's house, whose blessedness is described in the verses following. After justification comes peace. Peace is a favorite word with Paul. He does not mean peace in an earthly sense, for he did not have such peace.</div>His life was full of suffering, care, toil, persecution and trial. Yet his epistles are starred all over with the bright word peace. There are several different kinds of peace mentioned by Paul. Here, he speaks of "peace with God." This means the consciousness of reconciliation with God. We have an illustration of it, in the prodigal son after his return to his father, when he had been forgiven and restored to his place.Sin separates us from God. While the feeling of guilt is in the heart, there is no peace. We cannot look into God's face. But when we have repented of our sins and have confessed them and received God's forgiveness, there is peace WITH God.Paul speaks also elsewhere of the "peace OF God." Writing from a prison, he exhorted his friends to be anxious for nothing - but to make all their cares known to God; and then he said the peace of God would keep their hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. This is a step further than peace with God. It is a peace which holds the heart quiet and still - in the midst of whatever things are hard and trying in this world. It comes from nestling in God's love, and leaving all tangled things in His hands. Christ promised the same peace when He said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you." Evidently peace is a Christian duty - as well as a privilege. It is named as one of the fruits of the Spirit, in the same cluster with love, joy, gentleness, goodness and meekness. The peace mentioned here in our lesson, is the beginning of all true peace. The peace of God cannot be ours until - we have peace with God.The peace of God comes through Jesus Christ, "through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace." Always and everywhere, Christ is the door. We enter every place of blessing through Him. The way to peace with God, is through our Lord Jesus; and here "access" into the grace of salvation is also "through" Him. To reject Christ - is to reject everything of blessing and good. To receive Christ - is to be admitted to all the privileges and benefits of redemption. This "access" is into all "grace." Grace is undeserved favor. What we earn by our own work, is not grace - it is wages. What comes to us as mercy, through the love of God - is grace."Access" - to what? To all the blessings that belong to God's children. "All things are yours!" says Paul, in another letter. "All things are yours; … and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's." There is the privilege of prayer - we have access to that. There is the Bible - that is ours. There is the Church - that is for us. There is the storehouse of grace - grace for life, comfort for sorrow, all divine fullness - we have access into that. There is heaven at the last - the door is open for us to enter in - and go no more out forever!Because the door is open to us, "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." It may seem ofttimes that the present gains of faith in Christ are not very great. It may even appear as if the worldly man had the better of it here. But this world is not the end. There is a future in which there shall be compensation for earth's ills and losses to all who are in Christ. We are some day to be like Christ and to be with Him in glory! This ought to cheer us in our earthly life. Those who have this blessed hope ought not to be affected by the hardness and trial of the way.There is a man journeying along a lonely road at night. It is dark. The storm beats about him. He is weary and faint - but in his heart there is a vision of a beautiful and happy home, not many miles away, to which he is going. Loved ones are there, waiting for him. There he will find shelter from the storm, food for his hunger, rest to relieve his faintness and weariness. This vision of happiness, comfort, joy and safety, a little way before him - makes him forget the hardness and discomfort of the journey. So it is, that the "hope of the glory of God" should cheer us as we move through the world's darkness and sorrow and trial.Paul reminds us that we are to rejoice also in our tribulations. This seems a hard lesson. We may learn to bear troubles submissively, without complaining; but to rejoice in them - that is something which seems impossible to many. The tree is too bitter - to have such sweet fruit growing on it. But the grace of Christ is equal to this strange task - enabling us to rejoice in our tribulations. Thousands of Christians have done it. Paul himself did it. We remember his songs in the night at Philippi. This is what Christian faith may always do. The secret of it is, perfect trust in the will and love of God. No one can rejoice in pain or loss who has not a settled confidence in the righteousness of God's ways. Then he knows that the thing God sends or permits - is the best thing, though it almost crushes him.Someone tells how a flute is made. Here is a piece of wood. It is solid and hard and it makes no music. Then a workman take it and cuts holes in it, and makes a hollow tube through it. It is by thus cutting as if destroying it, that it is made into a flute, which gives forth sweet music. God seems ofttimes to be destroying His children by tribulations - but He is really preparing them to give forth sweet music. Tribulation is good, for it "works patience." Patience is a blessed lesson to learn. Any school in which we can learn it, is a good school, and the lesson can scarcely be too costly. Patience is ofttimes learned in the school of suffering. We are there trained to endure, not to cry out in the hour of anguish - but to sing instead.Richter tells of the little bird that is shut away in the darkness to learn new strains, which afterwards it sings in the light. Many Christians are taken into the darkness and kept there for a time, while they are taught the songs of patience. We look at patient people with admiration, not knowing what it has cost them to get this pearl of the Christian graces .Patience is only the first link in a golden chain. It begins in tribulation - in the fire. That is where the gold is refined. I saw the men in the great smelter at Denver, bringing in the ore - rough, unsightly, without any appearance of value, and I followed the processes until they showed us the pure metals ready for use. That is the way this chain of gold begins. The rough ore of common life is taken and put into the hot furnace, where it is purified until it shines in lustrous beauty."Patience works experience ." Experience is what we have learned for ourselves by living. Most of us do not learn much any other way. Every day's life leaves its new lines written upon our character.After experience comes hope. The more we know of the truth and the beauty of the blessedness of hope - the more does the future mean to us. Trying Christ, makes us even the more sure of Him. Testing the promises, makes us feel more secure in resting upon them. This "hope," too, is one that never shall disappoint us. One of the most pathetic things I saw in all the great West, was a little graveyard near the foot of Pike's Peak, in which sleep many of the men who journeyed there with the wild expectation of finding gold. Their hope put them to shame - and they died broken-hearted. Not so does ever the Christian's hope.The ground of all our hope is in Christ, who died for us while we were yet sinners. God does not begin to love us - when we begin to get good and love Him. He loves us first in our sins, and it is His love that starts in our hearts the first glimmering of love for Him. The argument here is very strong. If He loved us in our sins so much that He died for us - surely now, when we have been justified and saved, He will be faithful to us and will keep us from falling away. Thus the cross is the abiding proof of the unchanging love of God."You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Romans 5:1-11

Justification by Faith

Christ's love compels us. (2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV)

"The love of 
God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 5:5). That was the 
dynamic of service. Now, that is simple and it works in two ways. All activity, work, and what is 
called "service" for the Lord, without that behind it, is lacking in the true 
power of fruitful service, but if that is there, we cannot help being the Lord’s 
servants. Nothing can make us true servants of the Lord but a personal 
passionate love for Himself. Nothing can substitute that. But given that, there 
is no need for any kind of human ordination, an ecclesiastical setting apart. 
You are the Lord’s servant right enough if you have an adequate love for Himself 
in your heart. It will be, it will work out. All our value to the Lord depends 
upon the measure of our heart-love for Himself. That is all. There is nothing 
profound about that, but it is testing.
We may do many things, like the church at Ephesus later on. It did many 
things, but the Lord said, "I have this against thee, that thou hast left thy 
first love" (Rev. 2:4). And in effect He said: "There is no justification in 
your lampstand remaining, it is merely an empty profession, an outward vessel 
without the inner Lord, the inner light." And unless this original first love is 
recovered, it is mere profession, doing many things, but the thing which 
justifies our existence is that love and only that. Nothing but that love will 
keep us going. It is the power of endurance through the years, and it is an 
awful thing to come to a Christian life which has got to be kept up without that 
love for the Lord in the heart. It is only that love that really makes the 
Christian life possible under all the strain of the years. I am quite sure that 
in the case of the apostle, with all his suffering and all he had to meet, the 
thing that kept him going was that flame of love in his own heart for the Lord 
Himself. Through the suffering, nothing but a strong love for the Lord will keep 
us going.

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!” 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.

Open Windows

The Representation of the Invisible God - Chapter 5

 Flame of Love 

He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has given to us. § If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons… Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.

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

 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away. 

I am the Lord … they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me. § Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. § You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength. § My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. § I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus.

 Hope does not disappoint. 

Christ … has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. § Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. § God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. § In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. If you love Me, keep My commandments. § The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § The house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. § They realized that they had been with Jesus. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! § Immanuel … God with us. § His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. § The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

 Your name is ointment poured forth. 

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. § The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § To you who believe, He is precious. § We love Him because He first loved us. § The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. You yourselves are taught by God to love one another. § This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. § Above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” § Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

 The fruit of the Spirit is love. 

Joy in the Holy Spirit. § Inexpressible and full of glory. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing… Exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. § We also glory in tribulations. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. § These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. § As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! § The joy of the Lord is your strength. In Your presence is fullness of joy; … at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. § For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

 The fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy. 

We… rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. § I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. § Believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible. In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. § To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ. Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? § God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

 As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 

The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. § He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. § That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. § You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” § The Spirit … helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. § Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, . . . the Spirit of truth. 

Now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. § We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. § You have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven … Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. § Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts.

 Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength. § The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. § Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. By Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. § Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. § We also glory in tribulations.

Evening Daily Light

 He who is of a merry hearthas a continual feast. 

I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. § He will not speak on His own authority. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit … Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. § The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

 The communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

We … glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. § My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. § Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. § Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me … For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. 

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. § Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! § They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. § The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. § Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 We … glory in tribulations. 

<blockquote>
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us" (<a id="verse_1632880553769096" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/5/5">Rom. 5:5</a>).
</blockquote>Acknowledging our insufficiency and appropriating His all-sufficiency are the basic building blocks for our growth in the "not I but Christ" life."There is no child of God that has set his face to go through with Him, who has not grieved over the weakness of his love for the Lord Jesus. Our hearts have mourned, and we have suffered when we have realized our selfishness and mixed motives; the weak, unstable love we have for Him."Truly none of us can rejoice in our love for Him. But when we begin to apprehend His great, eternal love for us, our hearts are filled with joy. And we praise Him for His love, His longsuffering and patience; and we magnify His Name for that love which never fails.""When we slip out of communion with God, how wretched we are, and how we contribute to the unhappiness of others! Whereas in communion with our Father there is power to enable us to resist the devil, to enjoy the Lord and to promote the true blessing of His own. May we have our Lord Jesus very simply and constantly before our hearts.""Nothing but an intelligent and growing acquaintance with the Lord Jesus can satisfy the renewed heart. The very mercy that delivers a soul becomes a hindrance unless the Lord Himself be the one Object.""Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (<a id="verse_1632880553196905" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/3/5">2 Cor. 3:5</a>).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Our One Object 

<blockquote>
Tribulation worketh patience" (<a id="verse_1632878015313548" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/5/3">Rom. 5:3</a>).
</blockquote>The source of our Christian life is a Person, and the growth of that life in us is a gradual process - comparable to a grain of wheat, or a branch in the vine."A person whose ancestors for three or four generations have all been Christians, may inherit their virtues; but although affecting his life for good, they do not count before God as righteousness, for they are not the fruit of the directly imparted divine life. A believer may thus inherit patience, and although he may be but a babe in Christ, he is seen to be more stable than a more advanced believer, because whatever goes wrong he stands unruffled."To empty him, the Father puts him in circumstances where his natural patience' fails. After repeated failures of his natural virtue of patience, he realizes that it is not enough to meet all trials, and carry him triumphantly through them all. Then he turns to the Father to give him His own unfailing patience." -E.R."Spiritual growth is from stage to stage. There are great days, days of decisive battles, days of crisis in spiritual history, days of triumph in Christian service, days of the right hand of the Father upon us. But there are also idle days, days of apparent uselessness, when even prayer and service seem a burden. Are we, in any sense, renewed in these days? Yes, for any experience which makes us more aware of our need of the Father must contribute to spiritual progress, unless we deny the Lord who bought us." -W.G.S."It is not a man's thanksgiving that he has been set free from suffering; it is to be thanksgiving that he has been set free through suffering. Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress' (<a id="verse_1632878015629915" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/4/1">Ps. 4:1</a>).""For you surely know that what is genuine in your faith produces the patient mind that endures" (<a id="verse_1632878015980133" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/James/1/3">James 1:3</a>, Wms.).

 His Patience 

<blockquote>
Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (<a id="verse_1632878299316485" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Timothy/2/3">2 Tim. 2:3</a>).
</blockquote>What if there were conscientious objectors in the Lord's army? Actually, our Lord does not have any noncombatant soldiers whatsoever in His service, since the battle line extends from the front all the way to the rear; to say nothing of the fact that we are all camped in enemy territory."Luther, speaking to the young preachers of his day, said: I did not learn to preach Christ all at once. The devil has been my best professor of exegetical and experiential theology. Before that great schoolmaster took me in hand, I was an unweaned child, not a grown man. It was my combats with sin and with Satan that made me a true minister of the New Testament. It is always a great grace to me, and to my people, for me to be able to say to them: "I know this text is true! I know it for certain to be true!" Without incessant combat, and pain, and sweat, and blood, no ignorant stripling of a student ever yet became an effective preacher.'""Every bit of truth we receive, if we receive it in faith, will take us into conflict and will be established through conflict. It will be worthless until there has been this process. Take any position the Lord calls you to take, and, if you are taking it with Him, you are going through things in it, and there will be an element added by reason of the pressure. You have taken a position, yes; but you have not really received as yet, the true value of it has not yet been established. You have not come into the real significance of the truth until there has been some sore conflict in relation to it." -T. A-S."I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most." -C.H.S."We also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering produces fortitude; fortitude, ripeness of character" (<a id="verse_1632878299777303" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/5/3">Rom. 5:3</a>, Wey.).

 Combat Soldiers 

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Not only so, but we<ft>1</ft> also glory in our sufferings,<cr>1</cr> because we know that suffering produces perseverance;<cr>2</cr>

Romans 5:3

perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:4

And hope<cr>1</cr> does not put us to shame, because God’s love<cr>2</cr> has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,<cr>3</cr> who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5

 3 Not only so, but we  also glory in our sufferings,   because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope   does not put us to shame, because God’s love   has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,   who has been given to us.

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

 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

 Not only so, but we  also glory in our sufferings,   because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope   does not put us to shame, because God’s love   has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,   who has been given to us.

Bible Verse of the Day

December 31, 998

Romans 5:3-5 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

More on the web

Group of Brands