We are the temple of God in Christ Jesus

The Supplied Life Devotional for December 18

His enlargement

Revelation 21:22

"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." Revelation 21:22

When this verse reveals that God Himself is the temple, it does not mean that God is the temple by Himself. Rather, it means that God is so thoroughly and completely embodied in His people that they have become an enlargement of Him as a temple (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16). They are His dwelling place to such an extent that they perfectly express Him and have His glory (Rev. 21:9-11). God's building at the end of the Bible is composed of God Himself built into every saint transformed and conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29).

http://www.thechristian.org/devotional/

How to transfer

The Supplied Life Devotional for November 30

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How to transfer

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 2 Corinthians 10:4

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4

Stop yourself and open wholly to the Lord. You cannot do anything to change yourself, but you are connected to the source of power, to the Triune God, to the name of Jesus, to the Spirit of God who casts out demons. You are one with that Spirit. Stay one with Christ, hold Him as the Head, stay with your spirit, believe the truth, and stand with the Body. This is how to have a transfer. It is to stop ourself and open to the Lord and contact Him. 

We have been interpreting our own life. We have been doing the living. We have lived to ourselves, and we are a subjective mess — deceived and filled with demonic activity. Now we need to disassociate ourself from the enemy. And this enemy is not merely an objective enemy. It is a subjective enemy enmeshed with our soul, possessing us with our own state of mind and our own moods. You have to disassociate yourself from your mood, from your own feeling. The enemy hates this word. Acting on this word will deliver us all. 

The best kind of prayer to deliver us from this subjective state is to exercise our spirit and draw a line. On this side of the line, speak boldly to the enemy, "You fallen angel, you devil, you demons, I have been enmeshed with you. I have thought your thoughts, I have believed your feelings. You have caused me to be shut up to myself. But this day, I am drawing a separating line between you and me. I declare war with the weapons of my warfare that are mighty through God. My real person is Christ. It is no longer I. I have been crucified with Christ. Now Christ lives in me. I am regenerated in my spirit. The truth is mine and I stand one with the members of the Body." Take these four pillars and you will overthrow the stronghold of self. You will drive out every subjective state that keeps you in bondage to self. The transfer will be there.

- Bill Freeman, The Supplied Life

Only one Black Friday offers eternal savings.

Total Forgiveness in Christ Jesus

The Principle Applied

The law and the secret, then, is that we must come into action in relation to every fragment of truth, put our foot down upon everything that is presented to us as our inheritance in Christ. That will begin with the forgiveness of sins. The very first point of our inheritance in fellowship with Christ is the forgiveness of sins. Put your foot down upon that; it is yours. God has secured it in Christ for you. You have not to plead with God to forgive you. You have not to wrestle with God for the forgiveness of sin. If you have come to the place where you recognise the need of forgiveness, the consciousness that you are a sinner, there is no need to plead with God to forgive you. God has in Christ forgiven you all your sins-"having forgiven us all our trespasses" (Col. 2:13). God has done it in Christ, but the enjoyment of it requires the putting of your foot down upon it in faith, and saying: Lord, I honour you in this matter; You have said that forgiveness of sins is secured for me in Christ; I believe that and take it. By faith you put your foot down upon it. Then do not from that point go away and wonder if you are forgiven. Go on as being forgiven, and refuse every retaliation of the enemy to say that it is not true.

Partnership with Christ 

by T. Austin-Sparks

Chapter 5 - The Secret and Law of Attaining Unto God's End

Reading: Josh. 1:1-11.

For we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. (Heb. 3:14).

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it... Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Heb. 4:1,11).

For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. (Heb. 5:1).

A greater Grace

What we need is to be humbled, which means to be dependent upon and available to Jesus Christ who is God. Humility is not a "pious virtue." Humility is recognizing that in me dwells no good thing, and that I need the Lord Jesus Christ every hour. Just tell Him, "Lord Jesus, I need You this morning. I need You this afternoon. I need You in the middle of the afternoon. I need You Jesus in my relationship with my associates, I need You Jesus in my relationship with my spouse. Lord Jesus Christ, I need You. Apart from You, Lord Jesus, I can do nothing." This is humility. Humility is dependence upon and availabilty to God in Christ Jesus.

A greater grace
http://www.thechristian.org
Bill Freeman
Nov 19

The Assurance that Christ is in you

“Test yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves; or do you not recognize your- selves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you fail the test", 2 Corinthians 13:5
The significance of this testing and proving is that we should be able to answer yes to the following: “Do you not recognize yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?” Do you know that the Lord Jesus Himself is now living inside of you? Do you have that assurance? Can you positively testify, “Yes, Christ is in me!”
If you can confess that Jesus Christ lives in you, you have passed the test. You have determined your condition before God with full assurance. That assurance comes to you in three ways: by the written Word of God, by your definite act of receiving Him, and by the Spirit witnessing with your spirit. It is this assurance that now becomes the solid foundation of your Christian life and fills your daily life with hope and meaning.

Thank You, Lord, Your Word is true, for “he who has the Son has life!” I praise You for coming into me — to be my life, to be my everything, and to abide in You forever.

Bill Freeman - The assurance that Christ is in you (last pages)

Calling upon Jesus Christ

Calling upon the Lord by Witness Lee
http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=0CC2

Christ me

@chrisbow1: Thank you Jesus Christ God for giving your life for me, to give your life to me, to live your life through me

Major Ian Thomas

Grace NT supercedes the OT law

John (the law) was a bright and shining light and you were willing to rejoice for a season in him but now one greater than John is here who is Jesus (Grace). John 5:35-36

Resurrection

And with great power the apostles continued to give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them - Acts 4:33 Interlinear CB

Psalm 133

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Even Aaron’s beard,

Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon

Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.

Galatians 11-24

Paul Defends His Ministry

11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my [h]countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with [i]flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to [j]become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except [k]James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, [l]I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by [m]sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God [n]because of me.

Galatians 1 (NASB)

Galatians 1-10

Introduction

1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Perversion of the Gospel

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Galatians 1 (NASB)

Don’t emphasise with oaths; speak the plain truth

12 It is of the highest importance, my brothers, that your speech should be free from oaths (whether they are “by” heaven or earth or anything else). Your yes should be a plain yes, and your no a plain no, and then you cannot go wrong in the matter.

Prayer is a great weapon

13 If any of you is in trouble let him pray. If anyone is flourishing let him sing praises to God.

14-16a If anyone is ill he should send for the Church elders. They should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. Believing prayer will save the sick man; the Lord will restore him and any sins that he has committed will be forgiven. You should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and praying for each other, so that if sickness comes to you, you may be healed.

16b-18 Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer. Do you remember Elijah? He was a man like us but he prayed earnestly that it should not rain. In fact, not a drop fell on the land for three and a half years. Then he prayed again, the heavens gave the rain and the earth sprouted with vegetation as usual.

A concluding hint

19-20 My brothers, if any of you should wander away from the truth and another should turn him back on to the right path, then the latter may be sure that in turning a man back from his wandering course he has rescued a soul from death, and his loving action will “cover a multitude of sins”.

James 5 (Phillips)

Ultimate justice will surely come: be patient meanwhile

7-8 But be patient, my brothers, as you wait for the Lord to come. Look at the farmer quietly awaiting his precious harvest. See how he has to possess his soul in patience till the land has had the early and late rains. So must you be patient, resting your hearts on the ultimate certainty. The Lord’s coming is very near.
9 Don’t make complaints against each other in the meantime my brothers (as you wait for Christ’s return)—you may be the one at fault yourself. The judge himself is already at the door.
10-11 For our example of the patient endurance of suffering we can take the prophets who have spoken in the Lord’s name. Remember that it is usually those who have patiently endured to whom we accord the word “blessed!” You have heard of Job’s patient endurance and how God dealt with him in the end, and therefore you have seen that the Lord is merciful and full of understanding pity for us men.

James 5 (Phillips)

Misuse of Riches

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold,the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of ^[a]Sabaoth. ⁵ You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have ^[b]fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and^[c]put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

James 5 (NASB)

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear or Read

Great Post by Frank Viola at the Deeper Journey.

Don't Believe Everything You Hear Or Read

It is still true that man proposes, but God disposes

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4 (NASB)

It is for God to judge, not for us

11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

James 4 (NASB)

We should be humble, not proud

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

James 4 (NASB)

Your jealousies spring from love of what the world can give you

4 1-3 But about the feuds and struggles that exist among you—where do you suppose they come from? Can’t you see that they arise from conflicting passions within yourselves? You crave for something and don’t get it, you are jealous and envious of what others have got and you don’t possess it yourselves. Consequently in your exasperated frustration you struggle and fight with one another. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And when you do ask he doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit—you only want to satisfy your own desires.

4-6 You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world, and never realising that to be the world’s lover means becoming the enemy of God! Anyone who deliberately chooses to love the world is thereby making himself God’s enemy. Do you think what the scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality? Or do you imagine that this spirit of passionate jealousy is the Spirit he has caused to live in us? No, he gives us grace potent enough to meet this and every other evil spirit, if we are humble enough to receive it. That is why he says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’

James 4 (Phillips translation)

Real, spiritual wisdom means humility, not rivalry

13-16 Are there some wise and understanding men among you? Then your lives will be an example of the humility that is born of true wisdom. But if your heart is full of rivalry and bitter jealousy, then do not boast of your wisdom—don’t deny the truth that you must recognise in your inmost heart. You may acquire a certain superficial wisdom, but it does not come from God—it comes from this world, from your own animal nature (flesh), even from the devil. For wherever you find jealousy and rivalry you also find disharmony and all other kinds of evil.

17-18 The wisdom that comes from God is first utterly pure, then peace-loving, gentle, approachable, full of tolerant thoughts and kindly actions, with no breath of favouritism or hint of hypocrisy. And the wise are peace-makers who go on quietly sowing for a harvest of righteousness—in other people and in themselves.

James 3 (Phillips Translation)

The danger of the tongue

The responsibility of a teacher’s position

3. 1 Don’t aim at adding to the number of teachers, my brothers, I beg you! Remember that we who are teachers will be judged by a much higher standard.

The danger of the tongue

2-6 We all make mistakes in all kinds of ways, but the man who can claim that he never says the wrong thing can consider himself perfect, for if he can control his tongue he can control every other part of his personality! Men control the movements of a large animal like the horse with a tiny bit placed in its mouth. Ships too, for all their size and the momentum they have with a strong wind behind them, are controlled by a very small rudder according to the course chosen by the helmsman. The human tongue is physically small, but what tremendous effects it can boast of! A whole forest can be set ablaze by a tiny spark of fire, and the tongue is as dangerous as any fire, with vast potentialities for evil. It can poison the whole body, it can make the whole of life a blazing hell.

7-12 Beasts, birds, reptiles and all kinds of sea-creatures can be, and in fact are, tamed by man, but no one can tame the human tongue. It is an evil always liable to break out, and the poison it spreads is deadly. We use the tongue to bless our Father, God, and we use the same tongue to curse our fellow-men, who are all created in God’s likeness. Blessing and curses come out of the same mouth—surely, my brothers, this is the sort of thing that never ought to happen! Have you ever known a spring to give sweet and bitter water simultaneously? Have you ever seen a fig-tree with a crop of olives, or seen figs growing on a vine? It is just as impossible for a spring to give fresh and salt water at the same time.

James 3 (Phillips Translation)

Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James Chapter 2 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

Favoritism Forbidden

2. 1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James Chapter 2 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

Avoid snobbery: keep the royal law

2 1-7 Don’t ever attempt, my brothers, to combine snobbery with faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ! Suppose one man comes into your meeting well-dressed and with a gold ring on his finger, and another man, obviously poor, arrives in shabby clothes. If you pay special attention to the well-dressed man by saying, “Please sit here—it’s an excellent seat”, and say to the poor man, “You stand over there, please, or if you must sit, sit on the floor”, doesn’t that prove that you are making class-distinctions in your mind, and setting yourselves up to assess a man’s quality?—a very bad thing. For do notice, my brothers, that God chose poor men, whose only wealth was their faith, and made them heirs to the kingdom promised to those who love him. And if you behave as I have suggested, it is the poor man that you are insulting. Look around you. Isn’t it the rich who are always trying to “boss” you, isn’t it the rich who drag you into litigation? Isn’t it usually the rich who blaspheme the glorious name by which you are known?

8-11 If you obey the royal law, expressed by the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’, all is well. But once you allow any invidious distinctions to creep in, you are sinning, you have broken God’s Law. Remember that a man who keeps the whole Law but for a single exception is none the less a law-breaker. The one who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’, also said, ‘Do not murder’. If you were to keep clear of adultery but were to murder a man you would have become a breaker of God’s whole Law.

12-13 Anyway, you should speak and act as men who will be judged by the law of freedom. The man who makes no allowances for others will find none made for him. It is still true that “mercy smiles in the face of judgment.”

James Chapter 1 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

Hear God’s Word and put it into practice: that is real religion

Hear God’s Word and put it into practice: that is real religion
19-20 In view of what he has made us then, dear brothers, let every man be quick to listen but slow to use his tongue, and slow to lose his temper. For man’s temper is never the means of achieving God’s true goodness.
21-25 Have done, then, with impurity and every other evil which touches the lives of others, and humbly accept the message that God has sown in your hearts, and which can save your souls. Don’t I beg you, only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding yourselves. The man who simply hears and does nothing about it is like a man catching the reflection of his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, it is true, but he goes on with whatever he was doing without the slightest recollection of what sort of person he saw in the mirror. But the man who looks into the perfect mirror of God’s law, the law of liberty (or freedom), and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who sees and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness (joy).
26 If anyone appears to be “religious” but cannot control his tongue, he deceives himself and we may be sure that his religion is useless.
27 Religion that is pure and genuine in the sight of God the Father will show itself by such things as visiting orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.

James Chapter 1 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

No temptation comes from God, only highest good

12 The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly joyous man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love him.
13-16 A man must not say when he is tempted, “God is tempting me.” For God has no dealings with evil, and does not himself tempt anyone. No, a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which can be enormously attractive. His own desire takes hold of him, and that produces sin. And sin in the long run means death—make no mistake about that, brothers and sisters of mine!
17-18 But every good endowment that we possess and every complete gift that we have received must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency. By his own will he made us his own sons and daughters through the Word of truth that we might be, so to speak, the first specimens (species) (first fruits) of his new creation.

James Chapter 1 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

The riches of Christ

9 The brother who is poor may be glad because God has called him to the true riches.
10-11 The rich may be glad that God has shown him his spiritual poverty. For the rich man, as such, will wither away as surely as summer flowers. One day the sunrise brings a scorching wind; the grass withers at once and so do all the flowers—all that lovely sight is destroyed. Just as surely will the rich man and all his extravagant ways fall into the blight of decay.

James Chapter 1 (J.B. Phillips Translation)

The Christian can even welcome trouble

1 James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve dispersed tribes.

The Christian can even welcome trouble

2-8 When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of integrity. And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask God—who gives generously to all men without making them feel foolish or guilty—and he may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him. But he must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether he really wants God’s help or not. The man who trusts God, but with inward reservations, is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next. That sort of man cannot hope to receive anything from God, and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.

James Chapter 1 (J.B. Phillips Translation)