A Personal Journal of Grace and Discipleship
âI have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me.â - Galatians 2:20
From the blog
The Exchanged Life: Finding Freedom and Wholeness Through Spirituotherapy
In a world filled with competing counseling models, itâs not uncommon to find contrasting views on what âbiblicalâ or âChristianâ counseling truly means. Searching for answers can feel overwhelming, and the terms aloneââbiblical counselingâ versus âChristian counselingââcan spark endless debates on how, or whether, secular counseling methodologies fit within a Christian framework.
âď¸ The Day Already Prepared Within
Todayâs reflection from AB Simpson centers on this quiet but powerful truth: Jesus doesnât just give us what we need for the dayâHe iswhat we need. A day lived with Him is not one where we scramble for guidance, strength, or peace; itâs one where we draw upon His indwelling life as our moment-by-moment source.
đ Living What Cannot Be Lost
Eternal life isnât just a promise for some distant tomorrowâit is a present-tense reality in everyone who belongs to Christ. The richness of this gift stretches beyond the concept of living forever. Eternal life is both durational and relationalâit never ends, and it is found only in the Son of God.
đŁ Realizing Christ in Every Step
Oswald Chambers invites us to see life not as divided between sacred and secular, but as one continuous opportunity to know Christ intimately. The spiritual saint, he says, doesn't live for self-fulfillment but for the deepening knowledge of Jesus in every corner of lifeâyes, even the unremarkable ones.
đď¸ Grace for the Moment Youâre In
God is never late, nor is His grace theoretical or generic. Todayâs devotional from Miles Stanford reminds us that grace is not a reserve we store in advanceâit flows fresh and perfectly timed for the moment of need. Philippians 4:19 assures us that God supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That supply is not limited to material provision, but encompasses emotional strength, spiritual courage, and sustaining mercy.
đ§Clothed and Quenched
Todayâs reading from Witness Lee invites us to behold a vital distinction in our relationship with the Holy Spiritâbetween the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit. When Jesus spoke of living water flowing from within, He was speaking of the Spirit as lifeâessential and inward. But later, as He instructed His disciples to wait until they were clothed with power from on high, He was referring to the Spiritâs outward equipping for service.
đ The Sweet Bondage of Freedom
Real freedom in Christ isnât a license to drift into apathyâitâs the deep desire to be bound more fully to the One we love. E. Stanley Jones recalls conversations with Muslims and Hindus who marveled at the all-consuming nature of Christian devotion. Unlike prescribed rituals that end with a final prayer or set act, Christâs freedom invites us into a continuous life of loving surrenderâa freedom that binds us joyfully, fully, and perpetually to Him.
đż Nothing Held Back
Ruth Paxsonâs reflection presses gently but firmly into the deeper meaning of surrender. Yielding isnât confined to one moment in the pastâit extends across the entire landscape of our lives: spirit, soul, and body; past, present, and future. Many find it easier to entrust the past to the Lordâwhatâs done is done, and perhaps regret softens the hand to release it. But yielding the presentâour ongoing patterns, attachments, and small hidden reservationsâcan be much harder. And the future? That often feels like too big of a risk to place entirely in someone elseâs hands, even Godâs.
đ§ Leaving the Self-life Behind
Growth into the fullness of Christ doesnât stall because we lack information or opportunityâit stalls when remnants of the old self quietly take center stage again. T. Austin-Sparks draws our attention to a subtle but powerful truth: many faithful believers who began their walk in surrender have found themselves arrested in spiritual growth, not due to ignorance, but due to unyielded areas of the soul. Perhaps an old mindset resurfaced, or an uncrucified desire asserted itself. However it happens, the result is the sameâtheyâve reached a standstill.
đ The Beauty of a Searching Heart
Luke commends the Jews in Berea as âmore noble-mindedâ than those in Thessalonicaânot because they blindly accepted Paulâs teaching, but because they eagerly received it and searched the Scriptures to confirm its truth. Their nobility wasnât in blind faith, but in discerning faithâone that received eagerly but tested wisely.
đ The Gift That Is Already Ours
Of all the promises God has made, there is one that crowns them allâthe promise of eternal life. This is not merely a reward for the future but a reality already imparted to those who believe in Jesus. Eternal life is more than unending existence; it is the very life of God shared with us, now and forever.
The Door Is OpenâCome In
Some of us may look back on our spiritual journey and assume that our experience, our emotions, or our longevity in the faith secures our standing. But todayâs devotional from AB Simpson reminds us that everything weâve received in Christâfrom the very first drop to the deepest currentâis by grace and grace alone. The gifts of God never shift from being freely given to being earned by spiritual maturity or tenure.
When Iâd Rather Hide Than Abide
Oswald Chambers gives us a sobering glimpse into a quiet danger: spiritual sluggishness. We often think of laziness as inactivity, but Chambers challenges that ideaâspiritual sloth shows up not when we do nothing, but when we withdraw from others in the name of peace. We may hide behind our devotions, preferring solitude and stillness over engagement and self-giving love. But the kind of retirement Christ offers isnât from peopleâitâs from self-effort. He doesn't remove us from the world; He lives through us in it.
The Living Object of My Heart
Miles Stanford begins with a rare insightâone that pierces the heart of our restless striving: that most Christians remain unhappy not because they donât know truth, but because they arenât abiding in the Person of Christ. Itâs possible to intellectually grasp our spiritual positionâraised and seated with Christ in the heavenliesâyet remain emotionally and spiritually disconnected from the One who put us there.
Breathed In to Be Poured Out
There is a beauty in recognizing the two distinct aspects of the Holy Spirit's work in us: one for being, and one for doing. In John 20:22, after the resurrection, Jesus breathes the Spirit into His disciplesâquietly, gently, personally. Witness Lee believes this is the essential Spiritâimparted for their inner life, their spiritual identity, and their ongoing union with Christ. It's intimate and foundational, not for display or performance, but for life itself.
Stay in Your LaneâGrace Runs Deepest There
Some of the deepest unrest in our souls comes from comparing our path with someone else's. We wonder why our influence isnât as visible, or why our gifts arenât celebrated like othersâ. But Jesus gently turned Peterâs gaze away from John with a loving rebuke: âWhat is that to you? You follow Me.â This short but powerful word still speaks today. Christ doesnât ask us to measure our journey against another's, but to stay yoked to Him in faith and obedience.
Freed from the Add-Ons: Christ Alone Is Enough
E. Stanley Jones opens our eyes today to the quiet tyranny of religious add-onsâthose subtle âandsâ that seem so spiritual but actually rob us of the simple, freeing truth: Christ alone is sufficient. Galatians 2:4 resounds like a bell in the fog, announcing our liberty in Christ Jesus. The danger wasnât just legalismâit was the attempt to dress grace in human clothing. âChrist and circumcision,â they said. Today, the phrasing may have changed, but the bondage remains: Christ and your denomination. Christ and your tradition. Christ and your spiritual gifts. Christ and your perfect record. But Paul, inspired by the Spirit, tore through all that clutter with one cry: Christ alone.
When I See, I Speak
T. Austin-Sparks gently reminds us that spiritual maturity is not the result of accumulation but illumination. Itâs not simply what weâve studied or learnedâitâs what weâve seen. Christ is not known by degrees earned but by eyes opened. We are never meant to remain satisfied with what weâve grasped so far. In fact, God ordains moments that press us beyond what weâve previously known, that we might see Him in deeper waysâcrisis by crisis, encounter by encounter.
Heavenâs Applause at Midnight
It wasnât the earthquake that stole the spotlight in Acts 16âit was the midnight melody of two men whose backs were split open, feet chained, and future uncertain. Paul and Silas had no idea their suffering was about to become the stage for one of the most powerful prison breaks in biblical history. But thatâs not what made their story glorious. What truly shook the heavens was their choice to sing.
Beyond All I Could Ever Ask or Imagine
Todayâs verse, âNow to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or thinkâŚâ (Ephesians 3:20), reminds me how often I come to the Lord with small containers of expectation when He is offering an ocean of grace. Godâs promises throughout Scripture are already staggeringâglobal blessing through Abraham, miraculous deliverance from Egypt, eternal kingship through David, a gentle and righteous Messiah, and a covenant that forgives, transforms, and brings us into intimacy with Him. How could I ever think or ask beyond that?
He Wears No Strain: The Effortless Shoulders of Grace
The Lord never buckles under our burdens. What feels impossibly heavy to us is light to Himânot because He dismisses our pain, but because His strength is not like ours. We groan under the weight; He doesnât. He never asks for help carrying what we place in His hands. Instead, He reminds us: âCast it on Me, and I will sustain you.â He will carry you and your burdenâand He will not tremble.