Bob Hoekstra draws our attention to one of the most precious realities of the gospel: through God’s promises we are invited to partake in His life. Peter tells us that by the promises of God we become partakers of the divine nature. This does not mean we become gods, for God alone is eternal and divine. Instead, it means that the life of Jesus Himself comes to dwell within us. What a staggering truth, that the Creator shares His own life with those who trust Him.

A.B. Simpson takes us into the heart of God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:27, where the Lord declares that He will put His Spirit within us. This is not merely the gift of a new heart at conversion, but the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to walk in God’s ways. It is a reminder that Christian life is not self-improvement, but divine life lived within us. The Spirit Himself becomes the strength and wisdom to keep us in holiness and truth.

Oswald Chambers brings us to the tender words of Jesus: “I have called you friends” from John 15:15. He reminds us that the essence of friendship with Jesus is found in surrender, but not in the grim or heavy way we often imagine. Self-surrender is not meant to feel like a burden or a reluctant duty. Rather, when we yield ourselves fully to God, the Holy Spirit fills that surrender with joy. Sacrifice, then, becomes not drudgery but delight, for it is born out of love.

Miles Stanford reminds us that many Christians live with a distorted view of themselves because they are still measuring their worth through the lens of the first Adam. They look at their old, crucified self and become discouraged, failing to see that in Jesus they are already united with the Last Adam, the Lord from heaven. Instead of focusing on the earthly man who was condemned at the cross, we are called to fix our eyes on the heavenly man in whom we are made new.

In today’s devotional, Witness Lee draws our attention to the high calling spoken by Jesus in Matthew 5:48: “You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first, this sounds impossible. How can we, weak as we are, ever live up to such a standard? The truth, however, is not found in striving, but in identity. Jesus points us to the reality that we are children of the Father, born of His life, and carrying His nature within us. This perfection is not a goal we reach by imitation, but an expression of the life that already dwells in us.

Today’s reading from Nick Harrison takes us to Isaiah 49:4-5, where the servant of the Lord cries out that his labor has seemed in vain, his strength spent without visible fruit. Yet his judgment and his work are with God. Watchman Nee reminds us that this verse holds a powerful truth: our justification and our recompense are not found in outcomes or people’s opinions but in God Himself. Even when our work appears fruitless, our standing with the Lord remains secure, and He Himself is our satisfaction.

E. Stanley Jones reflects on the truth of Ephesians 5:8, reminding us that we were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. He explains that this is not merely a shift from being in the dark to being in the light, but a transformation of identity itself. Apart from Jesus, people not only dwell in darkness, they become darkness. Their thoughts, actions, and habits shape them into what they dwell upon. The result is emptiness, a punishment that unfolds naturally and automatically.

T. Austin-Sparks reminds us that when Paul declares Christ is our life, he is not speaking about something that needs to be improved or supplemented. Too often we imagine that our spiritual life is deficient and must be upgraded, as though Jesus Himself were not enough. But this life is not separate from Him, and He does not stand in need of improvement. The truth is simple yet transforming: Jesus is our life, and our role is to discover more fully what is already ours in Him.

Ray Stedman draws our attention to Jeremiah’s remarkable act of faith in buying a field while imprisoned, at a time when Jerusalem was on the brink of destruction. On the surface it seemed absurd. Why purchase land when the enemy was about to conquer it? Yet this decision shines as an example of what it means to live by faith, showing us that faith has both caution and courage.

Bob Hoekstra reminds us today of a promise many would prefer to avoid. It is not the kind of promise that comforts at first glance, but one that soberly warns. The Spirit has spoken clearly that in the latter times some will turn away from the faith. This is not speculation, but a prophetic word, and its reality presses in closer as history moves toward its conclusion. While the world seeks what sounds positive and disregards anything that sounds negative, the Spirit calls us to receive the truth in full, both what comforts and what cautions.

A.B. Simpson reminds us that consecration is not measured merely by surrendering sinful things, but by letting go even of our rights and pride. True humility is not only laying aside what is obviously wrong, but yielding those hidden areas where self-will insists on its own way. In this surrender, the soul is humbled and learns the joy of letting God direct every detail, large or small.

Oswald Chambers reminds us today that prayer is never meant to be an exercise in empty words or a pious routine. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:9 describe a good child asking for a good thing, not an entitled spirit demanding a gift. Chambers presses us to take a spiritual inventory of our lives before God. The state of our relationships, both with Him and with others, matters deeply when we come to Him in prayer.

Miles Stanford draws us to the heart of the believer’s growth in Colossians 3:3, reminding us that we have died, not merely changed. This distinction is crucial. Our old Adamic life was not improved or modified. It was crucified with Jesus. Realizing what the first Adam is prepares us for the greater realization of who the Last Adam is.

Witness Lee draws our attention to the difference between outward imitation and inward participation. Jesus’ words, “You shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” can sound like an impossible command if taken as a rule of behavior. Many try to copy God’s actions, thinking that if they mimic His love or mercy, they will somehow measure up. But this leads only to frustration, because we cannot imitate divinity through human effort. It would be like teaching an animal to act like a person. No matter how convincing it appears, it will never be real, because the nature is missing.

Today’s devotional from Nick Harrison reminds us of the abundant sufficiency of God’s grace. The writer recalls a moment of heaviness and weariness after a long day when the Spirit brought to mind the promise from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you.” That truth struck like a lightning flash, transforming despair into laughter. Suddenly the idea of God’s grace not being enough seemed as absurd as a tiny fish worrying that it might drink a river dry, or a mouse fearing famine while sitting inside the granaries of Egypt.

E. Stanley Jones reflects on the truth that being in Christ is the same as being in the kingdom of Christ. Paul writes that no one who lives in immorality, impurity, or idolatry has any inheritance in this kingdom, for the kingdom of Jesus is holy and whole. What Jones stresses is that our union with Christ is not just a private matter tucked away in the hidden places of our hearts. To be in Him means to be brought into a kingdom that is corporate, relational, and all-encompassing.

T. Austin-Sparks invites us to consider what it means for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, as Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18. He reflects on the days following the resurrection of Jesus, when the disciples slowly began to see Him in a new light. At first, there were faint hints, like the dim glow of dawn on the horizon. Then the light grew stronger until, on the day of Pentecost, the glory of the risen Lord was revealed in full brilliance. What once seemed a mystery suddenly became clear. The Scriptures opened like a new book, and Jesus was seen not only as the glorified Son of God, but as the very embodiment of God’s eternal plan and heavenly order.

Ray Stedman invites us to see the wonder of God’s promise of the New Covenant, first spoken through Jeremiah and fulfilled in Jesus. Unlike the Old Covenant, which placed demands on people from the outside, the New Covenant places God’s life on the inside. What the people of Israel could never accomplish by trying harder, God Himself has accomplished by giving a new motive, a new power, and a new family.

Bob Hoekstra draws our eyes to a precious promise tucked in Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” This is not simply a hopeful wish, but a declaration of God’s unwavering commitment to bring His purposes to completion in the lives of His people. We often carry anxieties about whether we will ever grow into maturity, whether our marriages will flourish, or whether we will gain true understanding of God’s Word. Yet here God Himself speaks: He will complete the work that He began.

A.B. Simpson points us to a truth that reorients the way we understand the Christian life. John writes that everyone who has this hope in Jesus purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure. That verse is not calling us to strain toward imitation but to rest in union. God’s goal is not for us to mimic His Son by self-effort but to be made new in Him. Jesus imparts His own life to us, and out of that union comes a purity that reflects His nature.