Bob Hoekstra draws our attention today to one of the most beautiful promises in Scripture, the reality of shared life with Jesus. Peter calls it an exceedingly great and precious promise that we may become partakers of the divine nature, not in becoming divine ourselves, but in experiencing the life of God expressed through us. This is the same truth that Paul declared when he said it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

A.B. Simpson draws us to the simple yet powerful story of the widow with only a jar of oil in her house. To her, it seemed like nothing. To Elisha, it was everything, for it was the key to God’s provision. That jar became the source of her deliverance, multiplying as long as there were vessels ready to receive it.

Oswald Chambers speaks to the very heart of our struggles with inner rest. There are times when what we think of as peace is only ignorance. We may feel calm because we have chosen not to look too deeply at the pain and brokenness in the world. Yet when our eyes open to reality, that fragile calm disappears. It is then that the peace of Jesus becomes essential. His peace is not something we can generate or preserve. It flows directly from His presence. When He speaks peace, it is peace indeed.

Miles Stanford reminds us in today’s devotional that our true identity and inheritance are not tied to this earth, but to Jesus in the heavens. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs. This reality is not reserved for some distant future; it is our present possession in Christ. Too often we are tempted to measure God’s love by earthly blessings or comforts, but the Spirit lifts our eyes to see the risen Lord in His heavenly environment, drawing us from darkness to light.

Witness Lee reminds us that the Christian life is not about imitation, but about participation in the very life of God. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus says, “You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first, such a command may sound impossible. Yet when we understand it from the perspective of being born into God’s family, it becomes a word of assurance rather than of burden. We are His children, not outsiders trying to mimic Him.

This passage draws us to the transforming power of the cross. When Jesus gave up His spirit, the earth shook, the temple curtain tore, tombs opened, and hardened soldiers confessed, “Surely he was the Son of God.” That moment of surrender was not defeat but overwhelming victory. In the shadow of the cross, even the timid are emboldened. Nick Harrison, through the selected devotion, shows how gazing upon the cross changes everything.

E. Stanley Jones reflects on Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:20, where believers are urged to give thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus. Jones reminds us that this is not exaggeration, but reality. The climate of life in Jesus is thanksgiving. Gratitude is not reserved for the pleasant and easy things. In Him, every circumstance can be received with thanksgiving, because nothing is wasted. Interruptions become interpretations, setbacks become opportunities, and even the cross becomes resurrection.

T. Austin-Sparks warns us of something subtle but devastating in the Christian journey: what he calls “the earth touch.” His words remind us that creation itself was subjected to frustration, not by choice, but under God’s ordering hand, as Romans 8:20 declares. That frustration is seen in confusion, breakdown, and the constant sense of things never fully arriving at their intended glory. Why do movements that once served God powerfully eventually crumble? Why do works begun in faith often dissolve into division and disappointment? Sparks points to one answer. Somewhere along the way, man reached out and tried to bring heavenly realities down to the level of earth.

Ray Stedman points us to a moment in Jeremiah’s life that demonstrates both faith and doubt working side by side. In Jeremiah 32, the prophet is instructed by God to buy a field even while Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonians. Outwardly, this act of purchase was bold and resolute, a visible testimony that God’s word of restoration would surely come to pass. Jeremiah did not treat this as speculation or gamble. He treated it as certainty because God had spoken.

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.