A Personal Journal of Grace and Discipleship

“I 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.” - Galatians 2:20

From the blog


 

The Exchanged Life: Finding Freedom and Wholeness Through Spirituotherapy

In a world filled with competing counseling models, it’s not uncommon to find contrasting views on what “biblical” or “Christian” counseling truly means. Searching for answers can feel overwhelming, and the terms alone—“biblical counseling” versus “Christian counseling”—can spark endless debates on how, or whether, secular counseling methodologies fit within a Christian framework.

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Hidden With Him
Believing Thomas Believing Thomas

Hidden With Him

In today’s reading, Witness Lee points us to a deep truth about the hiddenness of God. Throughout the universe, we can see His works, yet we do not see Him. He remains secret even as He acts in power and love. Lee reminds us that God’s life has this hidden nature, and those who live by His life will often go unseen by the world. While our human nature craves applause and recognition, God’s life in us does not display itself for show. When we love others by His love, it is not to make a spectacle; it is quietly faithful.

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The Emptied Life That is Filled
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The Emptied Life That is Filled

Today’s devotional from Nick Harrison reminds us that true power before others only comes from first being filled with God. Edward Dennett warns that one of the greatest mistakes we can make is to try to impress people or seek influence apart from the presence of God. Without His indwelling fullness, we are left with only self-confidence, which quickly becomes a barrier to peace and joy.

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The Quiet Power That Removes Stones
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The Quiet Power That Removes Stones

T. Austin-Sparks points us to the women at the tomb, who came expecting to find the stone sealed and immovable. Instead, they discovered that it was already rolled away. Their amazement reflects how often we underestimate the quiet power of God. We imagine His works must be explosive, accompanied by earthquakes and thunder, but more often His strength accomplishes what is needed in silence, removing obstacles as if they had never existed.

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When a Nation Forgets God
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When a Nation Forgets God

Ray Stedman reminds us through the sobering words of Jeremiah that when people or nations persist in ignoring God, judgment eventually comes. The account of Jerusalem’s fall is not just a piece of history. It reveals the justice of God at work. The city that rejected Him was itself rejected. The temple that burned incense to idols was set aflame. The king who refused to see had his eyes put out. The people who enslaved others were themselves led captive. God’s judgment is often allowing us to fully reap what we have sown.

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The Gift of Holy Awe
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The Gift of Holy Awe

Ray Stedman reminds us of the tragic reality that unfolded in the days of Jeremiah. When the words of God were read to King Jehoiakim and his court, they showed no reverence, no trembling, and no sorrow. Instead, the king defiantly burned the scroll, exposing not only his arrogance but also the deeper problem of a heart void of the fear of God. To lose that holy awe is to set oneself on the road to destruction. For the fear of God is not terror, but the sober recognition that His authority governs all of life.

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The Hidden Strength Within
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The Hidden Strength Within

A.B. Simpson reminds us today of the immeasurable riches found in union with God through the indwelling Spirit. When the Holy Spirit takes His rightful place within us, we step into the inheritance God has promised. The verse in Ephesians 3:20 declares that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us. Simpson encourages us to see that this power is not distant or external, but alive in us through Jesus Christ.

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The Honor of His Approval
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The Honor of His Approval

A.B. Simpson reminds us that the world’s values are often turned upside down from God’s perspective. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells us not to worry about the things that dominate earthly concerns, for life is much more than what we eat, drink, or wear. In the same way, Simpson points out that God delights to use the things and people that the world rejects. The names “Nazarene” and “Christian” were once slurs of contempt, yet they became titles of honor in the Kingdom. God is not looking for those the world praises, but for those who are yielded to Him.

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Prayer that Nourishes Life Within
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Prayer that Nourishes Life Within

Oswald Chambers draws us into the heart of prayer, stripping away our ordinary assumptions and reminding us what prayer truly is. Too often, we treat prayer as a means of securing blessings or stirring up emotion, but Chambers points us higher. Prayer, he says, is the very nourishment of the life of Jesus within us. Just as physical food sustains the body, prayer sustains the divine life born in us when we were made new in Him.

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Walking in the Light You’ve Received
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Walking in the Light You’ve Received

Oswald Chambers warns us not to treat spiritual insights as trophies of past experiences, but as living truths meant to be obeyed in the present. He uses the picture of the mountaintop and valley to remind us that what God shows us in moments of clarity must be worked out in daily life. If we brush aside His revelation, the very light we once rejoiced in can become darkness, leaving us dry and restless.

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Welcomed Into His Presence
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Welcomed Into His Presence

Miles Stanford points us to the staggering reality that our acceptance before God is not earned but already secured in Jesus. For many, there are long seasons of reckoning without much relief, fighting sin in their own strength, only to find frustration and futility. Then, by the Spirit’s gracious leading, our eyes are lifted to the Deliverer Himself. We are reminded not only of what He has done, but of where He has placed us. We are raised up together with Him and seated in the heavenly places.

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Weaned for Fullness
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Weaned for Fullness

Miles Stanford draws us to Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7, where he declares that what once seemed valuable is now counted as loss compared to knowing Jesus. This is not a call to despise life’s blessings, but rather to see them in their proper place. When the Lord reveals Himself as our true life, our hearts begin to release their grip on things and hold fast to Him.

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Seen in Secret
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Seen in Secret

In today’s devotional, Witness Lee brings us back to the heart of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6. He shows us that righteous deeds such as giving, praying, and fasting are not meant to be displayed for others to applaud. The flesh naturally longs for recognition, but the children of God are called to live differently. We are invited into a hidden life with the Father, one that seeks only His pleasure and His presence.

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Walking in the Father’s Life
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Walking in the Father’s Life

Witness Lee draws our attention to the contrast between two ways of living. The first is the hopeless path of the natural life, which is weak and powerless to meet God’s standards. The second is the way of divine life, which God has given us in His Son. Through union with Jesus, we are no longer left to strive in the weakness of our flesh. Instead, we live by the life of the Spirit within us. This is the very life of the Father, expressed through the Son, now dwelling in us.

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Co-Heirs with Jesus
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Co-Heirs with Jesus

Romans 8:15-17 reminds us of a truth too great to overlook: as believers, we did not receive a spirit of fear or slavery, but the Spirit of adoption. By that Spirit we cry out, “Abba, Father.” This is not a distant God we approach, but a loving Father who calls us His children. And if children, then heirs. More than that, we are co-heirs with Jesus, destined to share not only in His glory but also in His sufferings.

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For His Sake, Not Mine
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For His Sake, Not Mine

E. Stanley Jones points us to the simple but searching truth found in Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” At first glance, it may seem like a common command, but Jones shows us it carries a deep principle about how we live under authority. The natural tendency of our flesh is to resist, saying, “I am free in Jesus, so I owe nothing to anyone.” Yet Paul insists that obedience and submission must be carried out “in the Lord.” This changes everything.

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The Unchanging God and the New Covenant Glory
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The Unchanging God and the New Covenant Glory

In today’s reading, T. Austin-Sparks draws us into the wonder of God’s unchanging nature. The Lord declares, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). From the old covenant to the new, the nature of God remains perfect in holiness and righteousness. Grace has not altered His standard, nor has it lowered His character. The difference between the old and the new lies not in God, but in the Mediator who stands between God and man.

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Honoring His Name in How We Treat Others
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Honoring His Name in How We Treat Others

Ray Stedman points us to a sobering truth from Jeremiah 34. The people of Judah had made a covenant before God, setting their slaves free as an act of obedience. Yet shortly afterward, they went back on their word, reclaiming those same people as slaves once again. God declared this to be no small matter. He said, you have profaned My name. The Hebrew meaning behind “profane” is to wound, pierce, or deface. In other words, God was saying, you have defaced Me by your actions.

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Life Shared, Life Fruitful
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Life Shared, Life Fruitful

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.

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More Than Enough in His Spirit
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More Than Enough in His Spirit

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.

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Peace Beyond the Waves
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Peace Beyond the Waves

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.

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