Miles Stanford invites us to consider the true center of our spiritual life, not in doctrines or blessings themselves, but in our affection for Jesus. The Scripture calls us to seek the things above where Jesus sits at the right hand of God. Our hunger for Him is fulfilled in Him, and as we taste His goodness, our desire for Him grows even more. This satisfaction overwhelms every lesser longing and brings peace where fleshly desires can never find rest. It reminds us that knowledge about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him personally.

Today, E. Stanley Jones turns our attention to Paul’s greeting in Philippians 1:1: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” At first glance, it seems to place bishops and deacons outside the company of saints. Jones suggests that when religious positions become a source of pride, they can hinder the simple life of a saint. He recalls signing an autograph after a bishop who carefully spelled out his title so everyone would know its importance. This small act illustrates how easily titles can become more important than authentic holiness. Being self‑consciously important makes it hard to live humbly as a saint.

In Luke 17:20‑21 Jesus tells us the kingdom of God is not something we will observe with our eyes. It is not located in a specific place we can point to. Instead, He says, the kingdom is within us. Jeremy Taylor’s reflection on this truth invites us into a deeply personal experience of God’s presence. He describes the heart as the true temple where Jesus, our High Priest, receives our prayers and presents them to the Father. The Holy Spirit consecrates this inner temple, making it a dwelling place for the Trinity. In this inward sanctuary, God reigns by faith and fills our lives with His grace.

In today’s meditation, T. Austin-Sparks invites us to examine whether our life is truly rooted in Jesus or still anchored in ourselves. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 13:5, he reminds us that the new creation is wholly in Him and never originates from us. Even though we have this life within, it remains entirely in Jesus. We are partakers by faith alone. If we begin to think the source lies in us, faith would no longer be necessary, and we would merely repeat the old life. Sparks makes it clear: we must recognize that the new life is never our own constitution but purely and always our union with Jesus.

The reading for today challenges us to look beyond mere familiarity with the Scriptures and into the life they are meant to impart. T. Austin-Sparks points out that the true value of the Bible is not found in our ability to quote it or in the prestige we gain by knowing it well. Rather, it is found in the livingness of Jesus shining through its pages. He warns that we can have all the teaching, all the tradition, and yet remain unchanged if the risen life of Jesus does not become our own. In his loving yet searching way, he invites us to face this personally and honestly.

Ray Stedman invites us to consider the root of our struggles: the desire to seek great things for ourselves. Drawing from Jeremiah 45, he explains that this longing to claim glory that belongs to God leads to pious deceit, misdirected blame, and secret fear. We might try to correct these tendencies through our own efforts, only to find ourselves sinking deeper. Stedman reminds us that the only remedy is found at the cross and resurrection of Jesus. At the cross our old self is put to death, and in Jesus' resurrection we receive new life. Our healing does not come from striving to fix ourselves, but from accepting the finished work of Jesus.

This reading invites us to glimpse how people in the Old Testament lived by God’s grace, even though they were under the law. The law could never supply life or power; without God’s work on their behalf, all they had was human strength—which was never enough. When twelve spies returned from exploring the Promised Land, ten of them measured the giants and fortified cities against their own abilities. Their conclusion was rooted in human perspective: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” They forgot God’s promise, and their fear turned into rebellion.

A.B. Simpson’s reflection on 1 Samuel 15:22 reminds us that obedience to the voice of God is of greater worth than any sacrifice we might offer. He points out that our healing, both spiritual and physical, is connected to a heart that delights in pleasing the Lord. Simpson highlights that praise is a service dear to God. When we approach Him with gratitude and joy, He mirrors that joy back to us in the form of renewed health, strength, and vitality. Our bodies often respond to the condition of our hearts; a joyful spirit prepares the way for trust to grow.

In this reading, Oswald Chambers invites us into the tension between common sense and living faith. He notes that every time we step out in faith, something contrary will appear to challenge it. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. They occupy different realms. Chambers asks if we can trust Jesus when our common sense fails, when the facts of our lives seem to mock our belief. It is easy to say “I believe” when we are on the mountaintop, but real faith is forged in the valley where facts shout, “It’s impossible.”

Miles Stanford invites us to lift our gaze from the dust of earth to the heights of heaven. We live in a world so saturated with earthly concerns that it is easy to forget where our true life is found. Stanford laments that the Church can become so tethered to the here and now that it loses its heavenly effectiveness. We are reminded that, like the Greeks who said, “Sir, we would see Jesus,” our hearts are hungry for a vision of the Risen One who sits at the right hand of God. The devotional encourages us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things, because our life is hidden with Jesus in God. It is a call to live from our heavenly position, not merely to aspire to it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.