Heaven Open, Heart Anchored
The heavens are open, and the living Head directs His body from above.
Devotional Credit: Open Windows, T. Austin-Sparks, “According to Christ, 4,” reflecting on Acts 7:56
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Stephen’s last sight on earth was not a temple, a crowd, or even the stones in the air. He saw the heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. T. Austin-Sparks points to this as the center of New Testament life. Authority is not housed in a building or a human program. It is vested in the risen Lord, seated in heaven, and we, His people, draw our life from Him.
This changes everything. We are not orbiting an earthly headquarters, we are joined to a living Head. Church is not a carryover of the old system with a new label. The cross has ended the era of shadows. The Spirit joins us to the living reality of Jesus who reigns from the right hand of the Father. Our worship, our guidance, and our power flow from above.
For readers who were taught to locate faith in routines, this can sound disruptive. Yet it is the most restful news. We are not straining upward to reach God. He has placed us in His Son. We belong to the new. The life of abiding in Christ is not working to keep God near. It is trusting the indwelling Spirit to express the risen life of Jesus through us in ordinary moments.
Thank you, T. Austin-Sparks, for calling us to lift our eyes. Stephen’s gaze is our invitation. The heavens are open because the Son of Man has finished the work. The Law’s era closed at the cross. The living Lord now governs His people from the right hand of God. We step out of the old corridors and stand in the light of the new covenant where Jesus, our Life, directs His body on earth.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I lead you from the visible to the real. Lift your eyes as Stephen lifted his, and set your mind on the things above where Jesus is at My right hand. Your life is hidden with Christ in Me. You are not striving from distance. You are joined to the One who died and rose, so the body of sin might be rendered powerless, and you might walk in newness of life.
I have sealed you and placed you into Christ. You are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones, and He is the Head over all things for the church. I write My laws within your heart, not to chain you to stone, but to free you to love in the power of the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. You are not under the old guardianship. You live under grace.
Abide in Him. Draw from His sufficiency. I bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. The same Spirit who raised Jesus dwells in you and will give life to your mortal body. Walk by the Spirit. Set your mind on the Spirit. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Present your body to Me as one alive from the dead, and I will express the life of Jesus in your mortal flesh.
You are crucified with Christ, and Christ lives in you. The life you now live in the body, you live by faith in the Son of God who loves you and gave Himself for you. You are a new creation. Old things have passed away, and new things have come. Approach today as one seated with Christ in the heavenly places. From that place, I will guide, empower, and console. The heavens are open. The Son of Man reigns. I am with you.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of working on a document offline versus syncing it to the cloud. Offline, your edits stay trapped on your device. Once you connect, the real master file updates, and everything aligns. In the old way, we labor to maintain a local copy of religion. In the new way, we live connected to the heavenly Head. Jesus is the master source. When we trust His indwelling Spirit, our words, choices, and loves sync with His life.
Try this in a simple conversation today. Before you answer a tense email, pause and turn to the Lord as the living Head. Whisper in your heart, Lord, I rely on You as my life. Express Your patience and truth through me right now. Then write from that quiet dependence. You are not muscling through a checklist. You are drawing from Jesus, whose wisdom and love are already yours.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for opening heaven to me in Your Son. Thank You that Jesus is at Your right hand, and that my life is hidden with Him in You. I rest in the finished work that ended the old and brought me into the new. I acknowledge that Your Spirit dwells in me, uniting me to Jesus as my Life.
Today I gladly yield my thoughts, words, and steps to Your indwelling presence. I thank You that You supply what You command, and that You bear fruit in me as I trust You. I agree with Your verdict that I died with Christ, I was raised with Him, and I now walk in newness of life. From this seated place, I receive Your peace and move in Your love. The heavens are open, and the Lord reigns. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Acts 7:56. Colossians 3:1-4. Romans 6:1-14. Ephesians 1:22-23. Ephesians 5:30. Hebrews 8:10-12. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. Galatians 3:24-26. Romans 8:9-11. Romans 6:13. 2 Corinthians 4:10-11. Galatians 2:20. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Ephesians 2:4-7.