The One Worth Keeping in View
One touch brings the subject into focus, a quiet picture of keeping Jesus in clear view.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above by Miles Stanford, “Unobjectionable Object”
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Ephesians 1:17 holds out a simple gift from the Father. He gives the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we might know His Son. Not only know about Him, but actually know Jesus Himself. Miles Stanford helps us slow down and remember that the Christian life centers on a Person. Relief for the conscience is precious, and yet the journey does not stop there. Fellowship with the Son becomes the steady rhythm of the day.
When the heart makes Jesus the Object, something gentle and strong happens. Duties turn into devotion. We begin to enjoy the Lord for who He is, not only for what He gives. The Holy Spirit makes this personal. He draws our attention where the Father’s attention rests, on the Beloved.
Stanford also reminds us that growth is not complicated. What the cross secured for us is brought into our experience by the Spirit as we drop ourselves as the center. As we keep the Lord in view, He is formed in us in daily ways. The result is not noise or fuss. It is quiet fruit.
Colossians tells us that all fullness dwells in Christ. No wonder the heart finds rest when He is in focus. We are complete in Him. The Father is pleased for us to fix our gaze where He has fixed His.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I open your eyes to know the Son. I give wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I turn your confidence away from the flesh and I center you in Jesus who is your life. I reveal the One in whom all fullness dwells, and I make known that you are complete in Him.
I remind you that you were crucified with Christ and that you now live by faith in the Son of God. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God. Set your mind on things above where He is seated at the right hand of God. Abide in Him and bear fruit that remains. I strengthen you with power in the inner person so that the Lord may dwell in your heart by faith.
I teach you to boast in the Lord. Let the one who boasts boast in Him. I shine the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus, and I place that treasure in your earthen vessel. As you behold the Lord, I transform you from one degree of glory to another. I pour the love of God into your heart and I lead you as a son and daughter.
Scripture references: Ephesians 1:17 to 19, Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9 to 10, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6 to 11, Colossians 3:1 to 4, John 15:4 to 5, Ephesians 3:16 to 19, 1 Corinthians 1:30 to 31, 2 Corinthians 4:6 to 7, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:14 to 16, John 17:3, Hebrews 12:2.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of using a smartphone camera. When the scene looks busy, you tap the screen to set the focus. The background softens, and the subject becomes clear. The Holy Spirit helps like that. As you trust Him, He brings Jesus into sharp focus, and the rest finds its proper place without you forcing it.
Try this today. Before you answer a tense email, pause for ten seconds and set the focus. Say, Lord, I trust You to draw my attention to Your Son and to love through me as I write this reply. Then type with a calm heart, expecting patience and clarity to show up in your words.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for giving the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so I may truly know Your Son. Thank You that all fullness dwells in Him and that I am complete in Him. I gladly drop self as the center and receive this day as a place for fellowship with Jesus. Lord, I trust You to keep my heart fixed on Your Son and to express His life through me in each conversation and task.