Christ’s excellency is always fresh and new,
and tends as much to delight, after it has
been seen a thousand or ten thousand years,
as when it was seen the first moment….

The soul that comes to Christ, feeds upon this,
and lives upon it; it is that bread which came
down from heaven, of which he that eats shall
not die: it is angels’ food, it is that wine
and milk that is given without money, and
without price. This is that fatness in which
the believing soul delights itself; here the
longing soul may be satisfied, and the hungry
soul may be filled with goodness.

The delight and contentment that is to be found
here, passeth understanding, and is unspeakable
and full of glory. It is impossible for those who
have tasted of this fountain, and know the
sweetness of it, ever to forsake it.
--Jonathan Edwards


photo taken in Feeding Hills, MA


Jonathan Edwards

"When I had drunk the spirit from Heaven,
and the second birth had restored me so as
to make me a new person, then immediately
in a marvelous manner doubts began to be
resolved, closed doors to be opened, dark
places to be light; what before was
difficult now seemed easy."
- St. Cyprian -

photograph taken near Pownal, Vermont

Devotions From the Heart: The Word of the Lord Abideth Forever

by Derek Gitsham

"Being born again not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever"
I Peter 1:23

Yesterday’s devotional was concerned with
the Word of God. Today another aspect is brought
before us: that we are born again by the
Word of God.

The apostle John begins his gospel: “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Peter’s
refererence to being born again by the Word of
God is important. Birth is our beginning,
the Word, according to John, is the beginning.
A true new birth involves the Word of God. Born
by the Word, the Word of God is in us, and
because of that we are drawn to the Word of God.
His Word is our life. No more do we live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God.

New birth is a crisis and a process. We are a
work in progress. Out of our new life springs
all the life we will need, or ever need on earth
and in heaven. We live for His Word, to read it,
to have it, to know it. Oswald Chambers says
God baptizes us in the Holy Ghost and spends
the rest of our life showing us what He has done.

All things are upheld by the word of His power
(Hebrews 1:3). Not by worship meetings or prayer
meetings, but by the Word of His power. His Word
is power to us. He has created all things, His
Word is creative in us.

The Word is God, not about God, it is God, Himself.
He is behind every word that He speaks. To desire
His Word is to desire God and to receive Him.

Mary believed the word of the angel and Jesus was
conceived in her womb. God is asking us to believe
His word again in our hearts, that we might
conceive Him in our souls, and bring forth His
life in the earth.

Silent love knows much in
effortless pleasure.
How little the body knows
what love does in stillness!
- Mechthild of Magdeburg

photo taken near Williamsburg, MA

Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, To an inheritance incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time.
-- 1 Peter 1:3-5 (KJV)

photo taken at Chesterfield Gorge,
Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Devotions From the Heart: The Word of the Lord

by Derek Gitsham

"But the word of the Lord endureth forever.
And this is the word which by the gospel
is preached unto you." I Peter 1:25

In the previous verses of this chapter, Peter
is saying that the gospel is preached
(verse 12) with the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven. The Gospel cannot be preached unless
it be preached in power. Paul, writing to the
Ephesians (3:7), says God made him a minister
according to the gift of the grace of God, given
unto him by the effectual working of his power.

In these days of rapid change, and the
introduction of new technology, new methods of
worshipping God are being introduced which bear
no relation to the way things should be. No
more is this so then in the preaching of the Word.
If the enemy can restrict in our gatherings the
ministry of the Word, in fact, get it replaced
from our places of worship, then he has succeeded
in weakening the Church to the point of paralysis.

Peter says, “The Word of the Lord endureth
forever.” We cannot build on anything else and
we cannot be built on anything but His Word.
David has many references to the Word of God
(Psalm 119:105) “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet”;
“I hope in Thy Word”(verse 114); “Order my steps
in Thy Word”(verse 133); “I hoped in Thy word"
(verse 147). We are commanded to live by the
Word from His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Acts 12:24 reminds us that the Word of God grew
and multiplied. Increase in the early Church was
by the Word. Sensationalism is replacing the
Word, and many spurious things are being
claimed as movings of God which are ultimately
nothing more than a counterfeit of the real thing.

Only the Word will survive in us, everything else
is going to pass away, but His word shall not
pass away. God increases in us the desire for
His word, that we may keep it in our hearts and
as Mary, gave birth to the Son of God within us
(Luke 2:19). Preach the word, dear saints, that
the Lord’s people might be built on the Rock.

Bible Study Daniel 9: Daniel, Greatly Beloved of the Lord

"At the beginning of thy supplications
the commandment came forth, and I am come
to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved:
therefore understand the matter, and consider
the vision." (Daniel 9:23)


What an honor to be visited by the angel
Gabriel and be told that you are "greatly
beloved" of the Lord. This is what happened
to Daniel and yet God is no respecter of
persons. What makes someone "beloved of the
Lord?" The life of Daniel gives us rich
clues into the kind of person that God
speaks so highly of.

First, Daniel is found standing faithfully
in the place that God had called him. Year
after year, amidst the life of captivity,
Daniel stands for God. He does not turn aside
to other gods, grow lax, or give up.

When a dog is trained in obedience, he
must learn a hard command: to sit and stay
in place for a long time. If he gets up and
walks away before the command is given,
then he is not properly trained. Being able
to sit and stay in your place is a sign
of learned obedience. It is a high compliment
to your Master. Daniel was able to do this.

Ephesians 6:13 says,"Wherefore take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand."

Daniel could not escape his circumstances, but
in them he knew how to stand firm in God. He
did not complain and he did not waver in his
faithfulness to God.

2) Secondly, Daniel is found studying the Word
of God and inquiring of God. He is reading the
prophet Jeremiah and pondering the end of the
captivity of his people. He is seeking the Lord.
He is disciplined and active in his seeking. He
has not given up hope or passively accepted
defeat. He is grounded in the covenantal
promises of God. He understands that God
will achieve His purposes with His people.
HE KNOWS GOD WILL KEEP HIS WORD!

3) Third, Daniel is willing to intercede. He
is not "me centered." He has not fallen into
a mire of passive self-pity. He appeals to
God to save Israel "for God's sake."
He knows what is important to God. He stands
in covenant with God and stands in solidarity
with His people.

God is looking at the bigger picture
while Daniel is looking at a small portion
of the picture. Perhaps Daniel is hoping and
praying that this is as bad as it gets in
Israel's history. But God sees a much bigger
picture, a greater and more comprehensive
work and sends Daniel understanding and
guidance through the angel Gabriel.

Daniel owns the people's sins as if they
were his own. He does not point fingers,
but stands in the gap. He rightly recognizes
the character of God: His mercy, His
righteousness, His wisdom. He knows his
place before God and makes intercession
according to that knowledge.

These are the characteristics of the
man or woman who is beloved of the Lord:
obedient, disciplined, having a seeking
heart, dwelling in and meditating on the
Word of God, an intercessor who knows the
heart of God, and His intentions for
His people.

These characteristics don't just happen.
They are nurtured and developed and
disciplined into being. Jesus had
these characteristics even before
He was baptized and launched into
public ministry. They are characteristics
that are developed in silence and
consecration to God. They are often
developed in captivity or on the back
side of the desert yet they come
freely from a devoted heart.

Will you be the kind of person of
whom God will be able to say,
"Here is my beloved son or daughter,
in whom I am well pleased?"
That is surely something worthy to strive
for. Make haste to do so.

Bible study Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
Daniel 9
My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased
intercession

Who are you to judge someone else's
servant? To his own master he stands or
falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is
able to make him stand.
-- Romans 14:4 (NIV)

feet of a seagull,
photo taken in Weekapaug, Rhode Island

Devotions From the Heart: Losing What We Have

by Derek Gitsham

Losing What We Have

"Therefore we ought to give the more
earnest heed to the things which we have
heard, lest at any times we should let
them slip." Hebrews 2:1

In the Greek the words for “let them slip” are
literally translated “run out as from leaking
vessels.” So many are suffering this malady in
the Church due to this one reason not taking heed.
Another rendering reads, “less we should slip.”
How apt is that? If we do let the words that the
Lord is speaking to us not take a hold, we shall
be liable to slip.

Our minds and memories, because they have been
twisted by the corruption of our nature,
have to be diligently harnessed to lay hold of
what we are hearing and reading from God’s word.
We are told the birds of the air, in the parable
of the sower, (birds are types of demonic spirits)
sweep down upon the seed and steal it away, the
fowls of the air devouring it (Luke 8:5).

Hearing the word once is not enough for most
of us, we need to hear it again and again, our
memories and minds being so leaky. The work of
the enemy, if he cannot steal the word away, will
try and distract us and he will work hard at it
to obtain his purpose. The word fell by the way
side, some upon a rock, some among thorns.

All were places to be avoided if the word is to
be fruitful in our lives. The final place was
the good ground which Luke says is a man who in
a good and honest heart, having heard the word,
keeps it, and brings forth fruit with patience
(Luke 8:15).

The word “keep” in Greek is to keep is "to keep
in memory, possess, seize on, and take." A good
exercise for all of us is when we hear God’s
word and know it is for us, we need to say, and
“That’s mine Take it, seize it, snatch it out of
the air, and claim it for ourselves. So serious
is this word, to take heed, that failure to do so
could have terrible repercussions, as Hebrews
begins to unfold. God makes us serious as we
listen to His Word.

Remain in God

"I advise you to remain simply in God,
without trying to do anything there,
and without asking anything of
Him, unless He urges it."
- St. Francois de Sales -


photograph taken at Chesterfield Gorge,
Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Chesterfield Gorge

Devotions From the Heart: Something Happens When We Believe

by Derek Gitsham

"He that believeth on Me, as the scriptures
hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water." John 7:38

It is a most obvious note and emphasis that
is being made, that John in his gospel is
a pragmatist. For him things had to work
in your day-to-day life. By the scripture
that we have chosen it is clear to see where
he was going.

“He that believeth…out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.” You cannot
believe God, says John, and have nothing happen.
Throughout his gospel there is more evidence of
the same thing. By using the verb “believe”
and not the noun “faith,” it is quite
self-evident that John believed in results.

His gospel is replete with treasures not
included in the first three gospels and,
oh, what a treasure they are. The early
Church desired John to write his gospel
with the emphasis on the person of our
Lord Jesus Christ rather than on the
work that Jesus performed.

He omits the birth of Jesus, includes only
seven miracles, all of which are called
“signs”—they pointed to truth, that is
why they were included. He alone is the
one who gives us the upper room discourse
on the Holy Ghost from John 13:17 and
brings to light the divinity and Godhead
of Jesus for all to see. Truly He was God,
and John makes it real to our hearts.

Believing will produce its own evidence.
“He that believeth in me shall not walk
in darkness.” No ifs or buts. You will
not if you believe. How many are walking
in darkness? Check your believing. Again
John says in chapter 20:31, “These are
written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you might have life through His
name.”

John is so simple here. Here is the
pragmatist talking: all it takes is to
believe God, and keep on believing.
Our believing must not stop just as our
life does not stop but is always keeping
us alive. Let us join, then, with John.
Return to simple believing and watch with
wonder God moving, and life flowing like
a river out of us to all around. Amen!

John 7:38
rivers of living water

Trample Not on Any Soul

The Jews would not willingly tread
upon the smallest piece of paper in
their way, but took it up; for possibly,
they say, the name of God may be on it.

Though there was a little superstition
in this, yet truly there is nothing but
good religion in it, if we apply it to
men. Trample not on any; there may be
some work of grace there, that thou
knowest not of. The name of God may be
written upon that soul thou treadest on;
it may be a soul that Christ thought so
much of, as to give His precious blood
for it; therefore despise it not.
... S. T. Coleridge (1772-1834),
Aids to Reflection,

photo taken on the Orient Express in
what used to be Yugoslavia

Am I My Brother's Keeper? Final Thoughts on Todd Bentley

We can and should be distressed at the recent
events in Lakeland but they are indicative
of a larger problem that is pandemic throughout
the body of Christ. There are bigger issues to
contemplate than the fact of Todd Bentley's
individual fall and that is our
corporate shortcomings in the area of
accountability in our Christian communities.

The hard question we have to ask ourselves
is "What is so drastically wrong with the
way we generally practice Christianity
that Todd Bentley could have gotten so
far without those surrounding him in
authority seeing that the "crash and
burn" was imminent and as sadly predictable
as the losers at yesterday's horse race?

One of the ways we have strayed from the
simple truths of the gospel is how we
practice, or fail to practice, community.
Our faith was meant to be lived out, day
in and day out, in front of our brothers
and sisters. The clergy are not meant
to be sequestered from the congregation.
All of us are meant to live together
as simple Christians under God.
We not only need community, it is a
divine mandate. Leaders will then
rise organically out of the soil
of commitment, servanthood, accountability,
stability, and discipline.

Knowing what a person is like on Sunday
morning and what they actually are the
rest of the week should not be two
different things, but often, sadly are.

Our lives should be open books to each
other in the sanctity and protection
of God's house. We must live under
the Word of God together. We need to
be people of the Word of God or our community
will be just a human community with
opinions enforced by the strongest
members and not the Word of God.

Our strengths, our weaknesses, our
sins, our triumphs,our gifts and our
foibles need to be held by our
brothers and sisters. We need to
hold each other: both in accountability
and in nurture and admonishment through
biblical standards and the mercy and grace
of Christ.

When we are wrong we should expect
Godly correction from a caring
community. When we go off track,
many should be there calling us
back.

God knows how to work with each of
our souls, correcting, mending,
refining, adjusting, nurturing.

We, as God's hands and heart on
the earth, can not possibly have
the wisdom that this work needs
unless we have it TOGETHER.
Therefore we must have unity.
Not unity around a doctrine or
belief, but around the person
of Jesus reigning in our individual
and corporate lives.

There is a certain truth in the
folk truth that says, "it takes
a village to raise a child."
It takes a "village" of believers
to adequately raise up the
proper standards of the Son of God
and it takes a "village" to produce a
healthy and biblically sound
environment for His children.
This time the village failed.
What can we learn from it?

God has a divine order for us. He has
checks and balances built into it,
but for it to work, we must live
together closely enough and
open our lives to each other
so that transparency and
accountability, with all
their attendant difficulty
and beauty, prevail.

The truth is we are our brother's
keeper and the sobering truth is
that we are being held
accountable for this even if
we are not living like it.

The world has become such a
place of deceit that its sin routinely
enters the house of God and
is rarely found out until great
damage is done.

We raise up leaders because they
are gifted or beautiful, but not
because they are proven servants,
holy in character, and seasoned in
community. Hollywood images
rather than biblical truths affect
what we demand from those we empower.

We routinely trust people who
present themselves as prophets,
apostles, men of God, seers,
and yet, what do we know about
their personal lives? What does
anyone know about their personal
lives? To whom are they accountable
and is that real accountability
or some glossed over version of it
provided by "yes men" too weak
to speak up in the face of difficulty?

My lot in life has sometimes taken
me backstage into close proximity
with widely known Christian
leaders.

A few of them have personal lives
straighter than arrows, and others
could do with a large dose of
"iron sharpening iron": the rough and
tumble of community to knock the common
burrs of self-importance off and let
the excess air of overinflated ego out.
We all have large blind spots
that plague every last one of us.
Every last one of us needs the godly
boundaries of a healthy community
so badly that it makes one cry at the
thought of it.

More times than not, lack of healthy
community has failed our very human
leaders, who in turn, are then set up to
fail, or becomes pawns of dark
forces from within and without.

Then there are the people who
get into leadership and are
not just struggling with their
own personal issues, but have
evil agendas that thrive only in a
place where no light shines on the
dark underbelly of their motives.

We select our leaders by dubious
standards, and set them on pedestals
and when they fall off of them
we don't see that it is we
that have contributed to
their fall. We fail to demand
accountability from each other.
In the meantime, the kingdom
of God suffers loss.

The structure of our society allows
us to hide a great deal of
darkness while projecting a
sweet persona. How many times,
when they interview the community
that surrounds a child pornographer
or serial rapist, people say,
"He seemed such a nice man."?
Why do we now almost expect
to hear that the local minister
is an adulterer, an embezzler,
a charlatan?

Each voice of every member of the
community has a right to be heard and
then biblically discerned. I spent the
summer reading the major prophets
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. I was made
aware of the fact that
they functioned in community in
just the way that God wanted them
to--even though they were entirely
unwanted members of their community.

I would have understood if they chose
to run away from their communities,
but they were under mandate to
stay and proclaim the message
that God had given them. God even
told them that the people's blood
would be on their hands if they did
not speak out (Ezekiel 33:8).

The New Covenant community is
held to an even higher standard.
Each of us that belongs to God,
has the Holy Spirit dwelling
in us. Each of us has a gift or
gifts to bring. We are TOGETHER
members of Christ's body. We
are TOGETHER our brother's and
sister's keeper. The WHOLE body of Christ
is greater than even our leaders,
for leaders fail, but the Lord's
Body, His collective Body, is able
to discern, and balance and restore
in a way that just one or two cannot.

God will give wisdom to the collective
group as they honor, cherish, correct,
admonish and watch over EACH part.
Do not leave the job of discerning
to one or two people. Proverbs says,
"in the multitude of counselors is wisdom"
(Prov. 24:6).

We can feel distress,and should
feel distress, over the recent
events in Lakeland. But underneath
it all is the failure of the Body
to do the job God expects of it.

Just as in Belshazzar's day, the
writing was already on the wall just before
the judgment hit (Daniel 5). Why did so few heed
it?

Pray for your local expression of the
Body. If it is not healthy, you are in
grave danger, and so is your neighbor--
even the entire village.


the Body of Christ
Christian community
Todd Bentley
heresy
accountability
Am I my brother's keeper?
current events
home churches

Devotions From the Heart: We Love Him Because He First Loved Us

by Derek Gitsham


"We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

There is nothing we will be able to claim when
we meet the Lord. We will not be able to say to
Him, “Didn’t we do well?” Everything that has been
accomplished by the believer, wrought in him,
will all be of God. We will take credit for
nothing in that day, as we shall know even as
we are known, that alone will be the cause for
knowing God and thanking Him forever. Even our
phrase in 1 John 4:19 shows emphatically that
“We love Him because He first loved us.”

He has loved us, and this is the supreme
confidence that lies within us that we are
children of God. Even as John says also,
“Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us that we should be
called the sons of God.” (I John 3:1).

He truly is first love to us, and what a
tragedy it was to read that a Church had
left their first love. He is our first love,
having loved us first before there was any
response in us. His love was unrequited,
yet still He loved with all heaven’s abandon.

What a wonder our God is! Endlessly His love
rolls on like the seas, like the tides ever
pressing up on the shores, everlasting. God’s
love is the reason why we love; to experience
His Love for us is beyond words, it is the
consummate experience, our Pentecost burned
into our hearts by His Spirit.

Who cannot love, once being loved by God?
God loving me has made me love God. “God hath
shed the love of God abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which he hath given us”
(Romans 5:5). This is the reason why
Jesus said, “I have come to send the fire
and what would I if it be already kindled?”
(Luke 12: 49). I cannot wait for the you to
know My love for you. It will be the all
saving power of God within you. A love
that saves can only be His love for me.

Praise Him today for His love for you.

Daniel Bible Study: Daniel 7: The Ancient of Days and The Little Horn

The seventh chapter of Daniel begins the
long hard road toward the end of the world!
The rise and fall of four worldly kingdoms
are telescoped across time and eclipsed by
the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ!

It is a fearsome vision which leaves
Daniel troubled and reeling because
he sees just how intense things will
become and just how much warfare will
happen before Israel is saved and
the Ancient of Days is victorious
in the earth.

Daniel sees the four great kingdoms of
world history. Babylon (the Lion); the
Medo-Persian Empire (the Bear); Greece
(the Leopard); and a terrible ten-horned beast
(a revived Roman Empire) are these kingdoms.

The first three kingdoms go the way of
all flesh and are superseded by the next
as dynasty gives way to dynasty. The
fourth is a fearsome beast and a latter
day formation of the old Roman Empire is
empowered by the "little horn" (vs 8) to
such an evil extent that God steps in.

The "little horn" is the Antichrist,
and to allow us to see the immensity of the
situation, the vision cuts to a scene
in heaven where the "Ancient of Days,"
even God Himself, is ruling and reigning
in glory.

The little horn blasphemes God and persecutes
His saints and it is God who steps in to avenge them.
The Antichrist (the little horn) continues to
unrelentingly persecute the saints even
until the coming of the Lord when they
possess the kingdom (vs 21 & 22). This gives
us pause in any thinking about "premature escape."

Has there not always been persecution against
the saints of God by the powers of Satan and
every antichrist spirit? Yes, and yet this is
a specific persecution speaking of a specific
time YET TO COME. When Jesus speaks of
"'the Abomination of Desolation' spoken of by
the prophet Daniel," He did not refer to it as
something already made manifest or consider it
a parable with no earthly manifestation
(Matthew 24: 15ff).

There are many antichrists that have gone
out into the world, John tells us (1 John 4:
1-3). And yet, Daniel went pale and weak
at what he was seeing: the final war
between the saints of God and the forces
of darkness. What God allows Him to see,
on our behalf, is the calm certainty
of our God reigning in heaven and
of His, and our, ultimate victory.

This is our hope! He that endures to
the end will be saved. Whether we
live unto the Lord, or die unto Him,
WE ARE THE LORD'S! No weapon formed
against us will ultimately prosper,
and yet we cannot underestimate the
magnitude of the persecution still
in front of the saints.

There is much we do not understand,
but there is much written here that
we can understand: that our allegiance
to God must be total and that we
can expect to bear persecution so
that His purposes might come to
pass and that Israel might be saved.
But more of that in lessons to
come.

Questions to ask: Have I actually
studied the bible for myself with
regard to those events and prophecies
related to the end times?

Do I think that others know better
and that I cannot "figure out"
what these prophecies mean?

Take time to study God's word
and to ask Him to teach you and
to reveal to you His perspective.
This does not come easily but
it will not come at all unless
you start!

To be forwarned is to be ready.
We need great humility in
approaching the Scriptures,
but we dare not be as the 5
foolish virgins who have not
prepared. Perilous days lay
ahead, there is no doubt about
that. Trust God. Prepare your heart.


Other installments of the Daniel
Bible study are in the archives of
this blog.

Bible study Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
Daniel 7
the Ancient of Days
The Antichrist
war on the saints
the four beasts
Christ and Antichrist

Waiting for That Day: Pray for Israel

And there shall come forth a rod out
of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall
grow out of his roots:

2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the LORD;

3 And shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not
judge after the sight of his eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek
of the earth: and he shall smite the earth:
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath
of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the
calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young
ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the cockatrice' den.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse,
which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it
shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
Lord shall set his hand again the second time to
recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and
from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth. --Isaiah 11

photo taken near Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, Israel

--this image may not be reproduced or shared without
consent of the photographer.

Isaiah 11
knowledge of God
the Messiah
the Day of the Lord
Israel

Devotions From the Heart: You Shall Live Also

by Derek Gitsham

"Yet a little while and the world
seeth me no more, but ye see me:
because I live, ye shall live also.
At that day ye shall know that I am
in My Father, and you in Me, and I
in you." John 14:19-20

From the thirteenth chapter of John, to the
seventeenth, Jesus and His apostles were
alone. The atmosphere was intimate. Jesus had
chosen this time to reveal their need to
receive the Holy Ghost.

Much was spoken concerning the Holy Ghost
that was not spoken before by Jesus. It takes
an intimate meeting to reveal what was to
become a living intimacy with God. They had
known Jesus after the flesh, now they were to
know Him after the Spirit. The Holy Ghost
would be the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,
indwelling them. The long awaited miracle of
the New Birth, promised by Jesus in John
chapter 3 was now going to be enacted in all
those waiting for the Holy Ghost on the Day
of Pentecost.

The day He is referring to is Pentecost and
clearly He says "you will know I am in My Father,
and you in Me, and I in you." Paul says if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Truly
this would be the day when the dead bones would
live (Ezekiel 38). As God asked Ezekiel, can
these bones live? Surely they would live being
indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit.

We live because He lives. He lives inside of
our hearts and if we, by obedience to His word,
walk the walk, He will live in us. We live
because He lives not vice-versa. What a wonder
it is to know that the Holy Ghost is in us to
live Jesus in us. If He lives, we live.

He will live your life for you if you step
aside, and believe His Word. He that loseth
his life for My sake shall find it. Your
life will be Another’s, the Lord's Himself.
What a wonder! Jesus has come to be our life.
He was saying to the Apostles, I will be in
heaven, but by My Spirit I will be in you
alive, living in you and continuing my work
of salvation. There can be no greater intimacy
than this. How much we have to thank the Holy
Ghost for. He is Jesus’ life in us.

Mercy & Patience: Love Others as God Has Loved You

When Abraham sat at his tent door,
according to his custom, waiting to
entertain strangers, he espied an old man,
stooping and leaning on his staff, weary
with age and travail, coming towards him,
who was a hundred years of age.

He received him kindly, washed his feet,
provided supper, caused him to sit down;
but observing that the old man ate and prayed
not, nor begged a blessing on his meat,
he asked him why he did not worship the
God of heaven.

The old man told him that he worshipped the
fire only, and acknowledged no other God. At
which answer Abraham grew so zealously angry,
that he threw the old man out of his tent,
and exposed him to all the evils of the
night and an unguarded condition.

When the old man was gone, God called to
Abraham, and asked him where the stranger
was. He replied, "I thrust him away, because
he did not worship thee." God answered him,
"I have suffered him these hundred years,
though he dishonored me; and wouldst thou not
endure him one night?"

... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667),
The Liberty of Prophesying
[1647]

photo taken in the Wyre forest near Hanbury Hall,
Worcestershire, England

Hanbury Hall
Worcestershire, England
Wyre Forest
Jeremy Taylor
mercy
patience
photography Worcester, England

Even Shrek Needs to Relax

It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind
that we make use, from time to time, of playful
deeds and jokes.--Thomas Aquinas

photo taken in Weekapaug, Rhode Island

Devotions from the Heart: From Faith to Faith

by Derek Gitsham

"For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith, as it is
written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’" (Romans 1:17)

Living by faith and exercising our faith
are two of the greatest challenges to the
believer in his walk with the Lord. Obstacles
abound to try and prevent the saint increasing
in faith. "From faith to faith" is a beautiful
phrase.

The phrase “the just shall live by faith”
points also to the fact that faith must
maintain us. Everything is by faith in our
relationship to Jesus faith from the
beginning and to the end. How glorified
Jesus will be to see faith when He comes.
Faith is the manner of how we progress;
we go on by faith, from faith to faith.

Paul, in the previous verse, is saying
“he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God unto salvation.
To everyone who believeth, to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.” For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed, from faith to
faith.

There is nothing that gladdens the heart of
the Lord’s people more than to see how right
God is in all His dealings with mankind. He
says the gospel reveals the righteousness of
God from faith to faith. As the saints
continue their walk with God, by continually
believing Him, so the revelation of His
righteousness is revealed.

How wonderful and great is the marvelous
wisdom of God. His plan of salvation hangs on
this very thing from faith to faith. It is by
faith to more faith, and more faith and more
faith. God is not asking for us to reason Him
out, but go on believing, keep trusting Him,
and behold the power of the gospel being
enacted before your eyes. There will be
results if you believe, as Jesus said, “These
signs shall follow them that believe.”

We started by faith, by simply believing, we
continue by faith, we finish by faith. Herein
will all be revealed.