FEBRUARY 13 | THE DEEPER LIFE

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

—Philippians 3:10

I almost shrink from hearing the expression, “the deeper life,” because so many people want to talk about it as a topic—but no one seems to want to know and love God for Himself!

God is the deeper life! Jesus Christ Himself is the deeper life, and as I plunge on into the knowledge of the triune God, my heart moves on into the blessedness of His fellowship. This means that there is less of me and more of God—thus my spiritual life deepens, and I am strengthened in the knowledge of His will.

I think this is what Paul meant when he penned that great desire, “That I may know him!” He was expressing more than the desire for acquaintance—he was yearning to be drawn into the full knowledge of fellowship with God which has been provided in the plan of redemption. ITB017-018

Lord, I want to know You more, that I might enter into lasting fellowship with You. May that be my deep desire and not just a topic for spiritual discussion. Amen.

Tozer, A. W., & Eggert, R. (2015). Tozer on the almighty god: a 365-day devotional. Moody Publishers.

JANUARY 30 | Fellowship with Jesus

SCRIPTURE READING: John 1:9–14
KEY VERSE: John 1:14

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Before sin entered the world, man enjoyed unbroken fellowship with the Lord. In Genesis, we read that God would come to Adam, walking in the cool of the day. There was a natural flow of fellowship between God and man. No hint of discontentment or pressure emerged—just loving fellowship. However, that came to an abrupt end when man disobeyed God by eating of the tree of knowledge.
God loves you with an everlasting love. He does not have evil in mind for your life but is constantly seeking to bring blessing and hope to encourage you along the way. Man’s sin struck the first hurtful blow to the heart of God. For that, man suffered a grave consequence—separation from the abiding presence of God.
The eternal love of God did not burn dim, and God was motivated to send His Son as an atonement for our sins. The birth of Jesus Christ brought restoration to a lost world. God in His grace once again reached out to mankind.
Now we can enjoy what the Old Testament patriarchs could only envision—continual fellowship with almighty God. Just as God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve, He walks with you. No detail in life is too small for Him, and nothing is too difficult for Him to handle. When you come to Him, He listens and brings hope to whatever you face.

Father, I thank You that there is no detail in my life that is too small for You to handle. There is no problem too large for You.

Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 31). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Morning, November 23 | “Fellowship with him.”—1 John 1:6

When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with him, that we were made one with him, and his interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in his love. What he loves we love. He loves the saints—so do we. He loves sinners—so do we. He loves the poor perishing race of man, and pants to see earth’s deserts transformed into the garden of the Lord—so do we. We have fellowship with him in his desires. He desires the glory of God—we also labour for the same. He desires that the saints may be with him where he is—we desire to be with him there too. He desires to drive out sin—behold we fight under his banner. He desires that his Father’s name may be loved and adored by all his creatures—we pray daily, “Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.” We have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. We are not nailed to the cross, nor do we die a cruel death, but when he is reproached, we are reproached; and a very sweet thing it is to be blamed for his sake, to be despised for following the Master, to have the world against us. The disciple should not be above his Lord. In our measure we commune with him in his labours, ministering to men by the word of truth and by deeds of love. Our meat and our drink, like his, is to do the will of him who hath sent us and to finish his work. We have also fellowship with Christ in his joys. We are happy in his happiness, we rejoice in his exaltation. Have you ever tasted that joy, believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight to be known this side heaven than that of having Christ’s joy fulfilled in us, that our joy may be full. His glory awaits us to complete our fellowship, for his Church shall sit with him upon his throne, as his well-beloved bride and queen.¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.

November 20 | Paying the Piper

Numbers 32:23

Be sure your sin will find you out.

The great news of the gospel is that we have a forgiving God. When we come to Him, open our hearts, and confess our sins, God does hear us and forgive us. He’s just waiting for us to come and ask Him. God puts confessed sins behind His back as far as the east is from the west. He buries them in the deepest sea.

God forgets what He forgives. Yet there’s a postscript: The Lord won’t erase history. Some consequences may be set in motion while we are out of fellowship with God, and we must reap what we sow. Even when we have been restored to fellowship through the forgiveness process, sometimes we have to “pay the piper.”

It is impossible to get away with sin. You can’t do it. Numbers 32:23 says it this way: “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Just as surely as you can’t get away with sin, you can’t get away from God’s love. No matter how evil your conduct, God loves you. The reason you have that hurt in your heart right now is because you’re God’s, and He doesn’t want you out of fellowship with Him.¹

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¹  Jeremiah, D. (2002). Sanctuary: finding moments of refuge in the presence of God (p. 339). Integrity Publishers.