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Love
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SELWYN HUGHES
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Love
POCKET DEVOTIONS
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Copyright Š CWR 2011 Published 2011 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK. Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308. Excerpts in this compilation were taken from issues of Every Day with Jesus, previously published as Jan/Feb, Mar /Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec 2006. Compiled by Ian Sewter. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. For a list of National Distributors visit www.cwr.org.uk/distributors Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), copyright Š 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Concept development, editing, design and production by CWR Cover image: sxc/Davide Guglielmo Printed in China by 1010. ISBN: 978-1-85345-602-2
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January/February Unveiled Faces March/April Our Lord at Prayer May/June A Fresh Look at the Church July/August The Blessed Life September/October Life Convictions November/December Surprised by God
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JANUARY 1
The silent Sculptor FOR READING AND MEDITATION 2 Corinthians 3 : 1 – 1 8
‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness …’ (v.18)
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oday, as we begin a new year and open a new chapter in our lives, it seems fitting to set for ourselves a spiritual goal. I suggest this: to be more like Jesus than we have ever been before. The picture the apostle Paul presents is breathtaking. We stand with unveiled faces continuously gazing at Christ (that is, giving Him our attention and love), and as we do, we ourselves are changed into His likeness – in fact, we are transformed more and more and with increasing glory. This transformation into Christ’s image is brought about by the Holy Spirit, who is the silent Sculptor. Do you know of anything more wonderful than this?
Father, often my gaze has oscillated from one thing to another. This year, please help me to keep my focus on Jesus. May the reflection of His face be seen in mine. Amen.
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JA N UA R Y 2
What a getting! F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON R omans 8:28–3 9
‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son …’ (v.29)
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he verse we looked at yesterday, which will form the basis of our meditations over the next two months – ‘we … with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory’ – presents the truth that transformation is continuous. The biblical teaching that we should turn our attention from ourselves to Christ contains a principle that psychologists now accept. They have realised that when we look beyond ourselves to another person we are freed from self-preoccupation – a disease as deadly as cancer. There is a law in psychology that says: whatever gets your attention gets you. If Christ gets our attention then we, in turn, get Him. And what a getting!
Father, draw me from the poisonous centre of myself to the healing centre of Yourself so I become more and more like You. Amen.
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JA N UA R Y 3
‘Do you keep stationery here?’ F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON Psalm 34:1–14
‘Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.’ (v.5)
O
ne of the most important issues in life is fixing our gaze in the right direction. If we look mainly at ourselves we will become discouraged. If we look only at others we may become distracted. However, if Christ becomes the focus of our attention then the Spirit will help us become more like Him. One woman I heard of went into a shop and asked, ‘Do you keep stationery here?’ ‘No,’ replied the proprietor facetiously, ‘we keep moving.’ Similarly, many these days seem to keep moving from one interest to another and never really focus on anything important. Gazing at the face of Jesus means focusing on His character, His attributes and His qualities as portrayed in the Gospels.
Lord Jesus Christ, may my face show that I belong to You. As I look to You more and more may my face too become radiant. Amen.
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Ja N UA RY 4
What a Christian looks like F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON Galatians 1:11 – 2 4
‘… God … was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles …’ (vv.15–16)
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Harvard professor was asked what a Christian should look like. He thought for a moment and said, ‘Phillips Brooks.’ When Phillips Brooks was questioned about the secret of his very effective life, he replied, ‘Perhaps, if there is a secret, it is that I find myself as the years come and go with an increasing love for Christ. He holds my heart, my attention, my everything.’ Outside his church in Boston, USA, is a statue of him. In my opinion there is a flaw: the figure of Christ standing behind him with His hand on Phillips Brooks’ shoulder is much smaller than Brooks. It ought to be the other way round, I think – a big Christ making a small man great.
Father, as the moon reflects the light of the sun, so may I turn my face towards Your Son that Your radiance may be reflected by me. Amen.
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January 5
Nothing is more glorious … F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON Colossians 1:2 4 – 2 9
‘… God has chosen to make known … the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (v.27)
I
t is time to focus on what exactly Paul has in mind when he talks about having ‘unveiled faces’ (2 Cor. 3:18). The point he is making in the chapter from which this verse is taken is that unconverted Jews, who rest their spiritual hope on keeping the law rather than on the grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ, have a veil over their minds. However, when anyone turns to Christ this veil is automatically removed. We can then stand before the Saviour with no obstruction between us and Him, and thus reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. Nothing is more glorious or beautiful on this planet than a person in whom the loveliness of Christ is seen.
Great God and Saviour, I live in an era when I have Your personal living presence. I am so grateful. Amen.
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January 6
Crazy Galatians! F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON Galatians 3:1– 1 4
‘Does God give you his Spirit … because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?’ (v.5)
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he apostle was clearly furious with the religious leaders in Galatia. But he was angry with the believers too. ‘You crazy Galatians!’ he exclaimed. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’ (Gal. 3:1, The Message). The veil that had covered the Galatians’ hearts when the old covenant was read had been removed when they trusted Christ. But now the false teaching of those who claimed faith was not enough was coming between them and Christ and preventing them gazing at Him. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was intended to help the believers recover their original freedom, and deals also with the nature of that freedom. Legalism and freedom are opposites.
Father, may I never move away from the fact that it is by grace that I am saved, through faith. Amen.
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January 7
No price could be higher F O R READ ING AND ME DI TAT I ON 1 Peter 1:13–25
‘For … it was not with perishable things … that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you …’ (v.18)
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t doesn’t cost anything to enter the Christian life, but really no price could be higher for arrogant people to pay. We don’t mind an occasional free gift, but we struggle to come to terms with the fact that such a great gift as salvation has to be received without us doing anything other than opening our hands to accept it. We like to feel we have done something to earn our salvation, something to merit it, and we cannot bear the loss of pride involved in discovering that salvation is absolutely free. Acceptance by God, however, does not require any payment from us. The price of our salvation has been paid by Christ on the cross. Nothing more is needed. Nothing.
Father, thank You for giving me such a costly gift as salvation at no cost to myself. I boast only in Your wondrous grace. Amen.
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