It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. John 6:63 NRSV.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep Your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Psalm 19:12-13.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 77: They shoot out of the lip and shake the head. Psalm 22:7: All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag their head, saying…And, Matthew 27:39-44: And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

The Scripture verse in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, I didn’t initially share because it sounds so harsh when we don’t understand how love works. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife, and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also…And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me…So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26-27, 33. That we can even love or have families and friends to love, that we even have life itself, comes from Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. And Creator God never stops loving us – even when He hung on that cross for us. Every good in Life itself springs from the wellspring of God’s love. Our very life itself, our families, our friends, our brethren. Multiply that by the billions who have ever lived and the abundance is staggering.

Oswald continued in today’s devotion: “Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person – our LORD Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our LORD never proclaimed a cause – He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the LORD Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the LORD Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the LORD Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.” No one loves you, your parents, your spouse, your children, your siblings, your brethren and friends more than Creator God. With that kind of love for us and all we love, how can we not love Him more than these? He is our wellspring showing us what Love is. It is Him.

***FAITHFULNESS Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father! There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; as Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear Presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow – blessings are mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Thomas O. Chisholm, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” 1923.***