June 21

Are you ready to suffer for Him who suffered so much for you? Are you willing to be obedient? He intends to use your suffering to make you worthy of His Kingdom. We are citizens of heaven. Our outlook goes beyond this world.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:18

Lord Jesus, You are the Victor. We thank You for the joy of being called by such a loving and powerful King of kings!

June 20

The Body of Christ is suffering much persecution. More than 60 percent of the Christians in the world are in tribulation. If you are a Christian then you have to share their problems and help them by your intercession, and wherever possible write to them and assist those who help them. Watchman Nee said, “When my feet were beaten, my hands suffered pain.” In a practical way we must sympathize with those who are suffering and sustain them with our prayers.

Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.

2 Thessalonians 1:4    

When one of us suffers for You, we all suffer, Lord, for we are all one in the Body of Christ. We share pain as we share glory.

June 19

Let the Bible speak. Use the full appeal of the Scriptures, even though the people who listen do not believe. In witnessing, our primary function is proclamation, not defense. 

My tongue shall speak of thy word.

Psalms 119:172 KJV

Father, help us to speak with authority, the authority of Your Word.

June 18

A dying man said, “I cannot remember a single promise, but that does not matter. God does not forget any.”

As you live this new life, we pray that you will be strengthened from God’s boundless resources, so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage.

Colossians 1:11 Phillips

Thanks be to You, Lord, that Your promises endure forever.

June 17

Take the far look often. Looking up is healthier for the eyes than looking down. God’s promises are like a home hearth fire by which we may warm our hearts and our hands.

And the marvelous thing is this, that we now receive not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God Himself, so that we can actually understand something of God’s generosity towards us.

1 Corinthians 2:12 Phillips

Father, thank You for Your promises which light our way and make plain our part in Your plan.

J.B. Phillips New Testament—Copyright © 1962 edition by HarperCollins The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips

June 16

We cannot trust ourselves to do the right thing. We may become too smug on one side, or too despairing on the other. Trust only in the Lord for your guidance.

All to Jesus I surrender

make me, Saviour, wholly Thine

Let me feel the Holy Spirit

truly know that Thou art mine

All to Jesus I surrender

Lord I give myself to Thee

Fill me with Thy love and power

let Thy blessing fall on me

—J. W. Van Deventer

. . . that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Romans 15:13 KJV

Lord, what joy to know that I am within the boundary where Your love can reach and comfort me. Your will is perfect; mine is flawed. Lead me into perfect obedience of Your perfect will.

June 15

When God measures a man, He puts the tape measure around his heart, not his head.

The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7     

Lord, what a joy that You do not see as man sees and that Your measuring is perfect.