December 8-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Observe what it is saying.
When the eternal Son of God became the Son of Man and walked on this earth, He always called individuals to His side. Jesus did not come into the world to deal with statistics! He deals with individuals and that is why the Christian message is and always has been: “God loves the world! He loves the masses and throngs only because they are made up of individuals. He loves every individual person in the world!” In the great humanistic tide of our day, the individual is no longer the concern. We are pressed to think of the human race in a lump. We are schooled to think of the human race in terms of statistics. In many nations, the state is made to be everything and the individual means nothing at all. Into the very face and strength of this kind of humanism comes the Christian evangel, the good news of salvation, wondrously alight with the assurance for all who will listen: “You are an individual and you matter to God! His concern is not for genes and species but for the individuals He has created!” (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 15).
Relate it to your life.
I am personally known and eternally matter to the Father.
Do something.
Father God, Your Word says that You knew each one of us before we were born (see Jer. 1:5), You personally knit us together in our mother’s womb (see Ps. 139:13), and You planned each day of our life (see Ps. 139:16). I praise You, Lord! My only response to this can be to live every day for Your glory. Amen.
December 9-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Observe what it is saying.
Jesus is God. And Jesus is the kindest man ever to live on this earth. His kindness is something we must have. It must be a reflection, a lingering flavor, like an old vase that once held beautiful flowers. Though the vase is broken, the scent of the roses hangs round the vase. So mankind, fallen like a broken vase, dashed to the pavement and splintered into a million pieces, yet has something we call kindness. God is not revolted by our wretchedness. He has no despite of anything that He has made, nor does He disdain the service in the simplest office that to our body belongs. The Lord will be your Nurse, your Caretaker, your Helper, and He’s not revolted by anything about you. He wills that you joy along with Him. The everlasting marvel and the high, overpassing love of God, the irresistible love of God, out of His goodness sees us perfect even though we are not perfect. And He wants us to be glad in Him. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 16).
Relate it to your life.
I would be utterly amazed if I could fathom what God really thinks about me.
Do something.
Lord, You know the secrets of my heart, yet You love me unconditionally, even when I am unkind. I confess my sins to You, Lord. Forgive me when I fall and make me more like You. Amen.
December 10-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Ephesians 2:4-5, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Observe what it is saying.
When Jesus died on the cross the mercy of God did not become any greater. It could not become any greater, for it was already infinite. We get the odd notion that God is showing mercy because Jesus died. No—Jesus died because God is showing mercy. It was the mercy of God that gave us Calvary, not Calvary that gave us mercy. If God had not been merciful, there would have been no incarnation, no babe in the manger, no man on a cross, and no open tomb. The intercession of Christ at the right hand of God does not increase the mercy of God toward His people. If God were not already merciful, there would be no intercession of Christ at the right hand of God. And if God is merciful at all, then He is infinitely merciful. It is impossible for the mediatorship of Jesus at the right hand of the Father to make the mercy of God any more than it is now. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 17).
Relate it to your life.
Everything I experience in my relationship with God is because of His mercy toward me.
Do something.
Lord, show me what it means to be merciful and how to extend to others the mercy You have shown me. Amen.
December 11- The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Hebrews 4:16, Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Observe what it is saying.
Jesus was saying to us, “You went away in Adam, but you’re coming back in Christ. And when you come back, you’ll find the Father hasn’t changed. He’s the same Father that He was when you all went out, every man to his own way. But when you come back in Jesus Christ, you’ll find Him exactly the same as you left Him—unchanged.” And the Father ran and threw His arms around him and welcomed him and put a robe and a ring on him and said, “This my son was dead, and is alive again” (Luke 15:24). This is the grace of God. Isn’t it worth believing in, preaching, teaching, singing about while the world stands? If you’re out of the grace of God, do you know where the grace is? Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and there’s the grace of God flowing free for you—all the grace you need. If you set your teeth against Him, the grace of God might as well not exist for you. And Christ might as well not have died. But if you yield to Him and come home, then all the overwhelming, incomprehensible plentitude of goodness and kindness in the great illimitable reaches of God’s nature are on your side. Even justice is on the side of the returning sinner: “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). All the infinite attributes of God rejoice together when a man believes in the grace of God and returns home. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 18).
Relate it to your life.
I am saved by grace as I turn and fully trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
Do something.
Lord, I confess that I am a sinner—but one who has been saved by Your grace. I look to You, Jesus, for everything I need. Amen.
December 12-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
1 John 1:5, This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
Observe what it is saying.
I’d rather go to hell than go to a heaven presided over by a god who would compromise with sin, and I believe every true man and woman would feel the same. We want God to be the holy God that He is. God can never compromise; it doesn’t work that way…. God never compromises and comes halfway down. God stays the God that He is. This is the God we adore—our faithful, unchangeable Friend whose love is as great as His power and knows neither limit nor end. We don’t want God to compromise. We don’t want God to wink at our iniquity. We want God to do something about it. What did He do about it? He came down and became flesh and became both God and man, sin excepted, in order that by His death He might remove everything out of the way so that man could come back. He couldn’t come back if Christ had not come and died. But now because He came and died, He removed every moral obstacle out of the way so man can come home. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 19).
Relate it to your life.
I take great comfort in the fact that our never-changing God is pure and holy, far from evil.
Do something.
Holy Father, I praise You that You do not change or compromise, and that You have revealed Yourself fully in Your blessed Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that He has made a way back to You. Amen.
December 13-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Ephesians 5:1-2, Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Observe what it is saying.
This desire, this yearning to be near to God is, in fact, a yearning to be like Him. It’s the yearning of the ransomed heart to be like God so there can be perfect communion, so the heart and God can come together in a fellowship that is divine. There is a similarity which makes it compatible and proper for God to commune with His children—even the poorest and weakest of His children. But there are also dissimilarities, such that there isn’t the degree of fellowship that there ought to be. There isn’t that perfection of the sense of God’s presence that we want and yearn and pray for and sing about. How are we going to know what God is like so that we may know whether we’re like God? The answer is: God is like Christ, for Christ is God manifest to mankind. By looking at our Lord Jesus we will know what God is like and will know what we have to be like to experience the unbroken and continuous presence of God. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 20).
Relate it to your life.
I cannot aim for anything less than Jesus as my target for living the Christian life.
Do something.
Jesus, my Lord, You are the express image of the Father! May I become more like and bring glory to the Father this day. Amen.
Write out the Scripture.
Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Observe what it is saying.
When the eternal Son of God became the Son of Man and walked on this earth, He always called individuals to His side. Jesus did not come into the world to deal with statistics! He deals with individuals and that is why the Christian message is and always has been: “God loves the world! He loves the masses and throngs only because they are made up of individuals. He loves every individual person in the world!” In the great humanistic tide of our day, the individual is no longer the concern. We are pressed to think of the human race in a lump. We are schooled to think of the human race in terms of statistics. In many nations, the state is made to be everything and the individual means nothing at all. Into the very face and strength of this kind of humanism comes the Christian evangel, the good news of salvation, wondrously alight with the assurance for all who will listen: “You are an individual and you matter to God! His concern is not for genes and species but for the individuals He has created!” (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 15).
Relate it to your life.
I am personally known and eternally matter to the Father.
Do something.
Father God, Your Word says that You knew each one of us before we were born (see Jer. 1:5), You personally knit us together in our mother’s womb (see Ps. 139:13), and You planned each day of our life (see Ps. 139:16). I praise You, Lord! My only response to this can be to live every day for Your glory. Amen.
December 9-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Observe what it is saying.
Jesus is God. And Jesus is the kindest man ever to live on this earth. His kindness is something we must have. It must be a reflection, a lingering flavor, like an old vase that once held beautiful flowers. Though the vase is broken, the scent of the roses hangs round the vase. So mankind, fallen like a broken vase, dashed to the pavement and splintered into a million pieces, yet has something we call kindness. God is not revolted by our wretchedness. He has no despite of anything that He has made, nor does He disdain the service in the simplest office that to our body belongs. The Lord will be your Nurse, your Caretaker, your Helper, and He’s not revolted by anything about you. He wills that you joy along with Him. The everlasting marvel and the high, overpassing love of God, the irresistible love of God, out of His goodness sees us perfect even though we are not perfect. And He wants us to be glad in Him. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 16).
Relate it to your life.
I would be utterly amazed if I could fathom what God really thinks about me.
Do something.
Lord, You know the secrets of my heart, yet You love me unconditionally, even when I am unkind. I confess my sins to You, Lord. Forgive me when I fall and make me more like You. Amen.
December 10-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Ephesians 2:4-5, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Observe what it is saying.
When Jesus died on the cross the mercy of God did not become any greater. It could not become any greater, for it was already infinite. We get the odd notion that God is showing mercy because Jesus died. No—Jesus died because God is showing mercy. It was the mercy of God that gave us Calvary, not Calvary that gave us mercy. If God had not been merciful, there would have been no incarnation, no babe in the manger, no man on a cross, and no open tomb. The intercession of Christ at the right hand of God does not increase the mercy of God toward His people. If God were not already merciful, there would be no intercession of Christ at the right hand of God. And if God is merciful at all, then He is infinitely merciful. It is impossible for the mediatorship of Jesus at the right hand of the Father to make the mercy of God any more than it is now. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 17).
Relate it to your life.
Everything I experience in my relationship with God is because of His mercy toward me.
Do something.
Lord, show me what it means to be merciful and how to extend to others the mercy You have shown me. Amen.
December 11- The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Hebrews 4:16, Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Observe what it is saying.
Jesus was saying to us, “You went away in Adam, but you’re coming back in Christ. And when you come back, you’ll find the Father hasn’t changed. He’s the same Father that He was when you all went out, every man to his own way. But when you come back in Jesus Christ, you’ll find Him exactly the same as you left Him—unchanged.” And the Father ran and threw His arms around him and welcomed him and put a robe and a ring on him and said, “This my son was dead, and is alive again” (Luke 15:24). This is the grace of God. Isn’t it worth believing in, preaching, teaching, singing about while the world stands? If you’re out of the grace of God, do you know where the grace is? Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and there’s the grace of God flowing free for you—all the grace you need. If you set your teeth against Him, the grace of God might as well not exist for you. And Christ might as well not have died. But if you yield to Him and come home, then all the overwhelming, incomprehensible plentitude of goodness and kindness in the great illimitable reaches of God’s nature are on your side. Even justice is on the side of the returning sinner: “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). All the infinite attributes of God rejoice together when a man believes in the grace of God and returns home. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 18).
Relate it to your life.
I am saved by grace as I turn and fully trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
Do something.
Lord, I confess that I am a sinner—but one who has been saved by Your grace. I look to You, Jesus, for everything I need. Amen.
December 12-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
1 John 1:5, This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
Observe what it is saying.
I’d rather go to hell than go to a heaven presided over by a god who would compromise with sin, and I believe every true man and woman would feel the same. We want God to be the holy God that He is. God can never compromise; it doesn’t work that way…. God never compromises and comes halfway down. God stays the God that He is. This is the God we adore—our faithful, unchangeable Friend whose love is as great as His power and knows neither limit nor end. We don’t want God to compromise. We don’t want God to wink at our iniquity. We want God to do something about it. What did He do about it? He came down and became flesh and became both God and man, sin excepted, in order that by His death He might remove everything out of the way so that man could come back. He couldn’t come back if Christ had not come and died. But now because He came and died, He removed every moral obstacle out of the way so man can come home. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 19).
Relate it to your life.
I take great comfort in the fact that our never-changing God is pure and holy, far from evil.
Do something.
Holy Father, I praise You that You do not change or compromise, and that You have revealed Yourself fully in Your blessed Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that He has made a way back to You. Amen.
December 13-The Son of God
Write out the Scripture.
Ephesians 5:1-2, Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Observe what it is saying.
This desire, this yearning to be near to God is, in fact, a yearning to be like Him. It’s the yearning of the ransomed heart to be like God so there can be perfect communion, so the heart and God can come together in a fellowship that is divine. There is a similarity which makes it compatible and proper for God to commune with His children—even the poorest and weakest of His children. But there are also dissimilarities, such that there isn’t the degree of fellowship that there ought to be. There isn’t that perfection of the sense of God’s presence that we want and yearn and pray for and sing about. How are we going to know what God is like so that we may know whether we’re like God? The answer is: God is like Christ, for Christ is God manifest to mankind. By looking at our Lord Jesus we will know what God is like and will know what we have to be like to experience the unbroken and continuous presence of God. (A. W. Tozer on the Son of God: A 365-Day Devotional, p. 20).
Relate it to your life.
I cannot aim for anything less than Jesus as my target for living the Christian life.
Do something.
Jesus, my Lord, You are the express image of the Father! May I become more like and bring glory to the Father this day. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotionals