<blockquote>
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (<a id="verse_1632879390352240" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/37">Rom. 8:37</a>)
</blockquote>The world, the flesh, and the devil say, Be powerful. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit say, Be powerless - "for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (<a id="verse_1632879390476198" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/12/9">2 Cor. 12:9</a>)"There would be little harm in trying to imitate Christ if such an endeavor did not hide from us what our Lord really desires; and so keep us back from life more abundant.' Christ has come Himself into our hearts to dwell there, and what He wants is to live His life in us, as the Apostle Paul says, For to me to live is Christ.' Christ was the very source and mainspring of all he was and did. What a wonderful thing this is! We would be driven to despair if Christ had simply left us an example to follow or imitate, for we have no power within ourselves to do it. We must have a new source - a new spring of action, and Christ Himself wants to be just that for us." -E.C.H."The man in Romans Seven is occupied with himself, and his disappointment and anguish spring from his inability to find in self the good which he loves. The man of Romans Eight has learned there is no good to be found in self. It is only in Christ; and his song of triumph results from the joy of having found out that he is complete in Him.'" -H.A.I."I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me - I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me" (<a id="verse_1632879390896484" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Philippians/4/13">Phil. 4:13</a>, Amp.).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Powerless Recipients 

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NLT)

Christ's spirituality was not that He was remote from what was practical in everyday life. It was that He was bringing heavenly forces and resources to bear upon the practical matters of everyday life. You can wash doors, or clothes, or floors, or do any of these ordinary domestic things, in spirituality. People seem to think that spiritual work and ordinary work, household work for example, are two different things. They talk about the spiritual work and the other work. Now, you can bring heavenly resources in to do anything that is legitimate, and the doing of those things may be a testimony. 
The majority of people have no occasion to draw upon heavenly resources for a platform ministry. For the most part their work is of some regular, daily kind, and very often they feel utterly unable for it, and they are tempted to think that if they had some spiritual ministry to fulfill, if they had to go and take a meeting, or speak to some souls about spiritual matters, they could make a claim upon the Lord for help and He would carry them through. For the trivial round and common task such a thought is all too often wholly absent from the mind. Now, exactly the same resources have to come into the ordinary work as into what we call spiritual work. It has all to be done on a spiritual basis, and therefore to be a testimony. To get through an ordinary day's work often requires something more than ordinary human resources. Spirituality consists in our doing everything as out from heaven. Let us be careful how we draw a line, lest we make a distinction between the spiritual and “the rest.”

This devotional contains short daily portions from a selection of Mr. Austin-Sparks' messages. In his own words, “Perhaps this is just like a window opened into heaven. If you get the right window you can see quite a lot. You can see great things and you can see far things. But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!” Open Windows messages have been selected and compiled by Austin-Sparks.Net from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the editor and did not always appear within the original message.

Open Windows

The Risen Lord and the Things Which Cannot be Shaken - Chapter 10

 The Daily Round 

When they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. § Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! § He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. § I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. § O my soul, march on in strength!

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 As your days, so shall your strength be. 

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. § I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. § [Be] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. § The joy of the Lord is your strength. Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who have been hearing in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets.” § Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear!” § The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours.” If God is for us, who can be against us? § Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. § Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 “Be strong … and work; for I am with  you,” says the Lord of hosts. 

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey? One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills… The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. § As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. § It is required in stewards that one be found faithful. § For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Who is sufficient for these things? § I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them… To each according to his own ability. 

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them. § He whom You love is sick. § “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” … Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. § I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. § In Him we live and move and have our being. § He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. § The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Evening Daily Light

 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed. 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

What is 
abiding? Abiding in Christ, as we have often said, is the opposite of abiding in 
ourselves. To abide in ourselves is simply to try to do this living, and this 
working for the Lord, of ourselves; asking the Lord to help us to do it, instead 
of recognizing that a Life wholly pleasing to God has been lived and that faith 
appropriates that accomplishment in Christ. Abiding in Christ is simply doing 
everything, meeting everything as out from Christ. It is a sure ground. There is 
no need for question and reasoning: "Can it be done? Can I do it?" Or, "I am not 
sure about it." It is done. The Lord Jesus has met everything that you or I will 
meet, and in all things has done what is needful. That is available to faith, 
and faith says, "Well, in myself the thing would be absurd, and to attempt the 
thing would be ridiculous; as to myself it would be folly to contemplate it. But 
it can be done, because it is done; I can meet this demand, and I can stand up 
to that one; I can go through with this, and I can do that – 'I can do all 
things ("all" is a big word) through Christ, which strengtheneth me.'" It is what 
Christ is as our secret source of strength, of sustenance, of nourishment. 

This is a school, and we learn this lesson in a progressive way. He learned, and we learn, though in our case there is a difference to be noted. We are learning to draw upon the fullness which He consummated, working out from a fullness as we press onward to the goal. We are learning how to come back to a fullness, He moved on toward a fullness. The Cross for Him was the end, for us it is the beginning. We have to learn how to come back to His fullness and we learn progressively, step by step, like little children, first of all learning to walk and to talk. Like them we are confronted with things which we have never done or even attempted before, things which are all new and strange; a new world, sometimes a very terrible world. The contemplation of taking his first step to a little child is a most terrifying proposition. You and I are brought into this realm of faith, wherein the simplest thing at the beginning, the taking of a first step, is sometimes fraught with horror for us. But there are arms stretched out, and those arms now represent for us the accomplishment of what is required of us, the thing is done. The strength is there, available for the matter in hand, a strength which has been proved. Recognizing those arms and trusting, taking the step, we learn to walk by Christ, to live by Christ; and the next time we shall be able to go a bit further. Each time capacity is being enlarged and we are coming to a fuller measure of maturity.

The Risen Lord and the Things Which Cannot be Shaken - Chapter 7

 A Fuller Measure Of Maturity 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. §  I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. § The gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. § I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. § We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. The joy of the Lord is your strength. § Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.

 My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

In the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You. With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early. I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find … For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. § The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. § Our sufficiency is from God. § My grace is sufficient for you.

 The spirit indeed is willing,but the flesh is weak. 

Matthew 12:1-14The question of proper Sabbath observance arose several times during our Lord's public ministry. The Jewish law made careful provision for keeping of the seventh day of the week - but the Rabbis had added many rules of their own, making the Sabbath really a burdensome day. Jesus did not recognize these added requirements, and hence often displeased the rulers by what they considered violations of the law.The criticism at this time was caused by our Lord and His disciples going through the grain fields on the Sabbath. They were probably on their way to the morning synagogue service. The disciples were hungry, and as they walked along by the standing grain, which was then ripe, they plucked off some of the heads and, rubbing them in their hands and then blowing away the chaff, they ate the grains.The Pharisees were always watching Jesus that they might find something of which to accuse Him. There are two ways of watching godly people. One way is to watch them to see how they live - that we may learn from their example; the other way is in order to criticize and find fault with them. It was the latter motive which prevailed with the Pharisees. They went along with Jesus, not because they loved to be with Him - but as spies upon His conduct. The conduct of Christians is always watched by unfriendly eyes, eyes keen to observe every fault. We need to live most carefully, so as to give no occasion for just censure. Yet the example of Jesus shows us that we are not to be slaves of traditional requirements which have not authorization in the Word of God.Godly people can find better business than to play the spy upon the lives and conduct of others. The unfriendly espionage of these Pharisees on Jesus and His disciples, appears in our eyes very far from beautiful. We are behaving no better, however, than the Pharisees did - if we keep our eyes on others for he purpose of discovering flaws. Perhaps they do not live quite as they should live; but are we their judges? Do we have to answer for them? Then, perhaps, our sin of censoriousness and uncharitableness is worse than the sins we find in them. There are some people so intent on trying to make other people good - that they altogether forget to make themselves good!When the Pharisees said to Jesus that His disciples were doing that which was not lawful on the Sabbath, He reminded them of what David did when he and his companions were hungry. "Have you not read?" It was in their Scriptures. David, fleeing from Saul, went to Ahimelech very hungry, he and his companions, and asked for something to eat. There was no bread about the place, except the showbread. It was not lawful for any but the priests to eat this bread. But the men's need satisfied the custodian of the tabernacle, that he might deviate from the letter of the law in this emergency (see 1 Samuel 21:1-6).The act of the disciples in plucking and rubbing out the heads of grain to satisfy their immediate hunger was a work of necessity, and therefore not a sin. Though the letter of the law may have been violated - yet it was not violated in spirit. What works of necessity are, cannot be established by minute rules and regulations. The settling of the question must be left in each particular case to the enlightened consciences of faithful followers of Christ.Jesus made a starling claim when He said to His critics, "One greater than the temple is here" (see v.6). It is usually supposed that He refers to Himself. But a marginal reading suggests "a great thing," meaning the law of love. That is, love is always the highest law. This different rendering seems to be favored by the words which follow. "If you had known what this means - I will have mercy, and not sacrifice - you would not have condemned the guiltless." Love would have made you think of men's needs, as higher than the observance of the letter of a Sabbath rule. No Divine law intends to have men go hungry.Then Jesus uttered another startling word, "For the Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath day." He thus claimed the right to interpret the laws of the Sabbath. In Mark 2:27 we have also this strong assertion, "The Sabbath was made for man - and not man for the Sabbath." The Sabbath was part of the Divine constitution which God had ordained for His children. Christ came not to destroy - but to fulfill. He took the Sabbath, therefore, and stripped from it the burdensome regulations which men had attached to it, and put into it its true spiritual meaning. He set the Church free from the cumbersomeness of a rabbinical Sabbath, and made it a day of joy and gladness, a type and foretaste of heaven.Almost immediately afterwards, another question of Sabbath observance arose. It was in the synagogue. A man was present who had a withered hand. Again the Pharisees were watching Jesus to see what He would do. They asked Him if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. They were not humble seekers for the truth - but were looking for a ground of accusation against Him. It was a violation of the rules of the Pharisees to attend the sick or even console them on the Sabbath. Jesus knew the intention of the Pharisees in their question and bade the man arise.Then He asked them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?" In this He appealed to simple common sense. Whatever their traditions said about the Sabbath day, the practice of the people would be on the merciful line. The Talmud says that if the animal is in no danger in the ditch - it should be allowed to remain unrelieved over the Sabbath. But the form of our Lord's question shows that this was not the practice of the people. "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?" Then He added, "How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!" If it was right to help a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath, it certainly was right to relieve a human sufferer from his sickness on that day.So we have the lesson, "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath!" It is right for physicians to attend to their patients on the Lord's day. It is right for those whose duty it naturally is to nurse the sick - to care for them on the Sabbath. It is right to visit the sick when they need our sympathy and when we can carry to them blessing or cheer. It is right to visit those who are in affliction when we can carry comfort to them. It is right to visit the poor when we can minister to their needs or relieve their distresses. It is especially right to go out among the unsaved, when we can do anything to bring them to Christ. It is right to gather neglected children from the streets and from Christless homes, and bring them under the influence of Divine grace.We must be careful not to pervert our Lord's teaching here. Not all kinds of work can be brought into the class indicated in the words, "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day." It was the Jewish Sabbath concerning which Jesus was speaking here, and our Christian Lord's day is in every way more beautiful, more joyous. Yet we need to keep most holy guard over it, for there are many influences at work to rob us of it. There was a time when very much of the old rabbinic spirit was exercised in some parts of the world toward the Christian Sunday. Now, however, the tendency is in the other direction, and we are in danger of losing the sacredness of this day.The Lord's Day is not well kept - when its hours are devoted to mere social purposes. The best preparation that can be made for its proper observance, is to prepare for it as far as possible on Saturday. This was the old-time way. Everything was done on Saturday that could be done to lighten the burden of the work on Sunday.Jesus never was deterred from His work of mercy, by the censorious criticism of His enemies. He bade the man to stretch forth his hand. The arm was withered, dried up, dead. How could the man stretch it forth? But when Jesus gave the command it was implied that he would also give power to obey. The man must make the effort to do what he was bidden to do. That was the way he showed his faith. Then with the effort - came new life unto the dead arm.<div class="center-it mtb10">Whenever Christ gives us a command He is ready to give us strength to obey it. We may say the thing required is impossible - but it is the privilege of the Christian to do impossible things. Anybody can do possible things; but when Christ is working in us and through us - we need not ask whether the things He commands are possible or not. "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). People often say that they cannot begin a Christian life because they have not the strength to do what Christ requires of them. True - but if they will begin to obey, they will be enabled to obey, helped by the Master Himself.</div>

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Matthew 12:1-14

Two Sabbath Incidents

It is easy to misunderstand a verse like this. We read it and immediately think of hundreds of things that we cannot do. In the physical realm, for instance, we think of some ridiculous stunt requiring superhuman power. Or we think of some great mental achievement that lies far beyond us. So the words become a torture to us instead of a comfort.What the verse actually means, of course, is that the Lord will give us power to do anything He wants us to do. Within the circle of His will there are no impossibilities.Peter knew this secret. He knew that, left to himself, he couldn't walk on water. But He also knew that if the Lord told him to do it, then he could do it. As soon as Jesus said, "Come," Peter got out of the boat and strode across the water to Him.Ordinarily a mountain will not slide into the sea at my command. But if that mountain stands between me and the accomplishment of God's will, then I can say "Be removed," and it will.What it boils down to is that "His commands are His enablements." Therefore He will provide strength to bear any trial. He will enable me to resist every temptation and conquer every habit. He will strengthen me to have a clean thought life, to have pure motives, and to always do the thing that pleases His heart.If I am not getting the strength to accomplish something, if I am threatened with physical, mental or emotional collapse, then I may well question if I have missed His will and am seeking my own desires. It is possible to do work for God that may not be the work of God. Such work does not carry the promise of His power.So it is important to know that we are moving forward in the current of His plans. Then we can have the joyous confidence that His grace will sustain and empower us.

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." (Philippians 4:13)

<div class="center-it mtb10">I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me. - Philippians 4:12-13 </div>"What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?" Ah! you would have gone to a palace if you had wanted to see that, not to the reed-beds of Jordan. As we all know, in his life, in his dress, in his food, in the aims that he set before him, John rose high above all regard for the debasing and perishable sweetnesses that hold of flesh, and are ended in time. He lived conspicuously for the Unseen. His asceticism, which belonged to his age, was not the highest type of the virtue which it expressed. As the might of gentleness is greater than the might of such strength as John's, so the asceticism of John is lower than the self-government of the Man that comes eating and drinking. But whilst that is true, I seek to urge this old threadbare lesson, always needed, never needed more than amidst the senselessly luxurious habits of this generation, that one indispensable element of true greatness and elevation of character is that every one of us should live high above these temptations of gross and perishable joys; should :" Scorn delights and live laborious days." No man has a right to be called "great " if his aims are small. And the question is, not as modern idolatry of intellect, or, still worse, modern idolatry of success, often makes it out to be, has he great capacities, or, " has he won great prizes," but has he greatly used himself and his life? If your aims are small, you will never be great; and if your highest aims are but to get a good slice of this world's pudding, no matter what powers God may have given you to use, you are essentially a small man. I remember a vigorous and contemptuous illustration of St. Bernard's: he likens a man that lives for these perishable delights which John spurned to a spider spinning a web out of his own substance, and catching in it nothing but a wretched prey of poor little flies. Such a one has no right to be called a great man surely! Our aims rather than our capacity determine our character, and they who greatly aspire after the greatest things within the reach of men, which are faith, hope, charity; and who, for the sake of effecting these aspirations, put their heels upon the head of the serpent, and suppress the animal in their nature - these are the men "great in the sight of the Lord."

A daily readings for a year from the writings of the Rev. Alexander Maclaren, D.D., selected and arranged by the Rev. Geo. Coates.

Music For the Soul

 EXALTATION ABOVE WORLDLY GOOD

<div class="center-it mtb10">I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me. - Philippians 4:13 </div>That is the worst fight - our battle with ourselves; far worse than all these Hittites and Hivites, and the other tribes with their barbarous names. Far worse than all external foes are the foes that each man carries about in his own heart. In that slow hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot struggle I do not believe that there is any conquering power available for a man that can for a moment be compared with the power that comes through submission to Christ's command and acceptance of Christ's help. He has fought every foot of the ground before us. We have to " run the race" - to take another metaphor - " that is set before us, looking unto Jesus," the great Leader, and in His own Self, the Perfecter of the faith which conquers. In Him, His example, the actual communication of His Divine Spirit, and in the motives for brave and persistent conflict which flow from His Cross and Passion, we shall find that which alone will make us the victors in this internecine warfare. There can be no better directory given to any man than to tread in Christ's footsteps, and learn how to fight from Him, who in the wilderness repelled the triple assault with the single " It is written "; thus recognizing the word and will of God as the only directory and defence. Thus, if we humbly take service in His ranks, and ask Him to show us where our foes within are, and to give us the grace to grapple with them, and cast them out, anything is possible rather than ultimate defeat; and however long and sore the struggle may be, its length and its severity are precious parts of the discipline that makes us strong, and we are at last more than conquerors through Him that loveth us. Think of Christ, what He is, and what resources He has at His back, of what are His claims for our service, and loyal, militant obedience. Think of the certain victory of all who follow Him amongst the armies of Heaven, clad in fine linen, clean and white. Think of the crown and the throne for Him that overcomes. Remember the destructive powers that sleep in Him: the drawn sword in His hand; the two-edged sword out of His mouth; the wrath of the Lamb. Think of the ultimate certain defeat of all antagonisms; of that last campaign when He goes forth with the name written on His vesture and on His thigh, " King of kings and Lord of lords." Think of how He strikes through kings in the day of His wrath, and fills the place with the bodies of the dead; and how His enemies become His footstool. Ponder. His own solemn word, " He that is not with Me is against Me." There is no neutrality in this warfare. Either we are for Him or we are for His adversary. " Under which King? - speak or die! " As a sensible man, not indifferent to your highest and lasting well-being, ask yourself, " Can I, with my ten thousand, meet Him with His twenty thousand?" Put yourself under His orders, and He will be on your side. " He will teach your hands to war, and your fingers to fight; will cover your head in the day of battle," and bring you at last, palm-bearing and laurel-crowned, to that blissful state where there will still be service, and He still be the Captain of the Lord's host, but where swords will be beaten into ploughshares and the victors shall need to learn war no more.

 OUR ALLY IN OUR WARFARE WITH OURSELVES

<div class="center-it mtb10">I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me. - Philippians 4:13 </div>"I can do all things." That rendering of Paul's words does not exactly represent what he really meant. In one aspect they say more than Paul says, and in another less. For he is not only speaking about what he can do, but also of what he can endure. Action is but half - and often the lesser half - of life; so we have to widen the expression to include both doing and bearing. But, on the other hand, "all things" must be subject to some limitations. Common sense dictates these. The Apostle is making no preposterous claim to a kind of quasi-omnipotence. He felt himself ready for anything that might come. "I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ... I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." But "content" is not Paul's meaning. The plain rendering is "self-sufficient." Take away from that word all the arrogance that is in it, and understand it to mean independent of circumstances or lord of externals. What Paul says is that he is ready for everything, equipped for any fortune, able to do whatever is commanded, able to bear whatever is imposed. We have here just the true attitude for a Christian soul: to be so far self-sufficing as that externals do not gain the mastery. We should be able always to keep the bilge-water down by working the pumps, and to have our hands on the tiller and follow the course which the Alaster-Navigator has chartered out for us, whatever winds blow or waves roll. So shall we have strength for all things, and be equal to any variety of fortune. In some great cathedral the temperature will vary little between midsummer and midwinter. The walls are thick; and it matters not whether the sunshine be blazing on the piazza outside or whether icicles be hanging from the cornices of the building, there is the same atmosphere within. We should carry our atmospheres with us. Our spiritual heat, like the temperature of our bodies, should keep pretty nearly the same at the poles and at the equator. " I have strength for everything." Now, that may be said in a great many different keys and moods, and may be the expression of almost opposite feelings. It may be the proud boast of an unnatural and over-strained stoicism which tries to crush down the sensibilities of human nature, and thereby destroys the nature that it is trying to steady. Or the boast may come from an underestimate of the difficulties and vicissitudes that fall to be encountered in every life, and an over-estimate of our poor powers to face them. Many a young man flings himself into the battle of life with an unbounded confidence that he is equipped for all its events, and by the time that grey hairs begin to show upon the black head, instead of saying, "I can do all things," he is ready to wail, "I can do nothing; I am an utter failure." But " I can do all things" may be said, and ought to be said, by us, as the result of our simply leaning on an Almighty strength. Then levity, ignorance of one's own weakness, ignorance of the serried ranks of enemies that beset every attempt at noble life, disappear, and what on other lips sounds like the most arrogant and insane presumption, which is sure to be punished, comes to be an utterance fitted for the lips of the humblest and the most self-distrustful. " I have strength for anything," and yet not I, "but Christ in me."

 ALL STRENGTH IN CHRIST

For Reading and Meditation:      Ephesians 1:1-14What is it in the heart of most men and women that rejects the idea of God's free and generous offer of salvation? It is pride, the deadliest of all the deadly sins. Bernard Shaw, an example of a modern-day thinker, said: "Forgiveness is a beggar's refuge. We must pay our debts." But we cannot pay our debts. As our spiritual fathers saw so clearly, the only language we can use in the presence of a God who demands so much and whose demands we are unable to meet is: Just as I am without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. In response to our coming, the free unmerited favor of God flows down to us, cancels our debt, imputes and imparts Christ's righteousness to us. How can Christ's righteousness be imputed and imparted to us? It's His righteousness, not ours. A simple illustration may help to illuminate this point. A dull little boy came home from school one day and said to his mother: "We've won a holiday." The truth was another boy had come top of the region in the examinations and the head teacher decided to give the whole school a holiday. Yet the dull little lad said: "We've won a holiday." Grace is like that. God permits the righteousness of Jesus to cover us and then, as we open ourselves to it - to enter us. He did it, but we benefit from it. Isn't grace really amazing?O Father, as I contemplate still further the "riches" of Your grace, once again I have to confess it's truly amazing. No wonder men and women use that term to describe Your grace. No other adjective will do! Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Philippians 4:1-19</li><li>1 Timothy 1:14</li><li>Titus 3:6</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What has God promised?</li><li>What did Paul testify to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"In him we have  the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace " (v. 7)

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Philippians 4:13 KJV

Philippians 4:13 KJV

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