Dear Ones:
In Handley Moule‘s “A Morning Act of Faith and Devotion,” he begins by writing:
Handley Moule
“I believe on the Son of God, therefore, I am in Him,
having redemption through His blood, and life by His Spirit.”
Moule begins his day by taking a stand of faith. He has understood that this is the principle by which he must live if he is to be in the position to receive all that he needs from Christ.
“He is in me and all fullness is in Him,
To Him I belong by creation, purchase, conquest, and self-surrender:
To me He belongs for all my hourly need.”
Faith in the fact of Christ’s existence and the belief that He is truly what He has declared Himself to be is the beginning point, the foundation upon which we must take our stand every day. “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” (Hebrews 11:3) Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) We must begin there and then we must learn to appropriate Christ’s life in our daily walk. Moule, in his morning act of faith, acknowledges that Christ is IN him by the Spirit, and that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) The fact that he belongs to God makes him a candidate to receive from Christ all that he needs and this on an hourly basis. This is what Jesus speaks of when He says, “Abide in me, and I in you.” (John 15:4)
He then goes on to speak of the great qualification of being ABLE to receive.
“There is no cloud between my Lord and me.
There is no difficulty inward or outward which
He is not ready to meet in me today.”
The Psalmist declares, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Ps. 66:18) The “cloud” of which Moule speaks is some form of conscious sin or selfish attitude which must be dealt with. He knows the power of the blood of Christ to cleanse, and with David has said “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) Then, he TAKES hold of the reality that IN CHRIST, there is no difficulty, inward or outward which is too difficult for Him. (Jeremiah 32:27) Not only is He all powerful, He is gracious. (Psalm 145:8, Isaiah 30:18) And, He is waiting to be gracious, waiting and ready to meet his need today…now.
Moule closes by acknowledging his calling and ours.
“I believe I have received not the Spirit of fearfulness,
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
The Lord is my keeper. Amen.”
We are called to be filled with the Spirit. This is the normal Christian life. Moule puts away that which is not of Christ, the spirit of fear. He then appropriates by faith the Spirit of power, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) He is taking Christ to BE his life, and this in very specific manner. And he will trust the Lord to keep him there, in that place of certain good.
Since today is a day of salvation, (2 Corinthians 6:2) and we are called to redeem the time, (Ephesians 5:16) let us be about our Father’s business. Let us take our stand upon the Rock of Ages, Christ, and His work. Let us take Him to be more real to us than the very air that we breathe.
Let us sing the words of Joseph Hart:
“How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend;
His love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure or end.”
Love,
Dad