Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

May 13, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
   

The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience
. . . strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men -Acts 24:16


God's commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God's Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.

Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God's standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God's perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God's Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly "prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).

God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . ." (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder- His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don't ask, "Why can't I do this?" You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is- drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
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Sowing Righteousness

The Bible says in Galatians 6:7,

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

And in Proverbs 11:18 it says,

The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

The Bible teaches the law of the harvest, that what you sow, you will also reap.  If you treat others fairly and uprightly, it will come back to you.

We live in a world that doesn't put much stock in integrity, fairness, uprightness, and righteousness.  We must be careful to not give in to that influence.  We need to be different.

How?  By not cutting corners.  By putting in an honest day's work.  By giving people what they pay for and more.  If you will pursue righteousness, it will come back to you.

You may remember a story back in the eighties about an armored car that crashed in Columbus, Ohio.  Two million dollars in cash spilled out on the highway, and the motorists helped the armored car company gather all of its money.

But, when it was all said and done, only $400,000 of the $2 million made its way back to the armored car company.  $1.6 million ended up in the pockets of the people who stopped along the highway to "help."

I'm sure they had every excuse under the sun.  Some probably even said, "Well, I've been praying for God to meet my needs, and it was a miracle!"  No, it was not a miracle.  They were thieves!

You cannot make an excuse for that kind of thing.  And yet that is the way the world thinks.  There should be a difference between us and the world.  We need to pursue uprightness, integrity, honesty, and godly character.  They need to be hallmarks of our lives.
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Relationship vs. Rules

In His Presence: John 10:14-15

"My brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God . . . What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law''(Romans 7:4, 7).

Romans 7 tells us that the Law is good. But the problem with the Law is that it can't help us deal with sin. While it can show us what is wrong, it can't empower us to improve. Only a relationship abiding in the presence of Jesus Christ can transform our lives. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was irrelevant to Adam and Eve. They had abundant life already. "I came that [you] may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). It was a life based on a relationship with God.

So how do we combat what Satan wants us to believe-that restrictions and "do's" and "don'ts" are unfair? We should focus on the goodness of God. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith" (Romans 3:23-25). This demonstration of grace is what the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden was all about.

One Minute Please

"From any tree of the garden you may eat freely"(Genesis 2:16).

God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 16, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

The Habit of Recognizing God's Provision
. . . you may be partakers of the divine nature . . . -2 Peter 1:4


We are made "partakers of the divine nature," receiving and sharing God's own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God's provision for us. We say, however, "Oh, I can't afford it." One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, "Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle." And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn't they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God's riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges- always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, "All my springs are in You" (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . ." (2 Corinthians 9:- then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God's nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.
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Exercising the Muscle of Faith

Yesterday we looked at the importance of God's Word to strengthen our faith.  Yet there is something more we need to do to see our faith grow.  We must use it.

In 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul says this about faith,

Fight the good fight of faith.

Faith is made for conflict.  It does not grow without conflict.  It does not grow without pressure.  You need to use it.

Remember our illustration of the body builders and how a proper diet is essential to building muscle mass?  Well, they will also tell you that it is not enough to drink protein shakes and eat tuna fish, you have to work those muscles if they are going to grow.  They work those weights every day in order to build their muscles.

The same thing is true when it comes to faith.  Faith is a muscle that you have to use.  It is not enough just to listen to your Bible teaching CDs all day long.  Hearing alone is not enough to develop faith.  You must use your faith muscle.

That is what the fight of faith is all about.  You exercise your faith when you are standing in the midst of your storm, and you are assailed by temptations and every kind of trial that tells you you're not going to make it, that you are going down with the ship.

As you stand in the midst of your storm, and the wind is howling around you, and the lightning is flashing, and the waves are breaking over the bow of your little ship, stand up and say, "I believe God, that it is going to be just as it was told me."  That is where the fight of faith comes in.

No matter what you may be going through today, exercise that muscle of faith.  Trust God to do just as He has promised.
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Cultivating the Gratitude Mindset

In His Presence: Romans 9:14-24

"Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called . . . Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy"(1 Timothy 6:11-12, 17).

Cultivating a godly perspective of our spiritual state and our physical circumstances does not happen naturally. To fight against overlooking God's grace and lovingkindnesses toward us instead of complaining about our losses takes a great deal of energy and persistence. We need to develop a mindset that looks for God's graciousness at all times.

An attitude of thanksgiving should dominate the life of the believer. Ingratitude is the mark of the devil. Satan whispers in our ears to make us think about what God has taken away from us. God wants us to look at what He has freely given to us. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). We have so much to be thankful for!

When the nation of Israel moved out of Egypt en masse into the wilderness of Sinai, the first thing they did was complain. They complained about the conditions, the lack of water and meat, and their vulnerability to the Egyptians. God had set them free from slavery, but already they had forgotten.

One Minute Please

When we set our eyes on our misfortunes, we soon forget to express gratitude.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 17, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

His Ascension and Our Access
It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven -Luke 24:51


We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord's life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward- Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection- everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.

The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.

The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God- He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
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Understanding Faith

In the last two devotionals, we have been talking about faith and the importance of both the proper diet of God's Word, and exercising our faith if we are to see it grow.

The natural question is, "What is faith?"  Most Christians probably know the technical definition for faith from Hebrews 11:1,

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The New International Version says, Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  That is pretty clear.  But it becomes even more clear when you plug that definition into 1 Timothy 6:12,

Fight the good fight of [the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Fight the good fight of being sure of what you hope for and being convinced of what you do not see.]

When the answer to your prayers is not on the horizon, when you don't feel differently, you need to fight the good fight and say, "You know what?  God's Word says it and that's all the evidence I need.  It is the evidence of things not seen, and I'm going to stand on that truth.  I don't care what the world says, I don't care what circumstances say, I am going to fight the good fight of the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of what I do not see."

And you stay with it until, as they say, "Faith turns to sight."

What are you struggling with today?  What challenge is testing your faith?  Stand firm on the truth of God's Word.  Trust Him, no matter what others may say.

Real faith is standing firm in the midst of the storm.  So stand firm!
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Living in Gratitude

In His Presence: Acts 16:16-34

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).

In even the worst situations there's always a reason to give thanks. There was a man who needed his dress pants ironed. While his wife was ironing them she burned them. The man began to get angry, but then he paused a moment to think about it. He realized he could thank the Lord that his leg wasn't in that pair of pants when they were burned!

The apostles Paul and Silas were falsely accused, arrested, and put into jail. They were beaten with rods and thrown into the inner prison, their feet placed in stocks. "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25). Even in pain, they were singing and praising God. Later, because of their testimony the jailor was saved.

Job was a righteous man. He prayed and offered sacrifices not only for himself but also for his children. One day, disaster struck his family and possessions, and he lost everything. Job grieved and mourned, but he also fell down in worship of God and said these words: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).

One Minute Please

"The Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalms 84:11). How diligent are you in giving thanks to God?   

God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 25, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     
The Good or The Best?
If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left -Genesis 13:9

As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.

Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.

Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God. And God says to us, as He did to Abram, ". . . walk before Me. . ." (Genesis 17:1).
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Intimacy with God

Paul, in Philippians 3:10-12, gives us the other principle for discovering your purpose,

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

Paul said, "I am pursuing my purpose," but it was a purpose based on knowing God.  Look at what he said in verse 10,  That I may know Him.

The understanding of his purpose came out of that primary desire and pursuit of knowing God Himself and living in intimacy with Him.

Perhaps the most important thing you could do in your life right now is to just lock yourself away, grab your Bible, and go sit at the beach.  Find that place of communion with God.  As you get to know Him, you will also discover your own heart and the dreams and desires that God put within you.

They are there.  They may be covered with debris, they may be covered with dust, but they are there.  You can find out what they are if you will develop that intimate relationship with God.

It is in closeness with God that His breath blows the dust off of undiscerned and unrecognized purposes and dreams.
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Know God's Written Word

In His Presence: 1 Corinthians 1:4-5

"The devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, "He will command His angels concerning You"; and "On their hands they will bear You up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." ' Jesus said to him, 'On the other hand, it is written, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" ' ''(Matthew 4:5-7).

We can be certain that Satan knows the Bible. He knows what it says and how to twist it into half-truths when it serves his purposes. Satan pulled a portion of Scripture out of context to serve his purposes. It isn't enough for us to know the words in the Bible; we need to know the context. We need to understand the basic principle that the Word of God never violates: God does not contradict Himself.

"Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." ' Then the devil left Him"(vv. 8-11).

One Minute Please

If the Living Word, who wrote the written Word, needed to use the written Word to get Satan off His back, then think how much more we need to use the written Word of God to fend off the devil!

God bless


May 26, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught
Pray without ceasing . . . -1 Thessalonians 5:17


Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues "without ceasing"; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. "Pray without ceasing . . ."- maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, ". . . everyone who asks receives . . ." (Matthew 7:. Yet we say, "But . . . , but . . . ." God answers prayer in the best way- not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?

The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.
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Weeping

In 1 Samuel 30:1-4 we read,

Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.  So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.  Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

David experienced the sudden loss of his family and it tore his heart out.  Notice that David and his men lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep.

Feeling sorrow and anguish and expressing it is not wrong.  In fact, it is normal, especially when you have experienced a sudden and personal loss.

Perhaps, like David, you have lost family members.  Or maybe you have wayward children.  They were brought up in the way of the Lord, but they are living a lifestyle that is diametrically opposed to the ways of God right now, and your heart is broken when you think about it.

Maybe you have experienced some other loss in your life, something of value, something that is important to you, something that has meaning to you.  If so, it is okay to grieve!

God has wired us to be emotional beings.  We are not robots.  It is right for loss to affect us on a personal, emotional level.  As the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is a time to weep.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

Sorrow has its place and its time, but there is also a time for it to end and to be replaced with something else.
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Does Sin Have Consequences?

In His Presence: 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

"From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die"(Genesis 2:17).

When Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden that she would not die from eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he emphasized his lie: "You surely will not die!" (Genesis 3:4). By telling her this, he was implying two things: God's Word could not be trusted, and there would be no consequences to her disobedience to God. Satan's fourth lie in this passage was that you can rebel against God and get away with it.

Sin is a violation of the law of God. Just like "No trespassing" signs say we are subject to prosecution if we violate the trespassing laws, God said to Adam and Eve and the rest of the world that when we have violated His law we will suffer the consequences. God's law is a reflection of His character. He doesn't make rules just to make rules. His guidelines and regulations reflect what He is like.

One of the chief definitions of sin is that which is contrary to the holiness of God. At the root of the word holy is the word separate. At the root of the word separate is the concept that God and sin cannot inhabit the same environment. He is wholly separate.

One Minute Please

Because of God's purity and holiness, God never gets used to filth. We may get used to it, but according to His nature, God cannot.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 27, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     
The Life To Know Him
. . . tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high -Luke 24:49


The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). The statement in John 7:39 - ". . . for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified"- does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified- our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.

The Holy Spirit's influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.

It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ- it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity- it is one amazing glorious now. "This is eternal life, that they may know You . . ." (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.
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Taking Responsibility

In the devotional yesterday, we saw how it is okay when we experience loss to weep and to grieve.  I want to point you to verse 6 of that same passage to learn another important lesson related to experiencing loss.  1 Samuel 30:6 says,

Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters.  But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him.  David was not only grieving for the loss of his own family, but he was now being blamed for the whole thing.  In fact, they were blaming him to the point that they wanted to take his life.

When you experience troubles, do not be someone who always wants to blame others.  I know that it is human nature to want to point the finger and to lash out at somebody else when we are in trouble or when we have experienced loss.

In fact, I think blaming others is just part of our fallen fleshly DNA.  Just take a look at what Adam and Eve did in the garden when they messed up.  When God turned up and asked what happened, Adam said, "Well, it's the woman that You gave me.  She gave me from the tree, and I ate."

And when God asked Eve what happened, she replied, "Well, it was the serpent.  It was the snake."

So Adam blamed his wife, and blamed God who gave him his wife, and Eve blamed the snake.  Neither Adam nor Eve took personal responsibility.  It was somebody else's fault.

If the problems you are experiencing today are your fault, take responsibility, and do not blame others.
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Running From God
In His Presence: 1 Peter 2:15-16

"They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden"(Genesis 3:.

God told Adam and Eve that the day they eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. Obviously their physical bodies didn't die, as they lived for centuries (see Genesis 5:5) after the moment of their disobedience to God. In the Bible the word death means separation. God told Adam and Eve they would be separated from Him.  A barrier came between God and His creation.

Before the day they disobeyed, Adam and Eve walked with God in close fellowship: "The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). After they ate the fruit, they began running from God. Adam said: "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself" (3:10).

When someone hides from his Creator rather than enjoying Him, a spiritual death has taken place. Adam and Eve were suddenly full of guilt, shame, and fear. They hid from God and were frightened of Him. We can call that emotional death. They were suffering the consequences of death. When they were not alienated from sharing a life with God, there was peace in their minds about themselves and their world.

One Minute Please

Today, we are separated from God by our inherited death sentence. Only God's grace sets us free.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 31, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Put God First
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . .for He knew what was in man -John 2:24-25


Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God's grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be- absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God's Will First. "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:9).

A person's obedience is to what he sees to be a need- our Lord's obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, "We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him." But we must first make sure that God's "needs" and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, ". . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the "needs" of God and His will. Once God's "needs" in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His "needs" elsewhere.

Put God's Son First. "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me" (Matthew 18:5).

God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a "Bethlehem." Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God's ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.
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Two Voices that Cry Out

Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.  You have heaped up treasure in the last days.  Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (James 5:3-4).

These words are written to believers, to Christians who are hoarding up wealth rather than giving to support the spread of the gospel.

The reapers in verse 4 are those preaching and working out in the harvest fields of the world.  Notice it says that the Lord has heard their cry.  But if you read carefully, you will find that another cry has entered the Lord's ears as well.

"The wages" of the laborers cry out to God as well!  The tithes and offerings that have been withheld cry out.  Monies that should have been sown into the cause of Christ are raising their voices in a mighty chorus to heaven!

Large amounts of undesignated and unused funds that sit in bank vaults cry out.  Funds God has graciously given to His people that have been withheld from their purpose-to bring a living Jesus to a dying world-cry out and cry out and cry out!

Are you sitting on a talking wallet today?  Is your purse crying out to God?  If you could hear their voice, what would they cry?  "China!  Europe!  Africa!  The Middle East!"??

Are you generously supporting the work of your own local church?  Do not let your money testify against you!  Give where, when, and how much God directs- consistently-into the work of His Kingdom.

If the precious fruit of the earth is going to be reaped, we have to support those who labor in the field. 
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Respect for God's Laws

In His Presence: Hebrews 12:1-2

"To Adam [God] said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat from it," cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to the dust you shall return' ''(Genesis 3:17-19).

There are definitely consequences to sin. Sometimes we don't connect the problem with the cause. In this case, when Adam sinned, he affected the world of work. Even the ground was cursed. Though Satan denied that there would be death upon eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a lot of the dying wasn't immediately evident. Economy was affected. Adam and Eve's family felt the results of death in the discord within. Their bodies began to die. Ultimately, they died physically as well.

We can cut a flower from its stem. It dies right away because it is separated from the source of life, but it doesn't appear dead immediately. The longer it is unattached, the more evident death becomes. One thing we must realize about sin and consequences is that we can choose the sin, but we cannot choose the consequences.

One Minute Please

We must respect God's laws.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 1, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

The Staggering Question
He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' -Ezekiel 37:3


Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer- "O Lord God, You know" (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, "Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done."

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God's power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

"Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . ." (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My "grave" has been opened by God and "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" (Romans 7:18). God's Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.
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A Chain Reaction

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus (John 1:35-37).

When John opened his mouth about Jesus, two people who heard him speak followed the Lord.  We must open our mouths about the Lamb of God if we want people to follow Him.

Look what happens next in John 1:40-42,

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.

We have a chain reaction happening here.  John says, "Behold the Lamb of God," and two men follow Jesus.  One of the men, Andrew, goes straight to his brother and brings him to Jesus.  It is interesting to note that it says he "first" found his own brother-indicating that Simon was not the only one that Andrew found and brought to the Lord.

The remainder of this chapter in John tells us how Philip told Nathaniel about Jesus and was able to persuade him to meet the Lord with the words "come and see."

These stories from the first chapter of John reveal to us what we should be doing once we meet Jesus.  We need to bring our friends and loved ones to the Lord.  We should be inviting them to "come and see."

Take a moment right now and ask God to show you someone who you should talk to about Jesus.  Then get busy and do it.  You just may see a chain reaction of salvations.
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The Cure
In His Presence: 1 John 1:9

"The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel"(Mark 1:15).

Sin is more than just a problem in our lives. Many of our troubles are the consequences of sin. Sin always carries a consequence. Some of us may be suffering consequences for many years. Aren't you tired of living with these consequences? God has a cure-repentance.

Repentance is God's way of restoring harmony and removing the impregnable wall that goes up when we've lost our close fellowship with Him. Repentance is the decision to turn from sin in order for God to bring an end to the judgment He has wrought on us. Repentance repairs relationships.

The Greek word metanoia means a change of mind. It is often translated as repentance. It involves a change of heart, a new way of looking at life. Only one aspect of metanoia is repentance. It is much more like a rebirth. Metanoia involves a realization or new way of looking at ourselves. Like David who said: "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:13), we need to wake up to the fact that we have sinned against God and God alone. We have offended God.

True repentance involves regret. We should feel sorrow over our sin, not just sorrow over the fact that we got caught. "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom" (James 4:8-9). We need to be broken-hearted before God about our sins.

One Minute Please

Have you gotten sick over your sins yet?

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 2, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Are You Obsessed by Something?
Who is the man that fears the Lord? -Psalm 25:12


Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, "No, by nothing," but all of us are obsessed by something- usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child's awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to "live and move and have our being" in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives- not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.

"He himself shall dwell in prosperity . . ." (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to "dwell in prosperity," keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. "God is our refuge . . ." (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.
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Through Kindness and Love

In Romans 12:20 we read a startling truth,

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

Our natural inclination is to hate our enemies, isn't it?  But the Bible gives us a very different perspective and direction.  We are to care for and love our enemies.  In fact, some of the greatest antagonists to the gospel have been won through love.

We once had a neighbor next to our church building who was very set against us and very vocal against the church.  He would voice his opinion in meetings at the city hall and, on occasion, he would even accost people as they were walking to church.  He would shout things at them and harass them a bit from his front yard.

Well, we had one of our pastors go out of his way to show this guy love.  He would compliment this man on how well he took care of his lawn, and he began to build a relationship with him.  Then one day he actually led the man to Christ!

That same man who would yell at the church members as they walked by his house came into our auditorium and repented before me with tears in his eyes and apologized.  He said he had lashed out because he was afraid.  But now he had come to Christ, and he had been saved.

It is a glorious thing.  He was won to the Lord through kindness and through love.

Think about God.  I am so glad that He did not judge us and let the hammer fall on us because of our sins.  Instead He extended kindness and mercy to us.

Win your enemy to Christ by showing him kindness and loving him today!
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Another Lie

In His Presence: 1 John 2:15-16

"He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist"(Acts 17:26-28).

Satan understood that he could not get rid of God. Before man was created, He tried to elevate himself to God's level. That way, he could do what he wanted to do, and God could do what He wanted to do. Satan did not want to be reminded that God created him.

In the Garden of Eden, God established a boundary. He limited Adam and Eve's access to one tree. The boundaries created dependency. As mentioned in the above verse, God desires that we should seek Him. The limitations are meant to guide our search for Him.

When Satan approached Eve at the restricted tree, he told her: "God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). Satan's fifth lie in this third chapter of Genesis was that we could be equal with God. Satan was offering Eve an impossibility. He was telling her that she could become like God by eating the fruit. However, we can never be like God. He is unique. Satan encouraged Eve to rebel against her creatureliness as he had done earlier.

One Minute Please

God creates boundaries to establish the Creator/creature distinction.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 3, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

"The Secret of the Lord"
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him . . . -Psalm 25:14


What is the sign of a friend? Is it that he tells you his secret sorrows? No, it is that he tells you his secret joys. Many people will confide their secret sorrows to you, but the final mark of intimacy is when they share their secret joys with you. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God. But then we find that God wants to get us into an intimate relationship with Himself- to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so intimately united to Jesus Christ's idea of prayer- "Your will be done" (Matthew 6:10)- that we catch the secrets of God? What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us- He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.

"Him shall He teach in the way He chooses" (Psalm 25:12). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, "I wonder why I shouldn't do this?" God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, "Now, Lord, what is Your will?"
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Aiming at God's Pleasure

In John, chapter 8, Jesus made a statement that I wish I could make.  He said, "I always do those things that please the Father."  Wouldn't it be great if we could all say that?

Paul points us in that direction in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9,

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.  For we walk by faith, not by sight.

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.  Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

Whether we are still in this earthly body or we are standing before the Lord in heaven, he says, "We make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him."

But you know what?  You cannot aim at a target that you can't see.  You can't make it your aim to be well pleasing to Him if you don't know what pleases Him.  And it is to your advantage to find out, as Paul points out in verse 10,

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

So let me ask you, what is your aim today?  Are you aiming at what pleases God?  My prayer is that you will come to truly know and understand what pleases God as you spend time each day with me in this devotional...and that you will make that your aim!
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God Is Unique

In His Presence: Nehemiah 9:6

"Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place' ''(Isaiah 44:6-7).

There are no other beings like God. He is entirely unique. Anyone trying to equate themselves to the status of deity is practicing idolatry. God establishes His uniqueness in so many ways. " 'You are my witnesses,' declares theLord, 'and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me' '' (Isaiah 43:10).

When God placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden and placed a limitation on the man He had created, He was saying that He is God, the Creator, and Adam was man, the created. He lay down a clearly marked line that Adam and Eve were not to cross over.

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God"(Isaiah 45:5). Satan, in the Garden of Eden, held out to Adam and Eve the idea that they could cross over the line and become like God.

One Minute Please

God is so spectacular that it will take all of eternity for us to get to know Him.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 6, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

"Work Out" What God "Works in" You
. . . work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you . . . -Philippians 2:12-13


Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, "But I don't know if my will is in agreement with God." Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say "I will not obey" is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.

The will is the essential element in God's creation of human beings- sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. ". . . for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." With focused attention and great care, you have to "work out" what God "works in" you- not work to accomplish or earn "your own salvation," but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God's will- God's will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God's will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with "dynamite," and the "dynamite" is obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
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Standing in the Gap

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.  So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him (Isaiah 59:14-16).

God is not pleased at injustice nor when truth and righteousness do not prevail.  When He sees those who turn from evil becoming a prey, He is not happy.

I remember a young man who an had lived a particularly sordid life.  He heard the gospel and had an amazing conversion experience.  Within a month or so of accepting Christ, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

What happened?  He departed from evil and became a prey!  God was not responsible for his situation, nor was He pleased.

Why did it happen?  At least part of the answer is found in verse 16.  There was no man serving as an intercessor.  No one was keeping a hedge of protection around that young man through prayer.

Before and after people turn from evil we need to intercede to God on their behalf.

I challenge you today to be one of those who stands in the gap and makes up the hedge for new babes in Christ.  May God find pleasure in you and me as we take our position as intercessors.
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Knowledge vs. Power

In His Presence: Proverbs 3:19-20

"It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host"(Isaiah 45:12).

God wants a Creator/creature distinction between us. We can still relate with each other, talk, and have fun. But we must not forget there is a difference. We have limitations while God does not. A good illustration of this type of relationship is the teen/parent relationship. Teenagers often question why there should be a distinction in the relationship. Depending upon whom they listen to, they may feel that their parents are withholding things that will make life better. They don't understand why they can't enjoy the same privileges as their parents.

Why would Satan tell Eve that eating the fruit would open her eyes and make her like God? Does this reasoning sound familiar?

Satan basically said, "God wants to keep us ignorant so He can control us. If He can control us, He can always tell us what to do and be our boss. But if we eat of the tree we won't be ignorant anymore. We will know what He knows and be able to do what He does."

In using the word know, Satan was implying that information equaled power-the power to determine our own future, our own fate.

One Minute Please

Using our illustration of the teen/parent relationship, Satan was encouraging Adam and Eve to think like the teen who wants his parents to pay the bills, but does not want to submit to their authority.

God bless