Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Our Lord's Surprise Visits
You also be ready . . . -Luke 12:40


A Christian worker's greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord's surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle-we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today's world, and instead are "looking unto Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not Ashamed
I have a question to ask you today. Has there ever been a time when you were afraid to confess the name of Jesus? In John 9:20-23, we have the example of the parents whose son had been born blind but was healed by Jesus.

Look at their response when asked who healed their son,

His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

How many Christians have held their tongue when they should have been giving praise to the name of Jesus? Praise for answered prayer, for the miracles He has done, but they were intimidated by unbelievers?

I was coming back from Africa when a Muslim man on the plane put a blanket on the floor, got down on his face and began to pray. This man was not ashamed at all about kneeling down on the plane in front of everyone.

I thought, "Oh, Jesus! How many times have Your people kept silent because they were afraid of what someone might think of them?"

Throw off the shackles of fear and timidity, and boldly take your stand for Christ!

Proverbs 28:1 says, The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faith in Practice
In His Presence: Ecclesiastes 11:1-4

The question of faith as it relates to stewardship is, do we believe that if we invest in that which is eternal that God will honor and bless us in the way He sees fit? We must believe that kingdom investments are not lost.

In order for faith to work, it must be practiced. "Faith, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). Faith is not just believing that God can do what He says; faith is entrusting yourself to Him so He can do His work through you! Proverbs 11:24 says: "There is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want."

We must persevere in faith. Scripture sets forth the principles we are to live by, and God can impress things on our hearts about how He wants us to serve Him as stewards. Don't let circumstances detour you from faith. Just because it looks like things might not work out, don't stop trusting God. Don't let doubt detour you. When doubt is holding you back, take it to Jesus, just like the man who told Jesus: "I do believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). And Jesus healed his son.

Don't let people detour you from faith in God. Others may try to discourage you and tell you that you need to give up on Him, but if you trust, God will keep walking with you. Don't let fear detour you from your faith. Don't be afraid to trust God's Word and obey it.

One Minute Please

God sowed the seed of salvation in our hearts, and we can sow seeds of faith in the world.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Holiness or Hardness Toward God?
He . . . wondered that there was no intercessor . . . -Isaiah 59:16


The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial- that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, "But God, I just don't see how you are going to do this"? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don't worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work-work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Worries
I trust that these words from Isaiah will encourage you today. Read carefully what God has to say,

"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?... But I am the LORD your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared-the LORD of hosts is His name" (Isaiah 51:12-13 and 15).

God spans the heavens with the palm of His hand. The nations are as a drop in the bucket before Him. There is nothing too hard for Him, and nothing He cannot do.

A number of years ago, I had the chance to go elk hunting with a friend in Montana. We were lying outside under the stars, and I was unprepared for the glory I saw. I have never seen so many stars in my life! It took my breath away!

As we lay there, I said, "You know what? God spans the heavens with His hand, and you and I are worried about paying the rent!" It was just one of those moments. We both just cracked up at how ridiculous it was to worry when God was so big.

What are you worrying about today? Whatever it is, place it into God's hands. After all, His hand spans the entire universe!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Evaluation of Stewardship
In His Presence: 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Each Christian will one day come before the judgment seat of Christ and will be evaluated for their Christian walk. This is when God will look at our stewardship, at our use of time, talents, and treasures. He will evaluate us not to determine our entrance to heaven-that has already been given through Christ's finished work on the cross-but to determine our reward in heaven.

As we reconsider the parable of the three stewards in Matthew 25, let us first remember the issue of responsibility in stewardship. The three servants did not own the possessions they took care of; those things belonged to the master. None of the slaves could claim ownership of anything they had. In the same way, everything we have, are, or ever will be belongs to God.

We must also remember the issue of accountability. After time had passed, the master came back to see what the slaves had done with his money. We will all one day answer for the use of our resources. To the servants who invested wisely, the master gave public praise and more treasures (vv. 21, 23), but to the servant who buried his talent in the ground, he gave a tongue-lashing (v. 26). Each one got the reward he was due.

How can we prepare for the day when we will answer for the use of our time, talents, and treasures? Start rewriting our obituaries now! We can't change the past, but we can change tomorrow. Begin reorganizing your life to reflect your changed priorities.

One Minute Please

Live so that at His judgment seat, God will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

The Glory That's Unsurpassed
. . . the Lord Jesus . . . has sent me that you may receive your sight . . . -Acts 9:17


When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ- "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.

The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God's own heart (see Acts 13:22).

Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you. Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus, I've lost sight of all beside, So enchained my spirit's vision, Gazing on the Crucified.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life's Proper Focus
Read Luke 12:16-21,

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

This parable really helps us bring life into the right perspective. The rich man in this story failed to do three things.

He failed to realize that he was only a steward and not the owner of his goods.
He failed to have an eternal perspective.
He failed to consider how brief this earthly life can be.
How did he fail in these three areas? By not understanding just how short life is and where to place his focus.

He talked about building barns but instead he had a burial.

He said he had many years but God said "this night."

He thought he was wise, but God said he was a fool.

Let's learn from his mistakes and bring our life into proper focus.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Christ

In His Presence: If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:10).

God's goal for His people is Christlikeness, conforming them to the character of Christ. But many of us think, "I read the Bible, I pray, I go to church, but I'm not really transformed to be like Christ from the inside out. What's wrong with me?"

One Minute Please

We have a capacity problem-sin has killed our bodies, and we aren't capable of helping ourselves.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


"If You Had Known!"
If you had known . . . in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes -Luke 19:42


Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there-the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to "whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God "in this your day"? Do you have a strange god-not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn't do it. I got through the crisis "by the skin of my teeth," only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God's eyes.

"If you had known . . . ." God's words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And "now they are hidden from your eyes" because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who Made the Sun Shine?

Look again at Luke 12:16-21,

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Take a look at the few words that this man spoke. In his short declaration, he uses the word I six times and the word my five times!

His perspective was a very selfish one.

Here are a few questions to ponder:

· Who gave the rain that made his crops grow?
· Who made the soil out of which his crops grew?
· Who made the seed he planted?
· Who caused the sun to shine?
· Who gave him the physical strength to work the field?
· Who gave him his soul?

The answer to all of those is God. Yet he makes no acknowledgement of God in his speech, planning, or giving. He should have been thanking God for all His blessings and asking the Lord what He wanted done with His things.

Be faithful to acknowledge God and to ask Him what to do with His resources over which you are a steward.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nature of Christ

In His Presence: You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (Romans 8:9).

As Christians, we are limited by our capacity as human beings. Even though Jesus has obtained the victory for us, we are still living in our broken, sinful bodies, and we cannot completely conform to the divine standard until we get to heaven.

One Minute Please

We all enter the world in the same state: dead in our sins. Only the power of Christ can give us life and change our hearts to look like His.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     

The Way to Permanent Faith
Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you will be scattered . . . -John 16:32


Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God's blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.

". . . you . . . will leave Me alone." Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God's blessings is fundamental

". . . be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's All Mapped Out
One of the great truths revealed in Scripture is that the end is determined from the beginning. What I mean by that is God sees the end from the beginning. He already has a plan for you. He has already got the whole thing worked out.

Consider what God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

Before Jeremiah was ever born, God had his destiny, a plan for his life, all worked out. That truth applies to you and me, and that helps me rest at night. It is great to know I do not have to figure this whole thing out. Sometimes we see through a glass darkly. But you know what? God sees everything perfectly.

This same truth is echoed in Ephesians 1:4,

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Did you know you were chosen before God laid the foundation for this world? That was a long time ago. God knew you before you ever existed. He knew you before the world was here. You were chosen in Him. You were not an accident. God knew you.

Again, this truth is affirmed in Ephesians 2:10,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The beforehand is before the foundation of the world. Just like God knew you, He prepared specific good works for you that you should walk in them long before you ever came into existence.

He has your life mapped out. What a great comfort!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christlikeness

In His Presence: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

Christlikeness is the Spirit of God inspiring the ability to emulate the person of Christ in and through your life. How do you know if you are Christlike? Your conduct will be consistent with the character of the Savior. You constantly grow more into His image, becoming more like Him this year than you were last year, more like Him today than you were yesterday.

One Minute Please

The Spirit is so powerful, it liberates the dead body to enjoy the new life that Jesus provided by His death and resurrection.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


His Agony and Our Access
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples . . . . 'Stay here and watch with Me' -Matthew 26:36, 38


We can never fully comprehend Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don't have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique- they are the gateway into life for us.

It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God- Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan's assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation- ". . . the devil . . . departed from Him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan's final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let God Do His Job
Philippians 2:8-11 shows us how humility precedes honor,

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If God's good pleasure and His plan are to be worked out in our lives, we must walk in humility. It is a prerequisite for us to pass the test of humility. As we see here, because Jesus humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him. And at that point, no demon in hell could do a thing to prevent it.

When God promotes you, no person, no demon, no ungodly system can hold you back. God's exalting power is irresistible. It is undeniable, and it is undefeatable.

But a humble heart must come first. It has been said that no man stands taller than when he is on his knees before God. Let us humble ourselves and be obedient to God in every area of our lives. If we will lower ourselves, God will lift us. God's job is to exalt us, and our job is to humble ourselves. If we try to do God's job for Him, He will have to do our job for us.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extreme Makeover

In His Presence: The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

When the Spirit dwells in you, your mortal body is brought to life. You are changed, and you are redeemed from the grave. God wants us to realize that if we will make His purpose our own purpose and our passion, we will be in position for the miracle of resurrection. When we seek to be conformed to the image of Christ, we will be like Him not only in life, but also in death, rising victoriously over the grave just as He did. That is the good news of the Gospel!

One Minute Please

When others look at us, may they not even recognize our old sinful selves and only see the Savior reflected in our lives
God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


The Collision of God and Sin
. . . who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree . . . -1 Peter 2:24


The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God's judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross- He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.

The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus- He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:. The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating "God was manifested in the flesh. . ." from ". . . He made Him. . . to be sin for us. . ." (1 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.

The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humpty Dumpty?
Proverbs 27:2 gives us very wise words of advice,

Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth.

There are so many people, including Christians, who think God cannot get along without them. They think they are the reason they experience so much success.

It has been said that a man wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package.

When God grants you success and blesses you, you have to remain humble if you are going to retain your usefulness to God. The Scripture says pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

There are plenty of men and women who at one time or another were on top, but today are on the bottom. I know examples inside and outside ministry. One story in particular comes to mind when I think of this principle.

There was a minister who once said, while making a plea for money, "No one is doing what we're doing throughout the world, and God needs us to carry on this work. The world cannot be reached without our ministry."

Granted, he was doing an incredible work in a lot of different countries. But the moment he said, "God can't get along without me," I thought of Humpty Dumpty. I just thought, "Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!" I knew he was headed for a fall!

And you know what? That man is no longer in the position of prominence that he once was. And God seems to have gotten along fine without him.

Do not sing your own praises. Let others congratulate you if they will, but at the end of the day offer those praises to the One who really deserves it-the Lord.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Agent of Transformation

In His Presence: The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

God's method of transformation is conforming us to the image of Christ by the work of the Spirit within. The transformation you long for must come from the divine method He has prescribed.The spiritual transformation process is conducted by the agent God has ordained-the Holy Spirit. The Lord is the Spirit, of the same essence and one in deity. Before His death, Jesus told the disciples He would leave with them a Comforter, one who would be Christ living in them. Jesus is with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

One Minute Please

If we focus our minds on things of the Spirit instead of things of the flesh, our minds and hearts will be receptive to spiritual transformation.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Have You Seen Jesus?
After that, He appeared in another form to two of them . . . -Mark 16:12


Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God's grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.

You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure "as seeing Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, "Now I see Him!" (see John 9:25).

Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. "And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either" (Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don't believe.

O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, till He bringeth you where I have been?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Three Relationships that Make Us Rich

Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:13-15).

This man came to Jesus to get him to "sort his brother out" over the inheritance, not realizing that his brother was the real treasure in his life - not the things he might inherit.

Here are three relationships that make us rich:

1. Our relationship with God. To know God makes you rich, no matter what material resources you may or may not have.

Some of those that the world would call rich are actually bankrupt when it comes to the most important treasure of all.

2. Our relationship with others. People, not things, are the real treasures in life. I can honestly say that I am a rich man. I have family and friends that I love and that love me. Things lose their meaning, and serve as a very poor substitute for relationships with people.

3. Our relationship with our own heart. Commune with your own heart... declares the psalmist in Psalm 4:4 (KJV).

That means hold some serious communication with your heart-get acquainted with your heart. Don't let you and your own heart be strangers!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Instrument of Transformation

In His Presence: We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Verse 18 reveals that all Christians are being transformed into the image of Christ more and more, and that happens by beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. This mirror is so powerful that when we look into it, it changes us. This powerful mirror is the Word of God.

One Minute Please

The Holy Spirit put the Word of God in motion in your soul.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin -Romans 6:6


Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin-that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you-not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified-just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, "Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life- to see the very things that struggle against God's Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God's verdict on the nature of sin- that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." (Galatians 2:20).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Faithful to Another

Jesus, in Luke 16:12, makes a very interesting statement...one that provides a perspective on faithfulness you would not expect,

"And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?"

Jesus makes it clear. You have to be faithful in something that is someone else's before He will fulfill your dream or open doors for you.

God gives each of us opportunities to help others. And He looks for us to faithfully help others before He blesses us. For example, Joseph had to help Pharaoh with his dream, before God allowed Joseph's dream to come to pass.

Maybe you have a dream to be super rich for the purpose of spreading the gospel. You would like to see the gospel go around the world. Or you would like to pay off the debt on your church's building. Or you would like to fund a certain missions organization.

I think the Kingdom could use a multitude of very wealthy people who have a heart for the lost and a desire to see God's work succeed and expand.

But first you need to be faithful working for that person who has hired you. You have to be faithful in that which is another man's. God is not going to open a door for you to fulfill the dream you have if you do not show up for work on time, or if you do not put in a full day's work. Why would God open the door for you to lead your own successful business if you have not been faithful working for someone else?

You must serve that other person with all of your heart, or that other company you are working for first, before God will prosper you. It is a Kingdom principle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beholding God's Word

In His Presence: The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword . . . able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

If we want to be transformed by God's Word through the power of the Holy Spirit, we must behold it correctly. Second Corinthians 3:18 says we must behold with unveiled faces. When a woman gets married, she often walks down the aisle with a veil obscuring her face. Then the bridegroom removes the veil so that she is visibly exposed.

One Minute Please

The Bible doesn't exist just to give you good information about God. It exists to give you power and victory through Christ.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

April 11, 2012

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Complete and Effective Divinity
If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection . . . -Romans 6:5


Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life must now be built on the foundation of His life. I can have the resurrection life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness.

The idea all through the apostle Paul's writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God- His complete and effective divinity- to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house- He invades all of it. And once I decide that my "old man" (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that important decision about sin, it is easy to "reckon" that I am actually "dead indeed to sin," because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time (Romans 6:11). Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness- the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Way Up May Be Down

It is not unusual for God's promotion to look like a demotion at first, to feel like you are going backward rather than forward.

There are a couple of great examples of this in the Bible. For instance, do you remember how Joseph in Genesis 37 dreamt he would one day rule over his brothers? That God was going to promote him to a place of prominence?

So what happened? His brothers threw him into a pit, he was sold to Midianite traders as a slave, and then he was put on the auction block and sold again in Egypt. On top of that, he ended up in prison on false charges and spent several years there, seemingly forgotten.

But without those experiences, Joseph would have never been ready to rule. Preparation comes before promotion. The way up may go down for awhile at first.

David is another example of how God will "demote" in order to promote. Do you remember in 1 Samuel 16:12-13 how David was anointed king while still just a shepherd?

Now he [David] was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

This is a pretty big promotion for a shepherd boy, don't you think? But for years, David lived a fugitive's life-moving from place to place, living in caves, being hunted. He was separated from everyone and all the things that he loved.

His promotion ended up looking more like a demotion, which is often the way God works. In the process of your promotion, He will take you through difficult times to prepare you for that promotion.

Just remember, the way up is often down
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resigned to the Word

In His Presence: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20).

Many Christians today are suffering from spiritual anorexia and starving to death spiritually. Even though they may have plenty of Bibles in their homes for spiritual nourishment, and even though the church-a spiritual supermarket-is right down the street, these Christians suffer from spiritual malnutrition. One primary reason for this is that they have not decided to make becoming like Christ their sole purpose. If He is not your passionate purpose, everything else you do will be wasted. God's purpose for us is to be conformed to the image of His Son, to be transformed by His glory, and to be made holy and righteous like Christ.

One Minute Please

We must make the Bible the first place we go to find truth, not the last. We must be quick to hear His truth.



April 12, 2012



Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Complete and Effective Dominion
Death no longer has dominion over Him. . . . the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God . . . -Romans 6:9-11


Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . ." (Acts 1:- not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life- ". . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to "let go." But any effort to "hang on" to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preparation for Promotion

It is easy for us to be impatient with God's timeline of blessing, or to wonder why God is not prospering us as we think we should be.

In 1 Samuel 22:1-2, we are given a snapshot of how God prepared David, a little shepherd boy, to be king,

David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

Just think how David must have felt. God tells Him, "David, you're going to be Israel's next king!" but Saul is chasing him across the countryside and the people who are following him are all the outcasts, the people with problems, the people who are unhappy, the people who don't have any money.

On top of that, the next few verses of this passage talk about how David had to move his family to a foreign country just to keep them safe. Some promotion!

But you know what? Through it all David was learning how to trust God and how to manage people. His character was being tested. He was being fitted by God to wear the garments of a king: the garment of mercy, fairness, and wisdom, the shoes of decisiveness, the belt of strength, covered with a robe of gentleness.

The fullness of his promotion came in due season, and so will yours. David was not ready to be king when he walked out of the field as a young shepherd boy, so do not be surprised if you also need to be prepared for your promotion!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Slow to Speak

In His Presence: Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:2).

In resigning ourselves to God's Word, we must also be "slow to speak." This means after we are quick to listen to what God says, we don't argue with it. Many of us are too busy listening to ourselves talk to hear what God is really saying to us, and when we do hear Him, we don't want to believe Him-we try to argue with Him!

One Minute Please

We must resign ourselves to the pure truth of God's Word without adding our own perspective.

God bless