Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

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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God Does Care

In yesterday's devotional, I told you about the three levels of faith Jesus talks about. The first of these levels is found in Mark 4:37-40,

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

The first level of faith that Jesus speaks about is no faith. No faith believes God does not care. It is typified by the disciples who woke Jesus in the midst of the storm and said, "Lord, don't You care that we're perishing?"

Perhaps you are in a storm today; and, to you, it seems like God is asleep and that He doesn't even care. That He is aloof, disinterested, and disconnected from you. That you are going through hell and He doesn't care.

Do not believe that lie. If you buy into the lie that God does not care, it robs you of faith. And you cannot get any lower than that.

Do not believe the lie that God is detached and unconcerned. Don't think, "If God cares about me, why would this have happened? Why am I going through this storm? Why is this happening in my life? God doesn't care about me. He doesn't even know my name."

My friend, God does care. He is not going to let you perish. He is interested in even the smallest details of your life.

1 Peter 5:7 says, He cares for you!

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The Father of Lies
In His Presence: Ephesians 6:10-17

"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God . . . He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies"(John 8:42-44).

Satan came to the Garden of Eden to challenge mankind at the bottom line. Can we believe what God says? Satan had the audacity to call God a liar in the very first conversation he had with a human. How could he do that? God created him, gave him the highest position in all of heaven, discovered his rebellion, judged him, and sentenced him by making him leave heaven and live on earth. Satan knew God created for him the eternal fire. And yet he got up in God's face and called him a liar. This is Satan's nature. He has no conscience.

The strategy he applied to Eve is the strategy he applies to us. He got Eve to disregard God's word. Eve had never experienced death before. Why should she believe God regarding something she'd never seen? Satan got Eve away from the word of God, because that's the only way to fight a lie.

One Minute Please

We can counteract Satan's lies with the truth of God's Word.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

May 29, 2012

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Untroubled Relationship
In that day you will ask in My name . . . for the Father Himself loves you . . . -John 16:26-27

In that day you will ask in My name . . . ," that is, in My nature. Not "You will use My name as some magic word," but-"You will be so intimate with Me that you will be one with Me." "That day" is not a day in the next life, but a day meant for here and now. ". . . for the Father Himself loves you . . ."- the Father's love is evidence that our union with Jesus is complete and absolute. Our Lord does not mean that our lives will be free from external difficulties and uncertainties, but that just as He knew the Father's heart and mind, we too can be lifted by Him into heavenly places through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that He can reveal the teachings of God to us.

". . . whatever you ask the Father in My name . . ." (John 16:23). "That day" is a day of peace and an untroubled relationship between God and His saint. Just as Jesus stood unblemished and pure in the presence of His Father, we too by the mighty power and effectiveness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be lifted into that relationship-". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . ." (John 17:22).

". . . He will give you" (John 16:23). Jesus said that because of His name God will recognize and respond to our prayers. What a great challenge and invitation-to pray in His name! Through the resurrection and ascension power of Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit He has sent, we can be lifted into such a relationship. Once in that wonderful position, having been placed there by Jesus Christ, we can pray to God in Jesus' name-in His nature. This is a gift granted to us through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus said, ". . . whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." The sovereign character of Jesus Christ is tested and proved by His own statements.
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The Place of Blessing
In Genesis 12:1-3 we read,

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Notice how God says to Abram, "Abram, I'm going to bless you, and you will be a blessing."  But here is what I want you to see:  Abram's being a blessing was tied to being in God's purpose.  He could only become a great blessing if he followed God's calling.

You will never be the blessing God intends for you to be if you are not flowing in your purpose.

Was there risk involved for Abram?  You bet!  He had to leave everything that was familiar to him, all of his security, everything that was comfortable and familiar.

He left Ur of the Chaldeans, which history tells us was one of the most highly developed cities of the ancient world.  They had cobblestone streets, an underground sewage system, and it was a place of world trade.

Abram left all of that and went out on an adventure by faith, pursuing the purpose that God had for his life.  And in pursuing that purpose, God blessed him, and he became a blessing.

But think about this. What if he had stayed back? What if he had said, "I'm secure here; I have it made; I have a nice house and everything I need.  I think I will stay put."  We would not even know his name.

Pursue your purpose. That is the place of God's blessing.

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Demonstrating Our Faith

In His Presence: Psalm 100:4-5

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"(Hebrews 11:1-2).

Biblical faith is not amorphous. We don't believe in Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy-they have no substance or reality to them. Faith believes in the character and the promises of a very real God. We demonstrate our faith by acting on His Word.

Have you ever turned on your radio to listen to the traffic reports? We believe these reports because someone is up in a helicopter and can see much more from the air than we can from the ground. They have a different perspective than we have. We demonstrate our trust in their word by taking a different route to our destination.

Doppler radar makes weather patterns visible, enabling scientists to see something that is invisible to the eye. Doppler radar provides a measure of safety, especially at airports where wind shears could make the ride pretty rough for planes about to take off or land. Occasionally, a burst of invisible wind could drive a commercial airliner to the ground like a toy.

In the spiritual realm, we are limited in our perspective. We cannot see what is happening in that realm unless we believe God, who gives us the details. Fire is hot; the sky is blue; water is wet; and God tells the truth. "If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar" (Romans 3:3-4).

One Minute Please

Faith has substance because God has substance.
God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


"Yes- But . . .!"

Lord, I will follow You, but . . . -Luke 9:61

Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, "Yes, but- suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?" Or we say, "Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn't go against my common sense, but don't ask me to take a step in the dark."

Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.

By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ's statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis- only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
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The Signpost of a Provoked Heart

Without a doubt, God has plans for you. Your life is no accident. You have a purpose. In today's devotional, we will discover an important key to help you understand your calling.       

Let's look first at Acts 17:16-17,

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.  Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

The word provoked literally means that his spirit was deeply troubled, his spirit was grieved within him.

That gives us the first step in understanding your purpose.  What grieves your heart?  Paul was grieved about this city wholly given over to idols.  And the next verse begins with the word therefore.  He did something about it.

Generally, the things that grieve you in your heart are things that God has gifted you to change.  They point you to your purpose.

For instance, in Job 30:25, Job said, "Has not my soul grieved for the poor?"  If you read Job's story, a big part of his ministry had to do with helping the poor.  It was tied to what caused his heart to grieve.

Then there was David who was grieved and provoked as Goliath was taunting the Israelites.  Why?  David was called to be a leader and a warrior in Israel.  It was a signpost pointing to his calling.

What is it that provokes you in your heart?  Whatever it is, do something about it.

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God Said So
In His Presence: Matthew 4:1-11

"The tempter came and said to [Jesus], 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.' But He answered and said, 'It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" ' ''(Matthew 4:3-4).

What should we do when we face Satan's lies, especially the lie that God's Word cannot be true? Jesus was faced with a legitimate need-the need to eat to sustain Himself. His need wasn't wrong. Jesus had the power to do what was suggested, but to do it at the demand of Satan would have been satisfying Himself apart from God.

What proceeds out of God's mouth must be our foundation for everything. It must be the foundation for counseling, for work, for our families, and for our finances. God has given us His definitive Word, and His Word addresses everything that is relevant to us today. Christians who do not believe His Word and obey it do not see His power demonstrated today. God does not want us to pay homage to Him; He wants us to believe Him and act on faith. Faith believes God in the absence of empirical evidence.

In the Garden of Eden, Eve stumbled over this type of faith. She failed the test because she did not believe something she had never seen-death. When it's difficult to believe God but we place our faith in Him anyway, that's faith.

One Minute Please

Faith is believing something is so, even when it is not visibly so, that it might be so simply because God said so.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

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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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

[Judy Harder]

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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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]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


The Never-forsaking God
He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' -Hebrews 13:5
What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says? "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?' " (Hebrews 13:5-6).

"I will never leave you . . ."- not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again.

"I will never . . . forsake you." Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful- just the everyday activities of life- do I hear God's assurance even in these?

We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing- that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God's assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.


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Inquire of the Lord

1 Samuel 30:8 tells us what David did next as He sought to deal with the troubles that besieged him.  After grieving and strengthening himself in the Lord, here is what he did,

So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop?  Shall I overtake them?"  And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."

David inquired of the Lord.

There is a story in the book of Joshua that shows the importance of inquiring of God, of seeking His guidance, no matter how things may seem.

The nation of Israel had entered the Promised Land and they were gaining great victories.  One day a group of Gibeonites showed up.  They had bags full of old moldy bread, their sandals were worn out, their water skins were cracked and old, and their clothing was old and worn.

They told Joshua and the leaders that they had come from a country far, far away.  They went on to tell them they had heard about the great things God was doing through Israel, and they wanted to make sure they would not be attacked.  So they had traveled from afar to make a covenant so that when Israel eventually reached them in the future, they wouldn't attack the Gibeonites.

The Bible says specifically that Joshua and the men did not inquire of the Lord.  Rather, they looked at the people's provisions...the moldy bread, the old sandals, the old water skins...and they made a covenant with them.

It turns out they were the next door neighbors and Israel had been deceived. And it caused huge problems in Israel's future.

I am telling you, things are not always as they appear. It pays to inquire of the Lord when you are going through difficult times. He will lead you.

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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]

God's Assurance
He Himself has said . . . . So we may boldly say . . . -Hebrews 13:5-6
My assurance is to be built upon God's assurance to me. God says, "I will never leave you," so that then I "may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear' " (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God's words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God's assurance- they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God's assurance to us.

What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it- you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, "But 'The Lord is my helper' this very moment, even in my present circumstance." Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God's Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father's assurance, and then say with strong courage, "I will not fear." It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because "He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you . . . .' "

Human frailty is another thing that gets between God's words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God's assurance to us- "I will never. . . forsake you." Have we learned to sing after hearing God's keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, "The Lord is my helper," or are we yielding to fear?


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Global Harvest
In Mark 16:15 Jesus said,

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

In Matthew 13:38 He said,

"The field is the world..."

We need to lift up our eyes upon the harvest field "of the world."

It may sound crazy, but God is expecting us to do something about the salvation of the whole world!

In James chapter five, we are told that God is like a farmer waiting patiently for the precious fruit "of the earth."  The implication there is that the Lord is coming, but there is a great global harvest coming first.

Here are some things you can do to be a part of reaching the world for Christ:

·        Pray - Matthew 9:37-38 says, Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

·        Give - Generously support ministries that are reaching the lost.  Make the mission outreaches of your own church a priority.

·        Go - Jesus' command to go is to all believers.  At the very least, take a short term missions trip to share the Good News with others.

Remember, the only things we will take to heaven with us are the precious souls we have brought to Christ.


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The Death of the Family

In His Presence: Colossians 1:9

"I will put enmity between [the serpent] and the woman"(Genesis 3:15).

When Satan wanted to instigate mankind's rebellion against God, he went to the woman to undermine the man's God-given authority. He approached Eve rather than Adam at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to discuss what God said about the tree.

Eve responded to Satan's prompts by taking up the position of the spiritual guide for her family. Eve made the decision about the direction the family would move. Adam became the follower. Eve ate the fruit and gave it to her husband. We know that Adam was with her; he heard the conversation Eve had with the serpent and did not interpose God's viewpoint. Eve became the initiator and Adam became the responder. Their roles were reversed.

When a man gives up the biblical headship of his family, especially in the spiritual realm, there is a death in the relationship. Satan has become an expert in getting men to forsake their biblical roles because he knows if he can get the man out of his leadership role, the family will be weakened. We think conflict in the family is about differing personalities, or about finances, or how to rear our children. But the underlying cause is the death of the spiritual state in the home. The roles have been reversed, and man has forsaken the spiritual mantle God gave to all men.

One Minute Please

When the husband and/or wife have rebelled against God in some way, death takes hold of family relationships.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

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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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]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


The Greatest Source of Power

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . -John 14:13

Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point- the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.

However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? "If you abide in Me . . . "- that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point- "you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these- what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

"Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . ." The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God's foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.


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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]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


What's Next To Do?


If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them -John 13:17

Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself- begin to have spiritual discernment.

When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . ." (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . ." (John 7:17).

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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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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