Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Getting There (1)
Come to Me . . . -Matthew 11:28

Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words- "Come to Me." Our Lord's words are not, "Do this, or don't do that," but- "Come to me." If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.

Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing- "Come to Me." If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.

Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord- "Come to Me," and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be "foolish" enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.

". . . and I will give you rest"- that is, "I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm." He is not saying, "I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep." But, in essence, He is saying, "I will get you out of bed- out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity." Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about "suffering" the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?


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The Nature of Faith

In our last devotional, we talked about how important faith is to pleasing God.  It is not just important, it's essential, because without it, you and I cannot please God.

The natural question is, "What is faith?"

In Hebrews 11:1, the writer gives us the technical definition of biblical faith,

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

Faith deals with unseen reality.  In fact, Weymouth's translation says, "Faith is a conviction of the reality of things we do not see."

You might think, "That's a nice definition, but what does that really mean?"  That is a good question.  And it is answered by the examples given in Hebrews 11, which show different ways people expressed their faith in God, because there is not just one way to demonstrate faith in God:

Abel shows us that faith is giving our best to God.  He deserves our first and our best.
Enoch shows us that faith is walking with God.  It is living a life in constant connection with God, even when you can't sense or feel Him.
Noah shows us that faith is making preparations as though Christ is coming back today, even when there is seemingly no evidence.
Abraham shows us that faith is obeying God, even though you may not know where He is leading you.
Sarah shows us that faith is receiving God's promise, even when public opinion says, "No way!"
Moses shows us that faith is living life in light of eternity, and allowing that focus to affect all of life's decisions.
Commit today to live this life of faith. If you do, you will truly please God!


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Knowledge vs. Power

In His Presence: Proverbs 3:19-20

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

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

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

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

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

One Minute Please

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


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Getting There (2)
They said to Him, 'Rabbi . . . where are You staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see' -John 1:38-39
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. "They . . . remained with Him that day . . . ." That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

"You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas" (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don't dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him- self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the sin of making "self" our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, "Oh, I'm no saint," is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, "I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ." Why aren't you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, ". . . We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life- let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In His Presence: 1 John 2:15-16

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

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

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

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

One Minute Please

God creates boundaries to establish the Creator/creature distinction.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

My Utmost for His Highest
. . . do you love Me? . . . Tend My sheep -John 21:16
Jesus did not say to make converts to your way of thinking, but He said to look after His sheep, to see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Him. We consider what we do in the way of Christian work as service, yet Jesus Christ calls service to be what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . , he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). In this verse, there is no argument and no pressure from Jesus to follow Him; He is simply saying, in effect, "If you want to be My disciple, you must be devoted solely to Me." A person touched by the Spirit of God suddenly says, "Now I see who Jesus is!"- that is the source of devotion.

Today we have substituted doctrinal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many people are devoted to causes and so few are devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not really want to be devoted to Jesus, but only to the cause He started. Jesus Christ is deeply offensive to the educated minds of today, to those who only want Him to be their Friend, and who are unwilling to accept Him in any other way. Our Lord's primary obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of people- the saving of people was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. If I am devoted solely to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will waver and stumble. But if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity, even though people may treat me like a "doormat." The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of that life is its seeming insignificance and its meekness. Yet it is like a grain of wheat that "falls into the ground and dies"- it will spring up and change the entire landscape (John 12:24).


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Rejoicing in God's Mercy
We all are familiar with the story of the Prodigal Son. After he had wasted his inheritance, he came to his senses and returned home, hoping he could just be a servant to his father.

His father wouldn't even consider it. He put the best robe on him, put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet, and then had the fatted calf killed for a party. The father delighted in showing mercy to his son!

But what about the older brother? He stood outside the party and wouldn't come in to celebrate. He was so angry! He had never messed up and yet his father had never thrown him a party!

Sometimes, if we are not careful, we can have the attitude of that older son. We can look at the lives of others and think, "That is not fair.  I know he's been messing up, and God is blessing him. What's up with that?  I haven't been as bad as him!"

We need to remember that God delights in showing mercy to the guilty when, from a sincere heart, they seek that mercy. He delights when you and I ask for His mercy when we have blown it.

Micah 6:7-8 says,

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

God delights in showing mercy.  So be a person of mercy, and rejoice when God shows mercy to someone who needs it.


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The Priority of Worship
In His Presence "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory" - (Isaiah 6:3).

Imagine what it would be like to step inside your church sanctuary on Sunday morning and witness the vision that Isaiah saw. He writes, "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings . . . One called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.' And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke" (Isaiah 6:1-4).

This had to be a glorious sight! But it also was one that conflicted Isaiah's heart because he knew that he was guilty of sin. Immediately, a godly sense of fear swept over him, and he cried out, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5). When we become aware of God's holy presence, we won't be able to stop ourselves from worshiping Him and seeking His cleansing for our sins.

However, if we become so entangled with sin and the pleasures of this world, we will fail to sense the need to worship God. In fact, our spirits will be dead to any true praise. Instead, we will yawn and check our watches to see if the preacher is preaching longer than he should.

Isaiah realized there was a problem in his life-it was one that needed to be addressed immediately, so he could do what God had called him to do. Many times, we miss God's best for our lives because we become too busy for worship. When we take time to worship God for who He is-righteous, loving, and infinite in power-our hearts will be lifted, and our lives will be changed. We will cry out, "Holy are You Lord and worthy to be praised!"

One Minute Please
True worship begins with a heart that is totally turned toward God.





God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Have You Come to "When" Yet?

The Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends -Job 42:10

A pitiful, sickly, and self-centered kind of prayer and a determined effort and selfish desire to be right with God are never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I pray, "Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer- I will walk rightly before You if You will help me." But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to surrender all my rights and demands, and cease from every self-effort. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands, and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of intercession. There is a great deal of prayer that comes from actual disbelief in the atonement. Jesus is not just beginning to save us- He has already saved us completely. It is an accomplished fact, and it is an insult to Him for us to ask Him to do what He has already done.

If you are not now receiving the "hundredfold" which Jesus promised (see Matthew 19:29), and not getting insight into God's Word, then start praying for your friends- enter into the ministry of the inner life. "The Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends." As a saved soul, the real business of your life is intercessory prayer. Whatever circumstances God may place you in, always pray immediately that His atonement may be recognized and as fully understood in the lives of others as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now, and pray for those with whom you come in contact now.


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Becoming a Person of Mercy
Luke 6:38 tells us,

"Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

It is not unusual to hear this verse used in connection with giving money to the Lord's work.  And while there is a principle concerning money embedded in this verse, Jesus was not talking about giving an offering when He made this statement.  That was not the subject under discussion.

In order to understand what He was really talking about, you need to read verses 35-37,

"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Jesus wanted to impress on us this truth:  If you give forgiveness, and you give love, and you give mercy, they come back to you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together.

He wanted us to understand that by the same measure you and I give these things, it will come back to us.  But if you and I measure out judgment and condemnation, guess what gets measured back to us?

Make a commitment today to become a person of mercy, not seeking anything in return.  Become known as someone who reflects our God of mercy to a broken and needy world.


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A Notetaker's Journal

In His Presence "Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord" (Exodus 24:4).

One of the most exciting things you can do in your Christian walk with the Lord is to keep a journal of all that He is teaching you. Exodus 24:4 says, "Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord." In other words, he did not want to miss or forget anything. He took notes! If he were attending church with you, you could expect him to pull out a notebook and start jotting things down. Why? God directed Moses to do this because he was the one who would communicate what God said to the nation of Israel.

Today, godly men and women teach God's truth, and we would be wise to pick up the habit of taking notes, as God taught Moses to do. Actually, the human mind has to hear or record a fact at least three times before it is committed to memory. Sometimes, it can take hearing a fact up to fourteen times before it is actually stored in our knowledge base.

This is why when you walk up to your pastor at the end of the worship service and commend him on his sermon, you pray that he does not ask you to repeat his main points back to him. It also is the reason you can gather over lunch with family and friends and exclaim how much you learned at church, but when you are asked to tell what you thought was the highlight, your mind goes blank.

Learn to take notes. Record your thoughts, and then, when you are alone with the Lord, ask Him to affirm what you have heard in and through His Word. Godly messages never conflict with what God has written in the Bible-it is the infallible Word of God. This means that it is God's Word to us, and nothing about it can be changed or taken away.

We live in a devious world because Satan is constantly enticing us away from God's truth. As you worship the Lord, ask Him to make you aware of the Enemy's subtle and dangerous scheme. There is only one way to worship God, and that is with the entirety of our hearts and minds.

One Minute Please

Worship is not a place or an event. It's a way of life.

 
God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

The Ministry of the Inner Life
You are . . . a royal priesthood . . . -1 Peter 2:9

By what right have we become "a royal priesthood"? It is by the right of the atonement by the Cross of Christ that this has been accomplished. Are we prepared to purposely disregard ourselves and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual inner-searching we do in an effort to see if we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, sickly type of Christianity, not the vigorous and simple life of a child of God. Until we get into this right and proper relationship with God, it is simply a case of our "hanging on by the skin of our teeth," although we say, "What a wonderful victory I have!" Yet there is nothing at all in that which indicates the miracle of redemption. Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don't worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said, in essence, "Pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints of God, and pray for all men." Pray with the realization that you are perfect only in Christ Jesus, not on the basis of this argument: "Oh, Lord, I have done my best; please hear me now."

How long is it going to take God to free us from the unhealthy habit of thinking only about ourselves? We must get to the point of being sick to death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God might tell us about ourselves. We cannot reach and understand the depths of our own meagerness. There is only one place where we are right with God, and that is in Christ Jesus. Once we are there, we have to pour out our lives for all we are worth in this ministry of the inner life.


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Obedience and Respect
I am sure most Christian parents, at one time or another, have pointed their children to Colossians 3:20,

Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

Or to Ephesians 6:1-3,

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."

These two character qualities of obeying and honoring parents are vital to pleasing God.  But it is important to understand that obedience has to do with an outward act, while honoring has to do with an inward attitude of the heart.

As parents, we all can remember those times when our children may have been outwardly obedient but were being inwardly disrespectful. You may have gotten them to sit down in the corner, but while they sat there, they were thinking, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside!"

If you are a parent, it is critical for you to deal just as swiftly with a disrespectful attitude as it is with a disobedient act.  It is part of your God-given role of teaching your children obedience and respect for authority.

As your children learn how to obey and respect, you will not only bring them peace, they will experience God's blessing in their lives.

So as you work to raise your children to be the people God desires them to be, make a priority of teaching your children the qualities of respect for authority and obedience. Someday they will bless you for it!
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Tapping into His Power
In His Presence: "Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God" (Acts 12:5).

There was a lady who lived out in the country and never had electricity. Finally, her family made arrangements so a line could be run out to her house. However, after six months, she had only used one unit. Company officials decided to drive out to her house to make sure nothing was wrong. When everything checked out fine, they asked her if she was enjoying having electricity. "Oh my, yes," she replied.

Then one of the representatives said, "Well, tell us how you are using it." The old woman paused for a moment, and then, with a gleam in her eyes, she explained. Each evening, as the sun was setting, she turned the lights on long enough to light her kerosene lamps-and then turned them off! She was still living a kerosene existence when she could have been enjoying the comforts of having electricity.

God has given us tremendous power through the presence of His Spirit. Yet many times, we fail to use it. Instead, we settle for much less by relying solely on our human ability. There are certain things God never meant for us to handle on our own. We may be fine when it comes to choosing which shirt to wear in the morning, but when life becomes stormy and the winds begin to blow hard against us, we need an omnipotent Savior.

In Acts 12, we learn that Peter was arrested and that no amount of human effort could free him. However, the supernatural power of God did. The Bible tells us that the church was praying fervently. This means they were praying without ceasing, knowing that God had the power they lacked to release the one they loved.

What are you wrestling with today? Have you rolled it over onto the Lord through prayer, or have you lit a room full of kerosene lamps? Stop struggling on your own and turn on God's power through prayer and faith. Allow Him to be your strength and your everlasting peace.

One Minute Please
God wants to use the problems we face to demonstrate His awesome power and ability. Are you willing to allow Him to do this?


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

The Unchanging Law of Judgment

With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you -Matthew 7:2

This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution- "with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God's throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26).

Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, "Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge."

Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, "If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way." Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, "My God, judge me as I have judged others"? We have judged others as sinners- if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.


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Embracing the Blessings of God
Ephesians 1:3 is a verse that is often misunderstood.  It tells us,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

I used to read that and wonder what in the world a spiritual blessing in a heavenly place in Christ really was!  I truly believed that I had been blessed with it, but I didn't have a clue what it meant.

Then one day as I studied, I found out that the word spiritual literally means Holy Spirit-conferred.  The Amplified Bible helps clarify the meaning when it says, He has blessed us with every Holy Spirit-given blessing.

What it means, literally, is that the blessings you and I enjoy as believers in Jesus Christ come from heaven's vast resources.  And they have already been conferred on us.  Isn't that awesome?!

But there is something more.  These Holy Spirit-conferred blessings include any blessing and benefit we get from God, be it material, physical, emotional, or spiritual.

So, when God heals you, it is a blessing being conferred through the agency of His Spirit.  When God brings peace to your troubled heart, that is a blessing from the Holy Spirit.  And when God supernaturally supplies material needs, that is the Holy Spirit at work blessing you from the vast resources of heaven!

But here is what I really want you to grasp.  Based on this verse, all those blessings have already been given.  They have been issued.  On God's side of the ledger, they are a done deal.  He has already signed them and sent them.

So praise God for...and embrace...His blessings in your life!


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Jailed but Not Bound
In His Presence "Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison" (Acts 12:6).

Has there ever been a time when you felt so bound by your circumstances that you thought you would never be released? Without a doubt, Peter's situation, from a human standpoint, seemed impossible. However, from God's perspective nothing was further from the truth. It was an opportunity for Him to display His awesome power through Peter's life.

While the church was praying for his release, Peter was resting. In fact, he was asleep! Most of us would have been awake, anxiously watching the door and wondering what was going to happen next. But not Peter. He was in the center of God's loving will. Life is not void of trouble and heartache. Sometimes His plan for us includes difficulty.

When trouble strikes and you feel as though your world is falling apart, do you have this same type of faith? Many of us don't. We may start out thinking, "Now Lord, You know my needs. Please help me." However, when time drags on and the door to freedom remains closed, we begin to wonder what has happened to God. Has He left the scene? The answer is no. He is right where He always is-beside you, with you, and living His life out through you.

Peter was not worried about tomorrow because his eyes were set on Christ. Being handcuffed to him was probably similar to being chained to the apostle Paul. We can imagine that at every opportunity, those who were guarding him had the opportunity to hear about the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

"The Lord is not slow about fulfilling His promises" (2 Peter 3:9). What may seem like forever to you is not even a moment to God who is infinite and eternal. Peter's amazing release came at just the right time-the middle of the night. When life appears the darkest, the light of God's hope will find you. Your Savior is working on your behalf, and He will answer your prayer.

One Minute Please
If Satan has hemmed you in on all sides, if he has handcuffed you and you see no way out, then you are a good candidate for a miracle!


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

June 25, 2012

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow
. . . what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 'Father, glorify Your name' -John 12:27-28

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person's shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.

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Blessed to Be a Blessing
Our capitalistic society is geared toward one purpose...people accumulating wealth.  While there is nothing wrong with material abundance, many Christians today have lost sight of why God has blessed them with prosperity.

They believe it is for their own good and benefit, but God's perspective is quite different.  For example, here is what the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 13:16,

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Now the phrase "to share" means to share with others.  One translation says, Share what you have.  Another version translates this, Be generous.  Another says, Contribute to the needy.

You see, God blesses us to make us a blessing!  That ought to be the main motivation for desiring and praying for God's blessing in our lives.  God told Abraham, "I'm going to bless you, and you will be a blessing."  God says the fringe benefit is that, "I will give you richly all things to enjoy."  But the main flow of God's purpose in blessing us is so we can help other people.

It is also the reason we should desire the inheritance that Christ has given to us, all of those Holy Spirit-conferred blessings, which we discussed on day 14.  Why?  Because we can't give what we don't have.  You can't bless someone if you don't have anything to bless them with!

God is well pleased to see us walk in our inheritance as sons, but He is also well pleased to see us share what He has blessed us with.

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Worship the Lord with Your Life
In His Presence: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy" (Jude 24).

Faith is at the heart of worship. In Streams in the Desert, Mrs. Charles E. Cowman records a story that focuses on giving God praise. The story is of a woman who had very little. She made a "precarious living by hard daily labor; but [she] was a joyous, triumphant Christian." One day, a gloomy friend said to her, "Ah, it is well enough to be happy now, but I should think the thought of your future would sober you. Only suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of sickness and are unable to work. Or suppose your present employer moves away and no one else gives you anything to do. Suppose . . ."

Nancy knew where the conversation was going and raised her hand to interrupt her friend. "Stop! I never use the word suppose. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I know that I shall not want. And, Honey, it is all your 'supposing' that is making you so miserable. You had better give them up and just trust the Lord."

We worship God with our lives. Not just with the songs we sing on Sunday morning, but with the way we live each day-including the way we greet others and talk about what God is doing in us. Some people may have an abundance of money while others appear to have very little. It does not matter. If they know the Savior, they have a wealth that this world cannot understand.

Fame and riches mean nothing to God. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are also the loneliest. However, if you have a personal relationship with the Savior, you are never alone. Instead of thinking about what could happen, enjoy the goodness of this day, and worship Him for His faithfulness. He stands watch over your life and gives you promises that will hold true for eternity. Therefore, worship the Lord, and He will bless you in ways that are far greater than you can imagine.

One Minute Please
It takes faith to worship God and faith to grow in His love each day.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Drawing on the Grace of God- Now

We . . . plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain -2 Corinthians 6:1

The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"- that is where our patience is tested (2 Corinthians 6:4). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won't count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you- it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don't say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now - draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer.

". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." (2 Corinthians 6:5)- in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.

". . . having nothing . . . ." Never hold anything in reserve. Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you. ". . . and yet possessing all things"- this is poverty triumphant (2 Corinthians 6:10).


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You Can't Out-Give God
Tucked away in the pages of the New Testament is a very powerful promise to those who are generous givers. It is found in Philippians 4:18-19,

Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.  And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The Philippian church had made the financial support of the apostle Paul a priority.  In these verses Paul acknowledges their generosity and also states a vital principle for every believer to grasp...you can't out-give God!       

Not too long ago I came across a letter from a lady who had sacrificially given to the work of God.  Here is what she said in her letter:

"My husband and I were in dire straits. He is a Vietnam War veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange.  Due to his benefit claims being denied and his being unemployed for three years, we lost nearly everything.  We had to put our home up for sale, but nothing was happening.  During this time, I gave every penny I could get my hands on and always prayed.  So one miracle after another began to take place.  First, we were able to move into my husband's deceased mother's home. Then we signed papers for the sale of our former home.  Next, my husband's claim for benefits was approved and awarded, and the award was backdated three years. Then he found a job!  Our income has tripled, and God continues to do miraculous things for us."

My friend, become a generous giver today. Because you can't out-give God!


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Acceptable to God

In His Presence: "Abel . . . brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard" (Genesis 4:4-5).

As consumers, we have little interest in leftovers. We don't like to spend our money on flawed products. When we pay for an item or a service, we feel that it should be the best that company has to offer. This is true of God, but to an even greater extent.

Adam and Eve taught their sons Cain and Abel how to worship God in an acceptable manner. Yet when it came time to do this, the quality of Cain's offering was not pleasing, and it was not given with the same passion as Abel's. God does not have favorites. He did not choose one over the other because He liked one brother better than the next.

Abel simply understood the principle of worship and offered God the very best that he had. Cain, on the other hand, offered what he could gather quickly-an apple from here, a pear from there, and a clump of grapes. It is also interesting to note that Cain's life is one that was filled with a desire and passion for what God had cursed in the garden at the fall of mankind-the land. Abel offered God the very best of His flocks-the fattest lambs-because he understood that worship came from a heart of love and devotion.

This concept is not just about giving money to the Lord on Sunday. He established guidelines for our giving in order for us to remember that He is the One who enables us to make a living. More importantly, it is about how we live our lives. Are we totally committed to the Savior? Do we love Him and want to worship Him on a regular basis? Or do we just pray when we have a need of Him and go to His house when it is convenient? Those who worship out of convenience have hearts that contain a character flaw-a bent toward Cain's nature.

This does not have to be true of your life. Ask God to show you any area where you are not fully devoted to Him. Remember, worship is something we do with our entire life.

One Minute Please
A character flaw always leads to a content flaw.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 27, 2012

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Overshadowing of God's Personal Deliverance

. . . I am with you to deliver you,' says the Lord -Jeremiah 1:8

God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally- ". . . your life shall be as a prize to you . . ." (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God's personal deliverance.

The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, "Don't worry about whether or not you are being treated justly." Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, "Why should I be treated like this?" If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, "Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance." Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard- we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God's name to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

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The Priority of Purity

We live in a highly sexualized society.  It is amazing the number of people, even pastors, who fall to sexual temptation.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 we are told straight out,

For this is the will of God, your sanctification:  that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.

God expects for you and me to live in sexual purity.  You need to know how to possess your body in sanctification and honor; otherwise your body will possess you.

God has created a strong sexual drive that is an awesome blessing in marriage!  But, you know, it is so strong that sometimes it just wants to flow out of the banks and go somewhere it shouldn't go.

We must learn how to possess our bodies in sanctification and honor, and live morally pure lives that bring pleasure to God.  Here are three practical ways:

Avoid temptation.  2 Timothy 2:22 says, Flee youthful lusts.  Avoid the very scenes of temptation.  Stay away when you know you might get in trouble.
Feed your spirit, not your flesh.  In Romans, we are told of the great war every Christian experiences, the war between our spirit and our flesh.  Whatever you feed is going to be stronger, so make sure to feed your spirit.
Rely on the Holy Spirit and His power.  If you will acknowledge Him and look to Him for strength, you will find He is a very present help in your time of need.
Make a commitment today to practice these three principles for purity.  If you do, you will live in the sexual purity God desires.

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The Lifestyle of Worship
In His Presence: "You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3).

Worship is not simply an event or a place. It is an orientation. It is a way of life. It is the result of a decision that we make-one that exalts God above everything else. It is also a way of thinking. We come to a point where we realize and acknowledge that God is truly great and worthy of all praise.

One of the major benefits of worship is that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us. This is why worship is crucial to the life of a believer. If we do not worship God on a regular basis, we will not sense His closeness and will not know which way to go when trouble comes. We will not experience the joy of living free lives because we will not be in tune with His Spirit. Instead, we must learn how to walk each day in the light of His grace and unconditional love.

Israel learned the importance of worship in the desert, where they were prepared by God to enter the Promised Land. They carried the altar of God with them. When they stopped to make camp, the first thing they did was to set up the altar and the surrounding tent. They didn't say anything about needing to wait until the Sabbath to worship. They realized the importance of worshiping the One who held their lives fast within His hands.

Do you have this same attitude toward worship? Do you go to church on Sunday with a grateful heart, longing to sing and praise God for His goodness? Or are you one of the missing who rarely shows up to worship the Lord?

Sadly, while God longs for our fellowship, the one that loses out in this case is the person who fails to enter His gates with thanksgiving. He does not need us, but we definitely need Him.

The one place where you can learn the most about God's infinite love and care for you is through times of worship. You don't have to put on your finest clothes in order to worship Him. He just wants you to come and worship with a heart that sincerely wants to be with Him.

One Minute Please
Make worship to God your heart's passion, and He will renew your faith.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

Held by the Grip of God
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me -Philippians 3:12

Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you "turn aside to the right hand or to the left" (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has "laid hold of" us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, "Well, I'm really not suited for this." What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God's hand on you- your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?

Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are- you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do. . . I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).


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Perfect and Complete
Your faith in God has incredible potential to make your life complete.  To take you from the place of deficiency, to the place of being perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James puts it this way in James 1:2-4,

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Faith in God can make you complete, but your faith will be contested.  It will be opposed, even as we read here.  Your faith will go through the fire of trial.

If you lack spiritually in your life, you can get to the place of holiness.  If you are lacking materially, you can get to a place where your needs are met.  Whatever your lack, your faith in God has the potential to take you from where you are, and where you are lacking, to this place that the Bible speaks of...being perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

But, the path to that completeness is one of trial.  Your faith will not get you there until it first goes through testing.  You do have an adversary.  You will be opposed.  The Bible says, Your adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

The devil knows what is at stake, and he will do all he can to keep you from trusting God.  So as your faith encounters the turbulence of trials, do what James says, and count it all joy.  You are on your way to becoming perfect and complete in Christ.
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Worship That Comes From the Heart
In His Presence: "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering" (Genesis 22:.

Usually, there will come a time when God will test the depth of your devotion to Him. In Genesis 22, He tested Abraham's faith beyond anything imaginable. The Lord instructed Abraham to take his only son, Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice.

For a moment, draw this parallel in your mind: God sent His own Son to earth and willingly offered Him as a sacrifice for our sins. Was God's request of Abraham a foreshadowing of what would come? Perhaps. However, the one thing we want to focus on here is that Abraham was willing to obey God. He did not talk back, make excuses, or turn away from God. He just obeyed-knowing in his heart that the Lord would provide the right sacrifice.

When they had reached their destination, Abraham spoke with words of faith as he told his servants, "I and the lad will . . . worship and return to you" (v.5). When it came to the actual moment of sacrifice, God stopped him. "Abraham! . . . Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" (vv. 11-12). God did not want Abraham to harm his son. He was just checking Abraham's devotion.

How often have you faced a difficult situation and thought, "Lord, You can have anything, but please, just don't take ______." You can fill in the blank for yourself. In this situation, Abraham would have written in the name of his son Isaac-the answer to the promise God had given him years earlier.

Is there something that you are withholding from God? Could it be a relationship, dream, idea, or pursuit? Worship begins in the heart. Therefore, always be willing to obey the Lord by letting go of anything you deem more valuable than your relationship with Him. When you do, His goodness and mercy will be poured out in abundance for you.

One Minute Please
God never sends a test our way just because He's in a testing mood. He has a specific purpose in mind. Usually, it is to draw us closer to Himself.



God bless