Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


The Burning Heart

 
Did not our heart burn within us . . . ? -Luke 24:32


We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart- a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart- unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don't allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the "mount of transfiguration," basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.

We cannot kindle when we will The fire which in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides; But tasks in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.


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How to Pray for the Unsaved

In the last two devotionals, I have stressed the importance of praying for the unsaved people in our lives to be saved. Today, I want to give you four ways you can pray for them:

1. Pray for openness and understanding. Acts 16:14 says the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to heed the things spoken by Paul. Paul was speaking the gospel. And if the Lord can open Lydia's heart, He can open your Aunt Mildred's heart.

2. Pray that God would send laborers to them. In Luke 10:2 Jesus said, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." I am confident that God will answer any prayer He has commanded us to pray, and this prayer is not a suggestion. Jesus commanded us to pray that God would send out laborers into the harvest.

3. Pray that God will visit them and reveal Himself to them. I do not know of a specific promise in the Bible where it says God is going to visit someone in a dream or give them a vision. But I do see in Scripture where God reveals Himself to people in such ways, like Saul of Tarsus, who, on the Damascus Road, had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved.

4. Pray for personal direction and for personal opportunities to share. Jesus, in Luke 10:2 said, "The harvest is great, laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest." In the next verse Jesus said, "Behold, I send you." You can become the answer to your own prayer!

So pray for the unsaved people in your life, and do not stop praying until they get saved.


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The People of Ministry

In His Presence: Ephesians 2:10

Some people believe Christianity is self-service only, but we can't just take in the gospel and not share it with others. God wants to empty us of ourselves so He can fill us with something new. Then we can give of what He has given us. This is accomplished through ministry, or as the Bible calls it, good works. A good work is always done to benefit someone else so that God publicly gets the glory. Matthew 5:16 says: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Our good works give the world a glimpse of God. Hebrews 10:24 says that the church should "stimulate one another to love and good deeds."

What constitutes a good deed? Jesus said that anyone who gives a cup of cold water in His name will not be forgotten (Matthew 10:42). We do good works in the name of Jesus to give Him the credit and the proper due.

Ministry is for the benefit of several groups of people. We are to minister to those who minister to us, our preachers and congregational leaders (Galatians 6:6). We are to minister to the poor. Deuteronomy 15:11 says: "Freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land." And we are to minister to the unsaved by sharing the gospel and fulfilling the Great Commission. Men can recover from earthly circumstances, but there is no eternal solution outside of Jesus.

One Minute Please

Our churches should be a place of ministry, not merely a place of gathering.





God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


Maintaining the Proper Relationship
 
. . . the friend of the bridegroom . . . -John 3:29

Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought- "What a fine person that man is!" That is not being a true "friend of the bridegroom"- I am increasing all the time; He is not.

To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God's will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship- being the "friend of the bridegroom." Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person's focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends "of the bridegroom," we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.


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Persuasion

Acts 28:23-24 provides us a great example of the next "P" of evangelism,

So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.  And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

Some people are going to need to be persuaded, they are going to need more than proclamation, because they are honestly grappling with questions that need to be dealt with.  Those questions are like roadblocks in front of them that will need to be removed so they can advance and embrace the gospel.

They may have questions like, "Well, why can't other religions save?  Why does Jesus have to be the only way?"  Or, "What's this deal about the Jews?  Why did the Savior have to come from the Jews?"  Or it may be, "What about people who don't hear?  How could it be fair that they would perish?"

When people have questions like these, they are genuinely seeking answers, so give them Biblical reasons.  If you don't have an answer, tell them you don't know.  Say, "You know what?  That's a good question, and I don't know the answer.  But I'm going to find one for you."  Then go study your Bible and find the answer.

Or go to the Bible bookstore and find a book that deals with that subject.  Or ask a Christian friend who knows more than you do and find an answer.  Then go back to the person and give them an answer.

You will find that when you give people legitimate Scriptural answers, they will respond and often be saved.

 

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The Reality of Debt

In His Presence: Proverbs 13:22 

Financially speaking, there are three kinds of people: the haves, the have-nots, and those who have not paid for what they have! Debt has become a way of life in the American landscape. The average American household spends at least 20 percent of their net income on consumer debt. We must understand that when debt rules, debt ruins. Proverbs 22:7 says: "The borrower becomes the lender's slave." Debt controls your life, so it puts you in a kind of slavery. There are several reasons for debt: ignorance, indulgence, poor planning, and emergencies. All these things can contribute to the snowball of debt.

But I believe that God provides a way for us to live without being controlled by our debt. Debt is owing something you cannot pay, and that kind of debt should be abnormal for the Christian because it is outside God's will. Debt is first and foremost a spiritual issue-we are in debt because we have refused to obey God.

Psalm 37:21 says:"The wicked borrows and does not pay back."  Ecclesiastes 5:5 says: "It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay."But also: "TheLord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow" (Deuteronomy 28:12).

We can be set free from the tyranny of debt, and there are four steps that can help us: plant, plan, prioritize, and pray.

One Minute Please

Knowing the truth about debt is the first step toward financial freedom.



God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity (1)
 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God -Matthew 5:8

Purity is not innocence- it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character- it is "the pure in heart " who "see God."

God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our "inner sanctuary" be kept right with God, but also the "outer courts" must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our "outer court" is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, "That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!"
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Power

In Acts 9:32-35, we are given the fifth and final "P" of evangelism, and that is power,

Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.  There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.  And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you.  Arise and make your bed."  Then he arose immediately.  So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Two entire cities turned to Christ because of one display of God's power!  One man who had been paralyzed was healed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and two cities came to God.

We have the same gospel.  It is the same Holy Spirit; we serve the same blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We have to pray that God will, if necessary, do the miraculous to save people.

Paul, writing in the book of Romans, says he fully preached the gospel with miracles, signs, and wonders.  People will respond today just like they did then.  But we need to be bold, step out, and pray for things to happen.

When I was living in Oregon, there was an Indian girl who was very sick and actually at the point of death.  The doctors told her she was going to die.  She came to a small meeting one night and the evangelist prayed for her.  She was healed and then gave her life to Christ.  As a result, her dad, a famous rodeo rider, got saved, and her mom was saved also.  Then a large group of people from her tribe came to Christ as well.

Evangelism through power.  We need to trust God for the supernatural.


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Planting and Planning

In His Presence: Psalm 50:14-15, 23 

To get out of debt God's way, we must first learn how to plant. Any financial counselor will tell you to invest in that which gives you the greatest chance of a good return. And God will always give us the greatest return on anything in life. God is our greatest investor, and if He is not being honored by all He has given to us, everything else is out of line. God should be our first financial priority-His is the first bill we pay. Jesus said: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17). We are to give God His due, and to give the governing authorities their due in the form of our taxes. We may believe that the current tax system is unrighteous or unfair, but God is greater than the IRS, and we answer to Him. God is our greatest resource, and we should plant our investments in Him.

The second thing we must do to get out of debt God's way is to plan. Proverbs 27:23 says: "Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds." Proverbs 28:20 says: "A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished." We must stop guessing about the state of our finances and make a purposeful plan to use our resources wisely. A budget gives the guidelines for how each dollar will be allocated.

One Minute Please

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty" (Proverbs 21:5).





God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity (2)
 
Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place . . . -Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, "Friend, come up even higher." There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.

Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven't turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, "Come up higher," not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?

"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ?" (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.


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The Snare of Fear

Proverbs 29:25 tells us,

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

A snare is a noose used for catching an animal.  Fear will cause you to be snared or trapped, just like an animal.

I have a friend in the church who has a very large nut tree in his yard, which the squirrels regularly raid.  He put this big net over the tree, but it did not seem to deter the squirrels at all.  So he finally got a trap and set it up on the roof right next to the nut tree.  To date, he has caught about 120 squirrels.

When the squirrel is in the trap, it is totally at his mercy.  It can't go anywhere.  He happens to be a fairly merciful gentleman, so he takes them over to a local park and lets them go.

When fear gets a hold of your life, you become like one of those trapped squirrels-you are not going anywhere.  You are at its mercy.  You will not progress spiritually.  It keeps you bound.  The fear of man can keep you from obeying God; it will keep you from pleasing God.  It will keep you from the joy you would experience when you trust God.

In fact, there is a contrast in our verse today.  The man or woman who is bound by the fear of man, will not be trusting God in some area of his life.  Look at the two parts of the verse together:  The fear of man brings a snare, but... in contrast ...whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Do not allow the fear of man to control your life.  Instead, trust in the Lord. 


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Prioritizing and Praying

In His Presence: Proverbs 16:9 

After you've planted and planned to use your resources in a way that glorifies God, you must prioritize. You will have to determine the difference between your needs, wants, and desires. The Bible says we have only three needs: food, clothes, and shelter. If all our needs are being met, we have plenty to praise the Lord for. Wants are based on the quality of our needs-we may need a house, but we want a big house. Desires are the things on our wish list that are covered by any surplus funds. Once the bills are paid, we might attend to our desires, but never before then.

Many of our debt problems come from trying to fill our desires with buying things. Proverbs 21:17 says: "He who loves pleasure will become a poor man." We must first prioritize those things we need, and if we don't have them, it might be necessary to sell some of the things we bought to meet our desires in order to meet our needs.

The fourth step in getting rid of debt really takes place while the other three are going on-it is prayer. Proverbs 16:3 says:"Commit your works to theLord and your plans will be established." When you mix prayer with planting, planning, and prioritizing, I guarantee that you will see God invade your circumstances and turn your debt around. I don't know what methods He will choose for you, but I know that He is able because He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He cares for you.

One Minute Please

God has a miracle waiting for you to get you out of debt and into freedom.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?
 
It is Christ . . . who also makes intercession for us. . . . the Spirit . . . makes intercession for the saints . . . -Romans 8:34, 27

Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors-that Christ "always lives to make intercession" (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit "makes intercession for the saints"? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.

Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don't worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.

Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?


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He Has Said, So We May Say

In our last few devotionals, we have been talking about fear, and how to be free from it.  Today, I want to give you a final thought to consider on fear.  It is based on Hebrews 13:5-6,

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  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?"

I want you to notice what the Bible says,  He Himself has said...So we may boldly say.  God says something, so you can say something.

What does God say?  He says He will never leave you.  He says He will never forsake you.  As a result you can say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?"

When you understand that God will never leave you or forsake you, you can live without fear.  And that freedom from fear will be reflected in both your actions and in your speech.

What are you facing today?  Would you be afraid if God was standing beside you saying, "It's alright.  I am here"?  Well He is with you!  He said He would never leave you or abandon you!  You may not see or feel Him, but He is with you-now and always.

It is time to start acting and speaking like you believe it.

Boldly say, "The Lord is helping me!  I will not fear!"


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The Evaluation of Stewardship



1 Corinthians 3:11-15
Each Christian will one day come before the judgment seat of Christ and will be evaluated for their Christian walk. This is when God will look at our stewardship, at our use of time, talents, and treasures. He will evaluate us not to determine our entrance to heaven-that has already been given through Christ's finished work on the cross-but to determine our reward in heaven.

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

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

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

One Minute Please

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

In His Presence: 




God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


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

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

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

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


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Who Made the Sun Shine?

Look again at Luke 12:16-21,

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

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

His perspective was a very selfish one.

Here are a few questions to ponder:

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

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

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


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The Nature of Christ

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

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

One Minute Please

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


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

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

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

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

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


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It's All Mapped Out

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

Consider what God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5,

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

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

This same truth is echoed in Ephesians 1:4,

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Christlikeness

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

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

One Minute Please

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


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

His Agony and Our Access
 
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples . . . . 'Stay here and watch with Me' -Matthew 26:36, 38
We can never fully comprehend Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don't have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique- they are the gateway into life for us.

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

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


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Let God Do His Job

Philippians 2:8-11 shows us how humility precedes honor,

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

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

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

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


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Extreme Makeover


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

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



One Minute Please



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



God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


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

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

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

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

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


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Three Relationships that Make Us Rich

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

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

Here are three relationships that make us rich:

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

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

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

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

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


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The Agent of Transformation

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



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

One Minute Please

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




God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

 
Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chamber

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

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

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

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

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


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Faithful to Another

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Beholding God's Word


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




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

One Minute Please

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

God bless