Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

October 22, 2013


Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
The Witness of the Spirit
 
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit . . . -Romans 8:16
We are in danger of getting into a bargaining spirit with God when we come to Him-we want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do.

Why doesn't God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the way as long as you won't abandon yourself to Him in total surrender. Yet once you do, immediately God witnesses to Himself-He cannot witness to you, but He instantly witnesses to His own nature in you. If you received the witness of the Spirit before the reality and truth that comes from obedience, it would simply result in sentimental emotion. But when you act on the basis of redemption, and stop the disrespectfulness of debating with God, He immediately gives His witness. As soon as you abandon your own reasoning and arguing, God witnesses to what He has done, and you are amazed at your total disrespect in having kept Him waiting. If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot. Do not quote this or that person to Him. Simply obey Matthew 11:28 , "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden . . . ." Come, if you are weary, and ask, if you know you are evil (see Luke 11:9-13).

The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason. We are inclined to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason. If we are trying to make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you the witness of the Spirit.


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The Number One Cause for Spiritual Drought

By far the Scriptures teach that the number one cause for spiritual drought is sin.  And the number one cure for drought, according to the Scriptures, is repentance.

In 2 Chronicles 6:26-27, King Solomon is clear in this prayer,

When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

Notice that the heavens were shut up, there was no rain, because of sin.  But when the people confessed God's name and turned and repented, Solomon prayed, "God, hear and open the heavens once again and send rain."

This prayer is particularly significant because Solomon is praying at the dedication of the temple.  Scripture declares to us in 2 Corinthians 6:16, You are the temple of the living God.

The Old Testament temple was just a type and a shadow pointing to better things-to the era in which God would no longer dwell in buildings made with mortar and stone, but take up residence in human hearts.

That's you and me!  As 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are not our own.  We have been bought with a price, and God's expectation is that we glorify Him in our bodies.  You and I are God's temple.

If there is sin in your life, turn from it and turn to God, so that you can experience the refreshing rain of God's blessing in your life.


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Assurance and Self-Examination

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:9-13

When you read 1 Corinthians 11:28-29, you must be careful not to misinterpret its meaning. One understanding of these verses is that as a believer you must examine yourself to be certain that you're a Christian. But that's not what this means. The misconstrued verse is one reminder of the importance of correctly interpreting the Scriptures.

Paul has presented the Corinthian church with his observation about communion, and in the second reference, he's writing to people who were already Christians. Paul was urging the church at Corinth to examine themselves regularly to avoid God's further judgment (1 Corinthians 11:32).

I don't want you to ever doubt or be confused about the authenticity of your salvation. But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God... (John 1:12).

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Nothing of the Old Life!
 
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new -2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices- He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, "God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right." But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and "all things are of God" (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that "is kind . . . is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil"? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God- such a trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see


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The Cure for the Drought Brought by Sin

In our last devotional, we talked about sin being the number one cause for spiritual drought.  The natural question is, "What is the cure, how do I end that drought?"

One word:  repentance.

In addition to the passage we read yesterday, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 is clear and instructive,

"When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

True repentance literally means an inward change of heart resulting in an outward change of direction.  If there is no outward change of direction, then it is not true repentance.

There is no real repentance even if you are feeling emotional and weeping over your sin.  That is not repentance.  Feeling sorry is not repentance.

Repentance is the change of heart that results in a change of lifestyle, a change of direction, a turning.  So I have a word for you:  If there is known sin in your life, repent.

King David gives us a great example in Psalm 32:4-5 when he said,

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.  I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD...."

If, because of sin, you are in a drought spiritually, repent.  If you do, your drought can be broken and you can experience the blessings of God.


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The Cost of Grace

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:9-13

Imagine it's your birthday.  Your friend comes by and gives you a beautifully wrapped gift.  When you open it, it's something you've always wanted!  After the party, you walk your friend to the door and just before he leaves, he says, "Oh, by the way, here's the receipt.  Your gift costs $500.  I'll take cash or a check"  Could you really call what you received a gift?

The same principle applies to salvation.  You don't have to buy it.  Salvation is a gift.  It depends wholly on God's grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Jesus paid the costs in full for our salvation.  Acts 4:12 says, ". . . there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven . . . by which we must be saved."

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Justification by Faith
 
If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life -Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing- I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me- repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don't know how it was accomplished.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves- they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done- "It is finished!" (John 19:30).


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Praying for the Rain

For the past week we have been seeking to understand what causes a spiritual drought, and then how we can break that drought if indeed we are in one.

Here is what I want you to understand.  Even if you earnestly seek God and repent of sin in your life, or you shift your focus and say, "God, I'm putting Your house first, and I'm going to put other people before myself,"  or perhaps God leads you to do something of a personal nature, you still need to pray for the rain.

Do not just assume God's blessing will automatically fall.  You still need to ask for it.  Zechariah 10:1 teaches us this truth,

Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain.  The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.

I used to read that and wonder, "God, I don't understand.  If it is the time of the latter rain, if it is rainy season, why ask for rain?  Won't it just fall automatically?"  If it is rainy season, why pray for rain?"

Because you cannot assume that it is automatically going to fall.

In James 5:17-18 there is a story about Elijah from 1 Kings 18.  James gives us the very, very, very short version.  But it tells us something significant,

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

What caused the rain to stop?  His prayer.  What caused the rain to fall again?  His prayer.

Ask God today for the blessing of His rain in your life!
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What is Your Legacy?

Scripture Reading: Acts 20:16-24

Whether it's a high school competition or the Olympics, audiences get excited watching athletes compete in a relay race.  The key point of the relay is the passing of the baton.  No matter how fast the runners are, if one of them drops the baton, the team loses the race.

Leaving a legacy to the people in your life is a lot like passing the baton.  Legacy is about transfer, and what you leave behind can help someone else go further than you did.  What kind of legacy are you leaving behind?  Developing and passing on a true spiritual legacy doesn't just happen.  Like Elijah passing on the prophet's mantle to Elisha, you can share a Christian legacy.

Think about the price Jesus paid to leave His legacy.  Because of His death and resurrection, you and I have the privilege and duty to pass this legacy on to everyone around us.

 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Substitution
 
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him -2 Corinthians 5:21
The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was "made. . . to be sin. . . ." Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take "away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9  , where Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father," was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that "He died for all" (2 Corinthians 5:15)- not, "He died my death"- and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold- "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).


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It's Never Too Late

As we wrap up our series of devotionals on how to break a spiritual drought, I want to focus our attention on Psalm 72:6   This verse contains a very powerful truth that I want to leave with you.  It says,

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass. (KJV)

I remember when I was first saved and read this passage, I would picture somebody out there with a lawnmower.  But of course, they didn't have lawnmowers back then!

This verse refers to a field that has been eaten over by locusts, a plague of locusts that has come through and just devoured a field.  And God gives a wonderful promise:  He will come down like the rain on the mown grass, to revive and to restore that which the locusts have eaten.

Today, as you read this devotional, you may feel like a swarm of locusts has come over your life and eaten your blessing.  I think if you seek God and earnestly pray and ask Him to send the rain, you will have an encounter with God beyond anything you could have imagined.

He can restore what the enemy has stolen in your life.  You can indeed experience the freshness and revival and fruitfulness in your life again.  It is never too late to pray for God's blessing.

No matter the situation, seek God today.  Ask, and He will send the rain down on whatever part of your life has been mowed over by the locusts.  And you will experience the blessing God desires for you.

Remember, it is never too late.


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A Lesson About Faith

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:7-11 

Have you ever taken a stress test to evaluate your heart's health? One component of the stress test monitors your heart while you walk on a sloped treadmill at a fast pace. It's not easy, but you keep going to get an accurate reading of your heart's strengths and weaknesses.

God has stress tests. They're called trials, and through them God evaluates how well you've learned the lessons of life. The prophet Elijah passed the tests on several occasions. Once he had to help a widow and her son survive a famine. The next test was the boy's death. The widow's faith was shaken, but Elijah's faith remained firm.

Through that faith, God saved the boy. That day the widow and her son receive a valuable lesson: In your trials, remember God's truths. In spite of your circumstances, you can prevail!

 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Faith
 
Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . . -Hebrews 11:6
Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short. Yet faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life. "We know that all things work together for good . . ." (Romans 8:28) so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God's providence transforms perfect faith into reality. Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.

For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, "Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I'm going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word" (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes. God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can't have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.


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Obedience

To God, obedience is a big deal.  And one of the best ways to see just how importantly He regards it is to learn from those who disobeyed.

One of those is King Saul.  When he was told by God to make an end of the Amalekites and to destroy all of their property, he did not do it.

Instead of obeying God, he saved the oxen and the sheep, along with some other things, and then claimed he had obeyed God.  But when Samuel heard the oxen and the sheep, Saul knew he had been caught.  So he changed his story.  He said, "Well, these things are just a sacrifice to God."

In response to this act of disobedience, this is what Samuel, the prophet, said.  We find it in 1 Samuel 15:22,

So Samuel said:  "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."

God does not want religious lip service.  He wants obedience.  Obedience is better than sacrifice.  One reason for that is because you cannot make up by sacrifice what you lose through disobedience.

Another reason why obedience is better than sacrifice is because it is preventative.  In Saul's day, sacrifices were made to cover sin, but if he had obeyed, there would have been no need for sacrifice.  Obedience would have prevented his sin.

So do what God desires.  Obey what He commands.  It is always better.


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The Importance of Prayer

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-7; Colossians 4:2-6 

Most people are fascinated by magic tricks, which are simply fantastic illusions.  What God is able to do and anything He purposes to accomplish in His Kingdom are never illusions.  And how He answers our prayers is no illusion.  When God's people commit to faithful prayer, the world will see God's power.

To pray powerfully and effectively, we must first deal with sin in our lives.  We must turn and flee from sin, understanding that as God responds to our cries, people will give Him greater glory.

We must pray expectantly, knowing that God will ultimately change us.  Isaiah 65:24 says, "... before [you] call, I will answer ..."  God gave us prayer to connect us with His plan for our lives to make an impact on all creation!

[Judy Harder]

October 31, 2013
 
Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
The Trial of Faith
 
If you have faith as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you -Matthew 17:20

We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith- faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very narrow and intense, centered around a small amount of experience that had as much emotion as faith in it, and it was full of light and sweetness. Then God withdrew His conscious blessings to teach you to "walk by faith" (2 Corinthians 5:7). And you are worth much more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight with your thrilling testimony.

Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith being worked out into reality must experience times of unbroken isolation. Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him- a faith that says, "I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do." The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is- "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15)


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Obey and Honor

Yesterday's devotional helped us understand the importance of obedience.  Over the next few devotionals, I want to focus on three areas I believe are critical for you and me to ensure we are obedient.

The first is found in Ephesians 6:1-3   This first category of obedience has to do with family, something God teaches very specifically in His Word.  It says,

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."

As long as a child is under his parents' roof and under his parents' direct authority, he needs to obey.  But throughout your entire life you need to honor your parents.

One time I had a dear lady come to me after a service when I preached on this command and say, "Pastor, I just have to tell you.  I just felt I needed to make things right with my dad.  I went home that night and called him and said, 'Dad, you need to forgive me because I've been bitter against you for all these years.  I'm sorry, and I want you to know that I forgive you for all the past.'"

Then she said, "Pastor, you need to understand, I've had a migraine headache for 15 years, 24 hours a day.  I take piles of medication.  I go to bed with a migraine, and I wake up with one, but the morning after I made things right with my dad, I woke up, and I had no headache."  And she started to cry.

I am telling you, this promise is full of power!  It is better to obey and honor your parents!


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Stand Firm on the Word

Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:15-17 

When most people hear the word idolatry, they think of pagans worshiping statues and assume, "That's one subject that can't apply to me."  Oh, yes it can.

You don't have to keep a carved, wooden tiki idol in your backyard to be an idolater.  You don't have to visit a Buddhist shrine.  Any time you worship the thing God created as a god, that's idolatry.

We can get so caught up in the things of this world - jobs, money, people, material things - that we forget our purpose here on earth. We should live in the world but not of the world.  Spend some time analyzing your walk with the Lord.  Are there things that you are placing above your relationship with God?  Ask Him to reveal things in your life that are being placed above God.

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
"You Are Not Your Own"
 
Do you not know that . . . you are not your own? -1 Corinthians 6:19

There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.

The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn't we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God's purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?

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Obedience in Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-24  gives an important area of obedience.  While this is not popular in our society today, it is biblical, but is also often misunderstood.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

It is important to make clear that before God there is an absolute equality between men and women, between husbands and wives.  In fact, this passage does not say, "Women submit to men."  It is purely a domestic situation.

Even with that understanding, the Bible says that husbands and wives are heirs together of the grace of life.  There is an equality before God between men and women and husband and wife.

What this passage teaches is that God has set up a system of authority in the home that needs to be followed, if it is going to be well with us.  In fact, this is even a military term.  To submit or to obey means to put yourself in rank under.

Friend, we are in a spiritual warfare, and there are spiritual forces that have been unleashed against homes and against marriages that would love to tear marriages apart. 

God has designed a way for the home to function, and that is for the man to take the responsibility of leadership and for the wife to come under that authority.  When a husband truly loves his wife, and cares for her like Christ does the church, and the wife respects her husband, things will be well in the home.  That couple and that family will be magnets for the blessings of God.


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Make God Your Reference Point

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:28-33 

God has assigned every believer a divine reason for being, including you.  Your purpose is to fulfill God's purpose.  And if you are not fulfilling His purpose, it's just another day gone by, filled with everything but real meaning. You will be floating around with no destination when you're disconnected from the purposes of God.

You cannot discover your purpose until God is your reference point.



I encourage you to pray, "Help me to grasp what it means to have a life of purpose, meaning and destiny and not to meander and waste another day on things that really don't matter."

[Judy Harder]

 
Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
The Authority of Truth
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you -James 4:8
It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual- you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.

When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood- work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God's almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. "Come to Me . . ." (Matthew 11:28). His word come means "to act." Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.


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Pay Your Taxes!

Yesterday we learned from Romans 13:1-3 that we need to submit ourselves to the laws of the land if we want to live lives free from fear.  I want to focus your attention today on the remainder of that passage, Romans 13:4-7,

For he is God's minister to you for good.  But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.  Render therefore to all their due:  taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

What I want to address today is the need to pay our taxes with honesty, not trying to dodge our responsibility.  It is a critical part of obeying the laws of the land as we discussed yesterday.

While I do not like working hard and in the end sending a large portion of every dollar to support the government, it is the right thing to do.  I am absolutely amazed when I learn of Christians who try to dodge their responsibility to pay taxes.

Friend, you must be honest and pay your taxes.  Certainly take advantage of all that the law allows, and do not pay more than you need to, but don't hide anything.  You need to make sure you do this because when you do, you are being obedient to God.
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Accomplish Your Life's Mission

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12 

"I have glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You have given Me to do" Jesus told His heavenly Father.

If you died tomorrow, could you say the same? Could you say, "I have glorified You on earth with the work You sent me here to do"? 



You might say, "But that's Jesus talking."  Remember, Paul said the same thing as Christ.  Paul wrote that he had fought a good fight.  He kept the faith and finished his course.  Until this becomes your passion, you are wasting your life from an eternal perspective.



As the old saying goes, "Teach me, Lord, to number my days.  Only one life will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."  It is now time for you to accomplish the work that God sent you here to do.

[Judy Harder]

 
Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Partakers of His Suffering
 
. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings . . . -1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, "Oh, I can't deal with that person." Why can't you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.

The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered "according to the will of God" (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God's purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God's orders through a shortcut of their own. God's way is always the way of suffering- the way of the "long road home."

Are we partakers of Christ's sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through- we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize- "God has strengthened me and I didn't even know it!"
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Respecting Your Boss

In Titus 2:9-10, Paul writes a very interesting and important command,

Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

In our society, it is important to understand that this passage is giving us instructions as employers and employees.  And simply stated, as an employee, you are to be obedient to your boss.

One of the ways you do that is by not answering back.  It might be hard at times to hold your tongue, but you must.  It's not okay when you get to the water cooler to talk to the other employees like, "This idiot that we work for doesn't have a clue what's going on here."  I think that comes under the category of answering back.

And pilfering means stealing items of small value.  I remember this guy I knew in Oregon who did not like the place he worked.  In fact, he had a government job, and he would come home quite often with something he had stolen from his office.

Nearly every day he would rip off some small office supply like a stapler, or pens, or a hole punch.  While they were always things of small value, he would just keep stealing things.

The Bible says don't do that.  And you shouldn't steal time from your employer either by making personal phone calls during office hours.  Your employer is not paying you to take care of your business at the office.  That is stealing.

I believe that, as Christians, we ought to be the best employees in the world.  We should work so hard and bring such a good attitude into the workplace that we set the example to everyone with whom we work.


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Take Your Ambassadorship Seriously

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

People can't refrain from talking about the things they are passionate about.  Paul says that by knowing the fear of God - a healthy respect for who He is - we persuade men.  He says the love of Christ controls us. 

When we are passionate about Jesus and His love for us, we won't be able to stop ourselves from sharing that with others, and through our testimony, they will see God's glory.  If we go day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, without representing God, we cannot be passionate about Him, we cannot "go unto all the world" as Christ commanded us.   



God has called each one of His children to be ambassadors for His Kingdom with the goal of winning folks over.  We must fuel our passion for Him, so we can effectively call people out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
   
Intimate Theology
 
Do you believe this? -John 11:26

Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But- she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha's theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance- "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . ." (John 11:27).

Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you- "Do you believe this?" Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.

To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.

Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, "Do you believe this?" I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
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When It Is Right to Disobey

Over the last few devotionals, we have learned the importance God places on obedience to various authorities.  And an appropriate question is whether there is ever a time when we draw the line when it comes to obeying men.

In the Book of Acts, Peter and John got in trouble for preaching Christ.  In Acts 5:29, when they were told not to preach anymore, Peter answered and said this,

"We ought to obey God rather than men."

That is where you draw the line.  If you are ever asked to do something that would cause you to be disobedient to God or that would cause you to violate your conscience (not your preference, but your conscience), that is where you draw the line.

Paul made a statement that he lived in good conscience before God and before men.  Your conscience deals with things you truly believe in your heart are morally right and wrong.  If you go against your conscience in one of those things, then that is sin.

Stand your ground when it comes to conscience and obedience to God.  If people ask you to do something that violates either of these two things-then it is time to take a stand for what you know is right.

For example, in many nations of the world, it is illegal to share your faith.  It is illegal to win people to Christ.  But Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."  We have an allegiance to a higher authority.  And when the authorities are telling us to do something that would cause us to disobey God, we obey God, not men.


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Impacting the World for God

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 49:5-6 

In business, companies talk frequently about market share.  They all want a 100 percent share of the market.  But how do they accomplish this? Competition is a major hurdle.

God has the same issue.  A multitude of idols are competing with Him for a share of the market, and God wants a monopoly ... a 100 percent market share.  He says, "Let all the people praise Me."   

If everybody is praising the one true God, nobody else has any share of the market.  That's what God is after for Himself, and that is why we are here.  We are here to help God persuade the folks who are purchasing at the wrong market to go to the right market.  We are here to help God meet His 100 percent.