Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

June 7, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     
The Greatest Source of Power
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . -John 14:13


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

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

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

In Psalm 35:27 we are told,

Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

This Psalm says it clearly-God is pleased when you are blessed.  The Revised Standard Version translates this verse this way, God delights in the welfare of His servant.

In Luke 12, when talking about God meeting our practical, physical, and material needs, Jesus says, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

You do not need to somehow convince God to meet your needs.  In fact, God desires to bless you.

It is like the son who felt his father had not provided for him when his dad passed away.  His father left one sibling some property, another one some valuable stock, and all the son got was a box of what looked to him like junk.

One day, because of financial trouble, the son had to move out of his apartment.  As he cleaned things out, he found the box of junk he had thrown in the back of a closet.   Noticing there were some stamps and trading cards in the box, he decided to see if they were worth anything.

It turned out the trading card collection was filled with rare baseball cards in mint condition.  And every one of the stamps was very rare-very valuable.  The combined appraisal of the two collections was over $450,000!

His father had provided for him, but the son had lived far below those privileges because he didn't believe his father had blessed him!

Our heavenly Father delights in, He takes pleasure in, the prosperity of His servant.  And that means you!
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Who Will Be Our God?

In His Presence: 1 Peter 3:15

"If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"(Exodus 19:5-6).

When Satan tried to get Eve to take the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he put forth arguments that sounded convincing in her ears. He told her God was holding out on them. He said if they ate the fruit, they would be like God. He said God's Word couldn't really be trusted anyway.

There was something that Satan didn't tell the first married couple. In disobeying God, they would be obeying Satan, making him their master. He knew that whomever we obey is our god. So the devil was not just offering Adam and Eve a bit of knowledge independently of God, he was offering himself as their new god. That is what he originally wanted as Lucifer, the angel of light. He wanted to be like God. We're right back to the issue that caused the problems in the first place.

Moses said: "If you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 28:1-3).

One Minute Please

The issue today for us is whom are we going to obey? Who is the authority in our lives?

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 8, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

What's Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them -John 13:17


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

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

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

In our previous devotional, we learned that God is pleased to bless us.  But that prosperity must be accompanied by a special attitude...an attitude that is captured in 1 Kings 3.

This passage records God's appearance to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon.  In the dream God said to Solomon, "Ask!  What shall I give you?"

What an incredible statement, and question!  Equally incredible is Solomon's response, which revealed the attitude of his heart, the attitude which must accompany our prosperity.  That response is captured in verses 7-10,

"Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.  And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.  Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.  For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"  The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.

God is pleased when, in our hearts, we put others before ourselves.  God delights in prospering us when prosperity is not our chief aim.  When we get it right, and in our hearts we do place others before ourselves, God can bless us beyond our wildest dreams.

God will give you everything you need to fulfill His plan for your life. He will give you richly all things to enjoy, as long as you have a prosperous attitude that puts His plans and His people first.
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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]

June 9, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Then What's Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives . . . -Luke 11:10


Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . " (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.

"Everyone who asks receives . . . ." This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.

"If any of you lacks wisdom . . . ." If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality- do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means "beg." Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg- blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
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Fitting into God's "Foolishness"

In 1 Corinthians 1:21, Paul gives us an interesting insight into how you and I please God.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

God's methods are astounding.  To bring men and women into His family through the foolishness of preaching!  When people hear the gospel preached and believe it, God is pleased.

Now how is the gospel preached?  Through your life and mine.  Every one of us has been entrusted by God with some gift to communicate the gospel.  Perhaps you have been entrusted by God with unusual wealth.  Or maybe a marvelous singing voice, or the ability to communicate, or perhaps the skill to assimilate facts.

Whatever it is, God has put something in each of us that somehow fits into His great master plan of winning this lost world to Jesus Christ.

God has chosen to use these weak, fallible vessels to share the simple gospel message that the world is separated from Him because of sin.  In His mercy, God reached down to the human race when He sent His own Son, Who willingly gave up His life on the cross and died for our sins.  The price was paid.  God's eternal justice was satisfied.  And the Holy Spirit raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

That is the message our world so desperately needs to hear today!  God is pleased when you share that "foolishness."  So however God has gifted you, use that gift today to present a living Jesus to our dying world!
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Who Will Be Our God?

In His Presence: 1 Peter 3:15

"If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"(Exodus 19:5-6).

When Satan tried to get Eve to take the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he put forth arguments that sounded convincing in her ears. He told her God was holding out on them. He said if they ate the fruit, they would be like God. He said God's Word couldn't really be trusted anyway.

There was something that Satan didn't tell the first married couple. In disobeying God, they would be obeying Satan, making him their master. He knew that whomever we obey is our god. So the devil was not just offering Adam and Eve a bit of knowledge independently of God, he was offering himself as their new god. That is what he originally wanted as Lucifer, the angel of light. He wanted to be like God. We're right back to the issue that caused the problems in the first place.

Moses said: "If you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 28:1-3).

One Minute Please

The issue today for us is whom are we going to obey? Who is the authority in our lives?


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

June 10, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

And After That What's Next To Do?
. . . seek, and you will find . . . -Luke 11:9


Seek if you have not found. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . ." (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, "you ask amiss"; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. ". . . seek, and you will find . . . ." Get to work- narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? ". . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . ."

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . ." (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent- so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.

". . . knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). "Draw near to God . . ." (James 4:. Knock- the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. "Cleanse your hands . . ." (James 4:. Knock a bit louder- you begin to find that you are dirty. ". . . purify your hearts . . ." (James 4:. It is becoming even more personal- you are desperate and serious now- you will do anything. "Lament . . . " (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. "Humble yourselves . . . " (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God's door- you have to knock with the crucified thief. ". . . to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:10).
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Pleasing God... Even in Your Sorrow

In Psalm 69, David shares his innermost thoughts as he cries out to God, afflicted, sorrowful, beaten down, and distressed.  David felt like he was sinking in floodwaters, caught in the quicksand of difficulties.

If you are like me, I am sure you have been there too.  In fact, you may feel like you are there right now.  Floodwaters of trouble have come into your life.  You are treading water, and it seems like you are about to go down for the third time.

For most of us, our response is to get down and depressed, to feel sorry for ourselves.  And to hope we will receive comfort and encouragement from those around us.

David's reaction was different. And a model for how we should respond to those times of sorrow and trouble in a way that pleases God.  In verses 30 and 31 of Psalm 69 he states,

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.  This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull.

You know, anyone can sing when the sun is shining.  It is easy to praise God and shout the victory when things are going your way.  But to praise God when the chips are down...that brings pleasure to God.

To worship God, to magnify Him and to thank Him even when it looks like you are not going to make it, that pleases the heart of God.  It shows Him something about you.  It demonstrates that you have faith in Him, and it opens a way for Him to work in your life.

If your life feels full of sorrow and trouble, begin to praise God, and watch God work!
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True Worship

In His Presence "An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).

Many years ago, Robert Grant wrote the words to "O Worship the King,"

O worship the King, all glorious above
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the winds of a storm.

These two verses introduce us to the glory of God and the opportunity that we have to worship Him. However, a growing concern for many pastors is that many in their congregations attend church on Sunday because it is the right thing to do-not to worship the Lord. In other words, the act of coming together and fellowshipping has become more important than being in God's presence where we worship Him through praise and prayer.

It is like the couple who had their baby christened at church, and then, after the service, had a party to celebrate the event. Aunts and uncles began arriving along with grandparents, nieces, nephews, and friends. Everyone began talking and eating. Finally someone spoke up and asked, "Where's the baby?" The parents had taken the child to his bedroom and placed it in the crib to take a nap. Everyone was so busy enjoying one another that they had forgotten why they were there.

Worship is essential to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In the Scripture above, the Lord explains to a woman who had committed many sins that a time was coming-and really, had come-when true believers would worship in spirit and truth. The Messiah was standing right before her, and in His presence she found forgiveness for all that she had done and salvation for her soul.

It was then that she realized the freedom of heart and mind that God was extending to her. And she began to worship the Lord by telling others of His marvelous grace and love.

One Minute Please
Worship has to do with real people who have real needs. When we understand the gift the Father has given us, we will want to worship Him without ceasing.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

June 13, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     
Getting There
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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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]

June 14, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Get Moving! (1)
Abide in Me . . . -John 15:4


In the matter of determination. The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by way of the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I then have to build my thinking patiently to bring it into perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus- I have to do it myself. I have to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). "Abide in Me"- in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. Our lives are not made up of only one neatly confined area.

Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting. It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord's inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father's plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord's life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, "Yes, Lord, just a minute- I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then." Get moving- begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.
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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]

June 15, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Get Moving! (2)
Also . . . add to your faith . . . -2 Peter 1:5


In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become "partakers of the divine nature" and that we should now be "giving all diligence," concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5). We are to "add" to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits- we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. We are not meant to be seen as God's perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace. Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, "Jesus . . . took a towel and . . . began to wash the disciples' feet . . ." (John 13:3-5).

We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God's way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don't always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.

It is difficult for us to do the "adding" that Peter mentioned here. We say we do not expect God to take us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we do! I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I will do my duty, not for duty's sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.
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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]

June 16, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

"Will You Lay Down Your Life?"
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. . . . I have called you friends . . . -John 15:13, 15


Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, "I will lay down my life for Your sake," and he meant it (John 13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing- our sense of duty is only fully realized through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?" (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (seeMark 9:1-29). For thirty-three years Jesus laid down His life to do the will of His Father. "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16). Yet it is contrary to our human nature to do so.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, "Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful." And Jesus says to us, ". . . I have called you friends. . . ." Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honor is at stake in your bodily life.
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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 17, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
     

Beware of Criticizing Others
Judge not, that you be not judged -Matthew 7:1


Jesus' instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, "Don't." The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person's situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.
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Enjoying the Fullness of Your Inheritance

In Galatians 4:1-5, the apostle Paul helps us understand what it means to be part of God's family,

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Adoption in Roman society was very different from adoption today.  When a flesh and blood son reached the age of maturity, he was "adopted" into his own family.  Until that time, he was considered a child, and he was under the tutelage of a household slave.

We are heirs because of adoption.  What does this mean?  It means that God is well pleased when we assume our place as mature sons of God, exercising our authority and enjoying the fullness of our inheritance.  But most Christians don't do this.

Not long ago, I learned about a particular website that can tell you if you have any money anywhere that you don't know about.  There are literally hundreds of millions of dollars sitting unused in trust funds or accounts that people don't know about.

A lot of Christians operate this way.  They have this incredible inheritance that belongs to them, this incredible authority that has been given to them, and they are unaware of it.  And, friend, that does not bring pleasure to God.
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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.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

June 20, 2011

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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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