Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

October 13, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth
. . . when Moses was grown . . . he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens -Exodus 2:11


Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, " '. . . bring My people . . . out of Egypt.' But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go . . . ?' " (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.

We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses' forty years in the wilderness. It's as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, "Who am I that I should go . . . ?" We must learn that God's great stride is summed up in these words- "I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him- our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be "well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, "I know this is what God wants me to do." But we have not yet learned to get into God's stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead

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The Tenth Commandment of Marriage:  Be Content with What You Have

Today we come to the final commandment for marriage. That commandment is based on the tenth commandment given to the nation of Israel in Exodus 20:17,




"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."



This command is very direct.  Do not covet.  Don't be discontent with what you have.  Do not make what you don't have the focus of your life.  Accentuate what you do have and what God has blessed you and your spouse with.

You do this by celebrating your husband's or wife's strengths and giftings rather than thinking, "Oh, I wish he was this way," or, "I wish she had that."

If Janet compared me to her brothers, I would be in big trouble.  Her brothers are these "Mr. Fix-It" guys who can do anything mechanical.  If you are with me and our car breaks down on a desolate road, we are going to be in some serious trouble.  I can pray, but do not expect me to fix the car.

Her brothers are another story.  One just built a house from the ground up; and if anything mechanical breaks down, he can fix it.

While I am not a Mr. Fix-It, there are other things I am good at.  I am so grateful that Janet wants to pull those out of me and give wings to those gifts.  And I want to do the same thing for her.

You will always get into trouble if you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  Just water your own grass.  Because on the other side of the fence, it's just Astroturf anyway.

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Maturity is a Process

Scripture Reading: John 14:25-27; Luke 10:38-42 

As we grow in our relationship with God, so does our spiritual maturity.  Growing isn't always fun - in fact, it can be pretty painful - but during our trials and hard times, we must never forget a simple truth.

We can choose to learn from life's difficulties and hardships and mature into the man or woman God has created us to be, or we can choose to be upset and learn nothing.

James 1:2-4 tells us to consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (NIV).

The next time you face a trial or difficult situation, look to God for your joy and strength and know that He is using it to usher you into a new level.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 14, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Key to the Missionary's Work (1)
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .' -Matthew 28:18-19


The key to the missionary's work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don't go- He simply says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . ." He says, "Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me."

"Then the eleven disciples went . . . to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them" (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, "Come to Me . . ."- that is the place to meet Jesus- "all you who labor and are heavy laden . . ." (Matthew 11:28)- and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.

"Go therefore . . . ." To "go" simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, "Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria," but, ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places]." He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you . . ." (John 15:7)- that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.

"None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . ." (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life
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God's Eyes

In Hebrews 4:13, there is a powerful statement concerning God,


And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.


In this verse, we are taught that God sees what we do, and He sees the intent of what we do.  That leads to one thing:  total accountability.

There is no getting out of giving an account for our lives before God.  We will all stand before Him.  And at that time, there will be no shifting; there will be no saying one thing and thinking something else inside.  Everything will be laid bare.

God sees everything all the time.  Everything is open and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.  You just can't get away from God.

The Scripture says in Proverbs 15:3, The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

But God also sees the very intent of our heart.  When Samuel was sent by God to anoint a new king over Israel, and he was at the house of Jesse, Jesse had his big strapping son pass by.  As Samuel looked at this guy he thought, "Surely this is the Lord's anointed."

But God said, "I rejected this one.  For the Lord does not see as man sees.  Man looks on the outward appearance.  But the Lord looks upon the heart."

Our intent can be right, but we can really mess up.  God looks on our heart, and if our intent is right, He judges us according to our intent, not according to the mistakes we may have made.  But, if the intent of our heart was not pure, God judges us according to that.

Live today...and every day...knowing that the Lord looks on the heart.

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Transformed by Trials

Scripture Reading: John 14:25-27; Luke10:38-42 

One of the primary means God uses to make you and me like Jesus Christ is by sending trouble our way.  You see, reshaping us to the image of Christ is not minor surgery; it takes a major transformation. 

Just like a sculptor takes a piece of marble slab and chips away at it in order to bring out an image, God uses troubles to reshape us.   

We just need to remember, when we are going through trials, we must change what we are looking at.  We have to come at it from the right perspective.  "Lord, this is a rough time right now.  I am not sure why you sent this to me, but I want to give you thanks and I rejoice at the fact that this is going to be a transforming event in my life.  I am going to be more like Christ when we finish this one."


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 17, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Key to the Missionary's Work (2)
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world -1 John 2:2

The key to the missionary's message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus- His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ's work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But- "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"- that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary's message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.

The real key to the missionary's message is the "remissionary" aspect of Christ's life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. ". . . repentance and remission of sins should be preached . . . to all nations . . ." (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins . . . ." The missionary's message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is "for the whole world." When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.

A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim "the Lamb of God." It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, "Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me," but, ". . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel- "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
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The Power of Humility  One of the greatest dangers of the Christian life is spiritual arrogance. 

When pride wells up in our heart, it can absolutely take our spiritual legs out from under us, and keep the strong arm of the Lord from being revealed in our lives.

In 1 Peter 5:6, we are given the antidote to pride.  It says,



Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. It is unfortunate, but there are some who emphasize the message of faith that at times do so with a touch of arrogance rather than humility.  The result is that it has really turned some people off to the whole message of faith.



Our faith always needs to be coupled with humility.

There are only two people in the Bible Jesus said had great faith.  One of them was the Roman centurion whom we find in Luke 7.  When you study his story, you find that because of his good works, the elders of the Jews said he deserved Jesus' help.  But the centurion had a far different view of himself.  He said he was not worthy for Jesus to enter under his roof.

The other person that Jesus said had great faith was the woman with the possessed daughter in Matthew 15.  Two elements stand out about her as we read her story.  She was persistent and she was humble.

Great faith cannot be divorced from great humility.  Humility is a necessary ingredient for the soil of our heart, without which a healthy faith cannot grow.

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Just Like Jesus

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-14 

God's divine purpose for every believer is that each of us be conformed to the image of His Son.  God wants us to reflect His character.  But what does God look like?  Although we can't see God or touch Him, we know His character because it's reflected in the Son.  Jesus told His followers, when you look at Me, you are looking at My Father.

As Christians, we are committed to Jesus Christ.  And as a result, God promises that He is going to take all the pieces of our lives - the good, the bad and the ugly - and work them all together for our maximum benefit. 

You must make a decision to make conforming to His image your passionate pursuit in life.  This is God's purpose for you.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

October 18, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Key to the Missionary's Devotion
. . . they went forth for His name's sake . . . -3 John 7


Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, "Do you love Me?" (John 21:17). And then He said, "Feed My sheep." In effect, He said, "Identify yourself with My interests in other people," not, "Identify Me with your interests in other people." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love- it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.

Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit- "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . ." (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.

The key to the missionary's devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.

The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
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The Face of God

The psalmist says in Psalm 30:7,

You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

One thing we should never want to experience is for God to hide His face, because the face of God represents His favor, friendship, and fellowship.

Now there is only one thing that causes God to hide His face from us.  It is found in Isaiah 59:1-2,

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.


Sin is the one thing that causes God's face to be hidden.  The Bible says we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, which means the sin of mankind had hidden God's face.

But that is not the end of the story, thank goodness!  In Isaiah 50:6 we are told,

"I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting."


Because Jesus did not hide His face from shame and spitting, because He took your place and died for your sins, God's face can shine upon you.

He could have hidden His face; He could have avoided the whole crucifixion, but He didn't.  He bore a shame that was not His as God the Father laid the sin of the world on Him.

Because Jesus did not hide His face, the face of God need not be hidden from any of us.  The light of God's countenance can shine upon every one of us, and we can indeed be the friends of God. 

Thank you, Jesus, for what you did!

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Saved Without a Doubt

Scripture Reading: John 3:34-36; 17:3 

Every member of the human race has fallen into an abyss, and no matter how hard we try, we can't get out; the hole is just too deep. The good news is, we don't have to get ourselves out. The heart of the Gospel, Jesus' sacrifice, is strong enough to lift us from those pits. With His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus offered deliverance and assurance.

When Jesus confronted the Samaritan woman at the well, He offered her a drink of living water from a well that would never run dry. Jesus offers the gift of salvation to everyone who chooses to drink His Water.

Eternal life is living water. We take the first drink, and our Savior produces the well of living water that doesn't run dry.  Place your confidence in Jesus and His finished work, and He will create an oasis in your soul that keeps producing living water.
 
God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 19, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Unheeded Secret
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world -John 18:36


The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person's life.

We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord's life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.

It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College- its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God's redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
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Gaining the Victory

We live in a society of addictions, of bondage to so many things.  Maybe you are in bondage to cigarettes, or alcohol, or pornography, or anger, or any number of other things.

Whatever the condition that has you in bondage today, God's hand and God's arm can lift you up and untangle you and set you free.  In Psalm 98:1 we are told,

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.


We find repeatedly throughout the Old Testament how, through God's mighty hand and His outstretched arm, He redeemed His people out of slavery and out of bondage.

Now here is the question.  Does it just sort of randomly happen?  Do we have to wait and see if we are one of the lucky ones God will choose to extend His mighty arm to help?  Or, is there anything that we can do to cooperate with God to see His arm extended in our behalf?

The answer is yes, we can, and we must cooperate with God.

In Isaiah 51:5 God tells us,


"My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait upon Me, and on My arm they will trust."


The way we cooperate with God is to trust in His arm; not in our own arm, but in His.  If you want to see God's mighty arm move on your behalf, then trust Him alone!  Do not trust your intelligence, your ingenuity, your education, your status in life, your wealth, or any other thing.

Trust in God alone.  And you will have the victory.

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What is Discipleship?

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 

In the New Testament, Jesus' disciples were students, pupils or learners, and Jesus was their teacher or in the Hebrew, Rabbi.  Jesus told His disciples that He wanted them to be just like Him, their teacher.

During their time with Christ, the disciples had to learn loads of information and how to practically apply what they learned so they could help others.

The goal of discipleship - for Christ's first disciples and for us today - is Christ-likeness.  Jesus is just as much our teacher today as He was for the twelve who followed Him.  The ultimate goal of discipleship is to develop the discipline of living a Christ-centered life and demonstrating and teaching that to others.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 20, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
Is God's Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . -1 Thessalonians 4:3


Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me- is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, "Oh, I am longing to be sanctified." No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.

All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:. He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ
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The Blessing of God's Spiritual Influence

In the beginning of Isaiah 55, God invites His people to come to Him and fellowship with Him.  In verses 3 and 6 God says,


"Incline your ear, and come to Me.  Hear, and your soul shall live....  Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near."


In verses 10-11, we are told what happens to those who respond to this invitation, to God's call to come and seek Him and listen to Him,


"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."


In the same way rain brings blessing when it waters the earth (causing it to bring a bountiful harvest and fruitfulness into the lives of the people), so God's spiritual influence brings refreshment and fruitfulness to our lives.

What is God's spiritual influence?  It is the impact of His Word and His Spirit upon the hearts of His children. 

When you come to God, when you respond to His call to seek Him and incline your ear, He will speak to you.  And the effect His Word has when He speaks it into your life, into your heart, is the same effect that rain has on the earth.

His Word, as it penetrates your heart, will bring refreshment, enlightenment, and ultimately, fruitfulness.  It will bring revival into your heart causing spiritual growth and progress.

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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).

God bless

[Judy Harder]

October 21, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     

Impulsiveness or Discipleship?
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . -Jude 20


There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God's nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman-an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.

Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he "followed Him at a distance" on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises-human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God-but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people-and this is not learned in five minutes.

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God's Plentiful Rain

Psalm 68:6-10 says,

God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.  O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, the earth shook; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.  You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary.  Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.



When you read various Bible commentators, you will find they agree that this refers to a tremendous rain.  The language the psalmist uses refers back to the manna God provided for His children as they wandered in the wilderness.

God sustained them supernaturally.  He gave them supernatural provision.  He brought them out of bondage into prosperity, and He sent a plentiful rain symbolizing His extravagant blessing on their life.

God, out of His goodness, met the needs of those who previously had been poor.  And in the same way, He pours blessings into our life.  He sustains us, He takes care of us, and He meets our needs.

Take time today to praise Him for His provision and blessing in your life.

Now, if there is a drought in your life in any of these areas, there is a reason for it.  In the next few devotionals, I want to talk to you about some potential causes for that drought, and suggest some things you can do to cause the drought to break and bring the rain of God's blessing to fall in your life once again.

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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."

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 24, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
The Proper Perspective
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . -2 Corinthians 2:14


The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God's perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don't think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.

The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose- to be captives marching in the procession of Christ's triumphs. We are not on display in God's showcase- we are here to exhibit only one thing- the "captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, "I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus," or, "I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him." But Paul said, in essence, "I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn't matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph." Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul's secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive- and that became his purpose. It was Paul's joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and "we are more than conquerors through Him . . ." (Romans 8:37).

"We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . ." (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to Go
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Idolatry

The most predominant sin we find in the Bible that stopped the rain of God's blessing from falling was idolatry.  Maybe you are thinking, "Well, that's great, but it doesn't really apply.  I'm not tempted to go to the nearest pagan shrine and bow down and worship a carved image."

Hold on, though.  As you read the New Testament you begin to realize it has a lot to say to us about idolatry.  For example, 1 Corinthians 10:14 says, Flee from idolatry, and 1 John 5:21 says, Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Wycliffe in his commentary says, "An idol is anything which occupies the place due to God."  An idol is anything in your life that competes with God.

Colossians 3:5 says, ...covetousness, which is idolatry.  In other words, your stuff can become an idol.  Greed can become an idol; money can become your idol.  If anything becomes the main pursuit of your life, other than God, then that thing becomes an idol.

It can be your job, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your husband, your wife, or even a child.  It can be a sport, a hobby, fame, anything that comes before God in your life.

I once saw an interview of one of my favorite golfers.  He was a brilliant golfer who had won major tournaments.  In the interview he said, "I've had a love affair with the game of golf.  But I want to tell you, it cost me my marriage.  It's cost me my relationship with my kids.  Golf has been my god."

The interviewer asked him, "If you had all of it to do over again, what would you do differently?"  He said, "Nothing.  I'd do it all the same."

You will never experience God's blessing if there is an idol in your life.  Is there?


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Make a Difference One by One

A father and son were walking along a beach after a powerful storm.  In fact, the storm was so strong that as the waves crashed and the wind blew, hundreds of starfish were washed ashore and left far from the water they needed to survive.

As they walked, the father and son began a rescue mission, picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the ocean.  When the boy looked at the hundreds of remaining starfish, he became discouraged. "Dad, there's too many. We can't save them all.   We can't make a difference!"

The father looked at the starfish in his hand.  The creature would have never made it back into the ocean on its own.  As he threw the starfish back in the ocean, he told his son, "We're making a difference to this one."

You can make a difference too . . . even if it's only one by one.  God has called each of us - not just the pastor or the missionary - to be a voice of encouragement to someone.  Bless someone. Make a difference.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

October 25, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 
Submitting to God's Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some -1 Corinthians 9:22


A Christian worker has to learn how to be God's man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, "If only I were somewhere else!" All of God's people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God's almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul's whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact- ". . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).

"I chose you . . ." (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose- that He may be able to say, "This is My man, and this is My woman." We have to be in God's hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.

Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you "turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . ." (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.
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Selfish? 

Over the last several devotionals, we have been looking at the cause of spiritual drought.  In today's devotional, I want to look at selfishness as a cause of spiritual drought.   

Selfishness is where I am focused on my own interests rather than the needs of others or of furthering God's Kingdom.

In Haggai 1:4-6, 9-11, God says,

"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?"  Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts:  "Consider your ways!  You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes... You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away.  Why?" says the LORD of hosts.  "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.  Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.  For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands."



They were investing everything in themselves and their homes, but not a thought was given to God's house or God's Kingdom.

Friend, if you want the rain to fall, you need to think about God and His house first, others second, and yourself third.  It is like the old saying, "If you want joy, j-o-y, it's Jesus, others, and then you."


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Oh Death, Where is Your Victory?

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 

In 1 Corinthians 15:56, the Apostle Paul explains that the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.  Jesus' death satisfied God's divine law to overcome the problem of sin and the condemnation of death.

All the sin of the world for all time was placed on the person of Jesus Christ at Calvary.  In His resurrection, He rose victorious over sin and death.  Death no longer has authority over us.

I encourage you to reflect on what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.  He shares His resurrection victory with all who believe in Him.  This victory is a gift of grace: God forgives the sins of all who trust in Christ alone.

You don't have to be afraid of death because it has no power over you.  For those who trust in Christ, death is not the end - it is only the beginning.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

October 26, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
 

What is a Missionary?
Jesus said to them again, '. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you' -John 20:21


A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front- to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him- to carry out His plans.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God's call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ- "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . ." (Matthew 28:19).

When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, "What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!" But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were "foolish" enough to trust God's wisdom and His supernatural equipment.
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Rx for Depression 

Isaiah 58:10-11 gives you and me a powerful prescription for depression.  It says,


If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.  The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Take a moment to think about what God is saying.  Think about the promise:  If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, God will satisfy your soul in drought.

If you are a person who is given to depression and you feel like you have this big empty void in your life, I have a prescription for you based on this passage.  Are you ready?

Go help somebody else.  In fact, find a place in your church, local rescue mission, or The Salvation Army where you can minister to folks who are going through a rough patch.  Donate a couple of days a week, and help other folks who are going through a rough time.

God promises that if you will draw out your soul to the hungry and if you will minister to the afflicted soul, He will satisfy your soul in drought.

Rather than being so inwardly focused..."my problems, and I'm so depressed, and why aren't things going right for me?", go help somebody else.  Get things in perspective.  There are a lot of people who are a lot worse off than you are, and you will find that God will bring the rain into your life when you change your focus.

If your soul is dry, the way to get it watered is to go help someone else.  The sooner the better.
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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.

God bless