Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


"When He Has Come"


When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . -John 16:8


Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one- "Against You, You only, have I sinned . . ." (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary- nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn't merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.


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Access

In talking about the Holy of Holies...that second part of the tabernacle behind the veil where the presence of God dwelt under the old covenant...Hebrews 9:7 says,

But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance.

Only the high priest could go into this part of the tabernacle, into God's presence.  And he could go only one time each year to offer the blood of an animal to cover the sins of the people.

But look with me at Hebrews 10:17-19,

Then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.  Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.

You have access into the very presence of God.  In fact, Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

You do not have to go through a priest.  You do not have to go through Pastor Bayless.  You have immediate, constant access.  In fact, God not only welcomes you, He desires you to come into His presence.

You know, my kids just barge into my office all the time.  I can be in there having a meeting when the door just opens, "Hi, Dad!  Got anything in your refrigerator?"  They just come in like they belong there...and they do.  I'm their father.

Your heavenly Father is the same way.  He is not going to put you off and say, "You know what?  You have to come through an angel.  I'm sorry, but you cannot talk directly to Me."

Nope.  You have direct access!

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The Spiritual Stress Test

(James 1:1-7, Psalm 5)

Every summer I go to the doctor's office for an annual exam. I sit in his office and he asks me, "Tony, how are you feeling?"

Assuming that it was a good year overall, I answer, "I'm feeling fine."

But that's not the end of my appointment. The doctor doesn't take my word for it. Instead, he attaches electronic probes all over my body. Then he sticks me on a treadmill. Next, he makes the treadmill go faster and faster up an incline because what he wants to know is the real condition of my heart.

My heart might feel fine to me but at the same time, it might not be fine. The doctor can only determine the strength of my heart when he measures it under stress. So what he does is create a stressful situation where I'm walking for a long period of time. He's testing my heart to see whether how I feel is how I really am. Because it's possible to have good feelings yet still have a bad heart.

Living the Christian life is no different. It's possible to come to church every week, sing worship songs, memorize Bible verses, serve on a variety of committees and assume that your heart, faith and soul is strong. It's even easy to say things like, "I love you God. God, you are so good. I'll follow you, God. I'll do whatever you say."

But God doesn't want to just take your word for it.

He tests you, and me, because He wants what is best for us. He tests us because He is getting ready to do something amazing in our lives. The way that He tests us is by putting us in a stressful scenario ... something we often call a trial. In a trial, God reveals how strong our faith really is.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


The Forgiveness of God


In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . -Ephesians 1:7

Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive- He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God's forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.

Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.


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Once for All!

As we have been learning in the last few devotionals, the new covenant is better than the old covenant.  Hebrews 9:18-24 shows us another way it is better,

Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you."  Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.  And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.  Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

The old covenant was based on the blood of animal sacrifices; but under the new covenant, we are cleansed by the blood of Christ and His sacrifice.

Jesus went into that heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood.  And the Father declared that the blood of Jesus satisfied the payment for sin for all eternity.

Oh, thank you, Jesus!  That is why the Scripture declares we are accepted in the Beloved.  When God accepted that blood sacrifice in heaven, He accepted all of us who believe, because Jesus went as our representative.

Praise God today for the provision of the sacrifice of Jesus...once for all!

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Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

(James 1:12, Psalm 6)

Much like the stress test my doctor puts me through every summer, God allows trials and tests in our lives in order to reveal where we are along our spiritual journey. He does this for the purpose of correcting whatever happens to be wrong, revealing whatever needs to be revealed, and strengthening whatever seems to be weak so that we might move on to what He has in store for us.

When you are caught between a rock and a hard place, you feel trapped, stuck, and tired of where you are. You either don't know what to do, or you don't know how to legitimately do what you feel you need to do. You are like Israel when they faced Pharaoh on one side and the Red Sea on the other and certain death was upon them.

Getting caught between a rock and a hard place is a lose-lose deal. If it were a clear win-lose deal, then you would know how to choose and where to turn. But what do you do when there are no clear choices? What option do you choose when both options are bad? Have you ever been in a situation where all of the ways that you turn to are problems, and you are just trying to find the least possible problem to choose as the solution?

I know I've been in situations like that and it's not fun. It's about as fun as huffing and puffing on that treadmill in my doctor's office. But one thing I've learned over the years is that God has a purpose for these times in our lives. Just like my doctor is not a mean man for putting my body through all of that stress, God is not a mean God when He decrees that we go through trials.

When God wants to reveal the real condition of your heart to empower you toward His plan for your future, He puts you in one of these kinds of trials.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   




"It is Finished!"


I have finished the work which You have given Me to do -John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him- something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.

Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption "much ado about nothing." God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. "We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . ." (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ- "It is finished!" (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.

Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.


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For All People

In today's devotional, I want to give you the seventh reason why the new covenant in Jesus is better than the old covenant.  The old covenant was only for one nation-only one people-the Jews.

The new covenant is for the whole world.  It is for every nation, every people...anyone who will accept the free gift of salvation, by placing their faith in Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 7:25 tells us,

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Or, as one old preacher said, "He saves to the uttermost and to the guttermost."

That may sound crass, but it is true!  Through Jesus Christ, God has made a way of salvation for every person, no matter your race, or what religion you were brought up in, or what you may have done in your life.

John 3:16 says,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.   

That means no one has ever done anything so bad that it could make God stop loving them.  I don't care where they have been, how dark their past has been, or how burdened down their conscience is today with guilt for the things they have done-no one will be cast out if they come to Him.

His blood has the power to wash anyone clean if they will come to God through Jesus.  His sacrifice takes away the sin of the world, the burden of guilt, and the shame of sin.  He can make anyone into a new person.  Only the blood of Jesus can do that...only the blood of Jesus.  Hallelujah!




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When God Allows Your Trial

(James 2:14-24, Psalm 7)

Have you ever gotten mail in your mailbox that isn't addressed to you? You take it out of your mailbox and read that the address doesn't have your name on it. It just says, "Occupant." You get that piece of mail by virtue of you being the "occupant" of that home. Trials are a lot like that. Just by virtue of being an "occupant" on this planet in a fallen world, we will face trials.

Of course, no one likes a trial. No one wakes up in the morning, stretches and says, "Ah, what a beautiful day for a trial! I think I'd like to have a trial today!" That would be an unusual person who would do something like that. Yet no matter how much we want to avoid trials in our lives, trials are inevitable.

Trials are adverse circumstances that God allows in our lives to both identify where we are spiritually as well as to prepare us for where He wants us to go. There is no escaping them. You are either in a trial now, you've just come out of a trial, or you are getting ready to go into a trial.

But even though we all have to experience them, I want to remind you to take comfort in knowing that trials must first pass through God's hands before reaching us. Nothing comes our way without first having received His Divine approval. And in order to get His Divine approval, there must be a Divine reason for Him to approve it. We need to trust that God has our best interest in mind when He allows us to experience a trial.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   

The Consecration of Spiritual Power


. . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world -Galatians 6:14

If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness- I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ's interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.

It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives- no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it- to be separated internally, not externally (seeJohn 17:16).

We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God's service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God's part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, "Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?"


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A Picture of God's Lovingkindness

Yesterday we learned about God's merciful and unfailing love.  2 Samuel 9:3-7 provides us with a picture of that love,

Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?"  And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."  So the king said to him, "Where is he?"  And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."  Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.  Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself.  Then David said, "Mephibosheth?"  And he answered, "Here is your servant!"  So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually."

David made a blood covenant with Jonathan to show Jonathan's offspring the lovingkindness of God.  After Jonathan died, Mephibosheth was the only offspring who remained, and he hid in the wilderness in fear of David.  But David found him and elevated him to be one of his own sons, set him at his table, and restored everything he lost.

This is such a beautiful picture of the covenant God made with His Son Jesus, a covenant sealed by the blood of Christ.  Because of what Jesus did, God shows us His lovingkindness, elevating us to the position of sons or daughters, and inviting us to break bread with Him at His own table.

That is the lovingkindness of God
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When God is Silent, He is Not Still

(Acts 17:24-31, Psalm 11)

We all know what it feels like to experience hopelessness to varying degrees. In fact, many people define hope as looking forward to something that they know that they will never get. Hopelessness is when you look out in front of you and you can't see any possibility for improvement or change. Many of us today are drowning in a sea of hopelessness surrounded by a land of emptiness where there seems to be no way out.

That reminds me of a story. In the summer of 2000, a Russian Oscar II Class Submarine, the Kursk, sank in the Barents Sea due to an internal explosion. Divers made several attempts to go down and assess the situation to determine if anyone had survived. When they were finally successful, they discovered a group of twenty-three men who had survived the explosion. These men had gone back as far as they could to the end of the submarine, and had gathered together in the last remaining pocket of air.

But the rescue team hadn't made it to them in time. All twenty-three men had died. On the inside wall of the submarine, they found this note that had been etched there by the Captain-lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikova. It said, "It's dark here to write, but I'll try by feel. It seems like there are no chances..."

The hopelessness we hear in Dmitri's words has been shared by many of us. We've all faced similar feelings at some time or another where there seems "like there are no chances." Hopelessness in the middle of life's storms is a human experience that is common to most of us.

It's one thing to be in the middle of a trial that has been brought on by yourself through a bad choice or action. But it's an entirely different thing to set your heart on serving God only to discover that it seems He has abandoned you in the middle of a storm. In times like those, remember that although God may be silent, He is not still. Wait on Him. He may just come walking to you on top of your storm.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   

The Riches of the Destitute

. . . being justified freely by His grace . . . -Romans 3:24

The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service- I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are "rich," particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was "beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to "the above," and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).


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Cherishing the Presence of God

Psalm 84:10 gives us an important perspective of God's presence,

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

When the psalmist talks about "a day in Your courts," he is not talking about being in some building or admiring some bit of religious architecture.  He is talking about enjoying the presence of God.  As verse 2 of this psalm says,

My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.           

God is so good that just one day with Him is better than a thousand anywhere else.  Just to be on the threshold, just to be on the doorstep, just to feel the slightest fringes, if you would, of the presence of God, is better than spending a thousand days anywhere else.

I think The Message Bible conveys the idea of verse 10,

One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.  I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.

Not long ago, I was walking through the neighborhood (I do this from time to time) just having a prayer walk.  I walked for maybe 45 minutes and just prayed and worshiped God.

As I started thinking about all of the good things He has done for me, I began to sense His presence, and I started to cry.  Now, I don't know what the neighbors thought if they happened to look out their window, but I didn't care, because I so appreciate His presence in my life.

I encourage you today to learn to cherish the presence of God!

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When You Want to Throw a Red Flag Out on God

(Romans 8:32, Psalm 12)

When a head coach on an NFL team perceives that the referee has made a wrong call, awarding a key play to the opposition, he throws out a red flag. This red flag signals that the referee needs to review the play again. Obviously the coach believes that the referee has made a mistake.

There are times in our lives, especially when we are caught between a rock and a hard place, when we want to throw a red flag out on God. We want to stop the game and throw down the red flag because it looks like God has made a wrong call. It looks like He has missed something. It looks like He didn't know what He was doing because if He did, He wouldn't have called things that way.

We think thoughts like - If God had known how this was going to affect me, He wouldn't have allowed that thing to happen. If He had really known the pain that I was going to have to go through in dealing with this, then He would have made a different decision.

We want to reach into our pocket and pull out our red flag and yell, "God, you missed this one! You blew it. Review it, because you're obviously wrong." It is during those times that we need to remember that God often does some of His best work in the dark. He is also often the nearest when He seems the furthest away. It is during those times that our faith needs to carry us through. Because it is in those times that God is often waiting to see what we are going to do

God bless

[Judy Harder]

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ

He will glorify Me . . . -John 16:14

The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with "the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, "That is the work of God Almighty!" Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.

The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration- no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion- a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!

Jesus said, ". . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . ." (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.


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Protecting The Children

Matthew 18:1-6 is our reading for today,

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

This is a powerful truth God desires you and me to understand.  He takes very seriously the protection and nurture of children.

First, it is important to understand that the word sin in this verse means to entrap.  It means to set a snare for someone.  Jesus was talking about someone who purposely entices an innocent child to do wrong.

Second, the millstone He refers to was about five feet across and would take an ox or a donkey to turn it.  Get the picture?!  Better for that millstone to be tied around a person's neck and to drown in the depths of the deepest sea than to entice a child to do wrong.

The exploitation or abuse of children is not overlooked or taken lightly by God.  We read in Scripture that some sins incur a worse judgment from the Almighty.  Causing children to sin is one of the worst.  Never take their exploitation lightly.

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GOD IS IN THE REMODELING BUSINESS

The process of remodeling transforms the inside of a house or business in order to update it, make it more modern and effective, and save the cost of buying something new. Remodeling takes what already exists and reconfigures it into something different. If any of you have remodeled your home, you know how disruptive it can be. Dust, dirt, and chaos seem to take over. But in order for the new to be made manifest, the old must be dismantled.

Many Christians are looking for a blessing but don't want to go through the remodeling process in their lives. Yet, brokenness is the key to your break-through - to your knowing God in a deeper, more glorious, more amazing way. God is not going to bless you if He can't remodel you. In order to remodel you, He has to tear old, sinful character qualities out and put new ones in.

Brokenness is not an emotional experience of an event. Brokenness is an act of the will - surrendering your will to God. To be broken means to say yes to what God wants despite what you want. To be broken is a decision to humble yourself and acknowledge your need for help. Brokenness occurs when God strips you of your self-sufficiency and gets rid of your pride so that the life of Christ can be made manifest in you.

Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 4:11, "We who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." We undergo problems, difficulties, and frustrations so that the life of Christ may be made known through us.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . -1 Corinthians 15:10

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God's perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn't claim to be sanctified; I'm not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn't possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God's eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life.


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Dealing with Sin

Matthew 18:8-9 provides an important insight into how to deal with sin,

"If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

The eye represents the thought life, where sin is conceived.  The hand represents that sin actually being carried out.  And the foot is where it becomes a walk, a pattern, an entrenched habit of life, a sinful lifestyle.

When Jesus says, "Cut it off," He is speaking of ruthless self-judgment.  And He didn't stop there.  He said, "Cut it off and cast it from you."  In other words, get as far away from the source of your sin as you can.

I remember one day I walked right into a spider web.  As I did, I caught a glimpse of this huge orange-colored spider out of the corner of my eye.  As I hit the web, I felt it get on my neck.  I started doing a war dance, hitting myself and ripping my shirt off, trying to get that thing off me.

And you know what?  The moment a sinful thought lands in your mind, you ought to do the same thing, go on the warpath!  Start batting that thing away!  Start quoting Scriptures.

Do whatever you can to keep it from sinking its teeth into your life.  As Jesus said, it will be better for you if you do!
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GOD, WHO RAISES THE DEAD

God won't bless us if He can't change us. We can't stay the same. Some of us may be wondering why we haven't had a spiritual breakthrough. One reason could be that we've not yet been broken. God makes it very clear that He only relates to those who are humble and contrite in heart. Isaiah 57:15 says, "Thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy., 'I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" The Most High God hangs out with the lowly and the humble. He cares for those who acknowledge their need for Him. God has to grind away at our pride until we realize we are not self-sufficient.

If you are facing tough circumstances right now, you are a prime candidate for a breakthrough because God is at work through your trials. Paul said, 'We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life." (2 Corinthians 1:80. Paul was burdened beyond his strength to bear it - it was such a deep, piercing, and exhausting struggle. But we know that even if we are in a bad place, it is a wonderful place for God to do an amazing work in our lives.

"Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope." (verses 9-10). When you are beyond all earthly help, you are better able to trust in God - the God who raises the dead and saves us from death. God lets us get so low that we understand that He is our only real option

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


Christian Perfection
 
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . -Philippians 3:12

It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do- God's purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life's determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, "It could never be God's will for me to be sick"? If it was God's will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn't He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.

Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary- that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God's standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God's purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
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The Best Safeguard Against Adultery

It grieves my heart, as I look across the country, at the number of Christian marriages being destroyed by adultery.  It should not be that way!

In 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, the apostle Paul gives us a safeguard against adultery.  He says,

Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:  It is good for a man not to touch a woman.  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Now, if these verses are saying anything, they are telling us that married couples should enjoy sexual intimacy.  In fact, the more they enjoy it, the better safeguard it is against immorality.

Notice Paul even goes so far as to say the wife does not have authority over her own body; and the husband does not have authority over his body.  As husband and wife, you belong to one another.  It says do not deprive one another unless you are going to be fasting and praying, and then only with consent.

I want to challenge you to make sexual intimacy a priority in your marriage.  Don't consider it as unimportant, or leave it to your spouse.  Take the responsibility to light the fire of sexual intimacy, and close the door to Satan's temptation.

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The Blessing of Brokenness

We've all seen restored furniture. Restoring furniture involves stripping away old varnish or paint with strong chemicals. This reveals all the nooks, crannies and original spots on the piece. The sanding takes place next - the wood is rubbed with coarse sandpaper in order to level out its imperfections. Then the furniture is ready to receive a new stain or paint color - it's ready for a new look. New glory can be given to old furniture. And God can do the same thing with us. He can put new glory inside an old life, but He must first strip away our old nature and sand away our sinful strongholds.

We shouldn't run from being broken. It's not pleasant or happy, but it will produce a better life. Brokenness is a blessing because it puts us on the road to a breakthrough. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3) Those who are spiritually broken will be blessed because they will see God and experience His reality flowing through their lives.

Scripture promises that God remains with those who are broken and makes them stronger than before. Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Isaiah 61:3 teaches that God would give those who mourn and are broken "a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


The Law of Opposition
 
To him who overcomes . . . -Revelation 2:7

Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.

Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.

Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.

And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation . . ." (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, ". . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.


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Single?

In yesterday's devotional, we looked at 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and a word to married couples on the importance of sexual intimacy.  Today I want to continue in that passage with verses 7-9 and speak to singles,

For I wish that all men were even as I myself.  But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.  But I say to the unmarried and to the widows:  It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry.  For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

If you are single, and you long for physical intimacy, and you sometimes struggle with your sexuality, and you want to be married, it is God's will for you to be married.  In fact, I can tell you that you do not have the gift to be single that Paul talks about.

On the other hand, you may be single and completely content, with no desire to be married.  You need to know that does not mean there is something wrong with you.  You just may be operating with a gift God has given you.  In fact, Paul says it is better.  You can serve the Lord undistracted that way.

If you do not have that gift, I believe it is God's plan for you to get married.  If you are tortured with unsatisfied desire, it is better to marry.

That does not mean to go out and marry the first person you would like to have sex with.  You have to take this into the context of all of God's counsel.  You need to realize marriage should be the highest form of agreement between two people.  No marriage should be entered into lightly or just based on physical attraction.

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TWO WAYS FOR A SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH

If we are in search of a spiritual breakthrough, we have two options. First, we can choose to be broken. We can say, "Lord, I want a blessing and a breakthrough. Please break me - strip me of my sinfulness and destructive independence. I'm scared, but I trust that You love me enough to know what I can handle."

The second option is that God will break us without our permission. This option takes a lot longer, and it usually hurts a lot deeper. This delays the blessing and the breakthrough, and it will ultimately be more painful. God did not redeem us to leave us alone and let us miss all of His blessings. He loves us too much for that. There is a new, wonderful life He placed inside of us - and He wants to sanctify us and make us more like His Son so that we may experience it to the fullest.

Many of us want to simply audit the Christian life - like a college course that a person sits in on but is not required to do work and is never graded. We don't want to do all the hard work that it requires. But if Christ is truly Lord of our lives, there will be work to show that we are serving Him. There will be evidence that we are taking the course He is teaching, and it's making an impact on our life. Brokennness is one of the lessons we must go through in order to gain greater spiritual maturity and in order for Christ to be made known in our lives.

It's important to remember that the God who breaks us is also our Father. He is our Lord. He loves us. There are a million ways He can teach us what we need to know. There are different ways that He will break us down and strip us of our pride in order to teach us that we can trust Him. God is God, and He has the right to strip us of everything in us that is not like Him so that He can transform us into His image. He wants to give us blessings, but He wants to change us in the process.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   


"The Temple of the Holy Spirit"
 
. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you -Genesis 41:40

I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not "set aside the grace of God"- make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved- I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God's throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To "work out [my] own salvation" (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . ." (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all "the temple of the Holy Spirit," including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, "I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . ." (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit."


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Under Control

In today's devotional I want to follow up on the passage we looked at yesterday, 1 Corinthians 7:7-9,

For I wish that all men were even as I myself.  But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.  But I say to the unmarried and to the widows:  It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry.  For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

What I want to focus on is verse 9, especially the part about burning with passion.  There are way too many young Christians who are out of control in their physical relationship with the opposite sex.

So, mom or dad, here is something you can share with your kids in connection with relating to the opposite sex.  Be prepared, I am going to be blunt.

1.      Any body part they have that you don't have, don't touch it.  Any equipment they have that you don't have, it is hands off!

2.      Do not put any part of your body into any part of their body.

3.      Do not get horizontal.  Don't even sit on the couch watching TV, and lay down in one another's arms.  If you do, you know where that can lead.

4.      If you are going to kiss, let it be short and meaningful.  Don't allow yourselves to get into a wrestling match.  Again, it is hard to find the switch to turn it off once you get going.

5.      Finally, let things like holding hands or putting your arm around your boyfriend or girlfriend actually be meaningful.

If you are single, apply these rules, and they could save you a lot of grief!

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Broken for a Blessing

(2 Corinthians 1:6)

Remodeling is a way of transforming and updating a house or place of business in order to make it more appealing, efficient, or useful. Usually, it involves a redesign on the inside of a building, but it can also include the outside of the property.

Those who have been through the process of remodeling know how extensive and upsetting it can be. Even in the best of circumstances, workers will still create dust and chaos. Yet, in order to enjoy something old being made new, you have to go through the process of remodeling. The same is true when you view God's plan for your life.

There are times in the life of every believer when he or she will go through a time of remodeling. It is a time when God is updating our life by stripping away old thoughts and habits and replacing them with His truths and principles. Instead of calling it remodeling, we call the process brokenness.

Just like the beginning phases of a construction program, it may be hard to imagine a beautiful outcome - especially when things have been torn apart. Sheetrock is missing, and tools are scattered from one end of your home to the other.  However, before we can do the same, we have to be willing to allow God to give us spiritual eyes to see life from His perspective. After all, He is the One who holds the blueprints to our lives. Paul knew that there were many glorious benefits to the times he faced suffering. The greatest was his testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. No matter what befell him, Paul continued to trust in the One who had saved him and was in charge of his life. Have you come to a time of brokenness? If so, let God remodel your life, and you will be amazed at the outcome.

God bless