Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   

The Surrendered Life
I have been crucified with Christ . . . -Galatians 2:20

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God's consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you


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The Remnant

Today, I want you to read Romans 11:2-5,

God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.  Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"?  But what does the divine response say to him?  "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."  Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

When Elijah pleads with God, he is physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted.  Jezebel is after his head and he has run into the wilderness.  He is sitting down under a tree, and he is crying to God, "I'm the only one.  Nobody else is serving You."

But God says, "Hey, wait a minute, Tiger.  I have seven thousand more who haven't bowed their knee to the false idol.  You're not the only one."

God is saying, "I have a remnant."  And then Paul brings it right into present day, and says, "Just like God had a remnant then, God has a remnant today."

A remnant is a small group that has remained.  That is where the word remnant comes from.  It comes from the root "to remain."  God always has a remnant.  A remnant that remains faithful, committed, on course, obedient to God.  That does not get discouraged, quit, or give up because of life's many turns.

Life has its share of setbacks and unexpected turns, and many people give up because of those setbacks.  But those who stay on course and remain faithful will experience God's richer blessings.

God blesses all of His children.  But those who stay the course are rewarded for their faithfulness.

So stay on track, hold course, stay steady, and remain faithful.  Be a part of the remnant.


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Reaping What You Sow

In His Presence:  John 12:24-26

An axiom is a governing principle or rule of thumb. Examples of axioms include: birds fly; water is wet; fire is hot; what goes up must come down; and-the one relevant to our study of stewardship-a man reaps what he sows. That axiomatic statement is as real as any of the others, but it's not believed to the same degree. We reap what we sow in all of life, not just where money is concerned. What we plant determines what we harvest.

A little boy was told by his father to go outside and do some planting in the garden. The boy was lazy and didn't feel like doing all that work, so he dug one hole, dumped all the seeds in, and covered them up. He went back inside and told his dad the work was done, forgetting that what he planted would reveal itself-and his laziness-in time. He would one day reap what he sowed.

According to our axiom, if there is no sowing of seeds, there can be no expectation of harvest. There are many Christians who want a great harvest from God, but they have sown very few seeds for God. Second Corinthians 9:6 says: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." Your harvest depends on what you sow. If you plant potatoes, potatoes will grow. To plant the flesh means you will simply live to gratify yourself. But to plant the Spirit is to live for the glory of God.

One Minute Please

If we make no spiritual investment, we should not expect a spiritual return.



God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

Obedience to the "Heavenly Vision"
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision -Acts 26:19

If we lose "the heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible- not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly vision" is to give our utmost for His highest- our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God's vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life- sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

"Though it tarries, wait for it . . ." (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul's welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don't go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much fruit" (John 15:.

It is essential that we live and "walk in the light" of God's vision for us (1 John 1:7).


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Bearing One Another's Burdens

In Galatians 6:1-2, Paul admonishes us,

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

We need to bear one another's burdens.  Paul, in this passage, gives us some keen insight into what that looks like.

First, the word overtaken means to be taken by surprise, to suddenly fall into.  In other words, the sin Paul is referring to is not a premeditated sin, but rather a temptation that suddenly came up, the person stumbled in, and now they are having trouble getting out.

Notice Paul also says, "If you're spiritual, restore that one."  The word restore actually brings with it the thought of setting a dislocated limb.  The role of the spiritually mature person is to skillfully and gently relocate the "limb" that has been knocked out of its socket.

I think this happens most often to baby Christians.  They are suddenly invaded, they give in to some temptation, and they feel awful.  Then the devil goes to work on them, "Some Christian you are!  You hypocrite!  You better never go back to church again!  You're so wicked.  You're probably not even saved."

They do not know how to pull themselves out, and you and I need to help them get back in right relationship with God and the Church.

I had a friend who dislocated a shoulder one time.  It took him 45 minutes to work it back in by himself.  It would have been easier to have someone help him.

And, that is true for us as Christians.  We need to be there to help restore that brother or sister whose spiritual life has been dislocated. 


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The Law of the Harvest

In His Presence: Mark 10:29-30 

Scripture says that when you sow, you will reap a harvest, and the harvest depends on how much you sow. Once you determine what you want to harvest, you will know what you need to sow. If you want supernatural and spectacular things from God, you won't just sow ordinary seeds. "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The harvest also depends on where you sow. The seeds must be planted in "good soil" (Matthew 13:. When we invest in the kingdom of God, He returns our investment in abundance. We must plant our seeds in fertile ground, in ministries that are actually about ministry instead of money. Matthew 6:33 tells us that we can maintain the growth of our crop when we "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness."

The harvest also depends on when you sow-different crops demand different amounts of time to grow. If we plant in the spring, we won't see a crop in the spring. We must be patient and wait for God to bring the harvest in due time.

Finally, your harvest depends on why you sow. Is the motivation for seed-planting so that you can benefit from the prosperity of the harvest, or so that God will be glorified by a large harvest? Motivation is everything in stewardship, and if we trust God, we will sow great things and reap great things by His grace.

One Minute Please

Give and it will be given unto you because of the glory of God.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

 
Total Surrender
 
Peter began to say to Him, 'See, we have left all and followed You' -Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is "for My sake and the gospel's" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, "I'm going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy." Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I don't want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, 'This is what God has done for me.' " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse-"Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can't go any further" (see Luke 9:57-62). "Then," Jesus says, "you 'cannot be My disciple' " (see Luke 14:26-33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.


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God's GPS

Hebrews 13:20-21 are two verses that give me great encouragement,

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

These verses teach us that God is working in us all the time to bring us to maturity-our destiny in Christ.

A friend of mine shared a brilliant illustration of this one time.  He likened God's guidance to that of the Global Positioning System (GPS), one of those systems in cars and phones that guides you to your destination.

A GPS system uses a satellite to give an aerial view, and its sole function is to get you to your destination, your "destiny."         

As you travel to your destination, you have a map on the screen, and this little annoying voice talking to you through the whole trip, "Left turn a quarter mile ahead; left turn 150 feet ahead; left turn 50 feet ahead."

If you miss your turn, it immediately computes a new course for you so you can get back to where you are supposed to be.  And if you mess up on those directions, it then computes another new course.   

In the same way, God has a destiny for us to fulfill, something that fits into His great master plan.  By His grace, He is guiding us all the way, even when we get off track.  God just readjusts and says, "This is the next thing you need to do to get back into My plan."

Through His "GPS," He is always working to get us where we need to be.  Praise God!


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Abuse of Stewardship

In His Presence: Matthew 19:23-25

We are living in a day of the commercialization of God, where people go to church to find out what God will do for them. Instead of focusing on the goodness of giving to God, some focus on receiving blessing from God. These people have betrayed God for a price, expecting Him to act like Santa Claus, dispensing blessing because of their giving. There are many names for this-prosperity theology, name-it-and-claim-it theology-but it's all the same in that people relate to God simply because of the goodies He provides.

In Acts 8:14-24, me meet possibly the first prosperity gospel preacher, Simon. According to verse 13, Simon believed and was baptized, so we know he was a believer. But he brought with him into the church the materialistic mentality of the culture. Through this passage, we can examine some of the problems of materialism that can infiltrate our church today.

First, Simon brought the crisis of materialism, which was idolatry. When Simon saw Christianity, he saw dollar signs. He worshiped the almighty dollar. "When Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money" (v. 18). Simon wanted the power, prestige, and income that could come from Christianity; he wanted to make his own profit from God's work.

At the heart of materialism is greed. There is nothing wrong with having or wanting things, but when those things take precedence in your life over invisible things, like your relationship with God, you have become greedy.

One Minute Please

If your financial life is going up and your spiritual life is going down, you are probably greedy.



God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

 
God's Total Surrender to Us
 
For God so loved the world that He gave . . . -John 3:16

Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.

To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.

If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us- totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.


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An Encouraging Word

A while back I ran into a woman who I hadn't seen in quite some time.  Being my friendly self I said, "Hi!"

The moment I said that she replied, "Oh, Bayless!" and proceeded to open her purse and pull out a letter I had written to encourage her three years earlier.  She said, "I take this with me everywhere I go."

I wanted to cry!  I mean, I was touched.  But then I thought, "Is there no one else who comforts you?  Is there no one else who speaks encouraging words into your life?"  And I wonder the same about you.

Are you needing some encouragement today?  I don't know what you may be faced with, but I personally find comfort and encouragement in the following passage.  It is 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11,

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.  Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Think about this for a moment.  As you look into eternity, which is what ultimately matters, you and I are not appointed to wrath!  That is good news!  That is great news!  That is encouraging news!  And that is great comfort!

God is storing up wrath against the ungodly.  But, just like in ancient Egypt when the death angel passed over every home where the blood of the Lamb was, I thank God the wrath of God passes over us!

It is being stored up, but not for me or for you.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we have escaped the wrath of God.

Thank you, Jesus!


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The Cure for Materialism

In His Presence: 3 John 2 

When Simon offered money to the disciples, Peter responded: "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!" (Acts 8:20). Materialism carries with it a heavy curse. It began when Adam and Eve wanted to satisfy their own appetites, and the whole world fell under the curse of sin. Materialism causes people to forget about God, and where God is not the focus, life will be pointless. Matthew 13:22 says: "The worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."

The good news is that there is a cure for materialism. The cure is repentance. In Acts 8:22-23, the disciples told Simon: "Repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity."

God doesn't want money to bind you or chain you down. Deuteronomy 8:18 says: "It is [God] who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant." His blessings are meant to free us up to do more for Him. Giving of our blessings means that people are saved, the gospel is preached, and the poor are helped. God never blesses us to keep it for ourselves; He blesses us to share that blessing with others. Our financial prosperity and our spiritual prosperity are intertwined; they go hand in hand.

One Minute Please

If we repent and make God's glory our motivation, He will be honored in our stewardship.
 


God bless

 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

 
Yielding
 
. . . you are that one's slaves whom you obey . . . -Romans 6:16

The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.

If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is- "I must have it now," whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. ". . . He has anointed Me . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives . . ." (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).

When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, "Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like," you will know you can't. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, "He will break every fetter," while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person's life


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Forever With Him

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 gives us powerful prophetic words,

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Jesus Christ will return, and the church will be caught away!  We will meet the Lord in the clouds and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed.  From that moment on, we will always be with the Lord.

Maybe you are going through a rough patch right now.  If so, let me remind you that this earthly life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  But we have eternity in store.  Thank God we will ever be with the Lord!

If He tarries and we die before He returns, we get to go to heaven.  But I have a feeling, with the way things are shaping up, that we will be the generation that sees His return.

Have you noticed how the eyes of the world are on the Middle East?  This is all end times stuff.  Also, one of the things that Jesus said would be a precursor to the end is that the Gospel of the Kingdom would be preached to every nation, literally, to every language group.

And you know what?  That will be completed in our generation.

So keep your eyes fixed on His return, and that day you will meet Him in the air and be with Him forever!


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The Purpose of Stewardship

In His Presence: Genesis 12:2-3

What is God's purpose for stewardship? We can sum it up in one verse, Deuteronomy 8:18: "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." To put it simply, the reason God blesses us and the purpose of stewardship is the covenant.

The covenant is the program of God's kingdom. The principle of the covenant is that God expands His program of His kingdom rule in history through His servants. When God first made His covenant with Abraham, He promised to bless him, but not only that, He promised to bring blessingsthrough him.

We often hear Acts 20:35 quoted: "It is more blessed to give than to receive," but we don't really understand it. This verse means that if you are giving, it is only because God has given to you. If we receive blessings from God, we are obligated to be a blessing to someone else.

Deuteronomy 8:18 also emphasizes that it is God who gives us power to make wealth. God does not want us to forget the source of our blessings. It is He who allows us to work and be productive. Work has always been in God's plan for mankind, starting with Adam and Eve, who had the job of tending the garden and its inhabitants. There is no quick way to make a buck-true wealth is provided by God.

One Minute Please

When we give of our blessings, God will expand our roles as givers and allow us to keep on giving.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

March 15, 2013



Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

 
The Discipline of Dismay
 
As they followed they were afraid -Mark 10:32

At the beginning of our life with Jesus Christ, we were sure we knew all there was to know about following Him. It was a delight to forsake everything else and to throw ourselves before Him in a fearless statement of love. But now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is far ahead of us and is beginning to seem different and unfamiliar- "Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed" (Mark 10:32).

There is an aspect of Jesus that chills even a disciple's heart to its depth and makes his entire spiritual life gasp for air. This unusual Person with His face set "like a flint" (Isaiah 50:7) is walking with great determination ahead of me, and He strikes terror right through me. He no longer seems to be my Counselor and Friend and has a point of view about which I know nothing. All I can do is stand and stare at Him in amazement. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize that there is a distance between Jesus and me and I can no longer be intimate with Him. I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely distant.

Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don't know Him. We don't recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don't know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.

The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 1:10-11). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.


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Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises

2 Peter 1:2-4 says,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

I want to draw your attention to verse 4 where the Scripture states that through the promises we partake of God's nature.

The promise is the connector, it is the pipeline through which God's nature flows to us.

"What is God's nature?" you might ask.  It is the answer to everything you need!  His nature is life, it is health, it is peace, it is wisdom, it is abundance.  There is an answer in God's nature for every one of mankind's needs.

That is why the promises are called "exceedingly great and precious."  Without a promise, there is no pipeline.  Without a promise, we cannot partake.

But when you take a promise-an exceedingly great and precious promise-and act upon it in faith, God's nature is released into your situation.

Thank God for His promises!


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Covenant Blessings

In His Presence: Proverbs 19:17

We know that the covenant is central to God's purpose for stewardship. God uses His people to accomplish His purposes throughout history. In Old Testament times, God provided the tabernacle in the wilderness as the center of covenantal activity for the Israelites. The twelve tribes would situate themselves around the tabernacle where the cloud of glory was. When they went into the Promised Land, a temple was built, and this became the center of covenantal activity.

Today, the center of covenantal activity is the local church. This is the epicenter of God using the covenant to manage His kingdom. First Timothy 3:15 says the church is "the pillar and support of the truth." The local church holds God's Word, and His people are fed there by His Word. From that nourishment, the people should be engaged in dynamic ministry so that the impact of the kingdom spreads.

According to Deuteronomy 8:18, God gives His people the power to make wealth. God isn't against wealth, but He is against wasting it or letting it rule our lives. He wants to use what we have, and He wants to give us even more to use for the furthering of His kingdom. But the question is, can He trust us with more? Are we honoring Him with what we have right now? Ephesians 3:20-21 says: "To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory." Your capacity will determine the level f your blessing.

One Minute Please

The role of God's people is to stand firm in His covenant.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers   
 

Will I Bring Myself Up to This Level?

 
. . . perfecting holiness in the fear of God -2 Corinthians 7:1
 

Therefore, having these promises. . . ." I claim God's promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God's perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit," or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not "confer with flesh and blood," but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.

I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived-a level of perfect submission to His Father's will- where I pay no attention to anything else. Am I perfecting this kind of holiness in the fear of God? Is God having His way with me, and are people beginning to see God in my life more and more?

Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone. Literally put God first in your life.


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Amazed

1 Corinthians 8:2 is a short verse, but one that has come to have real meaning in my life,

And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.

Here is what this verse has come to mean to me: The more I realize of God, the more I realize how little I know of God.

It is almost as if God is represented by this enormous mountain, and it is shrouded in fog. As the fog retreats, I can see how vast this mountain is and how little I have really seen, how little I have explored, how little I have experienced. I am in awe as I look at this enormous mountain.

I once thought, "I'm really mature in God. I've learned so much. Look at these gems I've dug out! And I've experienced this, and I've climbed here, and I've looked from the heights." Then the fog began to roll away, and I realized I hadn't even gotten out of the foothills yet.

God just really amazes me.

Think about God. He merely spoke and created the universe. I read an article not too long ago where scientists now think that perhaps there is not just a "universe" but there is really a "multiverse," or multiple universes.

Whether it is one that spans millions of light years, or multiple universes spanning even greater distances, God made it all just by saying something.

And that is what I mean. The more I learn of God, the more I am amazed at just how little I really know of Him. I hope you too will be amazed, and let that wonder and amazement bring you into the worship of our great and awesome God!


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Expecting God's Blessings

In His Presence: Luke 6:38

Sometimes people view working toward a reward as less than honorable. If your only reason for serving God is to get a reward, that's not right. But it's fine if the reward is only one reason for serving Him. God's Word shows us that He is vitally concerned about rewards. Jesus said: "There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms will for My sake . . . but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age . . . and in the age to come, eternal life" (Mark 10:29).

God honors those who honor Him, and God wants you to expect to be blessed. If you are a Christian, you've already been blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). And if God can trust you to be generous with the earthly treasures He's given you, He won't forget where it started, and it will come back around to you.

Giving is the way to receiving. Most Christians have it backwards; they say, "Lord, give to me and then I will give to You." But the fundamental difference between us and God is that we can trust God, but He can't trust us. Many times He gives to us and never sees it again. When we honor Him first, He promises to respond to us. When we trust in His provision, He will determine what and how much we will receive.

One Minute Please

Ephesians 6:8 says: "Whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord."





God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


Abraham's Life of Faith


He went out, not knowing where he was going -Hebrews 11:8

In the Old Testament, a person's relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person's life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.

Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason-a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.

The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith-a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. "Abraham believed God. . ." (Romans 4:3).


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God's Priority

In Matthew 28:18-20, we have the top priority on God's list,

And 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, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Just imagine after the Resurrection that an angel comes up to Jesus and says, "Jesus, this is wonderful! You have paid the price for mankind's sin. What are You going to do to let the whole world know that they can be saved and they won't have to perish and spend an eternity without God? What is Your plan? How are You going to do it?"

And Jesus replies by saying, "Well, My few disciples are going to tell people, who in turn will tell other people, who are going to tell other people, who are going to tell other people."

Puzzled, the angel then asks, "Well, do You have a backup plan?" And Jesus says, "No." Still confused, the angel asks, "Well, no offense, Lord, but what if they fail?" Jesus replies by saying, "I have confidence in them."

My friend, there is no Plan B. God has no backup plan. You and I are it! We are Plan A! The problem is, too many Christians today do not have God's priority as their priority.

Over the next few devotionals, I am going to share with you what I call the five "P"s of evangelism. I pray they will encourage you to actively share the Good News of our risen Savior!


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Types of Blessings

In His Presence: Philippians 4:13-19

What blessings will God give those who are good stewards and honor Him? The definition of blessing is the enjoyment of God's divine favor. Blessing isn't just having stuff; it's being able to enjoy the stuff you have. So blessings aren't necessarily material things.

First, you can expect God to hear your prayers. David said: "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High; call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me" (Psalm 50:14-15). When prayer is mixed with proper stewardship, God will answer.

Second, you can also expect God to meet your needs. Second Corinthians 9:8 says: "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." God knows all we need even before we do, and He has all the resources of the universe at His disposal.

When you are a proper steward, you may also enjoy reversal of fortune, where God changes your circumstances. "God turned the curse into a blessing" (Deuteronomy 23:5). "[God] will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten (Joel 2:25). We so often try to lead ourselves, but if we will only let Him lead He can reverse our scenarios and make good come from them.

Another blessing of stewardship is emotional well-being. If you are serving God and value Him above all else, you don't need to worry about money-God will take care of you.

One Minute Please

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).





God bless

[Judy Harder]

Friendship with God

 
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ? -Genesis 18:17


The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God's will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.

The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, "Well, I don't know, maybe this is not God's will," then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be- ". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . ." (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about-were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:. The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.


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The Prerequisite of Prayer

In yesterday's devotional, I shared that God's priority is to see people come to know Him. Today, I want to give you the first of the five "P"s of evangelism, which I hope will encourage you as you seek to share your faith.

The Scripture is 1 Timothy 2:1-6,

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

I want you to notice verse 4 in particular: God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He wants them saved and discipled.

As Jesus said, "Go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, and make disciples of all nations." Those are our two main jobs. Proclaim the gospel to see people get saved, and then disciple them. God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

But did you notice that verse 1 preceded verse 4? Verse 1 says, Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. Verse 4 will not and cannot happen until verse 1 happens. First there is prayer, then comes sharing the plan of salvation.

We must first talk to God about men before we talk to men about God. We cannot be successful unless we talk to God about men first.


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Committed for Blessing

In His Presence: Matthew 6:24

God has a blessing for everyone. We will all face trials and tribulations, but in those times, the joy of the Lord will be your strength. In Genesis 14, God promised Abraham that He would bless him and make him a blessing. Shortly thereafter,"Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' [Abram] gave him a tenth of all. The king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself' " (vv. 18-21).

Sodom's king told Abraham he brought too much destruction, and said that if Abraham left, he would give him more money, power, and prestige. Look at Abraham's response: "I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say 'I have made Abram rich' " (vv. 22-23).

Abraham refused to cut a deal just to get some more money in his pocket. He chose to trust God. When you are a good steward, you have options. You are no longer limited to earthly options; your trust is in God Most High. When you are a good steward, God is your option. You don't have to compromise what is right to get ahead.

One Minute Please

If you're not willing to plant your seed, you're not trusting Him to meet your need.


God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


Identified or Simply Interested?

 
I have been crucified with Christ . . . -Galatians 2:20


The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature. I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself. Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ . . . ." He did not say, "I have made a determination to imitate Jesus Christ," or, "I will really make an effort to follow Him"-but-"I have been identified with Him in His death." Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me. My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.

". . . it is no longer I who live . . . ." My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.

". . . and the life which I now live in the flesh," not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh-the life which others can see, "I live by faith in the Son of God . . . ." This faith was not Paul's own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:. It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits-a faith that comes only from the Son of God.


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Turning Desire into Prayer

I want to follow up yesterday's devotional by turning your attention to something I believe is very profound. It is Romans 10:1, where Paul states,

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

It is important to pray that people be saved. In fact, I want you to notice how Paul turned his desire into a prayer.

I think if I were to ask any believer, "Do you desire your family to be saved?" they would say yes. Or, "Do you desire your friends to be saved?" they would answer yes. Or, "Do you desire your coworkers to be saved?" they would reply yes.

Well, that is great. That is to be commended, but it is not enough. Your desire must be turned into a prayer. It is not enough just to have a desire that they be saved. That desire has to translate into prayer. Prayer that they may be saved.

It's all right to pray generally, but it is better to pray specifically. I encourage you to make a list of every unsaved person in your life. Start with the network of relationships that already exist in your life. Make a list of family members, friends, and associates who are not saved, and then do your best to pray for the people on that list every day.

Most Christians genuinely desire for folks to be saved, but not all Christians pray for the salvation of people that they love. And even fewer pray for the salvation of folks that they work with.

Turn your desire for the unsaved people in your life to be saved into prayer for their salvation. And start today.


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The Ministry of Stewardship

In His Presence: Acts 4:32-37

Understanding who we are as the people of God is critical for success as stewards of His kingdom. We are God's safety valve, the ones God has called to demonstrate what kingdom solutions look like. Ministry occurs when God's people serve others for eternal purposes. Ministry touches lives with eternity in mind.

Ministry takes place in God's house. In Old Testament times, this was the temple. In fact, Malachi 3:10, which talks about tithing, also refers to God's house: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house." Ephesians 2:19, 21-22 tells us that Christians are now God's temple: "You are . . . of God's household . . . the whole building, being fitted together, is growing unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." If our church is the dwelling place of God, we will know because the Word will be taught, the needs of the saints will be met, and the community will be impacted.

Ministry also comes at a price. All ministry should be done because God's people are investing in the eternal perspective. To support the ministry of God, we must not neglect the house of God because it is the center of godly life. Haggai 1:4-6 is convicting: "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little.' "

One Minute Please

Godly stewards cannot look after their own houses and ignore God's house.





God bless