Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

August 15, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

You must be born again -John 3:7

The answer to Nicodemus' question, "How can a man be born when he is old?" is: Only when he is willing to die to everything in his life, including his rights, his virtues, and his religion, and becomes willing to receive into himself a new life that he has never before experienced ( John 3:4  ). This new life exhibits itself in our conscious repentance and through our unconscious holiness.

"But as many as received Him. . ." ( John 1:12  ). Is my knowledge of Jesus the result of my own internal spiritual perception, or is it only what I have learned through listening to others? Is there something in my life that unites me with the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior? My spiritual history must have as its underlying foundation a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. To be born again means that I see Jesus.

". . . unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God " (John 3:3). Am I seeking only for the evidence of God's kingdom, or am I actually recognizing His absolute sovereign control? The new birth gives me a new power of vision by which I begin to discern God's control. His sovereignty was there all the time, but with God being true to His nature, I could not see it until I received His very nature myself.

"Whoever has been born of God does not sin. . ." ( 1 John 3:9  ). Am I seeking to stop sinning or have I actually stopped? To be born of God means that I have His supernatural power to stop sinning. The Bible never asks, "Should a Christian sin?" The Bible emphatically states that a Christian must not sin. The work of the new birth is being effective in us when we do not commit sin. It is not merely that we have the power not to sin, but that we have actually stopped sinning. Yet 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin- it simply means that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to sin.
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The Entrance of Error

Jude 4 gives us an ominous warning,

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude is giving us an idea of how the devil brings error into a church.  The key phrase is men have crept in unnoticed.  That phrase literally means to come alongside by stealth.  It pictures someone creeping in and coming alongside, like coming in through a side door.

The folks Jude is talking about look like everyone else, they talk like everyone else, but they are not like everyone else.

That is the way the devil brings error and false doctrine into the Church.  It looks like the truth, sounds good, seems like the truth, and it may even be partially true.  But there is enough poison in it to kill you.

It's like the guy who wanted to break into a used car lot to steal a bunch of auto parts.  The only problem was the two guard dogs.  So for the next week he showed up every night with some pieces of meat.

At first the dogs would bark like crazy, but after the man left, they would eat the meat.  By the end of the week, they didn't bark at all, they just wanted the meat.  So, having become familiar with the dogs, knowing that they wouldn't "sound the alarm," he approached them one last time-with poisoned meat.  The dogs ate, and he was able to get into the lot and steal all he wanted.

That is the way the devil does it a lot of times.  He sends someone among the believers in order to distract and detour them from the truth.  But it is calculated and happens by degrees.  Do not let your "inner alarm system" go silent through familiarity.

Beware of those who would move you away, even subtly, from the clearly revealed truth of God's Word.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
I am saying this . . . that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 7:35

TODAY IN THE WORD
The movie, The Bucket List, is the story of the unlikely friendship between two men, one a corporate executive, the other an auto mechanic. They've landed in the same hospital room, and both are facing unwelcome diagnoses and their own mortality. But courageously and humorously, they set off together on the adventure of doing what they had both always meant to do before "kicking the bucket." Every dream and ambition mattered now that time was short.
Paul writes with a similar kind of urgency in the second half of 1 Corinthians 7. In verse 26, he refers to "the present crisis." In verse 29, he emphasizes, "The time is short;" and in verse 31, he concludes, "This world in its present form is passing away." Sooner rather than later, he expects Jesus' visible, bodily return to earth, and time is running out to tell the world about the good news. He passionately wants the church to be on a mission in the last days.

Because Paul anticipated Jesus' imminent return, he encourages unmarried believers in the Corinthian church not to marry. As he answers their questions from the previous letter (this time about those single or betrothed but not yet married), he does so with the sole aim of securing their "undivided devotion to the Lord." He is not, as some have argued, against marriage. He does not promote celibacy as the most spiritual of choices. But he does teach that an unmarried person is free from the distractions of a married person and more able to concern himself with the things of God.

From our vantage point, we now know what Paul did not: that Jesus would not return in his generation. That doesn't mean, however, that the Scriptures are somehow in error. Paul even tempers the tone of this discussion with disclaimers like, "I think that it is good," and "In my judgment." He has reasoned that if one can choose freely not to marry, exercising self-control in the area of sexual purity, this is best. However, no one sins by choosing to marry (v. 28).
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The church can be a very difficult place for singles. They see the ideal of marriage and family promoted (as it should be), but they often feel exempt from the blessings of God. The church needs the biblical understanding provided by today's passage. Singleness is also a gift from God! If we're married, we should be satisfied in our situation and seek to glorify God through our marriage. And if we're single, we can embrace the freedom and flexibility we have to serve God.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 15, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
He calls his own . . . by name . . . -John 10:3

When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18 ). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person's soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2 ); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. ". . . she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. . . . Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' " ( John 20:14, 16 ). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. "She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' " ( John 20:16  ).

When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29 ). Have I been doubting something about Jesus- maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, "We have seen the Lord" ( John 20:25 ). But Thomas doubted, saying, "Unless I see . . . I will not believe" ( John 20:25 ). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. "Thomas . . . said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' " ( John 20:28 ).

When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17 ). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75 ), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, "Lord . . . You know that I love You" ( John 21:17 ).

Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him- a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.
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The True Grace of God

Yesterday we read Jude 4 which states,

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before we move away from this verse, I want to point out a phrase that I believe is very dangerous ground for the Church in America today.  It is the phrase, "Ungodlymen, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness."

Lewdness literally means unrestrained lust, wickedness, and immorality.  These people believed that once you were saved, you could live however you wanted. 

There are people in the Church today with this type of thinking.  They believe that if you are saved by grace, and good works do not merit salvation, then you can do whatever you want.           

You can sleep around, commit adultery, get drunk, the sky's the limit.  It's grace, baby!  Your works don't have anything to do with it.  You can live however you want!

One of the things that I have heard throughout the years is, "Hey, it doesn't matter.  It's grace.  God will forgive me, so I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway."

You do not want to live that way.  Believe me, something begins to break down inside of you, and you will pay the piper eventually.

If you are turning the grace of God into lewdness through immorality, or any other sin, I challenge you to stop today.  Confess your sin to God, turn from whatever it is that you have been doing, and ask God to help you live for Him.  If you do, you will experience the true grace of God, which teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).
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Read: 1 Corinthians 8:1-6
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. - 1 Corinthians 8:1

TODAY IN THE WORD
Like any major city in the Roman Empire, Corinth's streets were lined with shrines and statues of pagan gods. Feasts in the pagan temples celebrated birthdays, weddings, and other important social events. These feasts would have been hard to avoid, especially for the wealthier members of the Corinthian church. The question the Corinthians posed to Paul in their letter was a real problem: Could they eat meat that had been used in the pagan sacrifices?
In Pauline fashion, he takes the next three chapters to answer their question fully. Based on an understanding of what happened at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the question might have warranted a straightforward answer. There, the apostles and elders had gathered to decide whether or not the Gentile Christians should obey Jewish law and tradition. They formally decided no, but they did author a letter asking the Gentile Christians to abstain from eating of meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Apparently, they feared that this issue had the potential to divide Gentile and Jewish Christians.

In Corinth, the church was pre-dominantly Gentile, but the issue of eating idol meat was still divisive. One side touted their own consequently, eating idol meat is also nothing. Paul seems to agree with them on the matter of whether it was sinful to eat the meat, but he was concerned about a deeper issue in the church. Rather than delivering a simple black-and-white decision, Paul challenged the attitude of arrogance he saw fueling this debate.

As they have on other issues, the community has fallen into the trap of valuing what they know over and above everything else. Knowledge has trumped Christian character, and Paul wants to reorient them towards the priority of love. His reasoning goes something like this: You can know something, but if you have used that knowledge to become proud, you have missed what is most important. Pride is the evidence you failed to know love, which is what really counts in God's economy. Whether they ate or didn't eat the meat was less important than how they treated their fellow believers.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul is building towards the climax of his letter in chapter 13 where he describes what Christian love looks like. His teaching on love echoes some of the last words of Jesus: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Consider the spiritual practices of your life. Are you simply seeking more knowledge? Or do you desire to become more loving? Humbly ask someone who's known you a long time whether he or she sees you growing in your ability to love.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 17, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
   
Are You Discouraged or Devoted?
. . . Jesus . . . said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have . . . and come, follow Me.' But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich -Luke 18:22-23

Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven't, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all. Jesus says a tremendous amount to us that we listen to, but do not actually hear. And once we do hear Him, His words are harsh and unyielding.

Jesus did not show the least concern that this rich young ruler should do what He told him, nor did Jesus make any attempt to keep this man with Him. He simply said to him, "Sell all that you have . . . and come, follow Me." Our Lord never pleaded with him; He never tried to lure him- He simply spoke the strictest words that human ears have ever heard, and then left him alone.

Have I ever heard Jesus say something difficult and unyielding to me? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened- not something I can explain for the sake of others, but something I have heard Him say directly to me? This man understood what Jesus said. He heard it clearly, realizing the full impact of its meaning, and it broke his heart. He did not go away as a defiant person, but as one who was sorrowful and discouraged. He had come to Jesus on fire with zeal and determination, but the words of Jesus simply froze him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion to Jesus, they produced heartbreaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, but let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly well that once His word is truly heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. What is so terrible is that some of us prevent His words from bearing fruit in our present life. I wonder what we will say when we finally make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain- He will never throw our past failures back in our faces.
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Inwardly Compelled

It was love that motivated the Father to send His Son Jesus to redeem mankind. That same love has been poured out into the heart of every believer.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5).

God's love in us calls and compels us to do something about the plight of lost people.  Even as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:14, For the love of Christ compels us.

A few years ago, late at night I would hear what seemed to be a very faint chime or bell.  Several times I got out of bed to try and find the source of the sound, but it always stopped before I could discover it.

Finally, one evening, I found out what it was.  It was an old watch I had, tucked away in a drawer under some junk.  Every evening, the alarm would go off at the same time.

The call of God's love in your heart can be like that.  Sounding regularly but seldom heard.  Buried under personal ambitions, cares and problems, daily routines and the general busyness of life.  But it is unmistakably there!

The same love that moved Jesus to heal the sick and minister God's life to broken people is in you!  Listen to it.  Get in touch with it and express it to someone in need.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 8:7-13
When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. - 1 Corinthians 8:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
The language of rights is woven into the fabric of American identity. Our Declaration of Independence asserts inalienable human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our Constitution offers a Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom of speech, religion, and the press. Valuing freedom has been central to being American.

Our readings the next few days will explore the subject of "freedom" within the context of Christian community. Paul intends to show us that there will be occasions where we're called to forfeit certain rights in deference to another believer. The opening of chapter eight launches us into the question of whether or not it is permissible to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. A certain faction of the Corinthian church proudly claimed to have the answer. They are "free" to eat meat sacrificed to idols. With such knowledge, they have acted in careless disregard to their brothers and sisters. They boldly attended public feasts in the pagan temples, and their actions have emboldened the "weaker" believers to compromise their conscience and follow suit.

On the one hand, these "stronger" believers have reasoned correctly: idols are nothing. Eating meal offered to idols was morally neutral ground. But this did not acquit them-there was more to this question than simple definitions of right and wrong. Paul is clear. Freedom and knowledge are not to be prized and protected above anything else. Indeed, the "strong" must lay down their freedoms for the purpose of protecting the unity of the community and the spiritual health of each of its members, especially the "weak." In the process of reasoning out the answer to the question of eating idol meat, the Corinthians overvalued knowledge and neglected love.

Disunity, factions, and pride had impaired the church in Corinth. They threatened the integrity of the gospel and the message of the Cross. And now, Paul raises this issue of unity to even higher stakes. When we sin against one another, we sin against Christ.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul is not saying in this passage that each of us must be bound by the conscience of every member of our church. Consider the difficulty and impracticality of having to understand all the varying (and conflicting!) convictions held by even a small group of believers. Paul challenged the Corinthians' behavior, not because they had disagreed, but because the stronger brothers flouted their freedoms and "emboldened" the weaker brothers to sin. "Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way" (Rom. 14:13).

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 18, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
   
Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow?

When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich -Luke 18:23

The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus' words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God's Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, "If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions."

"Sell all that you have . . ." ( Luke 18:22 ). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought- in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult- it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.

I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus- not love for Jesus Himself.
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"Come Over and Help Us"

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.  A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."  Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10).

The world is in need and they are calling!  I can hear Africa, Asia, voices from South America and Europe calling out.  China and Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines...voices from around the globe crying out, "Come over and help us!"

The call may be coming from down your street or from the next aisle in the grocery store.  "Help me!  I'm lost.  I want to find God.  I have problems I can't cope with.  I have an aching void in my heart that I don't know how to fill.  Is there anyone out there with answers?!"

Who will go to them if not you and me? 

To say, "I don't feel called to go to them," is equivalent to a strong swimmer standing on the shore of a lake saying he doesn't feel called to save the man drowning before his eyes.

Ask God today to direct you to someone whose heart has cried out for answers and help.  Chances are you won't have to go too far to find them.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 9:1-14
We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 9:12

TODAY IN THE WORD
In the musical, The Music Man, con man Harold Hill waltzes into River City, Iowa, posing as the organizer of a boys' band. He wins over the townspeople who pay money for instruments and uniforms, money with which Harold intends to skip town. He's a fraud, and the town librarian, Marian, knows it and determines to expose him.
Just as Marian questioned Harold, some skeptics had raised doubts about Paul and questioned the legitimacy of his apostleship. In chapter four, Paul announced that he was unwilling to subject himself to the scrutiny of others; God alone would judge his ministry. In chapter nine, however, he seems to offer, if not a defense, then an explanation for his ministry methods.

While it may seem like a digression from the argument of chapter eight regarding the eating of meat in pagan temples, chapter nine is purposefully connected to that conversation. Paul cites his own ministry as an example to imitate when it comes to deciding issues where personal freedoms collide. Though Paul had the right to collect financial compensation for his work as an apostle, he forfeited it for the sake of the gospel.

He gives many reasons for this apostolic right. First, many other apostles received support from the churches where they ministered. Second, he gave the examples of the soldier, the vineyard grower, and the keeper of the flock. Could they be expected to work at their own expense? Then, he asks them to consider the Law of Moses. It prescribes that oxen not be muzzled when treading out grain. Such treatment would be inhuman and cruel. Even the Jewish temple rituals provided for the food of the priests who served there.

By offering himself as an example of setting aside his rights, Paul answers what it might look like to address the questions and divisions emerging from the issue of meat sacrificed to idols in chapter eight. What if the "strong," like Paul, forfeited their freedom to eat idol meat and chose not to attend feasts in the pagan temples, simply for the sake of the gospel and the community?
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
This passage teaches the right every minister of the gospel has to earn his living through his ministry; in fact, on the question of pastors' salaries, verse 14 sends us right back to the teaching of Jesus! Questions for us to consider: do we pay our pastor(s) a fair and living wage? Do we expect our pastor to work tirelessly for meager compensation? Each of us should be contributing our money generously to a local body of believers as well as to other Christian ministries where the gospel is being preached.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 19, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Self-Awareness

Come to Me . . . -Matthew 11:28

God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God's will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.

Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one- "Come to Me . . . ." The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
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Resist the Devil

In Jude 9 we are told how Michael the archangel dealt with Satan. 

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

My concern is that some people have tried to use this Scripture to say that we do not have authority over the devil.  They believe we have no recourse other than to pray that the Lord will do something about him.

But that is not the point he is making here at all.  Jude was referencing the previous verse where some would "speak evil of dignitaries."  He used Michael's conversation with the devil to show that this was wrong.  To say that we do not have the right to resist the devil and cast him out on the basis of this Scripture is ridiculous.  Here are five things to think about:

1.      This event between Michael and Lucifer (Satan) happened before New Testament times-before Jesus defeated the devil and broke his power.

2.      James 4:7 tells us, Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  It does not say, "Pray that God will resist the devil for you."

3.      Jesus, in the Great Commission, told us to cast out devils (or demons).  Jesus wouldn't tell us that if He hadn't given us the authority. 

4.      In Luke 10:19 Jesus said, "I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

5.      In the book of Acts, as the Church carried out their mission, they commanded demons to come out, and they came out in Jesus' name.

My friend, Jesus has broken the authority of the devil in your life.  Resist him and he will flee!
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Read: 1 Corinthians 9:15-27
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. - 1 Corinthians 9:22

TODAY IN THE WORD
When Amy Carmichael began her missionary assignment in Japan, she insisted on wearing traditional Victorian dress: multiple petticoats, stockings, laced-up shoes, and a bonnet. But one day, bundled up in her thick woolen coat and her fur gloves, she made a visit to an older Japanese woman with the intention of sharing the gospel. The woman paid no attention to the message Amy shared. She was distracted by the curious gloves that Amy wore. Amy wept on her way home, saying, "Never again will I risk so much for so little! She traded her lace petticoats for a kimono.
Both Amy Carmichael and Paul are in a long line of missionaries who made these cultural choices about how they will live and behave in foreign contexts. The question prominent in the apostle Paul's mind was, "Will what I choose advance or hinder the gospel?" He was committed to spreading the gospel and refused to make any choice that might cause someone to reject Christ on the grounds of his personal behavior.

First, he chose not to receive financial support from the Corinthian churches. Other churches did in fact give Paul money, but in Corinth he refused such support. His reasons may have been to avoid either being accused of greed (which characterized certain philosophers in Corinth) or of losing the independence of thought and action he had, were he to depend on either the church or a handful of wealthy patrons. Instead, he worked his day job, making tents. He had the right to earn his living from his ministry, but Paul determined to offer the gospel free of charge.

Not only did Paul forfeit his salary for the sake of the gospel, he forfeited other rights and freedoms, humbling himself to win as many converts to Christ as he can. As a minister to the Gentiles, he no longer subjected himself to the constraints of Judaism. And yet, when it was required of him to make adaptations so as not to offend a Jewish audience, he did so (cf. Acts 21:17-26).
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul showed tremendous flexibility in his choices. He did not abandon faithfulness to Christ, but he was able to discern which issues mattered and which didn't. He asked the same of the Corinthians, especially when it came to eating meat sacrificed to idols. Some might accuse Paul of relativism, but Paul isn't teaching that moral choices don't matter. He demonstrated that love for Christ and others is more important than rights and preferences. Do we have such a disciplined commitment to Christ, which advances the gospel?

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 20, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Christ-Awareness

. . and I will give you rest -Matthew 11:28

Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don't allow yourself to say, "Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I'm sure I must have this cleared up with them already." Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, "Lord, what is your will?" A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest," that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest- the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.
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Criticizer or Encourager?

Verse 10 in the book of Jude talks about those who "speak evil of whatever they do not know."

Criticism, many times, stems from ignorance.  People tend to criticize things they do not know anything about.

A number of years ago, a man came up to me after a service.  He had never been to our church before, but he was pretty upset.  I had taught that particular night about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and what the Scripture had to say about speaking in other tongues.

He told me, "This church is really off-balance.  You overemphasize speaking in tongues."  I asked, "Really...how many services have you been to at our church?"  His reply was, "Just this one."

So I asked him, "How many of my recorded messages have you listened to?"  His response was, "None."  I told him, "That seems a little imbalanced.  Why don't you stick around for a while and find out what we're about, then see if you feel the same after staying here for a few months."

He said, "Okay, I will."  He ended up staying and loving the church.

Too often we are quick to criticize, even when we don't know the whole story.  Be careful about criticizing others.  Too often what you hear is just rumor.

Do not be a criticizer.  Be an encourager.  Be a person who is known for always seeking to lift and bless, not speaking evil of whatever you do not know.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-22
I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. - Exodus 20:5

TODAY IN THE WORD
Judaism is a religion where meals have always mattered. The Passover Seder is a ritual meal commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. The tithes, which God commanded His people to bring to the temple, were consumed as meals in the presence of God (cf. Deut. 14:23). Christians, having inherited a rich tradition of meal-sharing from their Jewish forefathers, now celebrate Christ's death and resurrection through the Lord's Supper.
In today's reading, Paul draws parallels between the story of the Israelites and the experiences of the first-century Gentile Christians of Corinth. Not only is Paul teaching the content of the Old Testament Scriptures to the Corinthians, he also introduces a method for reading those Scriptures, whereby the Corinthian Christians are invited to find themselves in the history of Israel. While theirs is not a shared ethnic heritage (the Christians in Corinth are Gentile, not Jewish), spiritually they share the same ancestry. What happened to the Israelites serves as examples and warnings to Christians of the first century and to Christians today.

The parallels between the generation of the Exodus and first-century Corinthian Christians are unmistakable: both shared experiences of spiritual privilege. The Israelites tasted the divine Presence, drank spiritual drink from the rock in the desert, ate bread from heaven, and were baptized under the leadership of Moses. Similarly, the Corinthians had the blessings of baptism and participation in the Lord's Supper. Nevertheless, just as the Israelites suffered the fierce wrath of God for their idolatrous practices, so, too, the Corinthian Christians needed to tremble at the prospect of God's judgment.

God would not tolerate divided allegiance, and the Corinthians were on the precipice of idolatry. Paul warns them against sexual immorality, testing the Lord, and grumbling (vv. 8-9). Later in the chapter, Paul will denounce the act of feasting in pagan temples. For now, he illuminates their precarious spiritual standing. Their pride has given them a false sense of confidence, and Paul illuminates the Old Testament Scriptures as a word of warning.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The Corinthians lived in a pluralistic culture, just as we do. The word Paul speaks to them is relevant today. In what ways do we compromise our allegiance to God? Do we participate in idolatrous practices? We might want to consider our culture's gods of sex, money, and power. Where have we casually shared fellowship with these gods? And what would uncompromised obedience to God look like in a culture like ours?

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 21, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
   
The Ministry of the Unnoticed

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . -Matthew 5:3

The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . ." This literally means, "Blessed are the paupers." Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person's strength of will or the beauty of his character- things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, "Make a decision for Jesus Christ," places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him- something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ's kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, "Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom." I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness- I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.

The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord. "He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" ( John 7:38 ). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.

Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.
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Clean and Committed

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him.  For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

When God looks at us, the first thing He sees is the state of our heart.  In the next few devotionals we are going to look at several different aspects of the heart-things that must be present in order to experience the richer blessings of God.

·        A clean heart.  Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Every once in a while I have to clean out the drains throughout our house.  It is amazing how quickly they become clogged.  If I do not clean them, before long, the sinks get stopped up and the water will not flow through anymore.

If we don't periodically take time before God to have our hearts purified and cleansed, pretty soon His blessings can no longer flow to us or through us.

·        A committed heart.  2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) says, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

I believe it is important to be committed to God before seeking His blessings.

God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go, that they may serve me."  Most people want to be delivered from their captivity, but they are not so keen on the "serving God" part of the deal.

The Lord is looking for committed hearts.  Does your heart belong fully to Him?  If not, commit it to Him today!
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Read: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1

TODAY IN THE WORD
In the past few decades, American churches have staked out positions on whether women could wear pants, whether drums or hand-held microphones could be used in worship services, whether Christian parents could send their children to public schools, and whether only the King James Version of the Bible could be used. Since the first century, the church in every time and place has had particular cultural issues that have prompted strenuous disagreement.
In today's passage, Paul quotes Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" (v. 26). One issue dividing the Corinthian church concerned eating meat that had been offered to idols. Rather than characterize the issue as right and wrong, Paul provides an explanation for both the strong and the weak positions.

On a certain level, Paul agrees with the strong. They've been arguing that eating idol meat is ultimately meaningless since idols themselves are nothing. Yes, Paul says, the earth is the Lord's. Everything belongs to Him. As long as we eat and drink with thankfulness, we are free to enjoy all that God has created and should not be denounced for the exercise of this freedom.

Paul doesn't close the argument there, however. He is careful to retrace some ground, tempering the freedom of the strong for the protection of the weak. To the strong, he warns: don't exercise your freedom in such a way that you cause a brother or sister to fall into sin. Don't just think of yourselves, as if your rights and your freedoms were all that mattered. Think about the good of others. Does your freedom build them up or tear them down?

The way for the church to navigate these questions of conscience isn't simply to determine what's absolutely right and what's emphatically wrong. For a Christian, Paul is quite clear that we've got extensive freedom. God invites us to enjoy His good creation. The key, however, is to always think of others first instead of ourselves. Our highest calling is love.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul's given us a series of questions to ask in ambiguous situations. Going beyond the question of right and wrong, we can ask: How does this affect my brothers and sisters in Christ? Does it offend them and cause them to fall into sin? Does it burden them with regulations beyond the truth of Scripture? How does this affect God's reputation? Does it ultimately glorify Him? And does this serve to advance the gospel? We must remember the example of Christ, who forfeited His rights for the good of others (see 1 Cor. 11:1).

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 22, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

"I Indeed . . . But He"
I indeed baptize you with water . . . but He . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire -Matthew 3:11

Have I ever come to the point in my life where I can say, "I indeed . . . but He . . ."? Until that moment comes, I will never know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means. I indeed am at the end, and I cannot do anything more- butHe begins right there- He does the things that no one else can ever do. Am I prepared for His coming? Jesus cannot come and do His work in me as long as there is anything blocking the way, whether it is something good or bad. When He comes to me, am I prepared for Him to drag every wrong thing I have ever done into the light? That is exactly where He comes. Wherever I know I am unclean is where He will put His feet and stand, and wherever I think I am clean is where He will remove His feet and walk away.

Repentance does not cause a sense of sin- it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance.

"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." John is not speaking here of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience, but as a work performed by Jesus Christ. "He will baptize you . . . ." The only experience that those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit are ever conscious of is the experience of sensing their absolute unworthiness.

"I indeed" was this in the past, "but He" came and something miraculous happened. Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything.
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God in Nature

God has made Himself known to mankind in a powerful way people often ignore...His creation.  Romans 1:18-20 tells us,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

God speaks to people through nature...through His creation.  I am confident that there is a point in every person's life where there comes an awareness of God.  Whether it is looking at a shooting star, or at a sunset, or at a blade of grass, the thought occurs to them, "This didn't just get here.  This didn't just happen.  There must be a God."

Creation speaks to us of the Godhead.  It is a revelation of God.  The book of Psalms says, Night unto night shows forth knowledge.  And it says the heavens declare the glory of God.  The firmament shows His handiwork.  Creation speaks to us of God.

But notice what this passage says.  This revelation of God has come to men, but some have wanted to suppress it.  They came to that point and thought, "You know what?  If I find out about this, then I'm going to become responsible.  So I don't think I want to know."

The natural bent of men and women is to suppress the truth, but God is speaking loudly and clearly of His greatness and reality through His creation.  Praise Him today for revealing His beauty and power through nature, and use it to point people to Him.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31

TODAY IN THE WORD
Augustine St. Clare, a Louisiana slaveholder in Uncle Tom's Cabin, claims he's not religious. He's cynical about religion, since preachers defend the institution of slavery from the pulpit. "Well, suppose that something should bring down the price of cotton once and forever . . . don't you think we should soon have another version of the Scripture doctrine?"
Has each generation simply sought to interpret the Scriptures in such a way as to favor what we already want, and then to silence it should it challenge something we cherish? Today's passage is difficult to interpret, and the temptation might be to qualify what Paul says in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 11 as entirely cultural and in effect, dismiss what he is saying.

Without denying the text's complexities, we can begin with what is clear in today's passage. First, on the basis of the creation account as well as the dynamic of the marriage relationship, Paul explains that gender distinction does in fact matter. And though men and women are different, they are still interdependent. Neither inherently occupies a more important role in the church. In fact, Paul does not challenge here the practice of women praying and prophesying in the church. He wants to ensure, however, that they do so in suitable and seemly ways.

Women whose heads are uncovered while they pray (the original Greek language here suggests not that she lacks an actual veil but that her hair falls loosely on her shoulders) would resemble women praying in the pagan temples, where they did so with their hair unbound. This actually had serious implications, because women whose hair was not bound up might be mistaken for the equivalent of temple prostitutes. Thus, the discussion here about head coverings is consistent with the earlier exhortations regarding sexual immorality and Christian freedom.

Just as he has in many other places in his letter, Paul is identifying the church as unique and separate from the world. The preservation of that identity matters for the integrity of the gospel.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
C. S. Lewis once noted that Christians need to distinguish between social and cultural norms that change in different times and places (he gave the example of modesty in Victorian England and the Polynesian Islands) and biblical principles that are true in all times and places (for example, chastity). Are you able to tell the difference between a principle and a preference? Are you willing to give up a preference for the sake of church unity and the advancement of the gospel?

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 23, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Prayer- Battle in "The Secret Place"
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly -Matthew 6:6

Jesus did not say, "Dream about your Father who is in the secret place," but He said, ". . . pray to your Father who is in the secret place. . . ." Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.

We must have a specially selected place for prayer, but once we get there this plague of wandering thoughts begins, as we begin to think to ourselves, "This needs to be done, and I have to do that today." Jesus says to "shut your door." Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from "the secret place"- He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in "the secret place," it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into "the secret place," and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and "pray to your Father who is in the secret place," every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God.
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No Unbelievers in Hell

In Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a very sobering story,

"The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom... Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment'" (Luke 16:22b-23 and 27-28).

Everyone in hell believes in evangelism.  They are crying out lest their loved ones end up with them.

Two thousand years have passed and this rich man has had no relief.  A billion years from now he will just be getting started in his torment and pain.  Listen to his cry,  "My brothers! Send someone to my family!"

Hell is for unbelievers but there are no unbelievers in hell!

Several years ago a man came weeping to the altar of our church.  A message had been preached that night from these very Scriptures.  After giving his heart to Christ (and after a long time of almost uncontrollable weeping), he told us this story:

He said,  "I died twice on the operating table during heart surgery.  Each time I died, I left my body and went to hell.  It was so horrifying that I tried to put it out of my mind.  As the message was preached tonight, all the details of my experience came flooding back into my mind."

He did not need to be convinced that hell was real.  That night he accepted Christ and was liberated from the fear of returning to that place of torment.

Jesus alone can rescue us from the terrors of hell and bring us safely to heaven. Shouldn't we be telling people there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun?  Shouldn't we be warning them and encouraging them to accept Christ-while there is still time?!
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Read: 1 Corinthians 11:17-33
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body. - Ephesians 4:3-4

TODAY IN THE WORD
The Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, is observed in many different ways in various church traditions, but one point upon which all Christians agree is its special significance. One theologian noted that in Jesus' final moments with His disciples, He did not impart theory to them, but instead, gave them a meal. In the Lord's Supper, we have a picture of redemption: Jesus, Son of God, is the bread of life who was broken for the sins of the world. We remember His life and death in a very earthly sort of way: at the table.
The Lord's Supper in the times of the early Christians was celebrated as a communal meal. In the case of the Corinthians, this is exactly where the problems emerged. In Roman culture (and Corinth was a Roman colony), social conventions dictated that those of highest rank and social standing should be served the largest portions and better quality food. Instead of challenging those social conventions, the Corinthians capitulated to them. (They've been guilty before of accepting wholesale the messages of culture rather than reinterpreting their worldview according to the gospel. See August 3, 10, 11, 12.)

As the Corinthian Christians gathered for the Lord's Supper, the rich were humiliating the poor by not sharing their food with them. The divisions in the church (which Paul has been boldly confronting throughout his entire letter) were falling along socioeconomic lines. The situation was so dire that Paul says their worship gatherings do more harm than good. They would be better off staying at home!

Paul brings them back to the gospel, to the message of Jesus Christ crucified. The new covenant community is called to unity and to selfless sacrifice, following in the footsteps of their Lord. The Lord's Supper is an occasion for remembering and reflecting on their call to live as the body of Christ. To "recognize the body of the Lord" has a double meaning: first, we acknowledge the sacrifice of our Savior. Second, we recognize that we are part of His body, the church, in the practice of participating in the Lord's Supper.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
On a personal level, each of us must try to reconcile our grievances with one another in our local community before we eat the Lord's Supper. But on a more global level, the Lord's Supper is also an invitation to think of other brothers and sisters in Christ in poorer parts of the world whose burden we are called to share. We must not be like the Corinthians, wallowing in our affluence without thought to Christians in distress. Could the Lord's Supper provoke in us greater generosity to those in need around the globe?

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

August 24, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
The Spiritual Search
What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? -Matthew 7:9

The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (seeMatthew 5:45 ). Never say that it is not God's will to give you what you ask. Don't faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a "good child" in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, "I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings"? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a "good child."

We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God's child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12 ).

I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I "walk in the light" ( 1 John 1:7 ). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong- a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, "Everyone who asks receives . . ." ( Matthew 7:8 ).

Unless They Are Agreed

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3).

In order to walk with God, one must agree with Him.  In order to experience the fulfillment of His promises in our lives, we must agree with what those promises say-whether we understand how they could ever come to pass or not.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would give birth to a son, she asked, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (Luke 1:34).

A pretty fair question, don't you think?  It seemed impossible to Mary.  She could not get her mind around how Gabriel's announcement could ever come to pass.

I love the angel's response to her question, "The Holy Spirit..." (Luke 1:35). That is the answer to your impossibilities as well.  When you can't understand how a promise from God could ever be fulfilled, the answer is "The Holy Spirit!"

At this point Mary could have said, "No way!  This makes no sense to me.  I don't accept it!"  But she didn't.  She said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word"(Luke 1:38).

Mary agreed with God's promise and accepted it.  Then the miracle happened.

Whatever you are facing today, make the decision to agree with God and His promises.  The Holy Spirit can bring His Word to pass!
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Read: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. - 1 Corinthians 12:7

TODAY IN THE WORD
In his 2006 book, The Blind Side, Michael Lewis examines the hidden heroes of football. For example, the virtually unknown players at the left tackle position are some of the highest paid players on the team. It's their job to defend the blind side of the quarterback. The offense depends on their strength and agility. The left tackle doesn't get the acclaim the quarterback does, but he's arguably just as important.
To carry the team analogy further, the church is made up of all kinds of players: quarterbacks, running backs, offensive linemen, and kickers. Just as Paul teaches here in the first verses of chapter 12, the community of believers is a wide assortment of people whose gifts and service are equally as diverse. In the Corinthian church, there is clear confusion on the matter of spiritual gifts, and Paul dedicates the next three chapters of his letter to answering questions the Corinthians have posed to him on the subject.

The Corinthians have some fundamental misconceptions about spiritual gifts, which Paul must address. They had elevated certain gifts above others, most notably the gift of tongues (cf. 1 Corinthians 14). And no doubt those with the gift of tongues were boasting of some spiritual privilege and position. Perhaps they had even come to doubt that all members of the community were indwelt by the Spirit and endowed with gifts from Him.

From the beginning, Paul wants to establish why and by whom the gifts are given. Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit, and everyone who confesses the lordship of Christ has the Spirit. Nothing more is required to demonstrate the indwelling of the Spirit-no spectacular or miraculous manifestation. Every believer has a spiritual gift, and the gifts differ in expression. The list, which Paul gives in our reading, is not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, it's to confirm the point that spiritual gifts are diverse! And the purpose for spiritual gifts is that their exercise would enhance the common good, not simply to feel important or good about ourselves.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Each believer has been given an ability from God to help others and to proclaim the lordship of Jesus Christ. Not all will preach or teach, but everyone has the capacity for influencing the lives of others for good and for reflecting the glorious body of Jesus Christ. Are you exercising your gift to help the church and bring glory to God? Or do you doubt that you are one of the "gifted" Christians? Numerous inventories for discovering your spiritual gift exist, but a good place to start is by asking trusted Christian friends what gifts they observe in your life.

GOD BLESS!