Oswald Chambers --- Spiritual Coherence

The Secret of Spiritual Coherence

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Galatians 6:14

"When a man is first born again, he becomes incoherent, there is an amount of unrelated emotion about him, unrelated phases of external things. In the apostle Paul there was a strong steady coherence underneath, consequently he could let his external life change as it liked and it did not distress him because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not spiritually coherent because we are more concerned about being coherent externally. Paul lived in the basement; the coherent critics live in the upper storey of the external statement of things, and the two do not begin to touch each other. Paul's consistency was down in the fundamentals. The great basis of his coherence was the agony of God in the Redemption of the world, viz., the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. In external history the Cross is an infinitesimal thing; from the Bible point of view it is of more importance than all the empires of the world. If we get away from brooding on the tragedy of God upon the Cross in our preaching, it produces nothing. It does not convey the energy of God to man; it may be interesting but it has no power. But preach the Cross, and the energy of God is let loose. "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." "We preach Christ crucified."

Just How Tightly Do You Cling to The Things of This World?

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."

(Revelation 12:11)

Here we read a testimony of the great faithful believers of a day yet to come. This passage refers to saints of God who will endure persecution during the Tribulation that is to come. When it is, we don't know. But we know it is coming; we can be sure of it as if it has already happened!

Yet the tribulation they faced was nothing that could conquer them. It was by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, applied in their lives, that gave them this power to over come. What Paul promised came to pass: "He that began a good work in you shall bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (my paraphrase, Phil. 1:6)

Believers overcome. And one mark of a true believer in Jesus Christ is death to self! Yet in our day, "Christianity" has become such a sloppy thing. Say a prayer, remember that you did it and trust in that like a tourist hangs on to a bus ticket. And whatever else you can distract yourself with while you wait for the bus to leave, so much the better!

Love of stuff. Love of self. Yet, Jesus said that we can't love both God and money. We can't serve two masters. And he also said that the gate is narrow and the way is narrow that leads to life! Still, so many imagine in futility that they can to through the narrow turnstyle of redemption with all their filthy luggage, love of self and love of this world and its toys. To the contrary! Jesus tells us that "If any man follow me...", in other words be converted, "...he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me!" Notice that He didn't say "You must be willing to...". No, the gate is much to narrow. To enter in, you must let go of the baggage and come alone.

Make no mistake about it; in Jesus' day when you saw someone carrying a cross, you knew one thing about that man -- he was going to die an ugly death. And one who would be His must die to self. You can only have one master.

If you have claimed Christ as your own, the Word gives you this mandate. To be His, you must die to everything but Him. The opinions of others, the things that this world calls valuable and even the greatest idol of all -- S-E-L-F! He and He alone must be supreme above all other things. But what is that in exchange for eternal life? Is that really a contest?

Our day is a day of rampant self-indulgence. Plain idolatry. Even the professing Church has decided that its focus is to find its "purpose". God is viewed as what has been referred to as a "Divine Butler" Who exists for our happiness and fulfillment. Gone is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe who rightly demands our obedience and worship! And do we ever tremble at the words of our Lord when He warns that He will turn away many who believe themselves to be His when He says to them "...depart from me, I never knew you...!" (Matt. 7:21ff). These were people who professed faith in Christ -- but Jesus referred to them as "you who practice lawlessness". Literally "...those of you who acted as if I never gave you the law!"

Our evangelism no longer speaks of sin and the need of repentance. The cry is "it's our lexicon! We must change our vocabulary!" No, we want to avoid the scandal of the cross and the Gospel. We don't want to face ridicule when the Bible says that we will most definitely face it if we "...seek to live a godly life in this present world." When we do this, we are worshiping at the altar of S-E-L-F!

If this be true for any of us, we are must assuredly failing to demonstrate that we love not our own lives unto death.

The question then becomes "Before the Lord, can there be a valid sacrifice if there is nothing on the altar?" And according to the words of our Lord, if there be no death on our part can there be real life of God in us.

The days are short. They are getting shorter. And that cries out to us that temporal things -- even our very lives -- should be counted as refuse to us compared to the value of our Lord.

May we be found faithful as the dear saints in Revelation 12. And that is my prayer for you as well.

Are You Sure You Like Spurgeon?

Although I don't read enough (of anything, for that matter), I do like the works of Spurgeon. There is a depth there that is missing today.

Banner of Truth Trust has an article on Spurgeon which I think is a good starting point.

Time to Look Up!

With all the turmoil going on these days, this morning's scripture (Psalm 10) was one I felt I should post. It is very easy to get distracted by the mess around us. May this passage help all of us remember that the Lord is still in control.

" 1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.

9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees."

12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?

14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."

The Divine Rule of LifeOswald Chambers

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48

"Our Lord's exhortation in these verses is to be generous in our behaviour to all men. In the spiritual life beware of walking according to natural affinities. Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and others we do not like. We must never let those likes and dislikes rule in our Christian life. "If we walk in the light as God is in the light," God will give us communion with people for whom we have no natural affinity.

The Example Our Lord gives us is not that of a good man, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect," show to the other man what God has shown to you; and God will give us ample opportunities in actual life to prove whether we are perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. To be a disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God's interests in other people. "That ye love one another; as I have loved you . . ."

The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit Divine characteristics in your life, not good human characteristics. God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the experience of this works out in the practical details of life, not in times of communion with God. When we come in contact with things that create a buzz, we find to our amazement that we have power to keep wonderfully poised in the centre of it all"

Ouch.

Diffusiveness of LifeOswald Chambers

"Rivers of living water." John 7:38

A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fulness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow - "This is the work of God that ye believe. . . ." God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.

A river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, then it comes to an obstacle and for a while it is baulked, but it soon makes a pathway round the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, and presently emerge again broader and grander than ever. You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use. Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty. The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source. Never allow anything to come between yourself and Jesus Christ, no emotion, or experience; nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-flung rivers nursing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up marvellous truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is an indication of the wider power of the river He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has nourished in you mighty torrents of blessing for others.

Oswald Chambers

"And I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once and ask Him to establish rest. Never allow anything to remain which is making the dis-peace. Take every element of disintegration as something to wrestle against, and not to suffer. Say - Lord, prove Thy consciousness in me, and self-consciousness will go and He will be all in all. Beware of allowing self-consciousness to continue because by slow degrees it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is Satanic. Well, I am not understood; this is a thing they ought to apologize for; that is a point I really must have cleared up. Leave others alone and ask the Lord to give you Christ-consciousness, and He will poise you until the completeness is absolute.

The complete life is the life of a child. When I am consciously conscious, there is something wrong. It is the sick man who knows what health is. The child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God. When there has been the slightest deviation from the will of God, we begin to ask - What is Thy will? A child of God never prays to be conscious that God answers prayer, he is so restfully certain that God always does answer prayer.

If we try to overcome self-consciousness by any common-sense method, we will develop it tremendously. Jesus says, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest," i.e., Christ-consciousness will take the place of self-consciousness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest, the rest of the perfection of activity that is never conscious of itself."

In the Lord I Take Refuge

From Psalm 16:1:

"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You."

Here we see our only hope. This is our cry when we see so much foulness in ourselves. We walk day by day and notice nothing, then something in our lives comes about to show us that we are not the practical saints we have come to believe ourselves to be. The weight of our sin seems to crush us, and we see no hope at all.

But then a light breaks through. Here we see the psalmist petitioning our Lord. "Preserve me, O God. . .". The man has come to be aware of his weakness. And being aware of his weakness, realizes that he is utterly without hope. There is only one to turn to, and that is God.

We must take refuge in God. He is our only hope. We can struggle and strive to contain our flesh but it will all come to nothing unless we take refuge in the Lord.

But there must be a basis by which we can take refuge, for no one can just approach our Holy God on his own terms. Under no circumstances can we just come to God's throne in our filth. This can only be done on the basis of the attonement! That, bretheren, makes all the difference! And we can do so boldly because it is the will of the Father. To do less is to trample underfoot the Son of God.

For it "pleased God to crush" His Son, Who stepped down from Heaven to bear the wrath of a Holy God for our sin. It is the Holy Judge Himself Who made the way for us to gain access to the Father. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21).

We all need Christ as our Refuge. The Psalmist spoke of refuge from his outward enemies. Yet we also deal with sin as the inner enemy. And when we come to a point where we fear all is lost, that we have failed one to many times, or made such a mess of things, that may be near the point where we quit trusting in self and remember our hope!

Psalm 2: The Ultimate Perspective

For those of us who tend to focus a bit much on how he world is going:

Psalm 2

The Reign of the LORD'S Anointed.

    1Why are ^(A)the nations in an uproar
         And the peoples ^(B)devising a vain thing? 
    2The ^(C)kings of the earth take their stand
         And the rulers take counsel together
         ^(D)Against the LORD and against His ^[a](E)Anointed, saying, 
    3"Let us ^(F)tear their fetters apart
         And cast away their cords from us!" 
    4He who ^[b]sits in the heavens ^(G)laughs,
         The Lord ^(H)scoffs at them. 
    5Then He will speak to them in His ^(I)anger
         And ^(J)terrify them in His fury, saying, 
    6"But as for Me, I have installed ^(K)My King
         Upon Zion, ^(L)My holy mountain." 
    7"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
         He said to Me, 'You are ^(M)My Son,
         Today I have begotten You. 
    8'Ask of Me, and ^(N)I will surely give ^(O)the nations as Your inheritance,
         And the very ^(P)ends of the earth as Your possession. 
    9'You shall ^[c](Q)break them with a rod of iron,
         You shall ^(R)shatter them like earthenware.'" 
    10Now therefore, O kings, ^(S)show discernment;
         Take warning, O ^[d]judges of the earth. 
    11Worship the LORD with ^(T)reverence
         And rejoice with ^(U)trembling. 
    12Do homage to ^(V)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
         For ^(W)His wrath may ^[e]soon be kindled 
         How blessed are all who ^(X)take refuge in Him!

If there was ever a time when the world was throwing off all form of restraint, it is now! Oh, it's happened before, there is nothing new under the sun. But we do live in a day when any vestige of morality is being cast off. The world sees God's loving law as a restraint! Oh, they don't want to be victims of theft, assaulted by someone or lied to (among other things) but they don't want to hear that in God's Ten Commandments. And say that God has set up boundaries for sexuality? Wow! That's downright hateful and bigoted -- regardless of the fact that God gave us rules for sexuality to protect us from the very diseases that we are contracting and trying to find a way to avoid. . .even as they practice the very things that cause them! 

While I was never through the A.A. program, I understand they have a saying: "The definition of stupidity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results". That is correct!

As believers, we know that God has given us the rules he has given us to protect us, not harm us. To keep trouble in our lives to a minimum on this fallen planet, not to make us miserable.

But the world doesn't get it. So they "devise vain things". They make their plans to usurp God's place. They say "We don't want to be told or reminded that there is a God to answer to. We don't want to be limited by the values of such a narrow God!" 

Be reminded and sure that they are "blind guides leading the blind". Tragically, they lead others over the cliff into an eternal hell.

It's easy to become focused on trying to fix what is going on here. But that isn't what we are called to do. We aren't here to put bandages on societal problems. We are here to show forth God's glory as He lives through us. Yes, we are here to help those in need. Read James. It's part of what is called "saving faith". And if you can't show me your faith by what you do, then I have every right to question your claim. According to Hebrews 11:1, there will be some substance to faith that is real; "Faith is the substance of things hoped for. . ." Saving faith is something you can see outwardly. It's not just talk. But what I speak of here is  a preoccupation with fighting against the downward social trends.

We end up getting our focus off the Character of God. We shift to the hand-wringing of "what in the world can I do to fix this?". Let me be blunt -- it isn't up to us. We try to change things through the wrong methods. We get our focus off God, and then we stop proclaiming the Gospel, which is the very thing that God gave us so that hearts can be transformed and the world changed. 

Yup, they want to break what they perceive as a yoke of bondage. But all the while, we faithfully proclaim the Gospel. In the end, for those who don't repent, God will "shatter them like earthenware". He will be vindicated, in His own time, through the exaltation of Jesus, His Son, whom He has appointed ruler of all things. 

Remember that justice seemingly delayed is not justice denied. God is being merciful. He is giving everyone the ample opportunity to repent. But God will rule. He will reverse all the wrongs we see going on around us. 

And God will, in the end, be glorified in all of it.

 

You Won't Reach It On Tiptoe:Oswald Chambers

"Add to your brotherliness . . . love." 2 Peter 1:7

Love is indefinite to most of us, we do not know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the sovereign preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that that preference be for Himself (cf. Luke 14:26). When the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ is easily first; then we must practise the working out of these things mentioned by Peter.

The first thing God does is to knock pretence and the pious pose right out of me. The Holy Spirit reveals that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now, He says to me, show the same love to others - "Love as I have loved you." "I will bring any number of people about you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited it to you." You won't reach it on tiptoe. Some of us have tried to, but we were soon tired.

"The Lord suffereth long. . . ." Let me look within and see His dealings with me. The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way. God's love to me is inexhaustible, and I must love others from the bedrock of God's love to me. Growth in grace stops the moment I get huffed. I get huffed because I have a peculiar person to live with. Just think how disagreeable I have been to God! Am I prepared to be so identified with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness are being poured out all the time? Neither natural love nor Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline.

What Are You Crying About?

Reading the Psalms is one of the things I tend to do on a daily basis. Recently, in reading Psalm 29 (which has become one of those "I know this already" things), I was drawn to verse 9. Following is Psalm 9 from the NASB:

Psa 29:1
"Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 29:2
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.
Psa 29:3
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters.
Psa 29:4
The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.
Psa 29:5
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Psa 29:6
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox.
Psa 29:7
The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.
Psa 29:8
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psa 29:9
The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"
Psa 29:10
The LORD sat {as King} at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.
Psa 29:11
The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace."

Again, my focus was on verse 9, particularly the phrase 'And in His temple, everyting says, "Glory!" '

How often do we read this and think of it as something happening somewhere distant (which it is) but yet don't realize how relevant it should be to each and every one of us who names the name of Jesus Christ?

Paul has told us to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians) to see if we are really in the faith.

You may say "Ok, so what?". Well, if you are a true believer in Christ, Paul says you are a temple. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19 (an often abused verse by the legalists to justify their list of taboos) that sexual sin is a sin against the "temple", which is the believer's body. In saying this, he is telling us about what it means to be a "temple" in the negative sense. . .specifically fleeing sexual immorality. But there is a positive side to it, and I think we see a hint of this in Psalm 19.

This Psalm has been a focus for me over the past two days. What is it that is crying from the inside of this "temple" that God has transformed me into? Is it crying for everything to be about God's Glory? See, when a person is transformed, there is new life. And if there is new life, there will be a new cry. And that new cry, which has been placed there by God, will be about the Glory of God. Not self, not anything else. But the Glory of God.

What thoughts, words and deeds conform (or don't conform) to this standard? Anything that falls short of this standard is sin and calls for a "cleansing of the temple". It is time to drive out the "moneychangers" in our thoughts, words and actions that betray unbelief.

Paul, in correcting the Corinthian error in the area of food and drink, said this:

1Cr 10:31
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Whatever we do. Whatever!

What of your thought life? Again, hear Paul:

2Cr 10:5
"{We are} destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and {we are} taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
2Cr 10:6
and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
2Cr 10:7
You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also are we." (emphasis mine).

Did you catch that? "Let us consider this again. . ." within ourselves. It's an inside job.

So, what is going on in your heart? What are your thoughts focused on? Why do you do what you do? Is it for your own glory? Why do you say what you say? To impress others? Or to to bring Glory to God?

What of your attitudes? Be brutal with yourself and ask something like "What is it in my life, in thought, word or deed that doesn't glorify God that I'm holding on to like the rich man who walked away from Jesus?".

The rich man in Matthew 19 worshipped the idol of his posessions. But idols don't have to be material things. They can be attitudes, thoughts and actions. Anything that robs God of his Glory. What thoughts and attitudes do we need to give up, so God can be glorified when we have a change of heart? Is the false image you worship an "image" of yourself that you wish others to believe? That is a lie and is idolatry. Self worship.

Yet everything in God's Temple is to make a proclamation, which is "Glory". Glory to God, not glory to self. Every thought should be "sniffed". Every motive should be examined. Thoughts and motives turn into actions. And what comes out of the heart shows you what is there.

Let everything in the Temple (yours and mine) say "Glory".

Where Is Our Trust?

Psalm 21:

Psa 21:1
O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
Psa 21:2
You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
Psa 21:3
For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
Psa 21:4
He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever.
Psa 21:5
His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
Psa 21:6
For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.
Psa 21:7
For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
Psa 21:8
Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
Psa 21:9
You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them.
Psa 21:10
Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.
Psa 21:11
Though they intended evil against You {And} devised a plot, They will not succeed.
Psa 21:12
For You will make them turn their back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
Psa 21:13
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power.

I read this through this morning and put myself in the king's position, replacing the word "king" with "I". Sometimes it seems like there is no going on and that everything is closing in. Such times are a test. In what or Whom will we put our trust?

Will we obey Christ or deny Him by relying on our own resources?

Life can be tough, especially when we are downcast. It can be hard too when we have relied on our own "wisdom" and "strength" to accomplish what we will.

God asks us to place our trust in His Word alone.

May we pass our tests.

Am I My Brother's Keeper? Oswald Chambers

"None of us liveth to himself." Romans 14:7.

Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible for other souls spiritually before God? For instance, if I allow any private deflection from God in my life, everyone about me suffers. We "sit together in heavenly places." "Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." When once you allow physical selfishness, mental slovenliness, moral obtuseness, spiritual density, everyone belonging to your crowd will suffer. "But," you say, "who is sufficient for these things if you erect a standard like that?" "Our sufficiency is of God," and of Him alone.

"Ye shall be My witnesses." How many of us are willing to spend every ounce of nervous energy, of mental, moral and spiritual energy we have for Jesus Christ? That is the meaning of a witness in God's sense of the word. It takes time, be patient with yourself. God has left us on the earth - what for? To be saved and sanctified? No, to be at it for Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured out wine for Him? To be spoilt for this age, for this life, to be spoilt from every standpoint but one - saving as I can disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life as a worker is the way I say "thank you" to God for His unspeakable salvation. Remember it is quite possible for any one of us to be flung out as reprobate silver - ". . . lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

The Devotion of Hearing:Oswald Chambers

"Speak; for Thy servant heareth." 1 Samuel 3:10

Because I have listened definitely to one thing from God, it does not follow that I will listen to everything He says. The way in which I show God that I neither love nor respect Him is by the obtuseness of my heart and mind towards what He says. If I love my friend, I intuitively detect what he wants, and Jesus says, "Ye are My friends." Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord's this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not consciously have disobeyed it; but most of us show such disrespect to God that we do not even hear what He says, He might never have spoken.

The destiny of my spiritual life is such identification with Jesus Christ that I always hear God, and I know that God always hears me (John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God, by the devotion of hearing all the time. A lily, or a tree, or a servant of God, may convey God's message to me. What hinders me from hearing is that I am taken up with other things. It is not that I will not hear God, but I am not devoted in the right place. I am devoted to things, to service, to convictions, and God may say what He likes but I do not hear Him. The child attitude is always, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." If I have not cultivated this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God's voice at certain times; at other times I am taken up with things - things which I say I must do, and I become deaf to Him, I am not living the life of a child. Have I heard God's voice to-day?

Look Again And Consecrate -- Oswald Chambers

"If God so clothe the grass of the field . . . shall He not much more clothe you?" Matthew 6:30

A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. "Consider," says Jesus, "how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him." Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have impertinently known better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the "much more" of our Heavenly Father.

"Behold the fowls of the air" - their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your 'feathers.'

"Consider the lilies of the field" - they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself to one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. Am I continually separating myself to consider God every day of my life?

Will You Go Out Without Knowing?

From Olswald Chambers:

"He went out, not knowing whither he went." Hebrews 11:8

Have you been "out" in this way? If so, there is no logical statement possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question - "What do you expect to do?" You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God. "Take no thought for your life, . . . nor yet for your body" - take no thought for the things for which you did take thought before you "went out."

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you go out in surrender to Him until you are not surprised an atom at anything He does?

Suppose God is the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him - what an impertinence worry is! Let the attitude of the life be a continual "going out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have an ineffable charm about it which is a satisfaction to Jesus. You have to learn to go out of convictions, out of creeds, out of experiences, until so far as your faith is concerned, there is nothing between yourself and God.

The Absoluteness of Jesus ChristOswald Chambers

"He shall glorify Me." John 16:14

The pietistic movements of to-day have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them; there is nothing about them that needs the Death of Jesus Christ; all that is required is a pious atmosphere, and prayer and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous, it did not cost the passion of God, it is not dyed in the blood of the Lamb, not stamped with the hall-mark of the Holy Ghost; it has not that mark on it which makes men say, as they look with awe and wonder - "That is the work of God Almighty." That and nothing else is what the New Testament talks about.

The type of Christian experience in the New Testament is that of personal passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other type of Christian experience, so called, is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration, no being born again into the Kingdom in which Christ lives, but only the idea that He is our Pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is Saviour long before He is Pattern. To-day He is being despatched as the Figurehead of a Religion, a mere Example. He is that, but He is infinitely more; He is salvation itself, He is the Gospel of God.

Jesus said, "When He the Spirit of truth is come . . . He shall glorify Me." When I commit myself to the revelation made in the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit Who begins to interpret to me what Jesus did and does in me subjectively all that Jesus Christ did for me objectively.

The Consecration of Spiritual EnergyOswald Chambers

"By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14

If I brood on the Cross of Christ, I do not become a subjective pietist, interested in my own whiteness; I become dominantly concentrated on Jesus Christ's interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor an ascetic, He did not cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in an other world. He was so much in the ordinary world that the religious people of His day called Him a glutton and a wine-bibber. Our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual energy.

The counterfeit of consecration is the conscious cutting off of things with the idea of storing spiritual power for use later on, but that is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has spoiled the sin of a great many, yet there is no emancipation, no fullness in their lives. The kind of religious life we see abroad to-day is entirely different from the robust holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." We are to be in the world but not of it; to be disconnected fundamentally, not externally.

We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual energy. Consecration is our part, sanctification is God's part; and we have deliberately to determine to be interested only in that in which God is interested. The way to solve perplexing problems is to ask - Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or the kind of thing in which the spirit that is the antipodes of Jesus is interested?

"Rabbi, where are you staying?"

Just a while ago, I was reading through the first chapter of John. When I hit these words, I found them very familiar. Clearly, the statement shows a desire to know where Jesus dwells and be there. There were lots of "dwellings" that our Lord could have stayed in, but didn't.

In our day, there are lots of "dwelling places" that know not God. People who profess to be Christians but aren't. Even in our churches, so many of us find ourselves wanting to seek out those we perceive to be true converts. We value their fellowship. We welcome them as we would Christ Himself.

This has been a common effort for me in our seeker-sensitive, false gospel days.

As I thought of this, I found 1 John coming to mind. John told his readers how to discern the true from the false. Tests including belief and practice. Tests regarding beliefs about Christ, the practice of God's love and obedience to God's Word.

Does the person profess Jesus as the Messiah? Does the person continue to purify him or herself, or are they content in their flesh? The true "dwelling place of God" will show signs of Who lives there.

Let us be discerning in these days of compromise.

Look Again and Think --Oswald Chambers

Do not worry about your life . . .

Matthew 6:25

A warning which needs to be repeated is that "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches," and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
"I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . ." Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, "That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.
"Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, "What are your plans for next month— or next summer?" Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the "much more" of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).

________________

How often I have to deal with this. Not that I'm worried about God supplying, but letting things crowd God out. By education, I am a computer professional. for the past 6 years I have been working in the health care industry, mostly in nursing. So, I keep up with my "profession" at home. I have projects I do and enjoy.

How often though I find myself consumed by this and having to remind myself this isn't what I'm really here for. After I get good and empty (and sometimes stressed because things aren't the way I want them to be), I stop and realize I've been crowding God out. Then comes repentance and a return to where I should be.

I'm sure that this isn't unusual. I'm certain that we all deal with this. We really want to focus on God all the time but life creeps in and takes over. We are then robbed of our intimacy with God.

Be encouraged. None of us are alone in this. But do what you can to be separate to God.