Today I want to share from my devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. I love this little book, because it leaves room to journal in the margins, and with each year, I see the different things I've written down that I want the Lord to do or change in my life.
Today's entry is about "The Voice of the Nature of God". In his opening statement, Chambers says, " When we speak of the call of God, we are apt to forget the most important feature, viz., the nature of The One who calls. The call is the expression of the nature from which it comes, and we can only record the call if the same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God's nature, not of our nature. As long as I consider my personal temperament and think about what I am fitted for, I shall never hear the call of God. The majority of us have no ear for anything but ourselves, we cannot hear a thing God says. To be brought into the zone of the call of God is to be profoundly altered".
Throughout the years that I've been journaling in the side margins of this book, there is a constant thread of thought I've written down - "help me to hear you better Lord, and to be obedient to whatever you ask of me".
Well, that's easy to say, but I know there have been times when I've not followed through as I should have. Then comes the feelings of guilt and failure. The Lord doesn't want us walking around like that though, and he is always willing to give us yet another chance to fine tune our hearing of his voice, and gives us more opportunities to act on his call.
Remember, the nature of God is love, mercy, compassion, grace, generosity, patience......and if I (we) allow ourselves to really focus on who God is, all his holy attributes, and that he knows what is best for any situation, it will enable us to be more easily receptive to follow him in anything he asks of us.
I know that when I go out to do my running around today, that there will be some kind of opportunity for me to exhibit the Lord and all his goodness, to someone. My prayer is that my hearing him speak to me about that opportunity, will be fine tuned and productive.
Have a blessed Friday, and a great weekend ahead!
Janelle
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
For Such a Time as This
Today is my second week to go to the Bible study on Esther, and one of the passages from chapter 4 is: "And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this".
Esther had been appointed queen, and her people (the Jews) were under the threat of total annihilation by an evil man named Haman. It was her cousin Mordecai who said these famous words to her, as he was pleading with her to go to King Xerxes to beg him to deliver the Jews from this holocaust.
Had Esther not gone to the King for mercy towards her people, God would have found another means to accomplish this, but she was faithful to God and to her people, and deliverance came to them.
We can apply this verse to our own lives as well - the Bible says that as believers, we are a part of God's royal family. We are called to stand up for those who are being persecuted, for those who are oppressed and lost, and the blessings we recieve from the Lord in our obedience to that call are without end.
If God asks us to do something, and we fail to obey him in it - whether it's for fear of looking silly, or any other reason, then we rob ourselves of a blessing. He will find someone else to carry out His will, but when he asks us to do something - it's because He knows that he's arranged everything and prepared us in every way to carry out the task, or He wouldn't have asked us in the first place!
Don't rob yourself of the blessings of obedience - what might seem silly or makes you feel like you're not capable of doing what the Lord has asked, is actually a lie from hell, in an effort to thwart God's purpose. That will never happen - God's will is always done - no matter who He uses. Let him use you today!
Janelle
Esther had been appointed queen, and her people (the Jews) were under the threat of total annihilation by an evil man named Haman. It was her cousin Mordecai who said these famous words to her, as he was pleading with her to go to King Xerxes to beg him to deliver the Jews from this holocaust.
Had Esther not gone to the King for mercy towards her people, God would have found another means to accomplish this, but she was faithful to God and to her people, and deliverance came to them.
We can apply this verse to our own lives as well - the Bible says that as believers, we are a part of God's royal family. We are called to stand up for those who are being persecuted, for those who are oppressed and lost, and the blessings we recieve from the Lord in our obedience to that call are without end.
If God asks us to do something, and we fail to obey him in it - whether it's for fear of looking silly, or any other reason, then we rob ourselves of a blessing. He will find someone else to carry out His will, but when he asks us to do something - it's because He knows that he's arranged everything and prepared us in every way to carry out the task, or He wouldn't have asked us in the first place!
Don't rob yourself of the blessings of obedience - what might seem silly or makes you feel like you're not capable of doing what the Lord has asked, is actually a lie from hell, in an effort to thwart God's purpose. That will never happen - God's will is always done - no matter who He uses. Let him use you today!
Janelle
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Heeding the Call
I asked the Lord to show me which book in his Word to study next, and I'm going to start on the book of Jeremiah, which is found in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah was a prophet whose ministry started when he was about 20 years old. Often called "The Weeping Prophet" and "The Prophet of Loneliness", because he was commanded not to marry. He was also known as "The Reluctant Prophet", yet for more than 40 years, he was faithful to God's call in his life to go to the people of Judah with God's Word. During his time of ministry, he had strong opposition, and endured beatings and imprisonment.
He was sensitive and sympathetic by nature, but was sent by God to deliver a message of stern judgement.
This sounds like he could have lived in our day - there is strong opposition towards believers, and especially towards those who dare to stand up for what's right and wrong in God's eyes. I have seen this kind of opposition in the lives of many people, but especially in the lives of prominent people, who are in the media spotlight. When they profess their Christianity is a major part of their lives, they are ripped apart by the media, liberals who are elected officials, and tv talk show hosts who cater to the Hollywood crowd.
Although most of us will never be in that spotlight(Thank God), we too can expect the same kind of treatment from the world when we dare to take a stand against things like abortion, prayer in school, and other issues that oppose the liberal left.
In Chapter 1 of Jeremiah, it starts off with the word God gave to Jeremiah when he called him to minister. You can easily apply this to your own life, because God is reaffirming to him that he will be with him, even though at times his life will be hard, just as he is with us when we go through various trials and opposition in our lives.
1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Every person is known of God even before we are born. This same thought is written by King David in Psalm 139:13 - 18. This is something that the liberal left who support abortion do not believe. They don't want God or anyone else telling them what is right or wrong - they have set themselves up as their own gods, with their own set of values and laws.
In verses 6 - 8, we read of Jeremiah telling God that he doesn't feel qualified to fulfill this call, and we also read God's reply to him.
1:6: "Ah Sovereign Lord, I said. I do not know how to speak; I am only a child. But the Lord said to me, ' Do not say, "I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you', declares the Lord."
How many times have we basically said the same thing to the Lord when we know he's telling us to do something? That which he is telling us to do at that time is probably something that might seem outrageous or silly to us, and we want to argue with him about it. God gives us opportunities each day to hear his voice and be blessed when we follow his command by obedience.
There was a lady in a grocery store one day who was behind me in line, and as I was taking things out of my buggy to put on the counter to get checked out, I noticed that she look distraught and was softly crying. At that moment, I knew the Lord was telling me to pray with her right there. My "flesh" was crying out "but I'm in a grocery store Lord", and hesitated a few minutes. The Lord was very insistent with me, and I'm thankful he was, because I received a blessing that day by following his lead and applying those verses above to my own life.
I didn't know the details of this woman's life - she was a total stranger, but I did turn around to her and said something to the affect of, "I know this sounds crazy, but I feel like the Lord is telling me that I need to pray with you right now, if that's ok with you". She began to cry more, and said, "yes please pray for me". I can't tell you what I prayed - this was back in the mid 1980's somewhere, but I can tell you that when I finished praying for her, that her countenance was changed, and she thanked me and said, "God bless you".
No matter how silly or off the wall something that the Lord asks you to do is, I would strongly encourage you to be obedient to that call. Just like he told Jeremiah, "don't be afraid, for I am with you", so too will he be with each of us.
Jeremiah was a prophet whose ministry started when he was about 20 years old. Often called "The Weeping Prophet" and "The Prophet of Loneliness", because he was commanded not to marry. He was also known as "The Reluctant Prophet", yet for more than 40 years, he was faithful to God's call in his life to go to the people of Judah with God's Word. During his time of ministry, he had strong opposition, and endured beatings and imprisonment.
He was sensitive and sympathetic by nature, but was sent by God to deliver a message of stern judgement.
This sounds like he could have lived in our day - there is strong opposition towards believers, and especially towards those who dare to stand up for what's right and wrong in God's eyes. I have seen this kind of opposition in the lives of many people, but especially in the lives of prominent people, who are in the media spotlight. When they profess their Christianity is a major part of their lives, they are ripped apart by the media, liberals who are elected officials, and tv talk show hosts who cater to the Hollywood crowd.
Although most of us will never be in that spotlight(Thank God), we too can expect the same kind of treatment from the world when we dare to take a stand against things like abortion, prayer in school, and other issues that oppose the liberal left.
In Chapter 1 of Jeremiah, it starts off with the word God gave to Jeremiah when he called him to minister. You can easily apply this to your own life, because God is reaffirming to him that he will be with him, even though at times his life will be hard, just as he is with us when we go through various trials and opposition in our lives.
1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Every person is known of God even before we are born. This same thought is written by King David in Psalm 139:13 - 18. This is something that the liberal left who support abortion do not believe. They don't want God or anyone else telling them what is right or wrong - they have set themselves up as their own gods, with their own set of values and laws.
In verses 6 - 8, we read of Jeremiah telling God that he doesn't feel qualified to fulfill this call, and we also read God's reply to him.
1:6: "Ah Sovereign Lord, I said. I do not know how to speak; I am only a child. But the Lord said to me, ' Do not say, "I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you', declares the Lord."
How many times have we basically said the same thing to the Lord when we know he's telling us to do something? That which he is telling us to do at that time is probably something that might seem outrageous or silly to us, and we want to argue with him about it. God gives us opportunities each day to hear his voice and be blessed when we follow his command by obedience.
There was a lady in a grocery store one day who was behind me in line, and as I was taking things out of my buggy to put on the counter to get checked out, I noticed that she look distraught and was softly crying. At that moment, I knew the Lord was telling me to pray with her right there. My "flesh" was crying out "but I'm in a grocery store Lord", and hesitated a few minutes. The Lord was very insistent with me, and I'm thankful he was, because I received a blessing that day by following his lead and applying those verses above to my own life.
I didn't know the details of this woman's life - she was a total stranger, but I did turn around to her and said something to the affect of, "I know this sounds crazy, but I feel like the Lord is telling me that I need to pray with you right now, if that's ok with you". She began to cry more, and said, "yes please pray for me". I can't tell you what I prayed - this was back in the mid 1980's somewhere, but I can tell you that when I finished praying for her, that her countenance was changed, and she thanked me and said, "God bless you".
No matter how silly or off the wall something that the Lord asks you to do is, I would strongly encourage you to be obedient to that call. Just like he told Jeremiah, "don't be afraid, for I am with you", so too will he be with each of us.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Humility
Today my reading is from the second chapter of Philippians, verses 3 - 8.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross".
In verse 6, where it says, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped", could be translated as "did not think this was something to be exploited to His own advantage".
As Christian believers, we need to be examples of Jesus - to be humble and put others and their needs before our own.
If the Lord is telling you to go to someone who isn't your favorite person in the world, and to do something for them, DO IT! Your human nature will fight against you in this, but the Lord is wanting your obedience, and to make you become more and more like Jesus.
Every day brings us opportunities to be a servant of the Lord - to hear Him say to us, "GO", and for us to learn to be obedient to his voice. In doing so, we are truly being examples of Jesus, and will receive His blessings, just as he received the Father's blessings.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!
Janelle
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross".
In verse 6, where it says, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped", could be translated as "did not think this was something to be exploited to His own advantage".
As Christian believers, we need to be examples of Jesus - to be humble and put others and their needs before our own.
If the Lord is telling you to go to someone who isn't your favorite person in the world, and to do something for them, DO IT! Your human nature will fight against you in this, but the Lord is wanting your obedience, and to make you become more and more like Jesus.
Every day brings us opportunities to be a servant of the Lord - to hear Him say to us, "GO", and for us to learn to be obedient to his voice. In doing so, we are truly being examples of Jesus, and will receive His blessings, just as he received the Father's blessings.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!
Janelle
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Obedience
Today I am again taking from the devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. The verse I'll reference is 2 Corinthians 4:10 "That life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh".
We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It's not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it's the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life.
Yes, upon salvation, we are saved from hell - no question about it, but there's more to living in God's grace than that. We are to put ourselves in God's hands and get out there and let what he has done work through us, so others will see and give us the opportunity to point them to Jesus. When he was on this earth, everything he said and did pointed to the Father, and that is how we are to live while we are here.
Sometimes the Lord will put us in a situation that seems "uncomfortable" to us; he might ask you to witness to a total stranger in a public place; he might ask you to pray for someone that you don't really like, or to do them a kind deed; he might ask you to go to someone who's hurt you and tell them that you forgive them. Whatever he asks, do it immediately; the minute you hesitate or question him, you grieve the Spirit of God.
If God puts you there, he is amply sufficient. I'll paraphrase my step-daughter Kim - "If God brought you to it, God will get you through it".
Ask the Lord to fine tune your hearing to know his voice. Ask him to give you the courage and boldness to do whatever he says no matter how "out there" it might seem. Once you obey him in a situation that is so out of the normal for you, it's then that you will experience the joy and the blessings of obedience.
Have a beautiful Wednesday!
Janelle
We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It's not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it's the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life.
Yes, upon salvation, we are saved from hell - no question about it, but there's more to living in God's grace than that. We are to put ourselves in God's hands and get out there and let what he has done work through us, so others will see and give us the opportunity to point them to Jesus. When he was on this earth, everything he said and did pointed to the Father, and that is how we are to live while we are here.
Sometimes the Lord will put us in a situation that seems "uncomfortable" to us; he might ask you to witness to a total stranger in a public place; he might ask you to pray for someone that you don't really like, or to do them a kind deed; he might ask you to go to someone who's hurt you and tell them that you forgive them. Whatever he asks, do it immediately; the minute you hesitate or question him, you grieve the Spirit of God.
If God puts you there, he is amply sufficient. I'll paraphrase my step-daughter Kim - "If God brought you to it, God will get you through it".
Ask the Lord to fine tune your hearing to know his voice. Ask him to give you the courage and boldness to do whatever he says no matter how "out there" it might seem. Once you obey him in a situation that is so out of the normal for you, it's then that you will experience the joy and the blessings of obedience.
Have a beautiful Wednesday!
Janelle
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