Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Reflections for October 26, 2011

THE BLAMELESS LIFE

"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."-- 1Th_5:23-24.
HE WILL do it. There is a tone of confidence in these words which bespeaks the unwavering faith of the Apostle in the faithfulness and power of God to do for these early Christian folk what indeed is needed by all of us; first, to be sanctified wholly, and secondly, to be preserved without blame until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can hardly realize how much this meant for men and women reared amid the excesses and evils of those days, when religion was another name for unbridled indulgence. Blamelessness of life, the stainless habit of the soul, self-restraint--these were the attributes of the few whose natures seemed cast in a special mould. And yet how strong the assertion of the Apostle that, in the face of the insurmountable difficulties, the God of Peace would do even as much for them.
We must distinguish between blamelessness and faultlessness. The latter can only be ours when we have passed into the presence of His glory, and are presented faultless before Him with exceeding joy (Jud_1:24). The former, however, is within the reach of each of us, because God has said that He will do it. The Agent of the blameless life is God Himself. None beside could accomplish so marvellous a result, and He does it by condescending to indwell the soul. As His glory filled Solomon's Temple, so He waits to infill the spirit, soul, and body of those who trust Him.

He will do it as the God of Peace. The mightiest forces are the stillest. Who ever heard the day break, or detected the footfall of Spring? Who thinks of listening for the throb of gravitation, or the thud of the forces that redden the grape, golden the corn, and cover the peaches with bloom? So God works in the hearts of those who belong to Him. When we think we are making no progress, He is most at work. The presence of ozone in the air can only be detected by a faint colour on a piece of litmus-paper, and God's work in the soul is only apparent as the bloom of perfect love is shown in the life.
PRAYER

Almighty God, who lovest us, and to whom are known our yearnings for this blessed life; work Thou within us, quietly, gently, mightily, ridding us of the love of sin, and producing within us that blamelessness of soul which in Thy sight is of priceless value. AMEN.
By F. B. Meyer

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Reflections for October 25, 2011

The Private Worship of the Christian

The distinctive exercises of the Christian are exercises which he never can reveal. Among all the differences between the pagan faiths and the faith which is our treasure and our glory, none is more marked or more notable than the change from an outward to an inward worship. It is almost impossible for us to realize how wholly external the old religions were. The idea that a man might move among his fellows, carrying all his religion in his heart, would have been laughed to scorn in pagan Rome. It was under the shadow of consecrated temples, or where the altar stood ready for the oxen, or within the sacred circle of the augur, or in the brilliant procession through the streets, it was in such scenes that the religious life of paganism found its peculiar and distinctive exercises. It knew not the secret of the closed door nor of the head anointed during fasting.
I need hardly stay to tell you how Jesus Christ has come and changed all that. The distinctive exercises of the Christian life are not procession and sacrifice and augury. The distinctive worship of the Christian life is worship which we never can reveal. Could you conceive of anyone in earnest making a parade of secret prayer? Are there not hours of fellowship with heaven which would be tarnished if we talked of them? Do we ever speak of the minute denials or of those strengthening of the will in little things which every honest Christian practices? All that is most distinctive in the Christian — his prayer, his battle, his joy, his cross-bearing — takes place in the mystical room with the closed door. And it is this- the silence and the secret — that makes the Christian as a man unknown.

By George H. Morrison

Monday, October 24, 2011

Reflections for October 24, 2011

IS GOD'S WILL MY WILL?

This is the will of God, even your sanctification.
1 Thessalonians 4:3

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying - Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction - "Nothing in my hands I bring." Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8) No wonder Paul says nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because of the Atonement.

By Oswald Chambers

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Reflections for October 23, 2011

Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (KJV)

Lead me here by Your grace and blood and keep me here Dear Lord Jesus.
Psalms 51:8 Make me full of joy and rapture; so that the bones which have been broken may be glad. (BBE)

When I sin against You Dear Lord Jesus, You will correct me out of Your great love for me. Here also King David shows and tells us (because of his own trouble, despair, and agony) that the Lord Jesus will not allow us to live in sin, rebellion and disobedience and be happy and peaceful in sin. We must forsake or leave that sin (repentance) and then our Lord Jesus will answer by giving us the petition of verse 12 in this same Psalms.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (KJV)

You Dear Lord Jesus will never turn away from any person, any soul that comes to this point in their inner man or woman.

Evening

“Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
- Luk_22:46

When is the Christian most liable to sleep? Is it not when his temporal circumstances are prosperous? Have you not found it so? When you had daily troubles to take to the throne of grace, were you not more wakeful than you are now? Easy roads make sleepy travellers. Another dangerous time is when all goes pleasantly in spiritual matters. Christian went not to sleep when lions were in the way, or when he was wading through the river, or when fighting with Apollyon, but when he had climbed half way up the Hill Difficulty, and came to a delightful arbour, he sat down, and forthwith fell asleep, to his great sorrow and loss. The enchanted ground is a place of balmy breezes, laden with fragrant odours and soft influences, all tending to lull pilgrims to sleep. Remember Bunyan’s description: “Then they came to an arbour, warm, and promising much refreshing to the weary pilgrims; for it was finely wrought above head, beautified with greens, and furnished with benches and settles. It had also in it a soft couch, where the weary might lean.” “The arbour was called the Slothful’s Friend, and was made on purpose to allure, if it might be, some of the pilgrims to take up their rest there when weary.” Depend upon it, it is in easy places that men shut their eyes and wander into the dreamy land of forgetfulness. Old Erskine wisely remarked, “I like a roaring devil better than a sleeping devil.” There is no temptation half so dangerous as not being tempted. The distressed soul does not sleep; it is after we enter into peaceful confidence and full assurance that we are in danger of slumbering. The disciples fell asleep after they had seen Jesus transfigured on the mountain top. Take heed, joyous Christian, good frames are near neighbours to temptations: be as happy as you will, only be watchful.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Reflections for October 22, 2011

THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God; I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."-- Act_2:17.
IN HIS sermon, on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quoted the latter part of this prediction by the Prophet (Joe_2:28). Not much is known of this prophet, who probably lived in Judah during the reign of Uzziah. But evidently his anticipation of the outpouring of the Divine Spirit had its fulfillment in those memorable scenes in which the Christian Church was born.

Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had descended only upon the elect souls of the Hebrew race---upon Abraham and Moses, upon Samuel and Elijah, upon Isaiah and others of the prophets. This supreme gift of God was reserved in those days for the spiritual aristocracy of Israel, for the men who were called to eminent office and responsibility, as kings, prophets, or leaders. But Joel said that the time would come when the Holy Spirit, who had been reserved for the few, was to be poured out upon the many--the young men and maidens would prophesy; even the slaves and the most despised classes of the community would partake of the Divine experience.
Whatever Pentecost means--it is open to the reception and enjoyment of us all, "Every one of you," said St. Peter, "shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." To you are the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Act_2:38-39). Let us take this to heart.

Some years ago, electricity was the perquisite of the few, but now the poorest girl or lad may utilize it and be carded along in the electric car; and it is the boast of our scientists and inventors that they are able to bring the benefits of their discoveries within the reach of the neediest amongst us. And Pentecost resembles this, in that the forces and gifts of the Eternal Spirit are now within the grasp of the feeblest hand which is stretched out to appropriate them. But there must be first the putting away of evil, the emptying of our hearts, the hunger and thirst of the soul for righteousness, before God can give us our share in the Gift which was made once for all to the Church, but must be claimed by each successive believer.
PRAYER

Let Thy Holy Spirit dwell in me continually, and make me Thy temple and sanctuary. AMEN.
By F. B. Meyer

Friday, October 21, 2011

Reflections for October 21, 2011

THE UNHEEDED SECRET

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (KJV)
The great enemy to the Lord Jesus Christ in the present day is the conception of practical work that has not come from the New Testament, but from the Systems of the world in which endless energy and activities are insisted upon, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, for lo the kingdom of God is within you," a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives in the shop window. It is the innermost of the innermost that reveals the power of the life.

We have to get rid of the plague of the spirit of the religious age in which we live. In Our Lord's life there was none of the press and rush of tremendous activity that we regard so highly, and the disciple is to be as His Master. The central thing about the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to Him, not public usefulness to men.
It is not its practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College, its whole strength lies in the fact that here you are put into soak before God. You have no idea of where God is going to engineer your circumstances, no knowledge of what strain is going to be put on you either at home or abroad, and if you waste your time in over-active energies instead of getting into soak on the great fundamental truths of God's Redemption, you will snap when the strain comes; but if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in God on the unpractical line, you will remain true to Him whatever happens.

By Oswald Chambers

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Reflections for October 20, 2011

WHEREBY SHALL I KNOW?

Matthew 11:25 I thank Thee, O Father ... because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (KJV)
In spiritual relationship we do not grow step by step; we are either there or we are not. God does not cleanse us more and more from sin, but when we are in the light, walking in the light, we are cleansed from all sin. It is a question of obedience, and instantly the relationship is perfected. Turn away for one second out of obedience, and darkness and death are at work at once.

All God's revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God's truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up.
One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when one five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a sunbeam. "I suppose I shall understand these things some day!" You can understand them now. It is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming "wise and prudent."

By Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Reflections for October 19, 2011

Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with every spiritual gift in the heavenly places in Christ, just as God the Father chose me in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and without blame before Jesus Christ in love, having predestined me to adoption as His son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made me accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:7-10 In Jesus Christ I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound or increase to me in all wisdom and understanding, having made known to me the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of  the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:11-12 In Jesus Christ also I have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of God the Father who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that I who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In Jesus Christ I also trusted, after I heard the word of truth, the gospel of my salvation; in whom also, having believed, I was sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of my inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (me, spirit, soul, and body), to the praise of His glory.
Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (KJV)

Now is the time for us (true believers) to decide within our own hearts whether we believe (without compromise) the whole counsel of God (the Bible) or not. If we believe the Bible we must say what it says without fear or reservation (speak the truth in love). Whenever we water down the Word of God, as not to offend people, we only end up offending people in the worst possible way of all by letting them believe that their false beliefs and lifestyles will not end them in eternal destruction. This action does not exemplify Christ love for humanity, but on the contrary perpetuates satan’s original lie he presented in the Garden of Eden.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Reflections for October 18, 2011

Matthew 6:19-21  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (KJV)

My heart must be a single minded devotion to the things of God. I must be governed by My Lord Jesus’ will and desires and He will engraft those desires into my heart when I communicate with Him through prayer and reading of His Word.
Judges 16

This entire Chapter always speaks rebuke to me because I find myself identifying with his weakness for women and making foolish choices by allowing the lust of the flesh to supersede the Word of God. How foolish was Samson to let his lust for sexual pleasure destroy what God had done for him and through him. In my opinion, he cared for Delilah but he was more consumed with lust for her. Delilah used him for monetary gain as many women use sex to control men. I have been where he was and can testify to how debilitated you feel after allowing these weeds that remain in our corrupt nature to sprout and grow into outward sin by not pulling them or cutting them off at the root with the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (KJV)

Three times she asked him to reveal the secret to his strength and each time she did what he told her and the Philistines were upon him. I could understand the first slip, but after the second he should have consulted the Lord and then the Lord would have revealed to him her evil intentions, but his pride and lust outweighed his need to acknowledge his weakness to the Lord and ask for help. This is why God the Holy Spirit over and over in the New Testament through Paul and others tell us to not to be filled with pride and try to stand and fight the devil in the area of sexual lust, but on the contrary He tells us to flee (to run away from this temptation) as Joseph so smartly headed. Genesis 39:12 His master's wife grabbed his coat and said to him, "Come to bed with me." But Joseph ran out of the house so fast that he left his coat in her hand. (ERV) This is what Samson should have done here and I can say I should have done likewise on occasions.
Judges 16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. (KJV)

When I fail to daily devour Your Word Dear Lord Jesus, I become very spiritually weak and vulnerable to sexual lust and sexual sin with women. This is what happened to Samson here, he forgot the source of his strength was from the Lord and not his hair.
Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. (KJV)

Verse 1 says Samson saw the woman and went to sleep with her. The source or root cause of his sin was the very thing the devil afflicted when he was captured. Confirming again the Word of God in whatever we sow we will reap a harvest good or bad. We must guard what our eyes look upon. Mat 6:22-23 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (KJV)
Your conduct will be regular and steady. All that is needful to direct the body is that the eye be fixed right. No other light is required. So all that is needful to direct the soul and the conduct is, that the eye of faith be fixed on heaven; that the affections be there. By Albert Barnes

And what the eye is to the body, the intention is to the soul. We may observe with what exact propriety our Lord places purity of intention between worldly desires and worldly cares, either of which directly tend to destroy. If thine eye be single - Singly fixed on God and heaven, thy whole soul will be full of holiness and happiness. John Wesley




Monday, October 17, 2011

Reflections for October 17, 2011

Nehemiah 9:38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. (KJV)

There are certain principles outlined in these chapters in Nehemiah, which may well be included in our covenant with God:
(1) Never to allow anything in private or business life which is not in keeping with the high ideals of the Bible.

(2) To set aside a certain proportion of our income and time for the maintenance of the Work and House of God.
(3) To observe the Rest-Day.

But a covenant is between two. No resolution of ours is strong enough to keep us true. The most fervent protestations and vows may fail us in the day of trial, and our covenants are permanent only so far as God is party to them. But if Jesus is our Co-Signatory, there will be a safe-guard and certainty which all the powers of evil will not be able to overthrow.
Livingstone's covenant with God was that he might heal the open plague-spot of the Arab slave-trade. A covenant like this, in some cases, has been signed with blood. This was D. L. Moody's prayer, as a young man: "Great God, let the world learn, through my life, what Thou canst do by a man wholly devoted to Thee!"

PRAYER
We present to Thee, O God, ourselves to be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, our reasonable service. Fulfill through us the good pleasure of Thy goodness, and the work of faith with power. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. (KJV)
Sin is a thing I am born with and I cannot touch it; God touches sin in Redemption. In the Cross of Jesus Christ God redeemed the whole human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin. The condemnation is not that I am born with heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. "And this is the judgment" (the critical moment), "that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light."

By Oswald Chambers


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Reflections for October 16, 2011

Let us also delight in God through His Word. Let us not read the Bible as a task, but dwell upon it, until its beauties become woven into our thoughts and lives. It is thus that life becomes purified and enriched. We shall no longer desire base or corrupting things, but God will give us the desires of our heart, and we shall be satisfied, if we delight ourselves in Him. By F. B. Meyer

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Reflections for October 15, 2011

Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (KJV)

Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. (KJV)

We have obtained the promise spoken of here in these two verses; therefore, our having the Spirit of God living in our spirits makes us a new race of human beings on earth. When keep this at the forefront of our understanding, then we see why those still under the control of the other spirit hate true Christians; Ephesians 2:2 “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” If a Christian is not hated by those still under the control of the other spirit, question: Is there something wrong with their profession of faith in Christ?
Galatians 4:3-7 It is the same for us. We were once like children, slaves to the useless rules of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God's purpose was to make us his children. Since you are now God's children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, "Abba, Father." Now you are not slaves like before. You are God's children, and you will receive everything he promised his children. (ERV)

Now we have been born again by the Power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, therefore, we are no longer slaves to sin and the cruel rudiments of this world. We have received the Promise of the Holy Spirit and along with every Promise in the Word of God are ours. We need never ever allow the devil to intimidate us for his grip on us has been destroyed forever.

October 15 by F.B. Meyer

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN
"Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple."-- Luk_14:33.

THREE TIMES over in this chapter, our Lord says these solemn words: "he cannot be My disciple." There are three conditions of discipleship. First, we must be prepared to put first things first; second, we must be willing to suffer daily crucifixion; third, we must be detached from all things, because attached to Christ. The conditions seem severe, but they must be fulfilled, if we would enter Christ's School.
Disciple stands for learner. Our Lord is prepared to teach us the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; but it is useless to enter His class unless we have resolved to do as He says. Put first things first. When our Lord uses the word hate, He clearly means that the love we are to have for Him is to be so much greater, that comparatively our natural affection will be as if it were hate. No one could have loved His Mother more than our Lord did. In His dying agony His special thought and care was for her, but on three different occasions He put her aside. We are sometimes called to put aside those who are nearest and dearest, if their demands conflict with the claims of Christ.

The daily cross. In each of us there is the self-principle, and for each of us there is a perpetual necessity to deny self. Some talk about bearing the cross in a glib fashion, but its true meaning is shame, suffering, and sorrow, which no one realizes but God, and which perhaps strikes deeper down into the roots of our being as we grow older. There is an opportunity in your life, in respect to some person or circumstance, for an ever-deepening appreciation of union with Christ in His death, and for which you must be daily prepared to surrender your own way and will.
Renunciation. It may be necessary to surrender all we have for Christ, or it may be that He will ask us to hold all as a steward or trustee for Himself and others. No one can lay down the rule for another. The main point to decide is this: "Am I willing to do what Christ wants me to do; to yield my will for Him to mould it, and my life for Him to work through it?" If so, all else will adjust itself.

PRAYER
O Lord, save me in spite of myself. May I be Thine; wholly Thine, and, at all costs, Thine. In humiliation, in poverty, in self abnegation, Thine. Thine in the way Thou knowest to be most fitting, in order that Thou mightest be now and ever mine. AMEN.






Friday, October 14, 2011

Reflections for October 14, 2011

Here is what our brother in Christ Matthew Henry (1662-1714) had to say about us delighting ourselves in the Lord, “If we make conscience of obedience to God, we may then take the comfort of complacency in him. And even this pleasant duty of delighting in God has a promise annexed to it, which is very full and precious, enough to recompense the hardest services: He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. He has not promised to gratify all the appetites of the body and the humors of the fancy, but to grant all the desires of the heart, all the cravings of the renewed sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him.”

The hearts of Christ true followers must cling to Him and His Word and never let anything separate us from our close fellowship with Him and the truth of His Word. We must remember that everything written to us about the things that happened to the children of Israel were written for our admonition or warning. Our Heavenly Father expects us to be grateful and thankful to Him because He has reconciled us back to Himself and allowed us to learn His truth so that we might not enter into some of the same destructive paths as the children of Israel.

Perhaps the ugliest thing found in our hearts by our Heavenly Father is ingratitude. We should be willing and able to say as Job said to his wife, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” This should be the continual cry of every redeemed soul. Every redeemed soul experiences hatred down here since Christ has taken us out of this world. The world hated Christ as He walked down here among men. Are we better or greater than He is? He thanked the Father for everything, even the cross. Should we not be compelled to do likewise, if we love Him?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Reflections for October 13, 2011

Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. (KJV)

I must not show or allow hypocrisy in my life, for Christ is not a minister of sin. Jesus Christ teaches me throughout His Word that His grace will allow me to live here on earth without being enslaved to sin I cannot help, but through His love for me exhorts and bids me always to come to Him for His strength to combat my weakness. Hebrews 2:18 And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted. (ERV)

Gal 2:18-21 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (KJV)

No person can ever be justified before God by any outward working of the law (none of the ceremonials rituals, i.e. receiving the sacraments, reciting rehearsed prayers, church attendance, praying to dead people (patron saints), infant baptism, etc. All of these things are of no effect in the saving of anyone’s soul. By trying to do enough good works to merit your salvation, a person frustrates Christ grace and renders it powerless to save them. Not that Christ grace is powerless, but it cannot work along with man’s perceived good works.
But for those who have acknowledged ourselves to be nothing but helpless sinners and received Him into our hearts, Christ now lives there and creates a new man internally that is now capable through His grace and power to live a new moral life acceptable to Him; a life that will now bring Glory to Him now on the earth. It is now all about Christ’s grace working effectually in me to bear the newness of life Paul speaks of in Romans 6. Romans 6:4-7 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. (KJV)

Morning
2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (KJV)

Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature’s garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature’s thorns never produced a single fig. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”
True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of his love.

True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally-as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it-shun it in everything-not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against him.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet and bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.

By Charles H. Spurgeon




Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Reflections for October 12, 2011

2 Corinthians 3:17 (AMP): “Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

What does this word “liberty” actually mean? Well this English word liberty comes from the Greek word eleutheria, which means “freedom; moral or ceremonial freedom.” What does this moral freedom produce? Christ is the Spirit who takes away that covering by working in hearts. The Law itself also works in hearts, though in vain because the Law speaks to the spiritually dead (those who are dead in trespasses and sin). The Holy Spirit makes alive or brings life. The Lord Jesus Christ is represented as the Spirit. Christ is the end of the law for justification and righteousness to all who believe. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and He is the dispenser of all gifts, graces, and influences.

When I received the Gospel, the Spirit of the Lord was given to me. The Spirit of the Lord lives and works in me to bring this liberty or freedom from the slavery of sin and sin’s power. The Spirit of God gives light and clearness of view. This is a general truth. The Spirit of God removes obscurity and enables me to see truth plainly and clearly. This truth cannot be denied. The word “freedom” perhaps better conveys the idea.
Dear Lord Jesus, though I am clouded with the things of this world, help me see with clarity and truth that only emanates from Your Word. Amen

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Reflections for October 11, 2011

Morning

Lamentations 3:41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. (KJV)

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, and a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God’s young eaglets, that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer girds the loins of God’s warriors, and sends them forth to combat with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader cometh out of his closet, even as the sun ariseth from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua; it is the arrow shot from the chamber of the prophet foreboding defeat to the Syrians. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank thee, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of thy marvellous lovingkindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Evening

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (KJV)

In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words-”Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling.” Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is “a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ’s, you can say, “Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy.” Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and his divine will? Again, in Philippians, Phi_3:13, Phi_3:14, we are told of “The high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, and your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we find in Heb_3:1-”Partakers of the heavenly calling.” Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, and heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call his people.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Monday, October 10, 2011

Reflections for October 10, 2011

John 1:1 (AMP): “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.”

God’s Word became flesh to live among us. Christ knew the temptations we would suffer through, and He experienced earthly life with us in order that He might restore us. Why do we need restoration? We need restoration because Adam’s fall into sin in the Garden of Eden destroyed our ability to live the “higher” life in direct fellowship with a holy God. Thus, Christ has come to restore to us a purity that we can only receive through Him. It is through Christ that we become a “new creation.” Through Christ’s salvation He accomplishes the renovation of man and his restoration from a state of sin. This new creation is a restored state as it was with the “first creation.” The Greek word Logos, identified as the Word of God, was the source of life during the first creation in the beginning. In a similar but higher sense, Christ is the source of “life” to the soul dead in trespasses and sins.

Here is what R. A. Torrey (1856-1928) said about God’s Love:

 “What does the Bible tell us as to how God shows His love? 1) That God shows

 His love, by pardoning Sin. Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the

 unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have

 love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His

 abundant pardon. God tells us plainly in His Word that He is willing to forgive

 any sinner that lives, no matter how deep down he has gone, if he will only turn from

 sin and turn to Him; and He will forgive him the very moment he does so. Of course,

 God cannot forgive a man while he holds on to his sin, and retain His own moral

 character. I have a boy. I love that boy, and I would give a great deal to see him now.

 I believe there is nothing that boy could do but, if he repented and turned from it, I

 would forgive him. But I could not forgive him if he held on to his evil way. I could

 continue to love him and seek to save him, but I could not forgive him. And God

 cannot forgive us, and remain what He is, a Holy God, until we are ready to quit our

 sin.”

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Reflections for October 9, 2011

John 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (KJV)

Likewise Dear Heavenly Father, shall I not drink in the providential cup You have placed in my pathway. Help me Dear Lord Jesus to do it without murmur or complaint.
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered; Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (KJV)

There is but one truth and He is Jesus Christ. When a person sincerely and earnestly desires the truth, God the Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of Truth) will lead that soul to the only truth in existence Jesus Christ. In the past, today, and in the future people all over the world want to know truth. Often they hear convoluted messages from so called spiritual gurus telling them that truth is relative and that you can make your own truth and many other foolish notions. However, in the human heart God has placed an urgency to find out the truth. There is restlessness in every soul devoid of the truth, a quiet desperation that cannot be silenced with any band aid of supposed truth. Only the real thing will suffice. We all know that 1 + 1 = 2. Is that true in India? Is it true in China? The answer is yes of course it is true everywhere. Cannot gravity be proved to be true anywhere upon the earth? Sure, then truth is truth and there is not more than one truth. It is by the truth found in Jesus Christ and His Word that those who belong to Him are made different upon the earth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 So if any man is in Christ, he is in a new world: the old things have come to an end; they have truly become new. (BBE) The love of the truth is what followers of Jesus Christ desire and in Him only it is found. What you believe and who you believe will determine how you live. For example, the people who believed Adolph Hitler murdered people because they acted out their internal belief. Jesus Christ voice resonates through His Word and calls all people everywhere who seek truth to Himself. Psalm 96:13 Before the LORD: for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. (KJV) “Every sincere lover of truth will hear him, so as to understand and practise what he saith.” By John Wesley

Jude 1:24 “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (KJV)

In some sense the path to heaven is very safe, but in other respects there is no road so dangerous. It is beset with difficulties. One false step (and how easy it is to take that if grace be absent), and down we go. What a slippery path is that which some of us have to tread! How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist, “My feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped.” If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are! In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we should soon be down. Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patient power which watches over us day by day! Think, how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, “Glory be to him, who is able to keep us from falling.” We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labour to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice. Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defence. He is faithful that hath promised, and he is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence,
“Against me earth and hell combine,

But on my side is power divine;

Jesus is all, and he is mine!”

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Reflections for October 8, 2011

John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. (KJV)

In this verse, You directly meant the Apostles Lord Jesus, but You being Eternal looked into all of the future and meant here at this moment to pray for me and all who would come to You in repentance and faith.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. (KJV)

All of us who are truly born again are one Dear Lord Jesus despite the wheat (true converts) and the tares (false converts) growing up together. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (KJV)
John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (KJV)

None You redeem Dear Lord Jesus will ever be lost Eternally. We are kept by Your Mighty Hand from falling and not due to our own weak human efforts. 1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (KJV)

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (KJV)
I am sanctified, set apart, being made holy daily by the washing of water with the Word. I MUST spend time daily in the Word of God. Not just cursory time, but deep reflection, study, meditation, and prayer over the Word.

John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (KJV)
The word sanctified here is the Greek Word (Hagiazo) which means to make holy; purify; consecrate; hallow.

John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. (KJV)
I have received the same Glory the Father gave Jesus. Christ said “I have given them” past tense; done deal; already mine. Now it is my responsibility to manifest (make visible in my daily life) that Glory.

Judges 6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. (KJV)
The Alter of Baal, torn down with the Word of God. Everything that the devil builds up can be destroyed but only with the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (KJV)

I must daily moment by moment (without ceasing or stopping) surrender my mind totally to You Lord Jesus. Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. (KJV) I can change the way I live by allowing the Word of God to change the way I think. Ephesians 4:17, 18, 23  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. (KJV)  Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (KJV)




Friday, October 7, 2011

Reflections for October 7, 2011

Today I have no word from the Lord to me but what He has already spoken here through King David. Let this minister to you as it did to me today…This translation is the Bible in Basic English.

Psalm 37:1 Of David. Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers, or have envy of the workers of evil.
Psalm 37:2 For they will quickly be cut down like grass, and become dry like the green plants.

Psalm 37:3 Have faith in the Lord, and do good; be at rest in the land, and go after righteousness.
Psalm 37:4 So will your delight be in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.

Psalm 37:5 Put your life in the hands of the Lord; have faith in him and he will do it.
Psalm 37:6 And he will make your righteousness be seen like the light, and your cause like the shining of the sun.

Psalm 37:7 Take your rest in the Lord, waiting quietly for him; do not be angry because of the man who does well in his evil ways, and gives effect to his bad designs.
Psalm 37:8 Put an end to your wrath and be no longer bitter; do not give way to angry feeling which is a cause of sin.

Psalm 37:9 For the evil-doers will be cut off: but those who have faith in the Lord will have the earth for their heritage.
Psalm 37:10 For in a short time the evil-doer will be gone: you will go searching for his place, and it will not be there.

Psalm 37:11 But the gentle will have the earth for their heritage; they will take their delight in peace without measure.
Psalm 37:12 The sinner has evil designs against the upright, lifting up the voice of wrath against him.

Psalm 37:13 He will be laughed at by the Lord, who sees that his day is coming.
Psalm 37:14 The evil-doers have taken out their swords, their bows are bent; for crushing the poor, and to put to death those who are upright in their ways.

Psalm 37:15 But their swords will be turned into their hearts, and their bows will be broken.
Psalm 37:16 The little which the good man has is better than the wealth of evil-doers.

Psalm 37:17 For the arms of the evil-doers will be broken: but the Lord is the support of the good.
Psalm 37:18 The days of the upright are numbered by the Lord, and their heritage will be forever.

Psalm 37:19 They will not be shamed in the evil time and in the days when all are in need of food they will have enough.
Psalm 37:20 But the wrongdoers will come to destruction, and the haters of the Lord will be like the fat of lambs, they will be burned up; they will go up in smoke, and never again be seen.

Psalm 37:21 The sinner takes money and does not give it back; but the upright man has mercy, and gives to others.
Psalm 37:22 Those who have his blessing will have the earth for their heritage; but those who are cursed by him will be cut off.

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he takes delight in his way.
Psalm 37:24 Even if he has a fall he will not be without help: for the hand of the Lord is supporting him.

Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and now am old, but I have not seen the good man without help, or his children looking for bread.
Psalm 37:26 All the day he is ready to have mercy and to give; his children are a blessing.

Psalm 37:27 Be turned from evil, and do good; and your place will be forever.
Psalm 37:28 For the Lord is a lover of righteousness, and takes care of his saints; they will be kept safe for ever; but the seed of the evil-doers will be cut off.

Psalm 37:29 The upright will have the earth for their heritage, and will go on living there forever.
Psalm 37:30 The mouth of the good man says words of wisdom; the talk of his tongue is of righteousness.

Psalm 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; he will never make a false step.
Psalm 37:32 The sinners are watching the upright man, desiring to put him to death.

Psalm 37:33 The Lord will not give him into their hands, or be against him when he is judged.
Psalm 37:34 Be waiting for the Lord, and keep his way; and you will be lifted up, and have the land for your heritage: when the evil-doers are cut off, you will see it.

Psalm 37:35 I have seen the evil-doer in great power, covering the earth like a great tree.
Psalm 37:36 But he came to an end, and there was no sign of him; I made a search for him and he was not there.

Psalm 37:37 Give attention to the good man, and take note of the upright; because the end of that man is peace.
Psalm 37:38 But as for the sinners, they will be cut off together; the end of the wrongdoers is destruction.

Psalm 37:39 But the Lord is the saviour of the upright: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
Psalm 37:40 And the Lord will be their help, and keep them safe: he will take them out of the hands of the evil-doers, and be their saviour, because they had faith in him.



Thursday, October 6, 2011

Reflections for October 6, 2011

John 15:9-12 Even as the Father has given me his love, so I have given my love to you: be ever in my love. If you keep my laws, you will be ever in my love, even as I have kept my Father's laws, and am ever in his love. I have said these things to you so that I may have joy in you and so that your joy may be complete. This is the law I give you: Have love one for another, even as I have love for you. (BBE)

How do I remain in Christ love for me? He tells me by keeping or guarding His commandments is the way for me to remain or stay in His love for me. His love for me never takes time off; it is ever present and constant. However, I have free will and can take off when I want and consequently step out of His constant love for me. On a sunny day during the 12 hours of daylight, the sun never stops shining and therefore any person can enjoy the rays of the sun for the entire 12 hour period, but they can also choose to put up an umbrella to block the sun’s rays from reaching them. This is what I and any other Christian do when we willfully disregard the Lord’s Word. At the top of His commandment list is for fellow believers in Christ to love each other as He loves us.
John 15:16-20  You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruit which will be forever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you. So this is my law for you: Have love one for another. If you are hated by the world, keep in mind that I was hated by the world before you. If you were of the world, you would be loved by the world: but because you are not of the world, but I have taken you out of the world, you are hated by the world. Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours. (BBE)

Jesus Christ chose me and plucked me out of this world dominated and controlled by sin and satan before He founded or made the world, therefore, I am now different from those still enslaved by satan and his world system. I will be hated because my Lord Jesus was hated first. I must never seek to be loved by the world and those still controlled by it. All because I bear the name, character, and nature of Jesus Christ my Lord, Master, and Savior I can never fit into this present world system. As so eloquently stated by the Apostle Peter here in these Scriptures; 2 Peter 1:2-4  Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust. (ASV)