Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

December 9, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



The Opposition of the Natural
Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires -Galatians 5:24
The natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God's best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. "Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh . . . ." The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself. . ." ( Matthew 16:24  ). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.

The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.

 

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Do You Cherish God's Word?

Psalm 107:20 says,

He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

God has given us His Word for our benefit, and yet so many Christians ignore it to their hurt.

It is like the story of the woman a preacher went to visit one day.  She lived in a dilapidated house.  As long as he had known her, she had struggled with poverty.  Twenty years earlier she had been the housekeeper for the wealthiest woman in town, but the wealthy woman had died.  So this housekeeper moved into an old shack.

As the pastor was visiting her, he noticed a document framed on the wall.  He said, "Do you mind if I borrow this for a few days?"  She replied, "Well, you can borrow it, but please bring it back.  Although I can't read, it is very important to me.  It is the only thing that the lady left me when she died.  It is very valuable to me.  It reminds me of her.  So make sure you bring it back."

He took it and had it investigated and authenticated.  It was the will of the woman who had died, and in the will she left her housekeeper a fortune.  The housekeeper could have had any house she wanted in the whole city and had servants of her own, but due to her ignorance, she lived in poverty and had a rough go of it all those years.

That woman reminds me of a lot of Christians.  They don't read their Bible, but they admire it because it reminds them of God.  They haven't taken time to find out the inheritance that belongs to them as believers.

God's Word is a light to our path.  It is our guidebook for life.  It is bread for our spirit.  It is our strength.  It is our refuge in troubled times.

Cherish God's Word.


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LEARNING TO WAIT GOD'S WAY 
(Psalm 18:6)

David was the anointed king of Israel, but before he could enjoy the realization of God's promises, he had to go through a season of testing and waiting. During this time, he was forced to hide out in caves and literally run for his life. King Saul, who was bent on David's destruction, continually hunted for him. Perhaps the Lord has given you a promise through His Word. You are ready to see it unfold, but it hasn't happened yet. Though you have waited, it seems that there is no hope on the horizon. Remember, God's timing is perfect.

He knows what you need, when you need it. He knows that if we are going to learn how to walk with Him in the daylight or the good times, we must learn first to trust Him in times of darkness.

At some point, each of us has waited for God's promises to come. David may have wondered when the Lord would open the door to blessing. However, he never allowed his thoughts to turn to doubts. In fact, in Psalm 18:17, 19, he praises God for the victory he knew would be his one day. "(God) delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me ... He brought me forth also into a broad (or spacious) place, He rescued me, because He delighted in me."

When God delivers you from trial and trouble, you can be sure that He will bring you out into a spacious place of joy and delight - one that also will glorify Him and add encouragement to your life. Have you been pushing and shoving in an effort to move God on to the place where you think you should be? If so, stop and be determined to wait on God. The time you spend waiting in darkness will one day be rewarded by the Father of lights (James 1:17).

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

December 12, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     

Personality
. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . . -John 17:22
Personality is the unique, limitless part of our life that makes us distinct from everyone else. It is too vast for us even to comprehend. An island in the sea may be just the top of a large mountain, and our personality is like that island. We don't know the great depths of our being, therefore we cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator.

Personality is the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man, just as individuality is the characteristic of the outer, natural man. Our Lord can never be described in terms of individuality and independence, but only in terms of His total Person- "I and My Father are one" ( John 10:30  ). Personality merges, and you only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person. When love or the Spirit of God come upon a person, he is transformed. He will then no longer insist on maintaining his individuality. Our Lord never referred to a person's individuality or his isolated position, but spoke in terms of the total person- ". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . . ." Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love- personal devotion to Jesus. Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another.


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Key #1 to Effective Prayer - Being Specific

Over the next number of devotionals, I want to walk you through the keys to effective prayer.  To start, I want to focus today's devotional on Mark 10:46-52 where we find a very intriguing story.

Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

The question Jesus asked, "What do you want Me to do for you?", seemed obvious, didn't it?  Everybody present knew Bartimaeus needed his eyes to be healed.  Why would Jesus ask this question?

He wanted us to understand how important it is to be specific when we ask something of God.  Bartimaeus' faith had to become specific before it made him well.  It was after he said, "Lord, that I might receive my sight," that Jesus said, "Your faith has made you well."

Being specific in what you request of God is the first key to effective prayer.


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WORTH THE WAIT
(Habakkuk 3:18-19)

When the storms of life hit, we are often tempted to run for cover. When they continue indefinitely, we struggle to find encouragement. When the rain and the wind gather strength until they turn into what seems to be a hurricane, we find ourselves saying, "I can't do this any longer," The truth is this: we can't, but God can.

He is the only One who can help us victoriously fight through the battles of life. Nothing can provide the type of strength that He provides, especially when we feel overwhelmed and discouraged. He stands beside us, and He never retreats.

Daniel never worried about being cast into the lion's den. He knew that the Lord would provide the help and protection he needed to make it through the night. Some of the people who read these words are fighting a battle with a life-threatening disease. It is an unseen enemy from a human standpoint but not from God's. He knows exactly what we are facing and how it is affecting our lives. \

There is an incredible sense of peace that comes from learning how to rest in the Lord and allow Him to take care of your troubles. This does not mean that you abandon the fight and just give up trying. It means that you shift the focus of your effort from yourself to God. This is where the true victory is gained.

The apostle Paul faced many life-threatening situations. At one point, he debated whether it was better to ask God to allow him to go home to heaven where he would have unending peace and glory in the presence of Christ or to continue living the earthly life God had given him. Paul chose the latter. As much as he longed to see the Lord in heaven, he loved having the opportunity here to tell others about God's unending, unconditional love and forgiveness.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

December 13, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



Intercessory Prayer
. . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart -Luke 18:1

You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to "fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" ( Colossians 1:24  ), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, "It is putting yourself in someone else's place." That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God's place; it is having His mind and His perspective.

As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can't pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.

Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.

What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply "patched up." We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.


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Key #2 to Effective Prayer - Being Connected

Yesterday we found that the first key to effective prayer is the need to be specific when we pray.  Today, I want to show you the second key:  The need to have a close relationship with God.

In John 15:5, Jesus says,

"I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

God wants every part of our life to be connected to Him.  And He tells us that as that happens, as we have our lives connected with Him, we bear much fruit.  A few verses later Jesus directly connected that fruit to prayer.

In John 15:16, Jesus goes on to say,

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

If we are connected to God and we abide in Him, Jesus says we will bear much fruit-prayer fruit.  Think about a fruit tree for a moment.  The leaves come out because the branches are attached to the tree.  In the spring the branch will blossom, and from those blossoms comes the fruit.

But if something happens and the branch is not solidly connected to the tree, it will probably not bear any fruit at all.  There may be a few leaves, but the blossoms won't come and there won't be any fruit.  The blossoms and healthy fruit will only come if the branch is fully connected.

God wants us connected to Him in every part of our lives.  When that happens, our prayers will be in line with His desires, and we can be confident that He will answer.


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OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL DRYNESS

(Ezekiel 37:3)

Spiritual dryness comes when we overextend ourselves and become too involved with life to take time to be alone with the Lord. Sin is another reason we feel dry and distant from God. The nation of Judah struggled with both of these problems. They were too busy, and they began to worship pagan gods - knowing all along that the Lord had told them, "You shall have no other gods before Me." (Deuteronony 5:7) Yet they ignored His command and suffered for it.

Yielding to sin and being too busy to worship God quickly leads to a divided mind and heart. If we continue along this track, we will begin to spend more and more time doing other things and less time in prayer with the One who loves us the most and died for our sins. Before we know it, we will feel tired, drained of energy, and just plain worn out. This is when Satan's forces begin to tempt us with sin.

Even in a world of turmoil, God wants to spend time with you. Relationship is at the core of His very being, and He desires your fellowship. How long has it been since someone has told you that he or she wants to be with you - just to talk and listen to what you have to say? God wants to do this for you.

Like our nation today, the nation of Judah was in desperate need of a revival. However, in order for this to happen, the people must express their need for God and, most of all, their desire to know Him in a personal way.

Do you feel spiritually dry? Maybe you have tried unsuccessfully to revive yourself through a home Bible study or an occasional visit to church. Or perhaps you go to church every Sunday, yet you feel dry inside. If this is the case, know that you can experience a personal revival the moment you confess your need to the Lord. His care for you is unconditional. The instant you do this, He will turn on heaven's shower of refreshment and breathe new life into your heart and soul.

God bless


December 14, 2011


Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



The Great Life
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled . . . -John 14:27
Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal life, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. But as soon as we let go, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.

God's mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable, deep peace; not a natural peace, "as the world gives," but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.

My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight, because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how He will unravel my problems.


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How to Stay Connected

Yesterday we discovered the second key to effective prayer is to stay connected to God.  The critical question is:  How do we do that?

While there are many things we can do, I want to focus on two things.  First of all, if you want to have a close relationship with God, it is important to realize just how much He desires to have a close relationship with you.

This is an amazing truth when you stop to think about it.  He is Almighty God, and yet He wants to have a close relationship with you.

Romans 5:11 in the New Living Translation says, Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Through Jesus, God made us to be His friends!  So connecting with God starts with remembering He desires to be your closest friend.

Second, you need to practice His presence.  Right now God is with you.  He is everywhere you go.  He is at your job; He is at your home; He is with you wherever you might be, even in the hardest time of your life.

The last part of Hebrews 13:5 says, For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."



There was a monk in the seventeenth century named Brother Lawrence who wrote a book called The Practice of the Presence of God.  In the monastery there were chimes that rang every hour, and Brother Lawrence would use that as a reminder to connect with God.

If you have a PDA or a wristwatch or a cell phone, you might consider setting it to go off throughout the day to remind you that God is with you.  Each time it goes off, spend a few moments communing with Him.  Practice His presence.  That will help you  stay connected to God.


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A Breath Of Life

(Ezekiel 37:5)

A couple of years ago, the southern half of the United States went through a time of drought that led to a widespread crop damage. At the same time, the western part of the country was also experiencing an extensive drought, and wildfires threatened the lives and homes of countless people.

When dryness comes, it is easy to shrug our shoulders and think, "It will rain soon." However, after a few weeks with no sign of rain, we begin to wonder if we will ever see wet pavement again. The spiritual drought that hit Judah lasted for years. The people were spiritually dry and failing in their development to God. Yet they were the ones to blame because they had abandoned their devotion to the Lord.

God led Ezekiel to a valley where a mighty battle had taken place. Dry, sun-bleached bones littered the landscape, and the prophet felt hopeless at the sight. However, God reminded him that He had not abandoned His plan for the nation. Once again, He would breathe life into the nation, and even the bones in this valley would rise to new life.

When we open the door to sin, our lives become dry. When we ignore it, they become even dryer. When we refuse to heed God's warning by turning away from the very things that separate us from Him, we become dryer still.

Spiritual dryness leads to complacency and apathy. It brings a sense of deadness to our souls and turns us away from the things of God. Satan loves to entice us away from spending time alone with God in prayer and Bible study each day. He knows that if we fail to read God's Word, our lives will become dry, and we will lack the right kind of refreshment that brings life, hope, and joy to our souls.

If you feel dry and weary, turn back to God, and drink deeply from His pool of everlasting refreshment and life. Then you will be spiritually revived and renewed.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

December 15, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     

"Approved to God"
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth -2 Timothy 2:15

If you cannot express yourself well on each of your beliefs, work and study until you can. If you don't, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth. Strive to re-express a truth of God to yourself clearly and understandably, and God will use that same explanation when you share it with someone else. But you must be willing to go through God's winepress where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle, experiment, and rehearse your words to express God's truth clearly. Then the time will come when that very expression will become God's wine of strength to someone else. But if you are not diligent and say, "I'm not going to study and struggle to express this truth in my own words; I'll just borrow my words from someone else," then the words will be of no value to you or to others. Try to state to yourself what you believe to be the absolute truth of God, and you will be allowing God the opportunity to pass it on through you to someone else.

Always make it a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly to think through what you have easily believed. Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study. The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn't know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.


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Key #3 to Effective Prayer - Praying From the Heart

Today we will look at the third key to effective prayer.  This key is found in Romans 10:9-10 where it says,

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Prayer must come from the heart.  These verses in particular teach us that if a person is going to pray a prayer of salvation, the heart and the mouth must get together.  It is not good enough to just have the words.  Your heart and mouth must be in agreement.

I believe this truth applies to every kind of prayer.  It is not good enough to just use eloquent words.  There has to be heart behind them if you are going to realize results from your prayers.

I think only those things that burn brightly within our hearts truly touch the heart of God.

When I was young, I would go fishing with my cousins.  At night, the bats would come out and my cousins would take a lure, and they would cast it up in the air.  Every once in a great while one of the bats would hit the lure and get snagged.

I think when we pray, it is like casting lines up into the heavens.  But it is only the prayers that come from our heart that ever hook onto anything in heaven.

Effective prayer comes from your heart.


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RELIEF FOR A WEARY SOUL

(Ezekiel 37:14)

How has our nation become so dry in its devotion to God? The answer is simple - we have gone to other things for refreshment. We have sought ways of encouraging ourselves without God. We have turned and walked in the opposite direction, thinking that we will try something new and it will satisfy our needs. We will the emptiness of our lives with people instead of God, and immediately they become like gods to us. Then, before we know it, they have done something to disappoint us, and we immediately feel betrayed and defeated.

In a nation that has the greatest material advantages, we want more and expect to get it. We're no longer satisfied with simple things - we have to have the latest flat-screen television. We have the newest computer that plays more songs and that does more that we will ever use, and still we cry out for more. We have flashier cars, larger homes, walk-in closets with shelves filled with clothing that we cannot even remember buying. We repaint rooms in our houses, purchase new furniture, and still feel empty, alone, and in debt.

Only God has the ability to satisfy the deepest longing in our hearts. Sure, it is fun to wear a new shirt and feel as though you are looking your best. God is not against this. In fact, He wants us to do well in this life. However, He wants us to love Him above all things. He gives good things to His children, but when the good things become objects of worship, we find that we are headed for trouble.

God will allow us to drift until we wake up and realize that our needs cannot be satisfied by anything or anyone other than God Himself. A new marriage or a new baby will not relieve the pressure. Many times it only makes it worse.

You can stop the dryness in your life by telling the Lord what you are facing and how you feel. He understands your needs, but He also knows that the only way you truly will find refreshment and hope that lasts is by living your life for Him.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

December 16, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



Wrestling Before God
Take up the whole armor of God . . . praying always . . . -Ephesians 6:13,18

You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn't meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25 ). Don't become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because "we are more than conquerors through Him . . ." ( Romans 8:37  ). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness- "take up the whole armor of God . . . ."

Always make a distinction between God's perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God's perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . ." ( Romans 8:28 )- to those who remain true to God's perfect will- His calling in Christ Jesus. God's permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, "Yes, it is the Lord's will." We don't have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.


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Key #4 to Effective Prayer - Consistent with God's Will

In order for your prayers to be effective, they need to be in line with God's Word and will. That is the fourth key to effective prayer.

This means you must have knowledge of God's Word.  In John 15:7, Jesus says,

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

If you abide in God and His words abide in you, your desires will line up with His will.  How important it is for us to know the Word of God!

As Hebrews 4 reminds us, the Word of God is living and active and powerful. It is spirit; it is life. It's not just pages on a piece of paper. And as you are in the Word of God, I believe the Holy Spirit will paint heaven's pictures, heaven's thoughts, and heaven's ideas on the canvas of your heart and your mind.

As you read the Word of God, you will have confidence in your prayers because you will have God's heart. And when you have God's heart, He is going to answer your prayers because that is what He desires.

I also want to point you to 1 John 5:14 which says,

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

His will, of course, is His Word.  So if you ask anything according to His Word, He will hear you. And if you know that He hears whatever you ask, you know you have the petitions you have asked of Him.

This means you and I need to know what the Bible says so that our prayers will be answered. Effective prayers are those that are in line with God's Word and will.


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REMEMBER GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

(Exodus 15:23)

A man attending a Bible study requested prayer because he had gotten a promotion at work. While he was ready to rejoice over his new position, he also felt apprehensive. A woman who had been with the firm much longer would not report to him. He said, "I know God has placed me in this position. However, this is going to be a bitter pill for this woman to swallow."

Most of us dislike taking medicine. If it is bitter, it is even worse. Many of us also have found ourselves in similar situations. We may have received a promotion and placed in charge of a group of people who have been with the company longer than we have. Or perhaps a new manager, whom we feel lacks ability, steps onto the scene.

Regardless of the scenario, remember that God has a plan for your life. He has chosen this point in time for you to shine and not to appear dark and gloomy. He may place you in a role of leadership where you are forced to make decisions you never thought you could or would make. Or He may have allowed you to be bypassed for a promotion you believed was yours.

At times, each one of us can view life from an unrealistic perspective. We see ourselves climbing social or corporate ladders without hitting a snag or facing many problems. In our dream, if we do come up on problem areas, we tell ourselves that we are equipped to handle each one. However, we can't, and God knows it. He allows us to face extreme difficulty in order to teach us that we need His help and strength.

A bitter person becomes critical and unwilling to work with others. A godly person accepts God's will, knowing that up ahead there will be another opportunity for him or her.

When God asks you to swallow a bitter pill, be willing to do it. In the end, this one act of surrender could turn into a tremendous source of blessing and hope.



God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Today's Verse For Monday, December 19

'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, 'Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .' He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' | Mark 2:7-12 NIV

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

December 27, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



Where the Battle is Won or Lost
'If you will return, O Israel,' says the Lord . . . -Jeremiah 4:1


Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God's presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.

I should never say, "I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I'll put God to the test." Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.

In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point- a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest- our best for His glory.


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You Made it This Far!
Hebrews 10:32 sheds some additional light on what we can expect,



But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.

When it says, after you were illuminated, it literally means, "After you came to the light." This verse is talking about when the light of the Gospel dawned on you, when you were saved.

And what does it say? You need to recall, to remember, that after you came to Christ, you endured. You went through some battles.

I think we need to remember that. In fact, let me just encourage you today. The fact that you are reading this devotional today says something about you. Did you know there are a lot of people who were saved at the same time you were, but they are not seeking God today?

You made it through the battle! You stood fast. You might feel like you are pretty rickety and ready to keel over, but you are still seeking God! If the devil could get you, he would have gotten you already.

By God's grace you made it this far. Now is no time to quit!


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ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
In His Presence: Hear...your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching (Proverbs 1:.

Another way people learn about the family is through the lives and advice of friends. We may have heard others talking about what they would or would not do. Sitting around with his buddies watching a football game, one guy declared that he did not do woman's work. Another chimed in with agreement. Both men proudly stated how their wives take care of the children while they bring home a paycheck.

Remember what we said earlier: One of the number one problems in our country today is absentee parents-men and women who have checked out of the lives of their children. However, children need both parents to be actively involved as they learn and grow. Yet far too often, dads are taking a backseat, while moms are left to single-handedly direct the show.

When this is the case, children receive a mixed message. Instead of feeling secure, they feel insecure and often see their fathers as being weak. God has created men to be the head of the family. Therefore, men have a responsibility to fulfill.

If you are unsure how to handle yhour situation, ask God to direct your steps. Also, set a goal to live according to His principles. Most importantly, be actively involved in the lives of your children. You will never have another opportunity to say: "I love you," with your life. Therefore, make the most of the time that God has given you.

One Minute Please:

When it comes to the ways of the family, God the Father knows exactly what is best.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

December 28, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     

Continuous Conversion
. . . unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven -Matthew 18:3


These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God's, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must "put on the new man . . ." (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule- God must rule in us.

To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, "I won't submit." We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.


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Attack at the Point of Spiritual Breakthrough
We have seen in previous devotionals how Satan will attack when a person comes to Christ, when they are a babe in their faith. I believe Scripture shows us that the devil will also attack when you are on the verge of a breakthrough, or at a time of important transition. This is the second battle we must fight.

In Matthew 3, we find Jesus at an absolutely critical time of transition in His life. We have not heard from Him since He was 12 years old. There has been about 30 quiet, unnoticed years where He presumably was working in His father's carpentry shop.

That is when we read in Matthew 3:16-4:1,

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus is about to enter public ministry. The sick will be healed; the poor will have the gospel preached to them; miracles will be worked; the Father will be revealed. So from this point, the battle is on. And we are given a bird's-eye view of the conflict that occurs between Christ and the devil, which we will look at in more detail in the next several devotionals.

But I want to submit something to you today. If it seems that all hell has broken loose in your life, maybe, just maybe, it's because you are on the verge of a breakthrough in your life.

Maybe it's a time of very important transition where God wants to lift you into a place where there is going to be greater influence and greater impact through your life.


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LIVING WITH A SUBSTITUTE

In HIS Presence: The Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it (Genesis 2:15).

We live in a world where substitutes are often accepted as being the real thing. Years ago, a leading soft drink company decided to change the way its soda tasted. The company created a new drink and rolled out an elaborate ad campaign calling the drink the "new" cola.

When the public realized this new product would replace the original, there was outrage. People vowed to boycott the company by refusing to drink any of its products. Immediately, company executives realized that they were in trouble and withdrew the new product line. They quickly adopted a new marketing slogan regarding the original cola: "It's the real thing!"

What potentially could have spelled disaster for the company became the basis of a marketing program that is still going today-"It's the real thing!" In other words, there are no substitutes or fakes. The original thing is the real thing.

When it comes to the subject of the family, we have cast aside the original plan God gave us in Genesis and adopted a "new" plan. Instead of turning to His Word for advice, we now switch on the television and tune in to the talk shows and our families are suffering. If this is all we hear and practice, then we will be headed for deep trouble. God has a plan in mind for the family. It is real and amazing, but first we must be willing to embrace it.

One Minute Please:

We live in a day of substitutes and in a time when the real thing looks cheap.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

December 29, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     


Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more -John 6:66


When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must "walk in the light" of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don't "walk in the light" of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the "heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don't look at someone else and say, "Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can't I?" You have to "walk in the light" of the vision that has been given to you. Don't compare yourself with others or judge them- that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the "heavenly vision," do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you- things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself- ". . . for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15). If we don't see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord's teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don't try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.


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The Devil's Seeds of Doubt
As we saw yesterday, Satan will seek to attack when we are on the verge of a major breakthrough. I believe there are three distinct areas of attack in this battle. Today I want to cover the first with you. It is found in Matthew 4:3-4,

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

The devil's first area of attack will be to try to get you to doubt your calling.

Notice that just prior to this encounter the voice of God the Father said to Jesus, "This is My beloved Son!" And that is the first thing the devil challenges, "Well, if youare the Son of God...."

He will do the same thing to you.

What is it that God has spoken to you about that He wants you to do with your life? Has He told you that He wants to use you to funnel vast resources into the gospel? Or maybe God said you are to be a teacher, or that you are going to impact the entertainment industry, or that you are going to be a prayer warrior and tip the spiritual scales in critical times.

Whatever it is, the devil will saddle up next to you and say, "Who do you think you are? What God has told you is just a pipe dream. It's just your own head speaking to you." He will try and get you to doubt what God has said to you and to doubt what God has called you to do.

When that happens, you need to go back to that word that God has spoken to you in order to keep your focus and direction right.


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The Enemy's Deception
In HIS Presence; The serpent was more crafty [shrewd] than any beast of the field (Genesis 3:1).

We may mistakenly believe that we get to decide what our families do and don't do. However, God is the architect of the family. When we choose to bypass His principles, we set ourselves up for failure. Adam and Eve discovered this in a very painful way. They knew what God had commanded them to do. Yet they made a choice to do the opposite.

By yielding to Satan's wicked scheme, they lost everything-their home, the opportunity for a safe family environment, and, most importantly, the loving fellowship they once had with God. Suddenly, they felt emotions that they did not know existed-guilt, fear and isolation.

Under no circumstances is sin acceptable. For example, adultery is always wrong. Yet often, what we see portrayed in our society is the opposite of this. Why? The Enemy wants to trick us into believing that sin is just a normal part of life, and God is the one who is out of touch with reality.

The family is under Satan's full attack today. In fact, from that moment in the garden of Eden, the Enemy has been seeking to destroy what God created because he knows it is the very best and will lead to eternal joy and fulfillment.

If you have fallen prey to his attack, ask the Lord to forgive you. Turn back to God's principles, love your spouse and joy will return to your heart.

One Minute Please:

Satan must destroy the family in order for his plan to work.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

December 30, 2011

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     



"And Every Virtue We Possess"
. . . All my springs are in you -Psalm 87:7


Our Lord never "patches up" our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside- ". . . put on the new man . . ." (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!

The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ- a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.

And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.


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Where Satan Will Attack Second
Yesterday we saw the first area the devil will attack when you are on the verge of a breakthrough or in a time of important transition. Today, I want to show you the second area, the area of pride.

We pick up the drama of Satan's attack of Christ in Matthew 4:6,

"If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

I believe the devil was appealing to Jesus' pride at this point. He realized Jesus was solid in His own heart about who He was and what He was to do.

So the devil took Him to the most public of all places, and told Him, "Now, hey, You need to prove this to everybody else. If You cast Yourself down, You will have a soft landing because the angels will catch You, and everyone will know that You're the Son of God."

Pride will cause us to do things recklessly, and Satan was doing all he could to get Jesus to act recklessly. But Jesus answered perfectly, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."

By the way, the verse Satan quoted to Jesus about the angels catching Him had an ending, which he failed to include. It says, "To keep you in all your ways." The Amplified Bible says, "In all your ways of obedience and service."

In other words, you can't do some reckless thing to prove a point to other people and expect God to save you. Don't let your pride get you out on a limb. Instead, resist Satan's attack in the area of pride. Realize it for what it is; it's his temptation to get you to fall!

If you are secure in who you are, you don't have to prove anything to anyone.


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BETTER READ THE INSTRUCTIONS
In HIS Presence: Make me understand the way of Your precepts (Psalm 119:27)

Have you ever found yourself in a mess and wondered why things have gone so wrong? Most of us have. We can remember times when we rushed and tried to put an item together quickly, instead of reading the instructions that came in the package. Suddenly, we discovered that they pieces didn't quite fit correctly or that something seemed to be missing.

One man was determined to do minor word on his small car. Every few thousand miles, he would drain the oil and then refill it. When the car needed a tune up, he did it. Over time, he began to notice that every time he put the car back together, a couple of bolts or screws were left over. The automobile always seemed to run fine, so he didn't worry about it. In fact, his leftover bolts became the source of much fun and laughter among his friends.

This continued until one day, while driving down the road, he heard a loud knocking noise. After taking a look at the engine, his mechanic told him, "Your engine is about to fall out of your car!"

Everything you need for a successful marriage can be found in God's Word, but your must take time to read His instructions. Leftover bolts and overlooked items-such as an unfaithful heart, bouts of anger, impatience, or a careless attitude-can lead to serious results where everything falls apart.

One Minute Please:

Be sure to read the fine print-for best results always follow the instructions!


God bless