Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
The Inspiration Of Spiritual Initiative
Arise from the dead. - Ephesians 5:14


All initiative is not inspired. A man may say to you - "Buck up, take your disinclination by the throat, throw it overboard, and walk out into the thing!" That is ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes in and says, in effect, "Buck up," we find that the initiative is inspired.

We all have any number of visions and ideals when we are young, but sooner or later we find that we have no power to make them real. We cannot do the things we long to do, and we are apt to settle down to the visions and ideals as dead, and God has to come and say - "Arise from the dead." When the inspiration of God does come, it comes with such miraculous power that we are able to arise from the dead and do the impossible thing. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life comes after we do the "bucking up." God does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says - "Arise from the dead," we have to get up; God does not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand - "Stretch forth thy hand," and as soon as the man did so, his hand was healed, but he had to take the initiative. If we will do the overcoming, we shall find we are inspired of God because He gives life immediately.


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Keep Trusting

In the passage we looked at yesterday, Peter encouraged us to see the trials we face as temporary, something that only lasts for a while. I want you to read that passage again today, and then I want to point your attention to another truth that is vital to enduring through whatever trial you may be facing.

It says in 1 Peter 1:5-7,

Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

One of the critical things you and I need to do when faced with trials is continue to trust God in the midst of those trials.

No matter how difficult, do not unplug your faith, even when things get rough. Keep trusting God and His promises. Why? Well, look at what verse 5 says: We are "kept by the power of God through faith."

When you keep your faith plugged in, you are then kept by God's power.

That word keep means to preserve. It means to protect, to guard. It is used elsewhere in Scripture of a garrison of soldiers protecting something. When you are going through a trial, God will protect you through His power when you trust Him.

That word power is the same word in the Bible translated miracle. I take it to mean this: When you or I are in a season of trial, if God has to work a miracle to keep us and protect us, He will do it.

Whatever your trial...keep trusting.

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The Accountability of Stewardship

In His Presence: His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:23).

God will always let us know who owns what and who is in charge. How do we know He was still in charge when Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden? Because He pronounced a curse upon the serpent. He told Adam and Eve the consequences of their sin: conflict in the home, pain in childbirth, sweat in toil, and banishment from the garden. Adam, Eve, and the serpent were all held accountable for their lack of stewardship. God let them know that He is the owner.

God is only going to hold you accountable for what He gave you, not what He has given someone else. Never get upset because somebody else has received more from God than you have. More will be expected from them, and their stewardship does not concern you. If we would spend more time using what He has given us correctly, we wouldn't have time to look at what He has given someone else. Why? Because we'll be focused on progressing in our own Christian life.

God expects you to take what He gives you and maximize its potential. We should be satisfied with what He has given in terms of our gratitude, but we should always take what He gives us and get more out of it. We put our money in the bank to make interest, or we invest it to create a profit. We maximize the potential of that money.

One Minute Please

The stewardship mentality says that we joyfully receive what God gives us and use it to the best of our ability, making the most out of it for His glory.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
Taking the Initiative Against Depression
Arise and eat-1 Kings 19:5


The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive-only material things don't suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God's creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things-things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.
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Keep Laughing

I want to head back to 1 Peter 1:5-7 again today. Something tells me we could all continue to use the encouragement of Peter's words, especially the advice I want you to focus on today.

1 Peter 1:5-7,

Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Regardless of what you may be going through today, you need to rejoice. Peter says in verse 6, In this you greatly rejoice, even if for a season you are experiencing various trials.

Friend, keep your sense of humor. It will help you outlast your trials.

I read a story once about a guy parachuting when the wind blew him onto a track where they were racing cars...not a good place to land in a parachute. He was trying to get his parachute off when another gust of wind came and started dragging him face first down the track.

He finally got the parachute off and stood up only to see a car racing towards him. He quickly jumped out of the way and said to himself, "Man, I'm glad that's over!" and turned to get off the track. As he did, he stepped in a hole and twisted his ankle.

That was just too much! Even in his pain, he just started laughing!

Keep your sense of humor. Even if you are going through the roughest patch you have ever been through.

Do not let your trials rob you of your joy.

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The First Sphere of Stewardship

In His Presence: Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am (Psalm 39:4).

Basically, God has entrusted three things to our care. He has given us three spheres where we are to be His stewards. First, He has entrusted us with time. God is not limited by time. There is no time when He did not exist or when He will cease to be. He always has been and always will be. He is eternal. But time has a different meaning for us because we are limited by time. We have 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. We have a certain number of years to live, and we don't know how long that will be.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says: "Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." In this verse Paul told us to watch out for time. It is fleeting, and we are all running out of time.

Many people define time in terms of its linear course, from point A to point B. But that's not the full definition of time. In God's viewpoint, time is the boundary of opportunity. Time must be maximized, not trivialized. We should take advantage of it because we can never get it back.

To be a good steward of time, verse 17 tells us to understand what the will of the Lord is. To use your time to its utmost potential, you should use it to accomplish the will of God.

One Minute Please

If we are righteous stewards of God's time, He will give us joy in His time.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming
Arise, let us go from here -John 14:31


Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God's blessing is never on it. God will take the initiative against this kind of daydreaming by prodding us to action. His instructions to us will be along the lines of this: "Don't sit or stand there, just go!"

If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, "Come aside by yourselves . . ." then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don't sit and daydream about that person all the time- you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.


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The Path to Maturity

1 Peter 5:10 provides a very critical principle for those times when we are going through trials, a principle that is easy to miss,

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

You need to realize that even though God did not initiate your trouble, He can still use it to work something good in you. What the devil means for evil, God can turn into something good.

Even though the devil's purpose is to destroy you, if you will respond correctly, God can work good things. Notice the verse saysafter you have suffered a short season, God will perfect. It brings maturity to you.

While we might hate it, how we respond in times of trial makes us who we are-and it fits us to accomplish God's will. I hate some of the things I have gone through! But you know what? I would not be who I am had I not experienced those things. It has fitted me to do the will of God.

And while it may not seem like it, your present difficulty may be instrumental in your future success.

It reminds me of the guy who was shipwrecked on a deserted island. One day he decided to go across the island for food. When he got to the other side he looked back and saw a plume of smoke in the sky. He ran back only to find that his shack burnt to the ground!

It stung him to the core! Except the next morning a ship arrived and rescued him. When he asked the sailors, "How'd you know I was here?" they said, "We saw your smoke signal."

Your present trials just may be fitting you for something you would never expect!

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The Second Sphere of Stewardship

In His Presence: As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).

Friday we looked at the First Sphere of Stewardship. Today let's look at the second sphere God has entrusted to us is talent. This area includes the skills that God has bestowed on us for His purpose. A more specific word for a Christian's talent would be giftedness. God doesn't give us talent just so we can benefit from it-it's meant to benefit others.

We live in the "me" generation. Everyone only wants to be served, not to serve. There is not an overflow of God's goodness coming out of the hearts of people. But Romans 12 describes how God has given us gifts for the purpose of serving others: "Through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another" (vv. 3-5).

In these verses, Paul said we shouldn't get the wrong idea about who we are and lose sight of God's grace. We are who we are by God's grace; therefore, we should be willing to serve Him with all He has given us. In this way, others will grow in their relationship with Him. If we are only recipients of God's gifts and not conduits of His grace, we are abusing the stewardship role.

One Minute Please

God expects that since He is good to you, you should be good to somebody else.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
Do You Really Love Him?

She has done a good work for Me -Mark 14:6


If what we call love doesn't take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.

Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I'm not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things- things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? "She has done a good work for Me."

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. ". . . but perfect love casts out fear . . ." once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, "Am I of any use?" and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.


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Rich Blessings

Let me ask you a question. Do you believe God wants to bless you? You may say, "Yes," but in your heart do you really believe this to be true?

Take a moment to read Ezekiel 34:26,

"...I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing."

I believe the Bible teaches us that just like there are seasons of trial, there are seasons of exceptional blessing that come from God. And those seasons of exceptional blessing should not be taken for granted. We should capitalize on them and seize the momentum when those seasons come.

Don't get me wrong, God is good all the time, and He is good to all. His tender mercies are over all His works. He causes His sun to rise on the good and on the evil, and He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The fact of the matter is, God is good even to people who are not good because it is His nature.

However, there are richer, more frequent blessings that come from the hand of God. And they come to those who do a particular thing.

Tomorrow I want you to look with me in the book of Galatians. As we look at these verses, we will find that though God is good to all, the richer and more frequent blessings come to those who do a particular thing. Together we will see what that thing is.

Today, I just want you to grasp the truth that God does want to bless your life in an extraordinary way.

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The Third Sphere of Stewardship

In His Presence: Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:20-21).

God has also given us stewardship over the area of our treasures, the "stuff" in our lives. God wants us to bring all of that under His lordship. One aspect of treasures is our relationships. In Luke 14:26, Jesus said: "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." God should have priority over all our relationships.

God should also have priority over our personal goals. Jesus said: "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (v. 27). We must be willing to trade in our own goals for His goals. Jesus also said: "None of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions" (v. 33). Being willing to give over all we have is a sign that we understand that God is in control, and stuff is just stuff.

The story of the legendary Titanic captures the meaning of stewardship. Everyone who boarded the Titanic operated on time, expecting to depart and arrive on a certain day. The ship's design reflected great talent, and the ship's designer even said it was "unsinkable." And the ship was filled with treasure, the finest of everything. But an iceberg punctured that ship and caused everything on it to become meaningless. As the ship sank, time was up, man's talent became a tomb in the sea, and the treasures of this world were fish food.

One Minute Please

We must answer to the Lord concerning the use of our time, talents, and treasures.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
The Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance
Be still, and know that I am God . . . -Psalm 46:10


Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for- love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men- will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, "because you have kept My command to persevere . . ." (Revelation 3:10).

Continue to persevere spiritually.


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Sow Good...Reap Blessing

As I mentioned in yesterday's devotional, God wants to bless your life, and the richer, more frequent blessings come to those who do a particular thing. We find that thing in Galatians 6:9-10,

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The seasons of blessing come due more often to those who consistently sow, to those who seize opportunities that are afforded them to do good. Notice again in verse 9, Let us not grow weary while doing good. Verse 10 says, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all.

This same truth is reinforced by verse 7, which states,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

If we sow good, we will reap good. A season of blessing will come.

What many Christians tend to do is stand before a field in which they planted no seed, and pray, "God, give me a miracle harvest."

Now, God is God, and He certainly can do things out of the ordinary. But He also works according to laws and principles that He has set into motion. One of those laws is the law of sowing and reaping.

Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Therefore, do not grow weary while doing good. In due season, you will reap, if you do not faint. When you have opportunity, do good. Get some seed in the ground.

Because the richer and more frequent blessings come to those who sow good.
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The Investment of Stewardship

In His Presence: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Luke 16:13).

In this parable, Jesus told the story of a steward who messed up. He shared this story with His disciples because He was concerned that they might develop the mindset of the Pharisees, "who were lovers of money . . . listening to all these things and . . . scoffing at Him" (v. 14). In this parable, a very rich man delegated responsibility for his assets to a steward. But this man squandered his boss's possessions, and the result was that he was about to lose his job. This is not a story about spending; it's a story about investing. And one day, God will call us to an accounting of what we have done with what He has given us. We will have to answer according to how we have squandered or invested the blessings He entrusted to us.

The steward came up with an idea. He went to every person who owed his master money and lowered their debts so that he would have something to give the master. The master then "praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly" (v. . Jesus' point was: "The sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light" (v. . In other words, sinners are often smarter than saints. This unbelieving, conniving servant was able to secure his future. He messed up his past, but he put things in motion to take care of the future and he was praised for it.

One Minute Please

Just as sinners act shrewdly to cover their bases for their future on earth, Christians had better act shrewdly to cover their future in terms of eternity.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
The Determination To Serve
The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. - Matthew 20:28


Paul's idea of service is the same as Our Lord's: "I am among you as He that serveth;" "ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." We have the idea that a man called to the ministry is called to be a different kind of being from other men. According to Jesus Christ, he is called to be the "door-mat" of other men; their spiritual leader, but never their superior. "I know how to be abased," says Paul. This is Paul's idea of service - "I will spend myself to the last ebb for you; you may give me praise or give me blame, it will make no difference." So long as there is a human being who does not know Jesus Christ, I am his debtor to serve him until he does. The mainspring of Paul's service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ. If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men.

Paul's realization of how Jesus Christ had dealt with him is the secret of his determination to serve others. "I was before a perjurer, a blasphemer, an injurious person" - no matter how men may treat me, they will never treat me with the spite and hatred with which I treated Jesus Christ. When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake.


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Real Treasure

Proverbs 15:6 says,

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

Notice that this verse does not just declare there is treasure in the house of the righteous. It says there is much treasure in the house of the righteous.

You can also find treasure in the house of the wicked, but Solomon says it is laced with trouble. The income of the wicked has a bunch of trouble with it.

But the same is not true for those who are right with God. When the treasure is found in their house, it does not have the same trouble that it does when it is found in the house of the wicked.

If you read on, the Lord shares two things that must accompany this treasure if it is going to be enjoyed. First, you must have a right relationship with God. Proverbs 15:16says, Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble.

It is better to have almost nothing and have a right relationship with God than to have everything money can buy and not have a relationship with God. We must get our priorities right.

The second thing we need to have is a right relationship with people, lest the treasure become hollow and become a curse. Proverbs 15:17says, Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.

Some people have more prosperity than they know what to do with, but all of their relationships fail. They do not have love. Consequently, there is a vacuum they can never fill with things, that they can never fill by accumulating more possessions.

Pursue your relationship with God, and a right relationship with people. Then you will enjoy the treasure God gives you!
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Investing in People

In His Presence: The day of the Lord will come like a thief . . . and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness (2 Peter 3:10-12).

In our economy today it is very important to start saving for retirement early. Those who are only present-day oriented will just spend money, but those who are future-oriented will invest. That's the difference between immaturity and maturity: the immature spend, and the mature save for tomorrow. Jesus' parable in Luke 16 demonstrates that the sons of darkness are often wiser than the children of light because they are future-oriented. If men are willing to do that in finite time, how much more should Christians "make friends for yourselves . . . [who] will receive you into the eternal dwellings" (v. 9)? God tells us to wisely use our stewardship in something that has eternal value: people.

When we stand before Christ, He is going to play a cosmic video, reviewing our life from salvation to death. We will see how responsibly we used the time, talents, and treasures God gave us, and how good or bad our stewardship was for Him. We will see the impact we had on other people and how much we invested in others for eternity.

In verse 9, Jesus told us to make friends. How do we do this? We make friends by sharing the Gospel so that those we know have an opportunity to hear it. We must see that people are important in God's economy. God measures our effect on people not by how many dollars we have in the bank, but by how we have used our time, talents, and treasures to invest in the eternal destiny of people.

One Minute Please

Either God will reign over your time, talents, and treasures, or you will make them your god.

God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
The Delight Of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; - 2 Corinthians 12:15


When the Spirit of God has shed abroad the love of God in our hearts, we begin deliberately to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ's interests in other people, and Jesus Christ is interested in every kind of man there is. We have no right in Christian work to be guided by our affinities; this is one of the biggest tests of our relationship to Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, not fling it away, but deliberately lay my life out for Him and His interests in other people, not for a cause. Paul spent himself for one purpose only - that he might win men to Jesus Christ. Paul attracted to Jesus all the time, never to himself. "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." When a man says he must develop a holy life alone with God, he is of no more use to his fellow men: he puts himself on a pedestal, away from the common run of men. Paul became a sacramental personality; wherever he went, Jesus Christ helped Himself to his life. Many of us are after our own ends, and Jesus Christ cannot help Himself to our lives. If we are abandoned to Jesus, we have no ends of our own to serve. Paul said he knew how to be a "door-mat" without resenting it, because the mainspring of his life was devotion to Jesus. We are apt to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which emancipate us spiritually. That was not Paul's motive. "I could wish my self were accursed from Christ for my brethren" - wild, extravagant - is it? When a man is in love it is not an exaggeration to talk in that way, and Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.


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Overrated

We read in Proverbs 23:4,

Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease!

First, I want you to notice that this verse does not say don't work. And it does not say don't work hard. It says don't overwork.

There are some people in God's family who are not led, they are driven. They are so focused on reaching their goals and achieving whatever level of success they are going after, that they are making a lot of sacrifices along the way.

But they are making the wrong sacrifices. They are sacrificing their marriage and they are sacrificing their relationship with their kids. Why? Because they overwork. And, friend, that is not healthy.

In fact, I would say that overworking is as unhealthy as not working. You miss out on the grand things in life, the important things in life. With some people, even their relationship with God gets squeezed out because they overwork.

You need to be motivated; you need to work hard; but you don't want to overdo it to the point that you don't have time for your children. You don't want to work so hard that you don't have time for your spouse. And you don't want to so overwork that you don't have time for your God.

You are missing life if you are just after possessions, and you are sacrificing the more important things along the way.

How does your work life measure up today? Are you overworking at the expense of your marriage, your family, and your relationship with God? If so, determine today to get your life back in balance.

Overworking is overrated!
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The Theft of Stewardship

In His Presence: The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Communism teaches that the government owns everything. Capitalism teaches that the individual owns everything. Christianity teaches that God owns everything. At the heart of Christian stewardship is the assumption that the earth is the Lord's, the world and all who dwell in it. There is absolutely nothing that sits outside of the ownership of God.

The Bible is clear that men attempt to rob God-stewards attempt to rip off the Owner. Malachi 3:7-12 makes this point. At this time the Israelites held a very low view of God. He remained faithful, and even though they were disobedient, they were not consumed (v. 6), but they had turned from the God of their fathers. Oh, they were still showing up for church, but they did not treat God as the sovereign, omnipotent ruler that He is.

The Israelites were made to realize that they were thieves because they were oblivious to it on their own. They asked: "How shall we return [to the Lord]?" (v. 7). God answered: "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings" (v. . God used the example of how the Israelites were handling their offerings to demonstrate their spiritual poverty. It's hard to measure spiritual robbery, so this was a visible, tangible illustration of their theft of God. Like a thermometer registers a physical representation of an internal illness, God used the thermometer of tithes and offerings to register the Israelites' spiritual temperature.

One Minute Please

You can always tell how a person is doing on the inside by how they function on the outside.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus
Where then do You get that living water? -John 4:11


"The well is deep"- and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the "wells" in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep "well" of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, "Let not your heart be troubled . . ." (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, "But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can't draw up quietness and comfort out of it." Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn't bring anything up from the wells of human nature- He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, "Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing." The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.

The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, "Of course, He can't do anything about this." We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, "It can't be done." You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.


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The Right Perspective

"Is wealth a bad thing?"

Let's go to 1 Timothy 6:17-19 for our answer,

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

I believe God makes it clear that if you are in a position where He has blessed you, you should enjoy it. And do it guilt-free. If you can take the whole family on a 30-day vacation to Europe, go for it.

Just make sure you pay your tithes first. Make sure you are generous to the work of God, but enjoy what God gives you. It is a gift of God to be able to enjoy the fruit of the work of your hands.

God is all for us enjoying whatever measure of prosperity we have. He just wants us to be generous in proportion to our prosperity. He wants us to be ready and willing to give big. To be sowing extravagantly into the gospel and thereby laying up treasure in heaven.

The point is this: Do not just live with your eye on this world. Rather, live with your eye on the world to come. If you do, you will truly be able to enjoy the wealth God gives you.

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Tithes and Offerings

In His Presence: You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always (Deuteronomy 14:23).

God told the Israelites they were robbing Him in two ways: in their tithes and in their offerings. The word tithe means one-tenth, and it refers back to a time even before the nation of Israel existed, when God conveyed the expectation that man would recognize His sovereignty by giving a tithe.

In Genesis 14:17-24, Abraham offered Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a tithe because of the victory God had given him and the blessing that God had bestowed upon him. Abraham offered a tithe to Melchizedek, who was the forerunner to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is greater than Melchizedek (Hebrews 7). If Abraham had to offer a tithe to Melchizedek, and Jesus is the follower of Melchizedek, then how much more do we have a responsibility to honor the sovereignty of Christ who is the King of the world?

Leviticus 27:30 says that the tithe is "holy to the Lord." The tithe doesn't belong to us; it belongs to God. The tithe teaches that there is only one Creator and Sustainer, and it's not us.

While the tithe is mandatory, the offering is voluntary. We determine the amount of the offering, and it is from the heart. But an offering is never an offering until we have given the full tithe. We must first give what God expects, and then we can give over and above that expectation to reflect a heart of love, gratitude, and rejoicing. If we don't give to God out of obedience and gratitude, it shows that something is wrong with our hearts.

One Minute Please

The average Christian gives only 2.5 percent of his income to God.

God bless

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
"Do You Now Believe?"
'By this we believe . . . .' Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe?' -John 16:30-31


Now we believe. . . ." But Jesus asks, "Do you . . . ? Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you . . . will leave Me alone" (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to "walk in the light" of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to "walk in the light asHe is in the light. . ." (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation-just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.


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It's All About Him

I want us to look again at the last two verses from our last devotional, 1 Timothy 6:18-19,

Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

I think it is beautiful the way verse 19 ends, ...that they may lay hold on eternal life.Paul is writing to believers here, and he is not saying they must do this so that they can get saved.

Rather, I think he is saying that when they are rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, then they will lay hold on what eternal life is all about. It is not about the things you possess; it is not about the blessings God gives you. It is about a relationship with Him. Jesus said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

If you are blessed, realize the main thing is not your riches and wealth. They can be very transitory.

I have a friend who, years ago, migrated from a country in Central America that had experienced a military coop. Her family was quite well off, having property and wealth that had been passed down through several generations.

But after the coop, the new government seized all of the families properties and wealth. All was lost overnight.

This story could have turned out badly except that this woman is an exceptional Christian with a great attitude. She has built a successful life here in the U. S and has chosen not to be bitter or resentful over the past. She has kept her trust in God, realizing that no matter what happens if she still has Him she will be alright.

Friend, keep your eyes on God and keep your trust anchored in Him. He is what life-real life-eternal life is all about!
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The Restitution and Reversal of Theft

In His Presence: Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured you in return (Luke 6:38).

Malachi 3:10 says: " 'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.' " This verse isn't saying God will make us rich. Rather, it teaches us how life will be when we do not steal from God what already belongs to Him.

This verse tells us to bring the whole tithe. Failure to bring 100 percent will mean that heaven is closed. But if you bring the whole tithe, heaven will open wide and God will pour blessings out on you until they overflow.

The "storehouse" referred to in verse 10 is where temple food was kept for those in need-the priests, the poor, and the unsaved. The food would impact the community in the name of Yahweh. In our day, the storehouse represents the local church, where people are fed spiritually. The tithe goes to the church, and the offering can go there or to other ministries.

Remember that robbery of God reflects your spirit toward God, so if you aren't willing to give of your money, you're probably not willing to give your whole heart and life. God will not allow you to have a key to His house and to steal from Him at the same time. The issue is not whether we can afford to give tithes and offerings, but whether we can afford not to?

One Minute Please

You don't give to receive, but when you give with the right heart, you will receive.


God bless
 

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers     
What Do You Want The Lord to Do for You?


Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. "Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more . . ." (Luke 18:39). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don't deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn't work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.

Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, "I always failed there, and I always will." Consequently, we don't ask for what we want. Instead, we think, "It is ridiculous to ask God to do this." If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.

This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won't believe; we won't let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore- we prefer to worry.


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His Stuff

You have probably noticed that over the last few days of devotionals, we have been focusing on material blessings and how we should view those blessings.

1 Chronicles 29:14-16 is very helpful to see God's perspective,

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope. "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own."

In these verses, King David is actually talking to the Lord as an offering is being received, and resources are being collected for the building of the temple (something his son Solomon is going to achieve).

We see that David recognized that everything he had, everything the people had, literally belonged to God. They were just giving God back something that belonged to Him in the first place.

I am going to let you in on a little secret: You and I are just stewards, and one day the Owner will call us into account for how we handled His stuff. Every one of us will give an account for our stewardship of His possessions.

While He gives us richly all things to enjoy, He is going to ask you if you did what He told you to do with His stuff. It is not our stuff.

Material treasure is a stewardship, and we must do what the Owner wants with it. This means we have a responsibility to be listening for the Owner's voice and following His instructions with His goods.
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The Motivation of Stewardship

In His Presence: Mark 10:25

When churches aren't receiving tithes from their congregation, there is something drastically wrong in the hearts of those churchgoers. After all, stewardship is a matter of the heart. Jesus drove this point home in Mark 12, where He talked about the motivation behind our stewardship.

Money is an indicator of where our hearts really are. God isn't interested in our money; He doesn't need a dime. Our cars all have indicator lights to tell us when we are about to run out of gas or if the engine is overheating. Well, money is a good indicator light for the state of our inner selves.

In this particular account, Jesus went to church with His disciples, "He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury" (v. 41). Jesus' watch was very intimate as He sat down close to where the offering was being collected. The temple they were in was very ornate and plush, and the rich people were easy to spot because they "were putting in large sums" (v. 41). Jesus could see how much they were putting in because He was watching.

Someone else came along whom Jesus noticed-a widow who dropped in two small copper coins. Those two lepta equaled less than a penny; it was the smallest currency made in that day. In order for Jesus to see such a small offering, He must have been quite close to the scene. He was watching the giving intimately.

One Minute Please

The offering was important enough for Jesus to watch closely-remember its importance as you make your offering.



God bless