Posted on 01/27/2006 9:45:59 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of "the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.
Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" ( Matthew 11:29 ). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.
In 1910 Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen, who still resides in London (as of 1992).
In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.
My Utmost for His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and in this, the last decade of the century, remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic. [from the flyleaf of the book]
Absolutely no flaming! These daily threads are intended to be devotional in nature. If a particular day's offering says nothing to you, please just go on and wait for the next day. Consider these threads a DMZ of sorts, a place where a perpetual truce is in effect and a place where all other arguments and disagreements from other times and places are left behind.
I can attest from personal experience that reading from Chambers daily will almost certainly change - not one's faith - but one's perspective of his/her own faith, and open up new vistas in your spiritual life. If - when - this happens to a reader of these threads, and they choose to share what has happened within them - we are treading on hallowed ground. Be respectful.
- Religion Moderator
GOODMORNING AND GRACE TO ALL BRETHREN!
"Perfect in Christ Jesus."
- Colossians 1:28
Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not
every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps
"imperfection"; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters
"imperfection." You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to
dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad
consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you-you are "perfect in
Christ Jesus.
" In God's sight, you are "complete in him;" even now you are "accepted in
the Beloved.
" But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to
all the seed.
Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin
shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless
before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church
of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will
see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not
go beyond the truth when he said-
"With my Saviour's garments on,
Holy as the Holy One."
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but
short sentence, "Complete in Christ." Not till then shall we fully
comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy
heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be
white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean.
Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms
it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it
clean and matchless in his glory, peerless in his beauty, and fit to be
the companion of seraphs.
O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ.
C.H.SPURGEON
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
O Man,
you who stand poised against the universe,
crying tall
how you will rule,
how you will explore,
how you will master.
Babble on
about your wisdom
and knowledge,
and understanding
like those who built the tower,
tall,
imposing,
to challenge God.
O Man,
see how you stand naked against the universe,
your toys and tools and trinkets
cannot protect you from the dark
as your children die
from the hand of your brother,
as your women weep
for the loss of their beloved,
as the hatred festers
like a abscess,
destroying all in its reach,
ready to erupt
with corruption.
Babble on
about the new age
that comes from turning away
from the master
and standing alone
in the darkness,
where the lack of purpose
where the lack of hope
where the lack of truth
will tear down the tower
you built on their blood,
and your challenge
echos emptily in the night
as God watches.
O Man,
naked you came into the universe,
naked you will leave,
and your works will turn to dust.
And yet the God who you challenge
in your hubris
and your dreams
still holds out his hand
in love,
ignoring the spittle,
the stripes,
the nails,
the curses,
the challenge,
the hate,
and offers you his heart.
Babble on
if you wish to go down into that darkness,
or take his hand,
and enter into the light.
Beautiful, as always. I look forward to the poetry you post as much as Chambers' words. Are you the poet?
Yes. I am guilty of that! Thank you for the kind words.
Good morning Alamo-Girl and all.
Faith-sharing bump.
Lovely!
Thank you so much for the beautiful Spurgeon devotion!
Thank you again for your powerful meditations!
Good evening, abigail2! Thank you so much for bumping by!
Thank you for bumping by, Ciexyz!
Wonderful.
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