Posted on 03/06/2006 10:25:28 PM PST by .30Carbine
Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.
Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Lets apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against tribulation, suffering, and persecution are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesnt know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" ( 2 Corinthians 7:4 ).
The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Romans 8:39 ).
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
Yep, thanks .30, I look forward to my Oswald dose every day.
As do I, Thirstyman! Praise God!!!
This line of thought evoked, "That which does not kill me makes me stronger," a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche.
I have always taken the phrase in the tonic sense of exuberant triumph Paul conveys.
Nietzsche's own failing health may have caused his truth-denying Gott Ist Tot, echoed by the socialist Time cover of April 8, 1966 "Is God dead?"
As the satanic National Socialist German Workers Party further distorted Nietzsche to suit its evil ends, so, too, did and does the propaganda organ of the left.
But calling a dog's tail a leg does not create a five-legged animal, and the rumors of God's death, though periodically erupting in shadow are dispelled by light.
The love of God which is the center of this meditation is the sustaining force and the hardships, pain, and fear we endure create the contrasts that bring it dimension a la bas relief.
Hence what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, giving me the sense of exhiliration the pop psychologists called "flow" in recent decades, but has always been the sustaining strength of faith in that love which cannot be deserved or earned.
Me too! Hallelujah! Chambers' talent in bringing his meditations on the Word of God into clear and concise daily doses is astonishing and praiseworthy.
So much theological understanding and teaching are packed into each meditation! Unpacking as I read opens up wide, deep, high, long mansions of glory unseen, rooms in my awareness filled to the brim with God Who Is Love, All Grace and Truth.
Thank you!
I agree!
This piece goes to this tune:
http://www.mudcat.org/midi/midifiles/aranboat.mid
Come listen to the Lord
Feed on His holy word,
Jesus, love's light that burns hot like a flame.
He breaks the bonds of sin
For those who enter in,
And gives His peace to those who call His name.
His is the hand that frees,
Heart that loves, eye that sees,
He is the Life and the Truth and the Way.
Look where He's leading you,
Guiding you, saving you,
Look to his cross that burns brighter than day.
He is the entry way
To new life, hope of day.
His is the gateway to Heaven's hope bright.
His is the open hand,
Solid rock, never sand,
Jesus the beacon that shatters the night.
His is the hand that frees,
Heart that loves, eye that sees,
He is the Life and the Truth and the Way.
Look where he's leading you,
Guiding you, saving you,
Look to His cross that burns brighter than day.
Come listen to His voice,
Taste His truth and rejoice.
Feed on His word and let Him heal your soul.
Jesus is calling you
To a life clean and new.
His loving hand will make your spirit whole.
His is the hand that frees,
Heart that loves, eye that sees,
He is the Life and the Truth and the Way.
Look where He's leading you,
Guiding you, saving you,
Look to his cross that burns brighter than day
This is a particularly good word from Chambers. The very concept of triumph in tribulation is so foreign to American Christianity's "good time rock n' roll" mentality. I love it . . .:o)
Thanks. .30Carbine
Amen! Praise God!!!
Hallelujah and Amen! Thank you so much for bringing to my remembrance that powerful section of Scripture. How happy I am to be hidden in Christ, the Righteousness of God!
In the words of Jesus Christ Himself:
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
How lovely, and how nice to have a tune by which to read and meditate upon the words (until I learn to sing it). Thank you!
I can't Think of Anything that would Be More Wonderful than to have Such God-Given Joy Every Moment! Joy Overflowing, Pointing Others to Jesus Christ!
The Good man Does Not Escape his Troubles; he has them too. But the Lord Helps him in Each and Every One! (Ps.34:19)
I will Praise the Lord No Matter what Happens. Let us Praise the Lord Together, and Exalt His Name! (Ps.34:1,3)
Our God Bless us with His Divinely-Produced Joy, is my Prayer!
Thank you so much, Kitty Mittens! Praising Him together with all of you is great joy indeed, no matter what else happens!
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!
Psalm 145:3
The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be.
The Apostles, our Lord's Disciples were transformed by trials. The disciplined follower of Our Lord will not be left to his own devices in times of trial. God Does and Will Provide. Ask Jeremiah Denton, the Vietnam POW who was held for seven years, who blinked in code, T-O-R-T-U-R-E, if the Lord provided for him.
I say this with trepidation, because I know I've never been really tested. My life has never hung in the balance because someone wanted to slit my throat and my way out was to denounce my God. Just how much one loves our Lord is truly revealed in the Crucible.
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