“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear
to myself…” —Acts 20:24
“It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and
without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common
sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may
be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have
more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you
receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will
always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to
work for Him on the basis of common sense. What do I count in my life as “dear
to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered
myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas
of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But
Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he
had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. […] Our
ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total
surrender to Him. […] Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always
consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.” CHAMBERS
I was thinking about my own life as I read what Chambers had
to say. I was taken back to the times in
my life when I had been offered the world and knew, at that moment, that God
wanted me to go in a different direction. Choosing to leave the military at the peak of
my success. Leaving a civilian job with
the Air Force and the peak of my success.
Rather than living a comfortable life with plenty of money and security,
God has led me to abandon success as defined by this world and to take my wife
and live in the middle of a disaster in a shelter, a pop-up camper, a 30 ft travel
trailer, a 500 square foot house, and now in Haiti. I have had to ask myself that question “What
do I count in my life as dear to myself?”
The answer is, the thing that God has called me to. It is difficult at times. Very difficult. But God is faithful. He does not promise that the journey will be
easy, but it will be worth it. Whatever
He has been asking you, say “Yes”, you won’t regret it. ELGIN
Jim Elliott “He
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Knowing You Jesus
“All I once held dear, built my life upon. All the world reveres and wars to own. All I once thought gain, I have counted
loss. Spent and worthless now, compared
to this … Knowing You Jesus. Now my
heart’s desire is to know you more. To
become like you and be known as Yours. To
possess by faith what I could not earn all surpassing gift of righteousness. Knowing
You Jesus”
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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