How Is It With You And The Lord

My Utmost For His Highest

 

…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24

 

“We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).”  CHAMBERS

 

How is it with you and the Lord?  When I was asked that question by a pastor I met once, the question seemed inappropriate.  It was such a personal question, but then, as it settled in to my spirit, it was such a piercing question.  It caught me off guard.  I was ready for the typical social amenities where you meet someone and greet them with a few trite Christian phrases.  I call it the “grip and grin”.  But this was something different.  He asked me about what was important.  That was over 20 years ago, so apparently the question impacted me.  Our relationship with the Lord is the basis for our new life.  If we are not cultivating that relationship, then how can we possibly expect to be victorious in day to day living.  But we do anyway, don’t we?  His question was not intended to condemn me for where I should be but to encourage me to pursue where I could be in my relationship with Jesus and the Father.  That is what these devotions are all about.  Not telling you what you are doing wrong but reminding you about the new life you have been born in to.  There is a saying at work, “Showing them what right looks like.”  We all need that.  The world with all of its entanglements is like Kudzu.  If you don’t keep it cut back, it will take over.  So let me ask you.  How is it with you and the Lord?  ELGIN