They were Yours, You gave
them to Me… —John 17:6
{CHAMBERS} “A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has
brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To
say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual
stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced
by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign
decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and
explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might
simply become a trophy for His showcase. […] “If anyone comes to Me and does
not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes,
and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). […] Any one of
the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our
relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or
to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My
disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I
cannot be entirely His. […] The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say,
“I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.” Be
entirely His!”
{ELGIN} Have you ever heard
the saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.”?
Sounds a little harsh on the surface.
But I think the point is that if you are going to teach you must be
willing to do, to apply what you are teaching.
So much more for the teacher of spiritual truth. What does it mean that the you are not your
own, that you belong to God. It means
that God is the One who directs your way. He establishes your priorities. What if He challenges you to abandon whatever
you hold dear and serve Him? Will you do
it? Can you do it? It requires faith. It requires submission. It requires letting go of those things that
you have placed your trust in for the future.
This teacher is in that place of faith once again. God does not call everyone to leave and go. He does call all of us to love Him and not
the things of this world, for most of us, just right where we are. You may live in the same place all of your life. You may not travel the world. Being faithful in one spot requires the same
devotion as being moved from place to place.
It some ways it may be more challenging because the things of the world that
would cause you to displace you affection for God would always be near at hand. Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me more than
these?” (John 21:15) Peter said “You
know I do.” Then Jesus said “Show Me.” [paraphrased]
It is one thing to shout I love Jesus to the world. It is another thing to live it out.
When I attended men’s conferences
in the ‘90s, each side of the stadium would shout to each other, “We love
Jesus, Yes we do! We love Jesus, How about you!” Sounded great when it happened, but the truth
was it was more of a statement of desire than one of intent. The comment I heard from many wives after was
“My husband came back fired up. Praising
God but after a couple of weeks, he was just like he was before the conference.” The Glory had faded. Why, because what those men experienced in
the stadiums was more emotional than spiritual.
That is not to say that there was not a spiritual element. But, in the final analysis, your level of
commitment to God is a function of your persistent submission to Him. Lasting love and obedience is a result of
daily surrender not getting a spiritual boost at a 2 day conference. The conference, or the book, or the sermon or
even this devotion you are reading now may be a spark that starts a fire, but
it is only like a spark from a flint that you use to start the fire. The fire must be fed through the Word and
prayer and offering yourself, daily, as a living sacrifice. Abandoning your natural devotions .. even
meaning your family is not your first priority, but your love for them emanates
from your First Priority, Jesus Christ. Martie
and I are there once again. Just when we
thought we would live our lives like everyone else, God is stirring us and that
may change, again. There is nothing
better than being in the center of the will of God for your life. Nothing.
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