“We are not here to
develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We
are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of
building His body. Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned
about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal
relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To
fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete
abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the
relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to
acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing
Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
I met a guy
yesterday while I was working on a house in Houston. He had come to measure for replacement windows.
As it turned out, he owned the business.
One of the first things you notice about this particular guy is that he
is very strong .. Arnold Schwarzenegger strong. It is obvious that he spends a lot of time in the gym. Getting past that and the unspoken challenge
to your own manhood, the next thing you notice is that he is very kind. As we talked, I learned that he was a man of
faith and a Brother in Christ. When I posted a picture of us on Facebook
someone commented about his biceps. That is because they are disproportionately
large for his stature. But what you
could not see on Facebook was the size of his heart and the depth of his faith
in the Lord. Although he obviously was concerned about building up his body, He
was more concerned about the Body of Christ. He told me that he would not charge anything for the windows or the labor - it was a gift for Mrs. Smith, the home owner. When I mentioned he might be recognized for it, he balked at the thought. Why? Because with his heart from God comes
humility before God. In Micah 6:8
the question is asked “What does the Lord require of you, oh man?” then the answer. “But to do justly, and to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God.”
If we do anything
for God then we should be ready to give all the credit to God. My new friend spoke a lot about God’s grace. Unmerited favor. He was shown grace in his life and was
showing grace to others. Showing grace
and mercy to others will cost you something .. but when your heart is right, it
is a price you will gladly pay. (John
15:13) “No greater love has one man than this, but to lay down his life for
his friends.” That is not a simple act
of benevolence .. it is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1-2). CHARLEY
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