You Need To Stop Trying To Do The Right Thing

My Utmost For His Highest

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free…” —Galatians 5:1

“A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand— “Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. […] And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.[…] There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.  Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.” CHAMBERS

What is the freedom we have?  Freedom from sin and its bondage over us. Romans 6:20.  We are free to do what is right in the eyes of God.  To live a life of righteousness.  It is faith in Jesus that has given us this freedom.  We must stop trying to do the right thing ourselves.  In Romans chapter 7, Paul said that the thing he did not want to do to, he did.  The thing he wanted to do … the right thing .. he did not do.  Then he asked .. who will save me from this body of death … Jesus.  If you are trying to do better .. to stop doing something that you know is wrong … but can’t … you need more Jesus in your life … and less of you.  CHARLEY

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

How Much Do You Love Your Family?

My Utmost For His Highest

“The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God…” —1 Peter 4:17

“ The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God. In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching [or our Christian walk] is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached [and lived], the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.” CHAMBERS

I am sure you have listened to someone give their personal testimony.  About how they were far from God and through Jesus they were drawn near.  Sometimes, the story of the circumstances the person was brought from can be very emotional .. captivating.  But it is not that the person came from a difficult place that is the important thing .. what is important is that God showed them grace and mercy.  Before someone becomes a Christian, they become aware of God’s judgement and their sin.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  It does not matter how deep the pit is that you come out of.  What matters is that “Love” lifted you.  The same love that lifts the drug addict and murderer, lifts the self-righteous “good” person.  Everyone needs a savior.  Salvation that comes through Jesus is no less marvelous for the person who leads a “good” life than that for the thief on the cross.  Probably the greatest heartache a Christian has is the rejection of the Lord by family members.  We can’t save anyone, as much as we want to.  Paul was so heartbroken over Israel’s rejection of Jesus that he said he would gladly give up his salvation if Israel would turn to Jesus.  Our only recourse is to live our lives in obedience to the Word of God and trust that the Spirit of God will bring conviction.  Do you love your family enough to live in obedience to God’s Word? It is the best thing you can do for them.  ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Something To Think About The Next Time You Pray

My Utmost For His Highest

“…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus…” —Hebrews 10:19

“Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”” CHAMBERS

The temple was not just a place of worship for Israel but it was and is a picture .. a story about man, God, and a savior.  It is a reminder of His holy nature and man’s sinful nature and the separation that sin creates.  In the Garden, God “walked” with Adam .. Adam was in His presence … after the fall .. that was no longer possible.  But then Jesus came.  He is called the second Adam … what the first failed to do .. Jesus succeeded.  The “holiest” where the presence of God was could only be entered one time a year by the High Priest to make a blood offering for the sins of the nation.  When Jesus died, the curtain that kept others out was torn in two from top to bottom.  That symbolized the access that man now has into God’s presence through Jesus Christ.

Here is the thing.  God is no less holy.  The only reason we can approach God … the only reason He hears our prayers is because of Jesus … there is nothing we can do to make us good enough to approach God without Jesus.  I think that we forget that and treat God like the sales clerk at the store .. making our orders as if hr is there to serve us.  The next time you pray, keep in mind  Who God is and the grace and mercy that has been extended to you through Jesus.  If it was not for Jesus, we would have no right to ask for anything!  ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Overcoming The "What Abouts"

My Utmost For His Highest

“Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. “…he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God.[…] “Though it tarries, wait for it….” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. […] Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.” CHAMBERS

I was talking to a friend yesterday about God’s leading and our following.  That He never blesses before our obedience.  To follow God means that you must trust – have confidence – in God .. in spite of the unknown.  We can accept Abraham going .. Moses going .. Paul’s life getting turned upside down .. but us?  Hmmm.   Your encounter with God does not have to be in the land of Moriah (Genesis 22) a burning bush experience on  Mount Horeb (Exodus 3)…  or the road to Damascus (Acts 9) .. it may be your kitchen .. during a Sunday morning service .. driving in your car …. or maybe on a short term mission trip … God will suddenly bring you to a crisis of belief … and you will have to make a decision … This is a spiritual event that will test your flesh … and your faith.  That is when the “what abouts” start. What about my bills, what about my job?  What about my retirement?  What about my family?  What about my inability to do what You just said to me? Whenever God speaks to us .. it will require faith on our part to respond.  Trust me … if you say “yes Lord” you will not regret it.  ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

What Happens When You Stop Walking By Faith

My Utmost For His Highest

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” —2 Corinthians 5:7

“For a while, we are fully aware of God’s concern for us. But then, when God begins to use us in His work, we begin to take on a pitiful look and talk only of our trials and difficulties. And all the while God is trying to make us do our work as hidden people who are not in the spotlight. None of us would be hidden spiritually if we could help it. […] A self-assured saint is of no value to God. […] We are here, not as immature angels, but as men and women, to do the work of this world. And we are to do it with an infinitely greater power to withstand the struggle because we have been born from above.” CHAMBERS

We must be very careful that we don’t let the very reason God has us at work become the reason we lose heart. Let’s say that someone hires you to shovel dirt.  The man tells you the job will be a challenge.  The job will take several days to complete. You are so happy that you have work and will be paid you agree to do it.  “No problem!”, you say.  But the sun is hot, there is no shade.  The ground is hard.  The job turns out to be more difficult than you imagined.  Soon you begin to resent the work.  You are tired.  Your hands are blistered.  Your face is sunburned.  Your back aches.  You have lost the joy that you had in the beginning.  That can happen in serving the Lord as well.  Where you begin to resent the very ones that are sent to serve.  It may be your pile of dirt is your local church, the place where you work, or even in a land that is not your own.  God placed you there because of the very thing that you have grown to dislike.  What you now see as a problem is actually a ministry opportunity.  The problem is that you have lost focus.  You are no longer walking by faith but by sight.  Doing not in the Lord’s strength, but in your own.  The Lord’s strength is like a bulldozer .. yours is like a spoon.  It is a daily effort to trust in God … (Proverbs 3:5,6)  ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)