The Danger Of Being Satisfied With Less Than God's Best

My Utmost For His Highest

 

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

 

“Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.”  CHAMBERS

 

As I write these devotions, I see a thread that runs through them .. It is the same thread that runs through the Bible.  God has called us to a life of faith and holiness.  We cannot achieve that life on our own.  And even when we are born again, even though we are “awakened” to the reality of spiritual Truth, we continue to struggle with living a life of faith and holiness.  We make excuses for our failings, unfortunately often resolving ourselves to some lower level of faith and holiness that God never intended as some sort of self-defined compromise.  When you talk to other Christians, even those that you might consider “more spiritual than most”, you should never think that they are immune to that struggle.  None of us are like Jesus, but all of us will be.  So should we be content with our not being like Him yet?  God forbid.  We are on a spiritual journey.  We must keep our eyes fixed on Him, and press on.  So my friend, let me encourage you to press on in your faith with confidence that “He who began a good work in your will be faithful to complete it.” (1 Philippians 1:6)  “I know I'm not what I could be ..I'm not who I want to be, but I know I'm not who I used to be.” (Author unknown)   ELGIN

 

(Philippians 3:13-14) “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

Your Heart Won't Be Right, Unless God Is All That's Left

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9

 

“This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. […] “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.” We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! […] God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. […] Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him. […] He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.”  CHAMBERS

 

What is getting in the way of your relationship with God?  God makes it pretty clear that He is a jealous God and He commands us to not have any other gods in our lives (Exodus 20:5).  That is a quote from the ten commandments.  A god is something that you serve.  Something that dictates what you do, what you think, what you depend upon.  It might be yourself, it might be some other thing in the world. God makes it pretty clear.  (1 John 2:15-17) “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”  Trust in the Lord and not in yourself (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

So God is telling us, “if you are going to live this new life, you must sacrifice everything that you treasure .. everything that you depend upon … and serve Me”  I can’t explain it except to say that it is God’s plan and His purpose for His creation.  The original sin in the Garden occurred when man decided that there was another, better way.  We are still doing that.  God has told us there isn’t a better way … that Jesus is the way.  The cross is the way.  What is holding you back?  What is it that you have chosen over God?  What is it that you need to lay on the altar?  Don’t delay .. do it today.  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

What Are You Thinking About At 11:45 on Sunday

My Utmost For His Highest

 

He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. —Genesis 12:8

 

“Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. […] They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.”  CHAMBERS

 

(Luke 6:45)  “The good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure in his heart; and the  evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil ; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.”  I am certain you are familiar with this verse.  People reveal their hearts by the fruit they bear in their lives and by the words that they say.  Here is an example.  A person comes to church on Sunday.  They sing, maybe shout, pray, and listen to the sermon, and then look at their watch.  You see they have given God 2 hours on Sunday and not a minute more.  Sunday is not for God, it’s for them.  They have given up two hours to God.  Not even 10% of the day, well maybe if you count travel time to church.  I have been asked on more than one occasion when I spoke at a church to not go past 12:00, the people would not be pleased.  Think about it.  What have those people revealed by their words?  They are more interested in their bellies than the Bible.  One of my “sayings”, at 11:45, the congregation is more interested in the meat in the oven than the meat of the Word.  Even the time they spend at church is all about them.  We want the Lord to provide for us, we want Him to save us, we want Him to heal us, we want Him to intervene in our troubles, but we don’t want him to encroach on our schedule and time. (The same can be said about our daily time with Him.)  We are more interested in checking the “Went to Church” box than in hearing from God.

 

I make it a point to listen to people carefully.  Eventually they will reveal their hearts .. whether for the good or the bad.  I don’t judge them, but I do pity those who have chosen poorly.  They spend their lives pursuing vain religion, refusing to lay the sum total of their lives down at the altar.  Considering themselves to be on point … spiritually on target because they go to church.  The Pharisees went to Temple, religiously, consider what Jesus had to say about them.  So my point for today is to caution you about robbing time from God and withholding your devotion.  Not only on Sunday but every day of the week.  Love equals relationship and relationship equals time.  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

How To Maintain Control Over Your Life

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." —John 13:36

 

“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).[…] No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives. All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” […]  There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.” CHAMBERS

 

In a Cobra helicopter you must have help to control the aircraft.  Not a co-pilot, although you may have one of those, but something called the Stability Control Augmentation System.  Without SCAS  you have a very difficult time in the cockpit.  There are too many forces at work for a pilot to control on his own.  As Christians we have a SCAS as well, the Spirit Controlled Augmentation System.  Peter discovered and each Christian has discovered, that our response to the life we are called to, the life we have in Jesus, is nigh impossible to live without the power of the Spirit in us.  When you start any helicopter you have a check list that you must follow.  In the Cobra, that includes turning the SCAS on.  If you don’t follow the checklist and don’t turn the right switches on, you will be in trouble when you try to fly the helicopter.  In the same way, you must start your day the right way.  Follow the procedures that God has given us.  Start your day with prayer, with the Word, with your focus on the Lord.  God has given us the Holy Spirit as a helper.  (John 14:16)  “ "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever”  Don’t forget to engage the Holy Spirit in your life each day  .. and whatever you do, don’t turn that switch off!  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

What You Need Is Just A Closer Walk With Jesus

My Utmost For His Highest

Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37

 

“At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move. Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.”  CHAMBERS

 

“It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord God.”  (Zechariah 4:6) Trying to do anything God directed in the power of our flesh always leads to failure.  Knowing what to do and when to do it, requires spiritual discernment.  Spiritual discernment only comes through relationship with the Father as we are connected by the Son and empowered by the Spirit and the Word.  There were seven men, sons of a Jewish priest,  that tried to drive out evil spirits in the name of Jesus who were not following Jesus.  The demon said “Paul I know, and Jesus I know, but who are you.”  All seven men were beaten and they fled for their lives. (Acts 19:13-16)  You may not be trying to drive out demons, but you may be trying to live the Christian life without the power to live that life.  As a Christian you have the capacity to live in the power of the Spirit, but instead you choose to live your life in your own wisdom and strength.  If you try to do that, if you are doing that, you are in trouble because it is an impossible path you are following.  All too often, we decide, apart from God’s leading, what is best and then we ask God to bless it and act on that decision.  Jesus always acted within the context of the Father’s will, not His own.  We ask WWJD?  Jesus looked to Father, Jesus was one with the Father, Jesus obeyed the Father.  That is not what Jesus would do, that is what Jesus did.  We focus on His actions when we should be focused on the reason for those actions .. Jesus acted out of an intimate relationship and dependence upon the Creator God, every time. So WYGD (What You Gonna Do?)  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

Obeying God -You Don't Need To Know To Go

My Utmost For His Highest

 

He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8

 

“Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “…do not worry about your life…nor about the body…” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.” Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is.”  CHAMBERS

 

“Do you believe that what you believe is really real?”  I have quoted this question posed in the Study, The Truth Project, on a number of occasions.  You only act on the part of the Bible, on the principles of faith in God if you believe they are true.  It’s like jumping off a diving board into the arms of your parent.  They tell you they are going to catch you, but you must believe they will and actually jump to verify that they will indeed catch you.  The fear, the anxiety that you felt as you stood on the edge of that board, staring at the water was overwhelming.  But you focused your eyes on your mom or dad.  There was a peace in you,  and at that moment, you leapt to them.  It was your confidence, your belief in them that gave you the strength to act.

 

Life brings many challenges.  There are events that have happened and that will happen that are too big, too difficult, too hurtful, for us to bear.  And yet we hear the Lord saying . .. do not fear, cast all your cares on Me, do not let your heart be troubled.  You don't need to know how God will do something, but that He will do something.  You know it will be for your good and His glory.  Where there is confidence in the knowing, there is peace in the going.  When Jesus delayed His going to see Lazarus, Lazarus died.  (John 11) Mary and Martha knew Jesus could heal, but He didn’t.  I am certain that they were constantly looking to see if Jesus was coming.  Wondering why He had not shown up.  When Jesus did, He did something impossible .. He raised Lazarus from the dead.  Have there been times when you wondered where God was?  Why He hadn’t shown up.  Think about the times when you questioned if God was really going to “catch you”?  Our understanding of why or when God does or doesn’t do something does not change the truth.  God causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28)  For our good and His Glory. (John 11:40) “Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  And He asks the same thing to you and me.  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin

To Trust In Yourself Is Insanity

My Utmost For His Highest

 

"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." —Philippians 1:20

 

“We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.” CHAMBERS

 

The drive that is in you to protect yourself is called self-preservation.  Dr. Abraham Maslow, a famous psychologist, theorized that after meeting the basic physiological needs, like breathing, food, and water, safety was the next most important motivation in humans.  So, it is not unnatural that when faced with difficulties in your natural life, that your first impulse is to protect yourself.  I mean, if you don’t who will?  Glad you asked.  We must be careful that we don’t separate our natural lives from our Spiritual lives.  In other words, when we are facing problems .. doesn’t matter what they are .. do we turn within for solutions or do we look to God.

 

When I learned to fly helicopters, I was taught emergency procedures.  What to do when something bad happened.  When something bad happened was not the time to think about what I was going to do.  Sometimes you only have seconds to react.  It is certainly not the time to suck your thumb and cry for your mommy!  To survive in an emergency, you had to follow the procedures that had been proven.  And so it is with life.  Think of the Word of God has our operators manual for life. That manual tells us how to live and what to do in case of emergencies.  The one thing that God has not told us to do in an emergency is to trust in our own ability.  But, we can become so preoccupied with self-preservation that many times we don’t do what we are supposed to do which is trust in the Lord.  Let me tell you something you already know.  When you do that, things do not get better.  I never experienced an engine failure in a helicopter, but I knew what to do in the event that it happened.  I was trained to the point that I didn’t have to think about it … I trusted that what was written was true and I followed the emergency procedures, almost instinctively.  I had to be ready.  And so do you.  Trusting God is something that you do because of your relationship with Him.  Because you a disciple of Jesus.  Joshua 1:9 says to meditate on the Word, obey the Word, and then you will be successful.  No matter what comes your way … first turn to God and not yourself.  Someone once said, the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different outcome.  To trust in ourselves and not God is insanity.  ELGIN

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

 

Charley Elgin