Jesus - The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Paul was not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural can be turned into the spiritual only through sacrifice. Without this a person will lead a divided life. […] Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). Sanctification means more than being freed from sin. It means the deliberate commitment of myself to the God of my salvation, and being willing to pay whatever it may cost. If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will resist and defy the life of the Son of God in us and will produce continual turmoil. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves physically, morally, or mentally. […] discipline yourself now! If you don’t, you will ruin your entire personal life for God. God is not actively involved with our natural life as long as we continue to pamper and gratify it.[…]’ CHAMBERS

 

James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

 

Living our lives divided in our devotion is a contrary to God’s purpose and design.  It will always lead to failure … certainly on the spiritual side but on the natural side as well.  Chambers said it will lead to turmoil in your life.  James referred to believing and doubting.  We think we believe, but by trusting in the things of this world we reveal our lack of commitment to our new life and confidence in God.  James says that if you are living like that you are unstable.

 

Turmoil .. unstable … doesn’t sound much like the life the Jesus called us to does it.  Take some time to read Galatians chapter 5 :16-25.  You will see the contrast between the old nature and the new.  You will also see the source of the turmoil and instability in your life.  Now don’t confuse life’s circumstances with our response to life’s circumstances. Life on this earth offers significant trials .. but our response to those trials  .. how we choose to live our lives … that is what produces the turmoil and instability in us.

 

The world offers enough challenges without us adding fuel to the fire by yielding to our old nature. .  Jesus said “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Take a look around your life today.  What do you see going on?  Proverbs 3:5-6 are verses that I use frequently .. I don’t think they can be over used because they tell the story so well.  Trust in God and not yourself.  Live for Him and not for yourself.  Walk on the path that He has set your feet on and not on the one that you are creating as you hack your way through the brambles of life.  Peter said it this way ….

 

2 Peter 1:3-9  “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Attending My Own Funeral

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘The natural life itself is not sinful. […] Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. […] “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh . . . .” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself. . .” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.’ CHAMBERS

 

Devotion to the things of this world can cause many spiritual problems for Christians.  They seem innocent enough … many are spiritually neutral.  In other words, the Bible does not speak against them.  But they become a stumbling block because our desire to possess them becomes an obsession which leads to actions and decisions that the Bible does speak against.   The flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.  Galatians 5:16-18  “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

 

The struggle is common to all of us.  The question is, which do we submit to .. the flesh or the Spirit.  Many of us believe that we can do both.  That is not what the Bible says, but it is what the reasonable man says.  Having possessions is not the issue.  Being controlled by the desire to have the possessions .. being willing to compromise on what we know is true to have them … that is the issue.  Jesus said that we must deny ourselves .. say no to what the flesh desires and follow Him.  Remember when He talked with the rich young man .. who did everything right … but for one thing … Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” The man was living a good life … but he loved the things of this world more than God.  He would not give them up.  Even for eternal life.

 

Is there something that is controlling your life?  Holding you back from where you know God wants you to be?  You need to let it go. Release it and the death grip it has on your spiritual life.  Having a hard time with that?  Maybe you are not doing what you should to nurture your spirit.  Stop depending upon yourself and trust God.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Because He Lives I Can

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ […] No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. […] To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him. […] The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.’ CHAMBERS

 

“I‘m forgiven because You were forsaken. I’m accepted, You were condemned.  I’m alive and well, your Spirit is within me, because you died and rose again.  Amazing love how can it be, that you my Christ would die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true and it’s my joy to honor you .. in all I do .. I honor you.”  I love that song.  It speaks to the reality of the life that I live.  I am forgiven because of Jesus.  My sins are washed away because of Jesus.  I have eternal life because of Jesus.

 

The word ‘propitiation’ (Romans 3 KJV) is a BIG word that simply means ‘sin offering’ = Atonement for our sins.  I have heard it said that the root of the word for propitiation is the same as ‘mercy seat’.  The mercy seat is the seat on the top of the Ark of the Covenant upon which the blood of the lamb was poured to cover the sins of the people.  That act satisfied the wrath of God and diverted the punishment onto another … in our context .. Jesus ... the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

 

Do you live in that realization daily? That every breath is a gift of God.  That as it says in Galatians 2:20 “[You] have been crucified with Christ and [you] no longer live, but Christ lives in [you]. The life [you] now live in the body, [you] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [you] and gave himself for [you].”

 

If you did, would it change the way you live your life?  The decisions you make? You Bet!

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

More Than Sorry

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). […] The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust. […] the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). […] The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.’ CHAMBERS

 

There is a difference between being sorry for your sin and repenting of your sin.  Many people are sorry they did something or did not do something, but they really have no intention of changing anything.  They seek forgiveness for that particular infraction, with the full expectation that it will happen again. That is not to say that some people honestly struggle with issues that torment them and seem insurmountable .. they have no control … in that case their attitude is much different.  Their heart seeks repentance, but their affliction dominates them.  It is Jesus who can set them free …

 

Paul addresses that in Romans 7:21-25  “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

 

I was recently asked if living with a woman and having children was wrong.  I said they should be married. I went on to say the mere fact that the question was asked suggested that the Spirit has that person under conviction about what he is doing.

 

Then I was asked if you sin do you lose your salvation.  My answer, we are saved by grace through faith and not by works/good deeds.  Our salvation is because of what Jesus did and not what we have done or not done.  We can’t be good enough.  In response to an unasked question “So does sin matter?” I added that Paul asked the rhetorical question “Should we sin that grace can increase” His answer .. ‘God forbid”.  Romans 6:1-2

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

I'll Believe It When I See It!

My Utmost For His Highest

 

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth” —Genesis 9:13

 

‘Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it.

 

Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22).’ CHAMBERS

 

When I first read Chambers devotion I was reminded of what happened a few months ago.  We were surveying the new land for the orphanage and it began to rain.  So we stood under a large Mango tree to wait for the weather to pass by.  When I looked to the west end of the property, there was a rainbow on the property .. not in the distance as you often see them, but on the property .. both ends were visible.  I told the men to look and see.  They did and many were fearful.  They said that if you go to the end of a rainbow you will die … a Haitian belief.   I said ‘no’ … God said He was using the rainbow as a sign of His covenant and that God was making a covenant with us .. He was blessing the land.  Isn’t it something how people can see the same thing and come to completely different conclusions … One conclusion based on fear and the other on faith.

 

Very often, we demand that God proves himself to us.  We will believe if He does this or does that.  Paul said that the Jews demanded a sign in order for them to believe.  1 Corinthians 1:21-23 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness”

 

John 20:24-29 “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The same faith that is required for us to trust in God to be saved is the same faith needed to live our lives after we are saved.  Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

 

That is not to say that God will not act on our behalf .. but our confidence in Him must not be based upon what He can do for us but on who He is ,,, on the one hand we want Him to serve us .. on the other .. we serve Him.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Leaning Forward In The Foxhole

My Utmost For His Highest

‘Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired. And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition. Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ. ’ CHAMBERS

Have you thought about living the Christian life as a battle?  It is you know.  Ephesians 6:11-13  “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

 

We must be disciplined like a soldier to live this new life in Christ … 2 Timothy 2:3-5  “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.  And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”  Holiness does not just happen.  Walking after the Spirit and not the flesh is intentional.  In the Army they say that “you fight the way you train” meaning that if you don’t prepare yourself for battle, you will not do well when the battle comes.

 

Ephesians goes on to talk about the weapons that the Lord has provided … Ephesians 6:14-18  "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--"

 

Don’t be caught sleeping on duty.  Another saying is that we should be “leaning forward in the foxhole”.  That means be ready every day, every hour, every minute.  That just reminded me of a song .. “If we ever needed the Lord before .. we sure do need Him now and we need Him every day and every hour.”
 

So Christian, my encouragement to you today  is  …  “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Knowing God

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘If […] you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see […] that you […] are rooted and grounded by faith in God. […] make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people. […] If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. […]. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. […] I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.’ CHAMBERS

 

It is one thing to know about God and another to know God.  James 2:19  “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! “ It is an easy thing to slip into a trust of what you know about God and not God himself.  We treat His intent to have a relationship with us as if it were optional, when it is essential.  We must spend time nurturing that relationship. Yet we focus on other things, trusting in what we know.

 

There is a fine line between the two … do you think about God in terms of who He was or who He is?  God is present .. His Spirit is on every Believer. He is not far off but near … Ephesians 2:10-16  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Therefore remember that you, […] once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, […] and has broken down the middle wall of separation,  […].”

 

It is through Jesus that we have been brought near to God … our relationship is possible because of Him.  Our relationship with God is preserved through Him.  We must be careful that we keep that truth fresh in our minds … That God does not slip into a place where we think about him .. off and on .. but don’t spend time in developing our personal relationship with him.  Hebrews 10:19-23  “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,  and having a High Priest over the house of God,  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)