Trusting the Sovereignty of God

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28.

"It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberties with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men.

"To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had organized them. We never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.....

"We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ.... Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.

"The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us—‘I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.’ God wants to use us as He used His own Son.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

1Cor 9:20 - 27

1Co 9:20 To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became like a man under the law, in order to win those under the law (although I myself am not under the law). 

1Co 9:21 To those who do not have the law I became like a man who does not have the law, in order to win those who do not have the law (although I am not free from God's law, but am under the law of Christ). 

1Co 9:22 To the weak I became weak in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some of them. 

1Co 9:23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings. 

1Co 9:24 You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don't you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. 

1Co 9:25 Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that dies, but we to win one that never dies. 

1Co 9:26 That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I box, not like someone punching the air. 

1Co 9:27 No, I keep on beating my body and making it my slave so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified. 

The clarity given by the Holy Spirit

Pentecost gave me the key to the Scriptures. It has kept my feet in all the slippery places of all sorts of criticism. The things that are stumbling blocks to so many are stepping stones to me. The inexplicable becomes plain when we recognize the presence and law of the Spirit. It balances scholarship, and gives discernment beyond all human learning. Indeed, learning without the Holy Spirit blinds men to the realities of divine truth. The man who thinks he can know the Word of God by mere intellectual study is greatly deceived. Spiritual truth is spiritually discerned.

- Samuel Chadwick -

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Psalm 103:20-22

Bless the LORD, you His angels, Mighty in strength, 
who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 

Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, 
You who serve Him, doing His will. 

Bless the LORD, all you works of His, 
In all places of His dominion; 
Bless the LORD, O my soul! 

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." —Psalm 73:24

C H Spurgeon

The Psalmist felt his need of divine guidance. He had just been discovering the foolishness of his own heart, and lest he should be constantly led astray by it, he resolved that God's counsel should henceforth guide him. A sense of my own folly is a great step towards being wise, when it leads me to rely on the wisdom of the Lord. The blind man leans on his friend's arm and reaches home in safety, and so would I give myself up implicitly to divine guidance, nothing doubting; assured that though I cannot see, it is always safe to trust the All-seeing God. "Thou shalt," is a blessed expression of confidence. He was sure that the Lord would not decline the condescending task. There is a word for me and I should rest in it. I can be assured that my God will be my counsellor and friend; He shall guide me; He will direct all my ways. In His written Word I have this assurance in part fulfilled, for holy Scripture is His counsel to me. Happy am I to have God's Word always to guide me! What were the mariner without his compass? And what would I be without my Bible? This is the unerring chart, the map in which every shoal is described, and all the channels from the quicksands of destruction to the haven of salvation mapped and marked by one who knows all the way. Blessed be Thou, O God, that I may trust Thee to guide me now, and guide me even to the end! After this guidance through life, the Psalmist anticipates a divine reception at last—"and afterward receive me to glory." What a thought for me! God Himself will receive me to glory—me! Wandering, erring, straying, yet He will bring me safe at last to glory! This is my portion; I will live on it this day, and if perplexities should surround me, I can go in the strength of this text straight to the throne.

Once again thank you, Jib for the suggestion.

Be Holy for I am Holy

Oswald Chambers 1 Peter 1:16- Be Holy for I am Holy

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

Thank you for the suggestion, Jib.