Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?Posts Tagged ‘Oswald-Chambers’
prayer: nourishing the life of God in us
I just got Oswald Chambers’ If You Will Ask, and I’m already loving it, one chapter in. According to Chambers, prayer “develops the life of God in us” and “nourishes” that life; in other words, if we don’t pray, we are starving ourselves. That’s a sobering thought!
He goes on to say the life of God in us
is nourished by refusing to worry over anything, for worry means there is something over which we cannot have our own way… Never let anything push you to your wits’ end, because you will get worried, and worry makes you self-interested and disturbs the nourishment of the life of God. Give thanks to God that He is there, no matter what is happening….
He concludes his discussion of worry with this beautiful thought:
The secret of Christian quietness is not indifference, but the knowledge that God is my Father, He loves me, and I shall never think of anything He will forget, and worry becomes an impossibility.
I shall never think of anything He will forget: this is one of those Selah moments. Pause, and calmly think about that!
The chapter ends with a prayer from Chambers’ journal:
O Lord, this day may your beauty and grace and soothing peace be in me and upon me. May no wind or weather or anxiety ever touch Your beauty and Your peace in my life or in this place.
Lazarus, Night of the Living Dead, and the joy of surrender
Just in case I was uncertain about focusing on humility right now, the Holy Spirit provided ample confirmation Thursday afternoon. I was a little discouraged and decided to read Oswald Chambers’ Utmost and Martin Luther’s By Faith Alone. Here’s what I found —
Luther, writing about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, says, “Of all the sacrifices we can make, the one most acceptable to God is this: getting rid of sin, living a holy life, obeying God, and killing our corrupt nature.” I love how Luther finishes: “This is very painful and unpleasant for us to do.”…
delightful?
For a while now I’ve been turning over the word delight, trying to internalize what it means for a believer. Consider these passages:
- “his delight is in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 1:2)
- “He delivered me, because He delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19)…
the glory of the gospel
Reading Utmost this morning led to me 2 Corinthians 3, in which Paul compares the fading glory of the old covenant with the lasting, greater glory of the new. I read the chapter several times in different translations — I felt like there was something there just beyond my grasp. Parts of this chapter are very familiar, and sometimes we have to get past what we think we already know to see what a passage really has to say…
service or sacrifice
How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us.
I am challenged by this statement…
do I believe God is able to save?
In today’s Utmost devotional, Chambers writes this rather startling statement:
If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot.
Startling, I say, because of its directness and simplicity.…
rethinking worship
I recently searched a stock image site using the keyword “worship.” I got what I expected: white men photographed from behind, their hands upraised. The only thing that changed was the background: a sunset, a church, a white void.
It pains me that a gesture I find personally significant — raising my hands to my Father — has become a cliché.…
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to this feed