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As I enjoy my personal devotion with Oswald Chambers' _My Utmost for His Highest_, together with Ptr. Logos' inspirational postings to his own community (now on 1 Samuel), I would like to share some of Chambers' beautiful and comforting but often challenging lines with you for your reflection.
==========
| We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our
| own, or to enjoy spiritual retirement; we are here
| so to realize Jesus Christ that the Body of Christ
| may be built up.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
Oftentimes, our faith in God is very self-beneficial, crying out, "Lord, bless me more and more!" But Chambers here challenges us to have a wider perspective and to focus more on Jesus. He even quotes or just writes:
==========
| 'My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
| Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.'
Ibid.
==========
Chambers does not mean, I believe, that we should not seek for the Lord's joy, peace, and blessing upon our life. What he wants to emphasize here is that our ultimate desire, however, should be above them and God Himself, even sacrificing ourselves, because that was how Jesus lived.
What do you think?
==========
| We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our
| own, or to enjoy spiritual retirement; we are here
| so to realize Jesus Christ that the Body of Christ
| may be built up.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
Oftentimes, our faith in God is very self-beneficial, crying out, "Lord, bless me more and more!" But Chambers here challenges us to have a wider perspective and to focus more on Jesus. He even quotes or just writes:
==========
| 'My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
| Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.'
Ibid.
==========
Chambers does not mean, I believe, that we should not seek for the Lord's joy, peace, and blessing upon our life. What he wants to emphasize here is that our ultimate desire, however, should be above them and God Himself, even sacrificing ourselves, because that was how Jesus lived.
What do you think?
Well, maybe it was not enough to emphasize that element alone in my previous post. Chambers' central emphasis there is on the recovery of the Church as a place the personality of Jesus should be realized. He says:
==========
| The Church ceases to be a spiritual society when it
| is on the look-out for the development of its own
| organization. The rehabilitation of the human race on
| Jesus Christ’s plan means the realization of Jesus
| Christ in corporate life as well as in individual
| life. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for
| this purpose―that the corporate Personality might be
| realized.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
In other words, the Church does not only exist for each of us to be blessed but also for each of us to contribute to the complete realization of the whole personality of Jesus as a communty. I have strengths and weaknesses and so do you. I may have part of Jesus' caring heart and you may have part of His strongness or intelligence or love or humbleness.
When we live in one heart or desire to express those strengths God has given each of us, we will reflect the personality of Jesus as a more whole as the Church, which itself is a unity of all local churches, and thus all believers in Him, on earth.
What do you think? What has God given you as part of the personality/characteristics of Jesus in you? What can you contribute to the Church, the unity of brothers and sisters on earth, possibly through your own church you belong to? What can we do to make our local churches be more rich places that may reflect the goodness of Jesus Christ more?
==========
| The Church ceases to be a spiritual society when it
| is on the look-out for the development of its own
| organization. The rehabilitation of the human race on
| Jesus Christ’s plan means the realization of Jesus
| Christ in corporate life as well as in individual
| life. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for
| this purpose―that the corporate Personality might be
| realized.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
In other words, the Church does not only exist for each of us to be blessed but also for each of us to contribute to the complete realization of the whole personality of Jesus as a communty. I have strengths and weaknesses and so do you. I may have part of Jesus' caring heart and you may have part of His strongness or intelligence or love or humbleness.
When we live in one heart or desire to express those strengths God has given each of us, we will reflect the personality of Jesus as a more whole as the Church, which itself is a unity of all local churches, and thus all believers in Him, on earth.
What do you think? What has God given you as part of the personality/characteristics of Jesus in you? What can you contribute to the Church, the unity of brothers and sisters on earth, possibly through your own church you belong to? What can we do to make our local churches be more rich places that may reflect the goodness of Jesus Christ more?
From Chambers' devotional reading for today:
==========
| It must be God first, God second, and God third, until
| the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is
| of any account whatever. “In all the world there is
| none but thee, my God, there is none but thee.”
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year. Includes indexes. NIV edition. Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993.
==========
This is based on Isaiah 6:1. Chambers asks us if we see the Lord as Isaiah did when someone very important in our lives was lost.
Chambers' question is challenging to me: what and whom am I seeing instead of the Lord as the primarily important in my life?
What do you think?
==========
| It must be God first, God second, and God third, until
| the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is
| of any account whatever. “In all the world there is
| none but thee, my God, there is none but thee.”
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year. Includes indexes. NIV edition. Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993.
==========
This is based on Isaiah 6:1. Chambers asks us if we see the Lord as Isaiah did when someone very important in our lives was lost.
Chambers' question is challenging to me: what and whom am I seeing instead of the Lord as the primarily important in my life?
What do you think?
===========
The abandonment of God
God so loved the world that He gave ... John 3:16.
Salvation is not merely deliverance from sin, nor the experience of personal holiness; the salvation of God is deliverance out of self entirely into union with Himself. My experimental knowledge of salvation will be along the line of deliverance from sin and of personal holiness; but salvation means that the Spirit of God has brought me into touch with God’s personality, and I am thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself; I am caught up into the abandonment of God.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification, is to get into a side-eddy. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ. The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is part of the effect of the wonderful abandonment of God.
Abandonment never produces the consciousness of its own effort, because the whole life is taken up with the One to Whom we abandon. Beware of talking about abandonment if you know nothing about it, and you will never know anything about it until you have realized what John 3:16 means, that God gave Himself absolutely. In our abandonment we give ourselves over to God just as God gave Himself for us, without any calculation. The consequence of abandonment never enters into our outlook because our life is taken up with Him.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
A good thought ... "Abandonment" may be a little bit out-dated if not too technical usage of the word: we may prefer to use "commitment" instead. Read this repeatedly. Let's live our lives today, giving ourselves to the Lord as much as we can.
The abandonment of God
God so loved the world that He gave ... John 3:16.
Salvation is not merely deliverance from sin, nor the experience of personal holiness; the salvation of God is deliverance out of self entirely into union with Himself. My experimental knowledge of salvation will be along the line of deliverance from sin and of personal holiness; but salvation means that the Spirit of God has brought me into touch with God’s personality, and I am thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself; I am caught up into the abandonment of God.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification, is to get into a side-eddy. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ. The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is part of the effect of the wonderful abandonment of God.
Abandonment never produces the consciousness of its own effort, because the whole life is taken up with the One to Whom we abandon. Beware of talking about abandonment if you know nothing about it, and you will never know anything about it until you have realized what John 3:16 means, that God gave Himself absolutely. In our abandonment we give ourselves over to God just as God gave Himself for us, without any calculation. The consequence of abandonment never enters into our outlook because our life is taken up with Him.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, Includes Indexes., NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).
==========
A good thought ... "Abandonment" may be a little bit out-dated if not too technical usage of the word: we may prefer to use "commitment" instead. Read this repeatedly. Let's live our lives today, giving ourselves to the Lord as much as we can.
To reply to 4, I think we often see what we see in front of our face: money and power. It is nice to have money and fame. But, these cannot be the center of our life. When God gives you enough, God wants us to use those for God's purpose only: to serve him. We should not change the priority.
To reply 5. I also think "abandonment" is the wrong choice of the word, It should be "commitment" as Rikeruke-san said or "submission". Jesus said, "Whoever believes in him have eternal life" and it is true. What do all of you think how we can "give" our life to God? We can give our whole life to God when we live our life by following God's purpose. I think we can do everything and anything with God's will.
To reply 5. I also think "abandonment" is the wrong choice of the word, It should be "commitment" as Rikeruke-san said or "submission". Jesus said, "Whoever believes in him have eternal life" and it is true. What do all of you think how we can "give" our life to God? We can give our whole life to God when we live our life by following God's purpose. I think we can do everything and anything with God's will.
Marmite-san
How have you been? Thank you very much for your response.
| I think we often see what we see in front of our face: money and power.
I don't know how it is to have money because I've never been "rich" in any sense in my life. Most Christians around me seem to be in the same category. However, power is different. As we get older, most of us are naturally placed at certain positions or entrusted with certain responsibilities. Oftentimes it's more difficult to exercise power unabusively than use money properly.
| To reply 5. I also think "abandonment" is the wrong choice of the word, It should be
| "commitment" as Rikeruke-san said or "submission".
Yeah, obviously, Chambers belongs to an older generation (1874-1917), which is why his choices of words are often awkward and difficult to us. It looks like he was staying in Japan for a while, kind of as a missionary or something. It was sad to learn that he passed away at the age of 43. (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%BA%E3%83%AF%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA)
| What do all of you think how we can "give" our life to God? We can give our whole life to God
| when we live our life by following God's purpose. I think we can do everything and anything with
| God's will.
True. And that is a pitfall to us ministers. We can easily fall into an excusing idea that we've already committed our lives to be full-time ministers. Our walk with the Lord by giving our lives to Him, however, is not only (historical) facts but also a process whereby we examine our everyday lives in light of what we're ongoingly giving to Him. Are we walking TODAY and RIGHT NOW, "following God's purpose" as you say? May He have mercy on me and guide me into His right path today!
Thank you very much for your thought-provoking response.
How have you been? Thank you very much for your response.
| I think we often see what we see in front of our face: money and power.
I don't know how it is to have money because I've never been "rich" in any sense in my life. Most Christians around me seem to be in the same category. However, power is different. As we get older, most of us are naturally placed at certain positions or entrusted with certain responsibilities. Oftentimes it's more difficult to exercise power unabusively than use money properly.
| To reply 5. I also think "abandonment" is the wrong choice of the word, It should be
| "commitment" as Rikeruke-san said or "submission".
Yeah, obviously, Chambers belongs to an older generation (1874-1917), which is why his choices of words are often awkward and difficult to us. It looks like he was staying in Japan for a while, kind of as a missionary or something. It was sad to learn that he passed away at the age of 43. (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%BA%E3%83%AF%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA)
| What do all of you think how we can "give" our life to God? We can give our whole life to God
| when we live our life by following God's purpose. I think we can do everything and anything with
| God's will.
True. And that is a pitfall to us ministers. We can easily fall into an excusing idea that we've already committed our lives to be full-time ministers. Our walk with the Lord by giving our lives to Him, however, is not only (historical) facts but also a process whereby we examine our everyday lives in light of what we're ongoingly giving to Him. Are we walking TODAY and RIGHT NOW, "following God's purpose" as you say? May He have mercy on me and guide me into His right path today!
Thank you very much for your thought-provoking response.
Rikeruke-san, that is why we pray. We pray for God to guide us. He answers our prayer.
As for money, I did not mean to be rich. I meant need for money to just get by. When you are in financial difficulty (or about to lose a job), money is quite important to us: almost before God. That is the danger that I am talking about.
Anyway, it is nice to see your post. Keep praying everyone!
God loves us all.
As for money, I did not mean to be rich. I meant need for money to just get by. When you are in financial difficulty (or about to lose a job), money is quite important to us: almost before God. That is the danger that I am talking about.
Anyway, it is nice to see your post. Keep praying everyone!
God loves us all.
Romans5v1-3
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
*********************
I have no idea how many of us are checking this community these days. I do believe someone will read entries on our community blog. We often praise God when we have something good happened to us (or bad things are avoided). But, the Gospel teaches us to rejoice our suffering. We grow our hope through the experiences of suffering. So, bad things are not bad after all.
How many of us realize the truth of our life?
Well, I am not the one. I know the Gospel, but I often get defeated by my suffering. Pray for me and pray for all sinners. I really like to live by God's words.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
*********************
I have no idea how many of us are checking this community these days. I do believe someone will read entries on our community blog. We often praise God when we have something good happened to us (or bad things are avoided). But, the Gospel teaches us to rejoice our suffering. We grow our hope through the experiences of suffering. So, bad things are not bad after all.
How many of us realize the truth of our life?
Well, I am not the one. I know the Gospel, but I often get defeated by my suffering. Pray for me and pray for all sinners. I really like to live by God's words.
Marmite-san
Thank you for your encouraging message. I'm sorry that I cannot respond quickly these days because I'm travelling around Japan to report about my missionary activities at some Japanese churches supporting us. I'm in Hokkaido now. Blessings to you and other members of this community! I'll be right back.
Thank you for your encouraging message. I'm sorry that I cannot respond quickly these days because I'm travelling around Japan to report about my missionary activities at some Japanese churches supporting us. I'm in Hokkaido now. Blessings to you and other members of this community! I'll be right back.
"God does not choose the experts and the brave; He chooses the willing. If you are feeling unqualified, take heart. The job of following Him is not for the faint of heart. God would never call you if He does not plan to strengthen your heart and equip you along the way. God does not call the qualified. He qualifies those whom He calls."
(A message circulated through cell-phones)
(A message circulated through cell-phones)
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