Monday, December 7, 2020
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Friday, December 4, 2020
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
MORE FROM MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
By Oswald Chambers
In
the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the
sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without
our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of
God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is
teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our
lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3).
They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that
sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come
along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come
in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“…they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus …” (Mark 9:8; also see verses 2–7).
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“…they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus …” (Mark 9:8; also see verses 2–7).
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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
When
you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given
you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter
cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. Shade of His Hand, 1226 L
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
The Rod of God by Major Ian Thomas
This last evening I had trouble sleeping so in the middle of the night as I am often want to do, I listened to this sermon by Major Ian Thomas from my tape collection.
The message hit home for me as a Christian because he homes in on the point of Christian living and how many things are we letting us get in the way of our relationship with God.
I thought about uploading the tape but someone had already done so so here it is on youtube. Audio only. This appears to be word for word for the tape I have.It was recorded in Australia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U28PyXZSp5A
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
More from My Utmost for His Highest
Beware of Criticizing Others
By Oswald Chambers
Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.”
The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known.
Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the
spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism
is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The
Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He
alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is
impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical
mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and
leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow
superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate
a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but
must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of
anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.
There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.
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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
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