Word for Today, Fri, 16 Jan 2004, The Voice of the Nature of God
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
When I want to read a relatively short devotional message that I
intend to use to challenge my thinking and stretch my view and my
faith, I often turn to the writings of Oswald Chambers. One of
his best known works is My Utmost For His Highest, which has been
commercialized quite a bit since the time Chambers actually
lived 1874-1917). Nevertheless, the writing remains remarkably
clear, precise, and in my opinion, accurate.
Therefore, I'd like to share Oswald's writing once again with
you, and wish you a safe, secure, and warm weekend, regardless of
your surroundings.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________
January 16
The Voice of the Nature of God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I
send, and who will go for Us?' --Isaiah 6:8
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most
important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are
many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will
be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the
expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only
recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God
is the expression of God's nature, not ours. God providentially
weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we
can distinguish them. It is the threading of God's voice
directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek
another person's opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of
God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal
desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I
dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am
suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God
brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in
the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God,
because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call
of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear
anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says.
But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God
is to be profoundly changed.
Oswald Chambers was born in Scotland and spent much of his
boyhood there. His ministry of teaching and preaching took him
for a time to the United States and Japan. The last six years of
his life were spent as principal of the Bible Training College
in London, and as a chaplain to the British Commonwealth troops
in Egypt during World War I. After his death, the books which
bear his name were compiled by his wife from her own verbatim
shorthand notes of his talks.
Today's message comes from http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/utmost/.
Authorized By The Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd.
My Utmost for His Highest Daily Devotional is provided by RBC
Ministries
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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