Word for Today, Fri, 30 Sep 2005: Go: The Commission Of The Call
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
When God tells us what to do or where to go, it is a really good
idea to listen to Him -- the FIRST time. Oswald Chambers has
been leading a series on following God's call. In today's
message, he draws an analogy between being squeezed like grapes
into wine and being challenged, crushed, and changed, from one
form into another, by the hand of God. However, Oswald notes
that God often works through the hands of others - even others we
would never choose.
Think of the armies and nations that went against Israel. Think
- even more carefully - about the Chief scribes and Pharisees,
the leaders of the day, who hated Jesus because He exposed their
greed and thirst for power, so they hunted Him down in a private,
dark place and killed Him.
If God used His enemies - even satan, to accomplish His purposes
in His own Son, would He not do similar things in us?
Next time you are having a pity party about some struggle that
you are going through, consider how God may be using those very
circumstances to bring about something particular in your life.
Look for that thing, and watch what God is doing, and give Him
thanks and praise. Then the difficulties of life will be much
easier to take. Besides, you will find God in so many places
that you never thought to look for Him before!
Yours in Christ,
Brian
___________________________
Friday, September 30, 2005
The Commission Of The Call
"Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's
sake." Colossians 1:24
We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we
get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with
a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for
one radiant flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say -
"Here am I, send me."
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but
with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never
make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us
with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken
bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses
someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we
said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we
object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If
ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be
crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when
they have been squeezed.
I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to
squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are
not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have
been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means
that the elements of the natural life are presenced by God as
they are broken providentially in His service. We have to be
adjusted into God before we can be broken bread in His
hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you
will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that
will benefit His other children.
MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - by Oswald Chambers //
=============================================================== /===
http://www.heartlight.org/devotionals/my_utmost /
======================================================================
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
mail.yahoo.com