Word for Today, Thu, 4 Sep 2003: Completely His
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Oswald Chambers always writes clearly about our relationship
with the Lord.
This edition, which has been copied from "Quick Verse", contains
some important words of caution about our personal attitudes
and actions.
I think it's an important reminder to all of us who claim
the Name of Christ, that we must also live as Christ has
shown to us, otherwise our claims and our words have little
substance.
These kinds of messages are sobering reminders to me, especially
if I am wallowing in something or just drifting along.
Hopefully this message will give you something important to
consider, too.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
September 4
His!
They were Yours, You gave them to Me (John 17:6).
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about
this realization: You are not your own (1 Corinthians
6:19). To say, I am not my own, is to have reached a high
point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in
actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving
up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and
that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and
explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord,
not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our
Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He
had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when
the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit
who Jesus really was, that He said, Go (Matthew 28:19;
also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and
mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own
life also, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26). He was not
saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he
cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any
one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can
compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to
my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case,
then, Jesus said, [You] cannot be My disciple. This does
not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot
be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming
responsible for him. you shall be witnesses to Me (Acts
1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing
anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The
missionarys secret is truly being able to say, I am His, and
He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.
Be entirely His!
Copyrights and Permissions
My Utmost for His Highest
Copyright 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association,
Ltd.
Original edition copyright 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company,
Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications
Association, Ltd. All Rights reserved. United States publication
rights are held by Discovery House Publishers, which is
affiliated with RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512.
Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright 1998, Parsons
Technology, Inc., all rights reserved.
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
sitebuilder.yahoo.com