Ten Days With Oswald Chanbers

Ten Days with Oswald Chambers

A ten day look into Chamber's treasured book, "My Utmost For His Highest." 

Starting November 3rd, I will be posting a lesson from Chamber's book every day until the 13th.

Come and join us as Chambers unlocks the jewels in Scripture with his book, "My Utmost For His Highest"!

 

The 31st of October

Today is such a special day for me...

...and no, it has nothing to do with the fact that it is Halloween.

Today me and my husband have been married for five months!

God has been so good to us. He has moved us far away from home, but He has sustained us. He has provided the Prince (I often refer to my husband as 'the prince') with a job that is great (though it takes him away from me on three week trips!!). He has just blessed us so far.

I am not trying to say there haven't been bumps in the road! By no means! We are going through a few things right now, in fact. I am trying to decide what God wants me to be doing right now since we are in an apartment and I don't have a job.

I used to be super ambitious and enthusiastic about going out and learning everything I could learn and becoming really good at a select few things. I am good at a lot of things in small ways, but I'd like to perfect some of those things. Lately I have lost some of that ambition and I really want to find it again.

Anyways, we are praying about where God has me. I have the chance to go to school and take some classes. I could get a job. I just need to figure out where God wants me the most...

You could be praying that God shows me where He wants me.

Well, back from that bunny trail...

Anywho, it is our fifth month anniversary! Not to be weird or anything. Should I announce this in a blog post? I'm not sure...

God bless!

Rachel H.

Beautiful in its Time

Oh me. What a day. It has been rough...to say the least. I feel small and weak, helpless and needy. My flesh tells me that I need to curl up in bed and just cry it all out. My mind says I have a right to disregard everything else around me in order to allow myself the freedom to just be sad. I know it isn't wrong to cry. It isn't. Crying helps a lot of the time. What I want to do however isn't a healthy way of expressing or releasing emotions. I want to escape everything and sit in my darkness and listen to all my fear and anxiety. I want to be alone with these things that are not of God.

I can hear Christ calling. I can see Him there, sadly but gently beckoning me to draw close to Him. He doesn't want me to hide away in the arms of self-pity or unhappiness. He wants me to lift my chin and smile. He wants me to lift my hands to heaven. He wants me to run from my darkness into His marvelous light. He wants me to crawl out of bed and open the shades and let the sun and beauty shine in. He wants me to don my armor and battle against the negative. He wants me to rise again and say, "Oh Lord, You are always good." He wants me to stretch my fledgling wings so that one day I might fly.

                                       (Photo taken by me at Lake Michigan in September)

The last thing our Lord wants is for us to shut ourselves up. He doesn't want  the cares of this world to make us turn away from Him. We need Him always, but seemingly the most when going though troubles. Please don't think that this issue, this lost job, this failing business venture, this rebellious child, this dying father, this health problem, this anything...(you name it) is going to change who you are in Christ.

Don't start to drift away from Him because of problems in your life. Come close and hang on tight, because He is holding onto you. Stand at the shores of His peace and in the waves of his grace. Remember who you are in Him, not in this world.

You are His.

I am His. Because of this fact, I refuse to give in to my flesh. I am not going to go and crawl into bed and pity myself for the bad day I have had. I am not going to shut out His light.

 I am going to bask in His glory and comfort and grace. I am going to listen to His truths whispered in my ear through scripture:

 ^"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." 

Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Will I Suffer?

(This text is referencing a sermon by John Piper titled "Preparing to know Christ deeply through suffering". The sermon was preached at College Park Church, Indianapolis, IN. The sermon can be listened to at this link http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/preparing-to-know-christ-deeply-through-suffering )

We, as Children of God are called to suffer.
 
The Bible clearly states that as children of the Almighty we are going to suffer for His name's sake. Romans 8:17 states, "..and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heir with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." We are called to endure. We are to partake in the suffering of our Lord, are we not? 2 Timothy 2:12 says, "If we endure, we will also reign with Him: If we deny Him, He also will deny us." Because of our faith we are called to lay everything down, even our lives if it is asked of us. We are to count it all as loss. Everything we have, is it ours? Do we really have a right to keep what we have? Paul writes to the Philippians and speaks boldly of his sufferings and what he has endured. Did he do it for himself? No, he did it to gain Christ. To be closer to God. He writes,
   
"Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:  circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,  and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:4-11

In verses 4-6 Paul is basically saying, "Really, if anyone is proud of himself, it should be me. I have a pedigree, I am a Hebrew of Hebrews. I know the Scriptures. I was looked up to by many. I persecuted Christians. I was blameless as to the Law." Obviously all of these things were his life, they where what gave him joy, his status, his purpose. Then when he met Christ on Damascus road, it all came crashing down. No more Pharisee, no longer a persecutor of the church, and no longer blameless in the face of the law but in the righteousness and blood of Christ. As a new creation, Paul saw all of these things as nothing. He counted what once was gain all as loss. Paul doesn't stop there, he doesn't just count a few things as loss to him but he counts 'all things' as loss compared to knowing Christ. Jesus speaks of this matter in Luke 14:33, "So then, none of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."  

As a side note--If you have wondered about this verse before, I think Piper does a great job explaining what he believes it to mean. Here is what John Piper writes about Luke 14:33:


What This Means Practically
Now what does that mean practically? I think it means four things:

1. It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
2. It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
3. It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
4. It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.

Anyway, back to the Philippians text.

In the second half of verse 8, Paul goes on to tell us that he has suffered for the sake of Christ. He says, "I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ."

What does it mean to suffer the loss of all things? Can you even imagine? Does this man have no taste for comfort?! No desire to be happy?!

Yes. Paul has the best perspective on what it means to be happy. You know how that is?

HE HAS SEEN CHRIST. Through his sufferings he has gained Christ. Did he have Christ before suffering. Yes. Did he have deep communion? No. Not the type of communion that comes through suffering. After Job suffered--note that I said "after"--he said this about God, "I have heard of You by hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You."

Is it possible that we see Christ clearer when we have suffered and endured for Him? I would say a resounding YES!!! Why wouldn't we? When all else gets stripped away, we can see. No longer do we have to look through the blur and fog of worries of this life. Our mind will be focused and our actions and prayers will be aimed at how we can bring Him glory rather than how we can give Him glory still holding onto the world with a white-knuckled death grip. 

Suffering brings contentment.

This may seem like a complete oxymoron, but if you turn it over in your mind, it makes sense. Not only is it logical, the statement can be backed up with scripture...

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity;  in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having an abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13 

Paul is telling us that he has learned to be content in suffering and hunger. How can a person be content going hungry? How can one be happy when faced with suffering? Most of us don't realize what Paul is hitting on here. We brush over it and think, Well, Paul was and extraordinary person! Yes, he was in many ways, but he was human, he didn't have superpowers. He was like you and me. Can we, simple people (Who have the same calling to the same Lord), be like Paul? Can we rejoice in suffering? What good will a grumbling spirit do us (or anyone else) in the midst of suffering? It will only cause harm to come to our hearts and possibly to those who would otherwise be witnessed to by your faith. Scripture tells us that we should greatly rejoice in our sufferings:

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." Colossians 1:24 

Here, the one who suffers (Paul) says that he will rejoice. He is not rejoicing for his own sake but for the sake of Christ and the church. Will you suffer for the sake of Christ and the church?

" ...they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as Christ." Acts 5:40-42

To me, it looks as if they were preaching and teaching, got taken before the Council, got punished by way of flogging, then they left rejoicing....WHAT IS THIS? They got flogged and they were rejoicing because they where counted worthy to suffer for Christ's name. Even after this shameful punishment they left rejoicing, ready to go out and speak Christ's name. They were really asking for it, huh? Obviously proclaiming the name of Jesus was more important to these men than the comfort of...well...NOT being flogged. 

In Philippians 3:9, I see Paul telling the church that his he has faith and righteousness through Christ, not through anything he has done. I also feel and underlying current of Paul's deep rooted faith being grounded not only in Christ but in the sufferings that he has endured for the sake of Christ. 

 We are strengthened and refined in struggles and sufferings.

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 6-7

Jesus also speaks of the "refining" of his people in John 15:2, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit."

Are you going to prepare yourself to suffer? Are you going to allow the Almighty to prune you so that you may bear more fruit? Is suffering a path that you are willing to take as a son of God?

It has to be.   

If you are a child of the Lord, you will suffer for His name's sake. You will face trials and tribulations. We will be shamed and yes, some will have the honor of giving their lives for the great calling of God.

Paul saw his sufferings as a way of fellowship with the sorrows and pain of Christ in His death on the cross (Phil. 3:10)

The last verse is very powerful. He speaks of his salvation here. He knows full well that if he is to suffer and die for Christ, he has eternity to look forward to. He is sure and confident in his faith and the redemption that was received when Christ laid down his life.

I can't help but hear the surety in Paul's voice when he speaks to the churches. I see a man who was saved by grace, therefore emboldened by Christ through prayer and outreach, completely ready to die for the call of the Kingdom, and totally surrendered to God while enduring the pains of flogging and imprisonment. 

We must ask ourselves, Will I suffer?



Note to the reader:
I was very inspired by John Piper's sermon (as mentioned above). I was lead to write this because it seemed to move me greatly. I may not have everything right. I pray that the Lord spoke through my words to encourage and lift you (who read this) up today. I ask that the Lord would reveal to me any untruth in the script above if there be any. I also pray that God would continue to bless and keep His children. May He watch over his persecuted one's and show those who have yet to taste suffering what it means to become deeply in love with Christ by rejoicing in any and every circumstance.

I am not in any way saying that I rejoice in the death of the persecuted, but I pray for them. I am merely making a point, rooted in scripture. The true children of God will suffer.

Acts 14:22

"Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

May God bless and keep you all! I hope you have a lovely week!

Blessings in Him,

Rachel

If you have any questions or would be interested in questioning/challenging this post, feel free to comment bellow. *Only comments that are free of profanity will be posted on this blog.*

 

Our Little Finish Lines

Things have been rather crazy on my end...but a good crazy. God has been showing me how much I need to lean on Him. In everything I seem to have a goal or pursuit that is worldly and will never get me what my heart is truly desiring. It is like life where a single person says that they would be happy if only they could get married. Or the married couple that says, if only we could have a baby. Or the lady who is expecting saying that she would be satisfied if only she would make it to 25 week. Or that family who wishes they could just get their kids through college and then everything would settle down and be happy and to their liking.

See?

We are always putting up walls and goals and signs, cheering ourselves on, hoping that once we reach our little finish line, we will be content. This is all a lie.

If you are single and you want to be married, marriage to the most perfect person in the world isn't going to make you happy for the rest of eternity. You will be happy, I hope, but not everything is going to be hunky-dory because you've run the half mile to get to your marriage finish line.

Why is it that we think that running a half mile or a mile to reach our goal is going to to make us content? Why do we live in the world of "if only"? We are putting ourselves through disappointment after disappointment, I'll tell you what. We do the same thing over and over and expect the same result. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

Are we all just insane?!

No. We are not just all insane (though some of us would boast that instability!). Listen to me, friends...

WE ARE HUMAN.

We are going to search the world we live in for the things that we think might make us content. It is in our nature to want to be comfortable and cozy.

*News flash*

Comfortable and cozy is nice for a while, but it's shine wears off quickly.

In order to be content as humans we have to turn our eyes upward. We have to seek what is so far above us, we can't fathom the wonders of the God who dwells there. We have to bow ourselves and submit our lives to the One who can give us true life.

We can't just run a mile. we have to train for and run the marathon. This is what we are asked to do. We are asked to run the race and win the prize. If you only make it a mile, what trophy will you boast? None. If you try to make your own finish line a few miles in, the marathon will still go on and you will find yourself sore with a trophy that fades quickly.

Set your eyes on Jesus. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Satisfy yourself in running towards the Kingdom of God.

So, all in all, I want to say that it is good to set the heart and hope in Christ. You will not be disappointed!

Blessings,

Rachel