The following is taken from Devotions for MORNING and EVENING with
OSWALD CHAMBERS
“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect…” Phil. 3:12
“It is a snare to imagine that God wants to
make us perfect specimens of what He can do; God’s purpose is to make us one
with Himself.
The emphasis of holiness movements is apt to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum.
If you go off on this idea of personal holiness, the dead-set of your life will not be for God, but for what you call the manifestation of God in your life.
‘It can never be God’s will that I should be sick.’ If it was God’s will to bruise His own son, why should He not bruise you?
The thing that tells for God is not your relevant consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your real vital relation to Jesus Christ, and your abandonment to Him whether you are well or ill.
The emphasis of holiness movements is apt to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum.
If you go off on this idea of personal holiness, the dead-set of your life will not be for God, but for what you call the manifestation of God in your life.
‘It can never be God’s will that I should be sick.’ If it was God’s will to bruise His own son, why should He not bruise you?
The thing that tells for God is not your relevant consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your real vital relation to Jesus Christ, and your abandonment to Him whether you are well or ill.
Christian perfection is not, and never can
be, human perfection.
Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship to God which shows itself amid the irrelevancies of human life.
When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that strikes you is the irrelevancy of the things you have to do, and the next thing that strikes you is the fact that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives.
Such lives are apt to leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary, by human effort and devotion we can reach the standard God wants.
In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself.
Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God is not after perfecting me to be a specimen in his show-room: He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes.” (page 696, for Dec. 2)
Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship to God which shows itself amid the irrelevancies of human life.
When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that strikes you is the irrelevancy of the things you have to do, and the next thing that strikes you is the fact that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives.
Such lives are apt to leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary, by human effort and devotion we can reach the standard God wants.
In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself.
Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God is not after perfecting me to be a specimen in his show-room: He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes.” (page 696, for Dec. 2)
The following is taken from The Way We Walk in
Our Daily Bread 10/14/11)
“Just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the gory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life.” Romans 6:4
“A television program that I enjoy watching
has a segment called Ambush Makeover. Two women are chosen to under go 3 hours
of pampering to update their hair, makeup, and wardrobe.
The change is often dramatic. When the women step from behind a curtain, the audience gasps. Friends and family members sometimes start to cry.
After all of this, the person with the new look finally gets to see herself. Some are so shocked that they keep looking in the mirror as if to find proof that it’s really them.
The change is often dramatic. When the women step from behind a curtain, the audience gasps. Friends and family members sometimes start to cry.
After all of this, the person with the new look finally gets to see herself. Some are so shocked that they keep looking in the mirror as if to find proof that it’s really them.
As the women walk across the set to join
their companions, the former self becomes evident. Most do not know how to walk
in their new shoes.
Although they look chic, their clumsy walk gives them away. Their transformation is incomplete.
Although they look chic, their clumsy walk gives them away. Their transformation is incomplete.
This is true in our Christian lives as well.
God does the work in us to give us a new start, but to walk in the way of the Lord
(Deut.
11:22) requires time, effort, and lots of practice.
If we just stand still and smile, we can pass as being transformed.
But the way we walk tells how far along we are in living out that transformation. Being changed means giving up our previous way of life and learning a new way to walk Rom.6:4 –Julie Ackerman Link
If we just stand still and smile, we can pass as being transformed.
But the way we walk tells how far along we are in living out that transformation. Being changed means giving up our previous way of life and learning a new way to walk Rom.6:4 –Julie Ackerman Link
The new life in Christ has begun—
the past with its darkness is gone;
Look closer to see what the Savior has
done,
for change is beginning to dawn. –Hess
A change in
behavior begins with a change in the heart.”
“Take firm hold of
instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.” Prov. 4:13
NKJV
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