IMPOVERISHED MINISTRY OF JESUS

“From whence then hast You that living water? (John 4:11)

          “The well is deep:—and a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! Think of the depths of human nature, of human life, think of the depths of the ‘wells’ in you. Have you been impoverishing the ministry of Jesus so that He cannot do anything? Suppose there is a well of fathomless trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says—‘Let not your heart be troubled’; and you shrug your shoulders and say, ‘But Lord, the well is deep; You cannot draw up quietness and comfort out of it.’ No, He will bring them down from above.

           Jesus does not bring anything up from the wells of human nature. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and by saying, ‘Of course I cannot expect God to do this thing.’ The thing that taxes almightiness is the very thing which we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish His ministry the moment we forget He is Almighty; the impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus as Comforter or as Sympathizer, but we will not come to Him as Almighty.

          The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there Is no abandonment to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying—‘Of course He cannot do anything,’ and we struggle down to the deeps and try to get the water for ourselves. Beware of the satisfaction of sinking back and saying—‘It can’t be done’; you know it can be done if you look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness is deep, but make the effort and look away to Him.”

Taken from Devotions for MORNING  and  EVENING with OSWALD CHAMBERS (pg. 118 for 2/27)

           Our Daily Bread 

                                    “Lord, thank You for the peace we have down in our

hearts. And that we can be peacemakers with others

                  through our attitude, words, and deeds.

                     Help me to show Your mercy and peace. Amen

                     Because of the peace of God and peace with God,

We can be peacemakers for God.”  (11/20/11)

“Lord, help me to love with both words and deeds,

   To reach out to sinners and meet their needs;

    Lord, burden my heart for those lost in sin,

         With mercy and love that flows from within—Fitzhugh

                           They witness best who witness with their lives.” (10/29/11)

          “But sanctify (set apart) the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (godly reverence).”  (1 Peter: 3:15, NKJV)

jowildflowers@gmail.com   jean-oathout.blogspot.com   Tomorrow’s post: 

STRICT OBEDIENCE DURING YOUR DAYS OF CONFUSION by The Pocket Testament League