Thoughts for Life: #11 The Hill of the Lord

Samuel Chadwick: The way into the Holy Presence is not a thoroughfare. The inner chamber into which a man goes is his own, but it is the Presence of God that makes it a holy place.

To a secular mind there would be no Presence. It is the seeking soul that finds. There are some people to whom no audience is given. There are souls that cannot pray. (Google image, Light on hands of prayer)
James says of some men that they need not think they can receive anything of the Lord. Even before Christ taught men to pray, the Psalmist declared, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Ps. 66:18).

The judgment Seat of God is in the inner chamber; but the Throne of Grace is there also, or none would ever dare to enter in. Forgotten sins start into life, and hidden things stand naked and open before Him with whom we have to do.

All who would enter the Holy Presence and live must have a sincere desire for God and a conscience set on dwelling in the light.

Our Lord laid emphasis upon the forgiving spirit. The one thing above all others that bolts and bars the way into the "presence chamber" of prayer is unwillingness to forgive from the heart.

No gift can be accepted by God until reconciliation has been made.

"If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matt 5:23-24).

Again, when Jesus stated the law of faith in relation to prayer, He said:

"Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them. And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:24-26).

Why did He lay such emphasis upon forgiveness? Was it not for the same reason that the Law and the Prophets placed the emphasis upon righteousness? All who would come to the Holy One must be holy, and whoever will come to the God of Mercy must be merciful. The petitioner for grace must believe in grace.

Thine Inner Chamber

Let no soul be discouraged from making a beginning. Schools are graded to the capacity of the learners. The great souls who become mighty in prayer and rejoiced to spend three and four hours a day alone with God were once beginners.

They went from strength to strength. For our comfort let us remember that it is into our own inner chamber we enter, and the God who is there is our Father.

Many years ago a sweet little girl stole into my bedroom in the house where I was staying. She prattled blithely over all the wonder of her child world, but when I asked if her father was up, she looked radiantly and reverently into my eyes and said, "Oh, my daddy always talks with God in the drawing room before breakfast."

Happy father! Happy child! Happy God!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE PATH OF PRAYER
By Samuel Chadwick
(Click title of book to buy)

Used by the permission of

www.cliffcollege.ac.uk
(Emphasis added)

Let's pray-

Father, as we go into our inner chamber to meet with You, it becomes a holy place if we are without known sin. As You judge us in our inner chamber, we dare not enter there with any sinful hidden things, as they will stand naked and open to You.
May we realize that if we're to come into Your Presence, we must have been made holy through faith and acceptance of Christ's Atonement. If we desire mercy, we are to be merciful; we must believe in grace if we are to receive grace.
The Lord Jesus laid emphasis upon the forgiving spirit. May we remember that if we're unwilling to forgive others from our hearts, it will bar our way into Your Presence.
In Christ's name we pray for Your help in accomplishing all that You desire in our inner-chamber meetings with You. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

Ps. 66:17-19 (NKJV) "I cried to Him in my heart,

And He was extolled [praised] with my tongue.

(v. 18) If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord

will not hear. (v. 19) But certainly God has heard

me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer."

Ps. 95:1-3 (NKJV) "Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

(v. 2) Let us come before His presence with

thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with

psalms. (v.3) For the LORD is the great God,

And the great King above all gods."

Luke 12:49 (NKJV) "I came to send fire on the earth
and how I wish it were already kindled!"

Rom. 5:5 (NKJV) "Now hope does not disappoint,
because the life of God has been poured out in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Today's quotes-

~ Blaise Pascal- "What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in a man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace?

This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there, the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself."

~ Charles H. Spurgeon- "Do you not wish to have every virtue developed? Do you not wish to become a perfect man in Christ Jesus? If so, welcome with 'all joy' various trials and temptations. Flee to God with them.

Bless Him for having sent them. Ask Him to help you to bear them with patience, and then let that patience have its perfect work. And so, by the Spirit of God, you shall become 'perfect and entire, wanting nothing.' "

(Condensed from his sermon, and taken from p. 4 of the February 2019, Herald of His Coming newspaper)

Today's guest post-

Wake Up

Emmanuella Ellis-

"I like to sleep when I am having a bad day and when everything seems to be falling out of place.

Yet I wake up to face the situation. Sleeping doesn’t solve the problem. The struggles and challenges in life go beyond a bad day. Sometimes we feel as if we are in the middle of a storm. Weathering life’s storm requires action, which means sleeping amid the storm is not an option."

Today's sermon spotlight-

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Created for Worship: A Response to the Majesty of God

Speaker: Rick Sinclair Series: Worship Topic: CFC Madrid

Upcoming posts-

#12 The Inner Room and the Closed Door
14th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick

True Humility
16th- Saturday's post by Mrs Frannie Erb

#13 How Can We Secure the Closed Door?
19th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick

#14 The Word of God in the Holy Presence
21st- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick