All in Daily Devotional
Today let’s contemplate our being chosen by God for a life and relationship with Him through Jesus; even as much as we ourselves choose to live that life and love our Lord. I think about Saul becoming Paul and this most intense selection by Jesus. After Saul had been struck down in the midst of his noon day prayers, and blinded, he was told to go into Jerusalem and wait there for instructions. Are we chosen too? Are we humbled as Saul was? Do we obey, and go to meet Him?
Today I read Oswald Chambers' devotional message titled "Transformed by Insight" and in it he wrote of our becoming a reflection of the Lord when we have been in His presence. This is a discussion that thrills me, and reminds me of not only the outward reflection, but the amazing feeling we have within us when He is near.
This morning I am contemplating my salvation and how sometimes God's most lavish blessings can become an impediment to me. My thoughts have produced some observations that might help you as well. So, let's begin by laying the ground rules of salvation... What does it take to be saved and when does that salvation occur? Salvation is not some elusive goal, but attainable, and hinges on God’s desire for us… it is a gift of grace that comes through our belief in Jesus Christ.
This morning Let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions… “Do I love the Lord like I did the moment I was saved?”, and “Has my love for Him diminished in any way over the years?” This will be our contemplation this morning. I am personally looking inward at the love I feel after many years with Jesus and worshiping God. Will you join me in this?
Being reborn into the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ is more than a moment's occurrence. Like our own physical birth's it takes time; being born again involves conception, nurturing from the church's body, and then following a struggle of labor comes the glory of entering the light for our very first glimpse of salvation and heaven.
I am exploring a thought today that I read in my devotional this morning regarding the time between the Lord calling us to service and that moment when we are actually beginning to accomplish what He has asked us to do. As I thought about what has occurred in my own life when He has called me, my sense of discovery was especially aroused by these interesting and instructional words written by Pastor Oswald Chambers regarding God’s preparing us to do what He has asked of us...
In my devotional reading this morning Pastor Oswald Chambers asked a simple question that took me aback. I hadn't thought about this so directly before; this is what he asked… "Are we being more devoted to service than to Jesus Christ?" Are you willing to humbly consider this question and honestly answer it today?
Have you ever struggled to understand your service to God and others as it compares to the call of God itself? This morning I am contemplating these two wonderful aspects of our faith… faithful service, and God’s calling for us. You might interpret our service as being works so here are two scripture references that together link our faith and works together, one from Paul (Ephesians 2:8-9) and the other from James (James 2:26). These two passages complement each other and explain how they go hand in hand. But let’s explore what this has to do with God calling us.
This morning, I was awakened to the fact that I do not make the decision regarding how I will serve the Lord, no, He makes that determination. It is so tempting for us to get out of bed, say our prayers, and then, over breakfast, say cheerfully to ourselves "Let’s see, how will I serve God today!" What we should be doing is asking Him how we can do this, and then listening for His voice as Isaiah did.
Baptism, it is a death and resurrection in our spiritual lives, but as I read my morning devotional regarding it, I began to think about how baptism is much more than a symbol... it is an actual death. One person dies to give birth to the new in glory.
After reading my devotional message this morningregarding our answering the call of God, I began to think about how easy it would be to ignore that call. How easy it would be to stand idle or sit in the back of the class and never raise my hand.
Yesterday we thought about being alone with God in times of correction, but today let’s contemplate those times when we find ourselves alone with Jesus out of love, familiarity, and to receive such things as His instruction, direction, or blessing... what do we say or ask of Jesus when we are alone with Him? Well, we can ask anything but especially the hard questions, or those that bare the uncertainties or insecurities that we harbor in our souls.
This morning I read Oswald Chambers’ thoughts regarding our conceit and inability to see ourselves as God sees us. I read about how God and Jesus see us and about the need for them to strip away that conceit we harbor and reveal our shortcomings to us by finally getting us alone.
I struggled with my devotional reading this morning. The bulk of it dealt with the fact that when we answer God's call in our lives then we, or other people around us, could suffer. Have you ever considered this? Perhaps you are new to the faith and are still of the belief that answering God’s call is all about us and is always an easy choice; that any suffering it involves is ours, and ours alone. This is a false assumption.
Why are we called, and for what reason do we deliver the gospel to the unsaved? As I contemplated my scripture and devotional reading this morning, I recalled Oswald Chambers speaking on this subject with these words:
"The first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words "that they may receive remission of sins." When a man fails in personal Christian experience, it is nearly always because he has never received anything." - Oswald Chambers