All in Oswald Chambers
I want to live the resurrection life of Jesus. I want to be one with Him and in Him with God. My heart is set on this now... not some time in the distant future. Are you living this life, and if not, are you striving for it every day, and with each breath you take?
Am I praying continuously and without ceasing? How can I possibly do this with all of the happenings in my life every day? Yet this is precisely what Jesus is telling me to do and he never asks of me those things I am incapable of.
What does it mean to "seek first the kingdom of God?" Some believe this is to seek God totally and that all else will miraculously be provided, others feel it means to seek Him first and foremost, but then continue to live life by His commandments, and then some think it is to live as they always have and roll God into the cracks of our existing life. Which are you? Which do you seek?
Am I seeking those things which are important in life? This is my thought today. I am contemplating what I actually hold as highest in my life and asking myself if those things are really as valuable as I believe they are. Am I placing value on fleeting things at the expense of those eternal treasures?
Do I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to be like Jesus and too little time just living like Him? Am I wrapped up in searching for some hidden meaning in His words at the expense of just living out the obvious things He teaches? Our goal should be to follow Jesus and learn at His feet, but we can't do that unless we are walking with Him and making camp where He makes camp.
Following Jesus into Transfiguration and on to Ascension is my thought this morning, but beyond that I also look forward towards Pentecost. Will I, can I, understand what Jesus felt and became during His transfiguration, at Gethsemane, and His Ascension into heaven? Perhaps not, perhaps not yet, but I can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The promise of "another", a comforter that is very real to us.
We share in the death and resurrection of Jesus to obtain salvation, but we also share in the life of Christ, and that gives us great joy, peace, and holiness in our everyday lives. How can we be Christian and not manifest The essence of His living?
We will all be resurrected into judgement, so is our conscience clear as we live out ourlives in faith? This morning I am concerned with allowing my own conscience to help guide me in following God's commandments, and preparing me for judgement.
Are there places that I don't feel at home with God? This is my morning thought. My goal in faith is to be comfortable with God wherever I am and in whatever circumstance I find myself in... so how do I get there?
Do we know what love is, and do we understand the depth to which it should be applied to those around us? This is my contemplation this morning, and that I truly show the love of Jesus Christ.
Do you practice your faith? Do you add to it each day and make what you had from the day before a reflex? Becoming ingrained in our faith and deepening it over time requires us to practice what we hear preached, and what we have learned.
Does God reveal Himself to you each day? If you are anticipating a revelation of God, you are more than likely going to receive it. Looking for God implies that He is central to your life, and has replaced self as the driving force in your life.
Hold your spiritual ground. Do you have the patience to wait as God prepares you to be used by Him to complete His will? Do you exhibit the endurance of Sardis in keeping God's commandments and Word?
Placing our relationship with Jesus above all others in our life. Is this something that you are willing, or able, to do? Could you walk away from home and family if Jesus asked you to "follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"?
You don't so much find Jesus through scripture, but rather the scripture through Jesus. Have you been stuck in studying the scripture to the point that you have never truly meet the living Christ? Once you have met Him, He will bring the scripture alive, and set you free.