Today I would like to share portions from two of my favorite devotionals. The first is Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest":
The Delight Of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. — 2 Corinthians 12:15
When the Spirit of God has shed abroad the love of God in our hearts,
we begin deliberately to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests in
other people, and Jesus Christ is interested in every kind of man there is. We
have no right in Christian work to be guided by our affinities; this is one of
the biggest tests of our relationship to Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice
is that I lay down my life for my Friend, not fling it away, but deliberately
lay my life out for Him and His interests in other people, not for a cause.
Paul spent himself for one purpose only – that he might win men to Jesus Christ.
Paul attracted to Jesus all the time, never to himself.
“I am made all things
to all men, that I might by all means save some.”
When a man says he must
develop a holy life alone with God, he is of no more use to his fellow men: he
puts himself on a pedestal, away from the common run of men. Paul became a
sacramental personality; wherever he went, Jesus Christ helped Himself to his
life. Many of us are after our own ends, and Jesus Christ cannot help Himself
to our lives. ....... That was
not Paul’s motive: “I could wish myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren” – wild, extravagant – is it? When a man is in love it is not an
exaggeration to talk in that way, and Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.
I LOVE this! Even saying that we desire to reach people with the Gospel, we need to make OUR reasons for doing so line up with HIS! We should be doing this BECAUSE He first loved us and He desires that NONE should perish. It should always, and only, be our love for HIM that motivates us to fulfill our calling! The other devotional that I would like to share a portion of is Kenneth and Gloria Copeland's "Faith To Faith".
Peace at Home
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
work. James 3:16
Have you ever noticed that the easiest place to remain self-centered is
at home? There's an incentive to be lovely with others, but with your family
you are tempted to allow yourself more selfish privileges, as if it didn't
count there.
Before I was a Christian, I was more courteous and nicer to friends
than to my own family. I was more demanding and less forgiving with those dearest
to me than with anyone else.
But after I made Jesus Lord of my life, I realized all that had to
change.
Gloria and I began to learn through the Word how important harmony is
within our family. We learned that if we wanted the power of agreement (see Matthews
18:19) to work in our lives, we could not allow strife in our home.
Strife drops the shield of faith, stops prayer results and invites
Satan and his cohorts into your midst. Discord is deadly. It paralyzes the
power of God in your life. Don't allow the enemy to stop you at your own front door by allowing
strife in your home. If you do, you'll be no threat to him anywhere else. Put the power of harmony to work in your family.
AMEN! There is NEVER a 'safe place' to go against the Word of God! His WORD is His WILL! If we desire to be in the will of God, then we must put His Word first place in every area. First place in importance. First place in action. First place in faith! Here is Hillsong with a song that speaks to this! "Your Word":
Shalom in Him!
