I really enjoyed our Spoken Word Bible Plan for today, but I think that today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers is a powerful message that we all should make our own!
The Fruitfulness Of Friendship
I
have called you friends. — John 15:15
We
never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we abandon in every particular.
Self-surrender is the most difficult thing — “I will if…!” “Oh, well, I suppose
I must devote my life to God.” There is none of the joy of self-sacrifice in
that.
As
soon as we do abandon, the Holy Ghost gives us an intimation of the joy of
Jesus. The final aim of self-sacrifice is laying down our lives for our Friend.
When the Holy Ghost comes in, the great desire is to lay down the life for
Jesus, and the thought of sacrifice never touches us because sacrifice is the
love passion of the Holy Ghost.
Our
Lord is our example in the life of self-sacrifice — “I delight to do Thy will,
O my God.” He went on with His sacrifice with exuberant joy. Have I ever
yielded in absolute submission to Jesus Christ? If Jesus Christ is not the
lodestar, there is no benefit in the sacrifice; but when the sacrifice is made
with the eyes on Him, slowly and surely the moulding influence begins to tell.
Beware
of letting natural affinities hinder your walk in love. One of the most cruel
ways of killing natural love is by disdain built on natural affinities. The
affinity of the saint is the Lord Jesus. Love for God is not sentimental, for
the saint to love as God loves is the most practical thing.
“I
have called you friends.” It is a friendship based on the new life created in
us which has no affinity with our old life, but only with the life of God. It
is unutterably humble, unsulliedly pure, and absolutely devoted to God.
AMEN! The mistake that the rich young ruler (from the Gospels) made in his speaking to JESUS was that he loved his possessions more than he loved God! He could not picture himself giving! The TRUTH that he missed out of great fear of giving up everything is that JESUS never asked Him to do that! JESUS simply told him to sell his 'things' (in other words: liquidate his assets!) and give to the poor. JESUS did NOT say to give everything to the poor, simply give to the poor. But when we are not fully committed to our relationship/fellowship with JESUS, then other things will sneak in and take the preeminence! Don't allow that to happen to YOU! Love Him with all that you are and you will discover that you cannot EVER outgive God! When we let go of some things in order to draw closer to Him, then HE pours good things back into our lives! He's just that wonderful! HALLELUJAH! Here is Hillsong with an older song that I love called "Love You So Much":Shalom in Him!
