Today I want to again share "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers:
The Delight of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be
spent for your souls… —2 Corinthians 12:15
Once “the love of God has been
poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify
ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans
5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in
Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this
is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight
of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John
15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it
down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or
purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win
people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to
himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all
means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
When someone thinks that to
develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any
use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself
from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus
Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are
interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives.
But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve.
Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the
motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to
Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than
total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In
fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren…” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For
someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with
Jesus Christ.
AMEN! Be mindful for the needs of those around you! After all, we ARE the only JESUS that some people will ever see! BE the LIGHT! Here is Hillsong with "Look To The Son":Shalom in Him!
