This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
The Holy Spirit In Me
When I receive the Holy Spirit He lifts my personality back into its primal relationship with God. Holy Spirit coming into my spirit never becomes my spirit; He energizes my spirit and enables me “to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
… When the Holy Spirit begins to unearth the works of the flesh in you, don’t temporize it, don’t whitewash them; don’t call suspicion “discernment of the spirit,” or ill-temper “righteous indignation”; bring it to the light, come face to face with it, confess it and get cleansed away.
From Conformed To His Image
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would help form the righteousness of Christ in us, but we have to obediently respond to what the Spirit is convicting us of.
Probably like you, I am more apt to make excuses or rationalize why what I’m doing is okay (even though the Holy Spirit is convicting me otherwise). It becomes a battle that won’t end well for me! The better course of action is to listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, repent of my fleshly behavior as He reveals it to me, and receive more of the life in Christ in me.
On May 28, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the Congressional Act (Joint Resolution 243), which added the words “Under God” to the pledge of allegiance. In a speech given soon after, President Eisenhower said, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future.”
“God is concerned that His people are being shaken in their faith—that they won’t trust Him in their crisis. Beloved, our worst sin is our unwillingness to believe He will do what He promised. That offends Him more than adultery, fornication, drug and alcohol abuse or any other sin of the flesh.” —David Wilkerson
“If today is the day I will be born into heaven—I sure want to make it worth while. If I die today, I want today to be full of the glory of God. I want everything I do today to be worthy of Jesus. If I could die any moment then let every moment count. A healthy view of dying helps us live well. Dying is the only way to live.” —Dick Brogden
Due to it’s placement in Book II of the Psalms, these words were most likely penned during a time of political uncertainty in Israel—
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1).
These words are recorded after Israel has been torn apart into two kingdoms, with rival kings from the northern and southern kingdoms constantly scheming against each other. It’s a time of assassins, and throne usurpers, and even other kings looking to swoop in.
During times like this it is tempting to turn to political means to achieve some sense of stability or security. But the psalmist urges us to remember that God is our fortress of strength, not politicians. In Him is our safe and stable place.
God’s plan for kings, governments, armies and parliaments will always prevail!
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10, emphasis added).
Be still, my soul, your King is THE King over all of the politicians, princes and nobles. Your God is your refuge and strength, your safety and stability. Put your trust in Him!
“Good performance is the road by which one travels toward life. He who travels this road is in quest of life. ‘Take courage and do manfully.’ This road has its reward. As often as we become fatigued by the journey’s labor, we are enlightened by the grace of a solicitude from on high, and we ‘taste and see that the Lord is sweet.’ And thus comes to pass what was said above—what prayer asks, contemplation finds.” —Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141 AD)
“We were created to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7), and because Paul said, ‘Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31). So it is sin to pursue any good deed, or any act of worship, without the intent to glorify God. But God is not glorified where we find Him less pleasing than other things. He is belittled. Knowing this, we cannot be indifferent to whether we find God pleasing in the actions we pursue. In all those actions, if we would glorify God, we must aim to find Him more pleasing than anything else.” —John Piper
“The One who made and counted all the stars—who monitored every action of the Roman Empire and who keeps all the galaxies in the orbits—has His eye fixed on you. And, Jesus asks, ‘Are you not worth much more to Him?’” —David Wilkerson
“If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory.” —Henry Blackaby
My dear fellow pastors, please heed this admonition from A.W. Tozer. Our responsibility of presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ must include mastery of the language in which we will be speaking. We must not be lax in this!
“For the very reason that God has committed His saving truth to the receptacle of human language, the man who preaches that truth should be more than ordinarily skillful in the use of language. It is necessary that every artist master his medium, every musician his instrument. For a man calling himself a concert pianist to appear before an audience with but a beginner’s acquaintance with the keyboard would be no more absurd than for a minister of the gospel to appear before his congregation without a thorough knowledge of the language in which he expects to preach.” —A.W. Tozer
“Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal Kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free.” —John Chrysostom
“Those who boast of their knowledge betray their ignorance. Knowledge is not a possession to be proud of….” Read more of the quote from Charles Spurgeon in It Matters What You Do With Your Knowledge.
I was reading through some things I had posted on Memorial Day previously, and this post from five years ago jumped out at me. I thought I’d repost it today…
Usually I awaken each morning with some song echoing in my mind, but this morning was different. This morning I heard the last lines of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address resounding in my mind —
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
America is still an unfinished work. She is a work which has been nobly advanced by the blood of patriots who believed in the work which had been birthed on this soil. These honored dead gave their last full measure of devotion to this nation “conceived in Liberty” by the guiding hand of God Himself.
Just 87 years earlier the Founding Fathers closed the Declaration of Independence with these words —
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Today is called Memorial Day, and it is right and proper that we memorialize the last full measure of devotion given by our fallen soldiers and patriots. It’s also a day to reflect on why they died — they were willing to shed their blood for this country conceived in Liberty under the watchful care of Divine Providence.
May we continue to honor the memory of our honored dead by upholding the values for which they died to preserve and protect. And may God continue to bless the United States of America as we remember and honor Him!
Our culture has a sexualized agenda. Just look at how Hollywood portrays us today:
Few happy marriages.
Lots of sex-crazed, inept husbands with strong wives who use or withhold sex as a reward or punishment.
Flawlessly beautiful actors (not a zit to be seen).
No consequences for sex—no pregnancy, STDs or AIDS.
No depression for broken relationships; no anxiety or eating disorders because of the psychological pain.
Sex outside of marriage is normal, and those who abstain are the weird ones.
We cannot stand on our soapboxes and rail against culture.
We cannot just tell them what we’re against, but we’ve got to tell them what we’re for.
We’ve got to give them the compelling truth for the beauty, joy, and fulfillment of sex God’s way.
The Gospel—the Good News—is an invitation, not an ultimatum. We’ve got to share with others what’s good about God’s counter culture way concerning sex!
“I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer ‘No,’ he might regard absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their carnal raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. The boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it.” —C.S. Lewis
All Hollywood knows is the “chocolate” of people acting on their immediate feelings, with no understanding of long-term consequences.
Better sex comes from doing things God’s way = one man and one women married for life.
Proverbs 5 presents the advantages of being married and being intimate with just one person. I especially love this passage—
Drink water from your own well—share your love only with your wife.Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? (verses 15-20)
This is better sex because it’s pure:
No sharing sexually transmitted diseases from previous partners.
No comparison to how you are in bed compared to previous partners.
No psychological fall-out.
Intimacy without reservation.
A release of dopamine (the feel-good hormone) unlike you’ll ever get with “casual” sex.
And most importantly: A relationship God can—and does!—bless.
Hollywood knows nothing about real love and a truly satisfying, fulfilling sex life. But God does! That’s why the Apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20), because God created your body and knows how it can get the highest, purest pleasure.
“Are you a Christian? Then there’s something dreadfully wrong with you. You’re unthinking; you’re unscientific; you can’t see how badly Christianity botches morality. You represent a deeply defective culture that’s been getting all the most important things wrong for a hundred generations.” Read more from Tom Gilson in Skeptics Dehumanizing Christianity.
“No one can know truth except the one who obeys truth. You think you know truth. People memorize the Scriptures by the yard, but that is not a guarantee of knowing the truth. Truth is not a text. Truth is in the text, but it takes the text plus the Holy Spirit to bring truth to a human soul.” —A.W. Tozer
Important news for pregnant women: Take care of your teeth. “The results reinforce data suggesting a link between periodontal disease in the mother and the risk of preterm birth.” Read more in Bacteria Found In Healthy Placentas.
“Many contemporary critics of the faith charge that Christianity is a barrier to progress. … But the overwhelming weight of good is undeniable—and indispensable to civilization.” Read more in The ABCs Of Christian Civilization.
“Biblical hope is not wishful thinking or an optimistic outlook; rather, it is a confident expectation based on the certainty of God’s Word that as He has anchored us in the past, so He will in the future.” —David Wilkerson
“You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.” —Jim Stovall
“The Bible was not given to replace the miraculous but to correct abuses.” —Martyn Lloyd-Jones
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Craig T. Owens 