Thursdays With Oswald—I Have To Do It

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.

He Simply Says, “Do It”

     You can’t wash anybody’s feet mysteriously; it is a purely mechanical, matter-of-fact job; you can’t do it by giving him devotional books or by praying for him; you can only, wash anybody’s feet by doing something mechanical. Our Lord did not tell the disciples how they were to do it: He simply says—‘Do it.’ … 

      The one great problem in spiritual life is whether we are going to put God’s grace into practice. God won’t do the mechanical; He created us to do that; but we can only do it while we draw on the mysterious realm of His divine grace. ‘If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments.’

From Biblical Ethics

I can dress it up all I want to, but I must obey what Jesus said.

I cannot pray about, I have to do it.

I cannot get someone else to do it, I have to do it.

I cannot get a pass on this, I have to do it.

Lord, what commands of Yours am I failing to do?

Self Checkup

These are great look-myself-in-the-mirror questions from Oswald Chambers (from My Utmost For His Highest):

  • How much kindness have I shown to God in the past week?
  • Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
  • Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning?
  • Am I so in love with Jesus that I take no thought for where He might lead me?
  • Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?

Great questions to ask myself. And then really listen to the answers.

Thursdays With Oswald—Destroyed By Neglect

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.

Destroyed By Neglect

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, the which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5 RV)

     In this passage Paul mentions things that are of the nature of rubbish, and he mentions them in their complete ugliness. They are the abortion of the stuff human nature is made of, and he says, ‘Mortify them, destroy them by neglect.’ Certain things can only be dealt with by ignoring them; if you face them you increase their power. It is absurd to say, Pray about them; when once a thing is seen to be wrong, don’t pray about it, it fixes the mind on it; never for a second brood on it, destroy it by neglect.

From Biblical Ethics

What things in my life do I need to stop praying about, and simply stop doing them?

Stop praying and mortify them … destroy them by starving them … strangle them by not giving them the oxygen of thought … abandon them like yesterday’s trash.

Some things do require prayer. And other things just need to be neglected.

Thursdays With Oswald—Intercessory Prayer

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.

Intercessory Prayer

     You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to ‘fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ’ (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, ‘It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.’ That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.

From My Utmost For His Highest

How arrogant on my part to tell God what He needs to do for me or for someone else!

Instead I need to pray that my eyes of faith will be open. I want to have faith to believe that God knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11), and that He is working all things together for the good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Intercessory prayer is hard work. But the rewards are so worth it!

Thursdays With Oswald—Engineered Circumstances

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.

Engineered Circumstances

     The time a Christian gives to prayer and communion with God is not meant for his natural life, but meant to nourish the life of the Son of God in him. God engineers the circumstances of His saints in order that that Spirit may use them as the praying-house of the Son of God. … Prayer not so much alters things as alters the man who prays, and he alters things. … The essential meaning of prayer is that it nourishes the life of the Son of God in me and enables Him to manifest Himself in my mortal flesh.

From Biblical Ethics

In every situation, I must believe that God has directed my steps. But even though I know that, it still doesn’t mean that I will grow as a result of it. God does engineer my circumstances—and sometimes makes those circumstances seem “impossible”—so that I will pray. It’s only prayer that will make the impossible possible.

“If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God. Why? Because they don’t require divine intervention.” —Mark Batterson

The Danger Of Prayerlessness

I grew up with this powerful reminder: The Church moves forward on its knees. The Church is, of course, made up of individual Christians. So in order for the Church to do anything productively for the Kingdom of God, there must be Christians devoted to private and corporate prayer.

Oswald Chambers gave this warning:

“The prayer of the feeblest saint on earth who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to satan. …No wonder satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer.”

This Sunday I am beginning a new series of messages called The Danger Of Prayerlessness. I like to start each new year with a reminder of the power and priority of prayer, because truly the Church does move forward on its knees as Christians move forward on their knees!

“Prayerlessness is expatriation, or worse, from God’s kingdom.” —E.M. Bounds

Expatriation can be defined as simply moving away from one’s homeland. But, even worse, it can also be defined as one who has renounced their citizenship. It is my fervent prayer that this happens to no one who calls themselves a Christian.

I hope you can join me this Sunday for this important reminder about prayer. If you have missed any of the messages in this series, check them out here:

Search & Seizure

The beginning of a new year is a time when many people resolve to change things in their lives. They vow to stop smoking, change their diet, exercise, take a class, or do other things that will make them “a better person.”

But my question is: Why wait until January 1 to start something new?

In one of his most intimate psalms, David prayed,

Search me thoroughly, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24 AMP)

Charles Spurgeon added this thought:

“Every man who is wise in the kingdom of heaven, will cry, Search me, O God, and try me; and he will frequently set apart special seasons for self-examination, to discover whether things are right between God and his soul. The God whom we worship is a great heart-searcher; and of old His servants knew Him as the Lord which searches the heart and tries the reins of the children of men. Let me stir you up in His name to make diligent search and solemn trial of your state, lest you come short of the promised rest. That which every wise man does, that which God Himself does with us all, I exhort you to do with yourself….”

This search and seizure of unhealthy thoughts or unhealthy habits should be done alone with God. There in the quietness of God’s presence we can resolve to live differently. Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world.”

Today is as good as any day will ever be to allow God to search you, and to seize those thoughts which are keeping you back from the fullness of life He wants for you. Allow His Spirit to help you today.

Book Reviews From 2011

Here is the complete list of books I read in 2011. Click on each title to be taken to my review…

7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

A Collection Of Wednesdays

A Treasury Of A.W. Tozer

Abandon The Ordinary

Average Joe

Be A People Person

Be The People

Biblical Ethics

Biblical Psychology

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Bringing Sons Unto Glory

Chazown

City On Our Knees

Costly Grace

Doing Virtuous Business

Elite Prayer Warriors

Enemies Of The Heart

Experiencing The Spirit

Fasting

For Men Only

From The Library Of A.W. Tozer

Galileo

Generation iY

George Washington Carver

Get Off Your Knees And Pray

Go For Gold

God Is The Gospel

Has God Spoken?

Home And Away

How The Mighty Fall

How To Read The Bible

How To Win Friends And Influence People

I Knew Jesus Before He Was A Christian

In Visible Fellowship

Leadership Gold

Leadership Is Dead

Leadership Prayers

Lee: A Life Of Virtue

Letters From Leaders

MacArthur: America’s General

Max On Life

Me, Myself & Bob

Never Surrender

Night

On The Verge

Peach

Plugged-In Parenting

Radical Together

Remember Why You Play

Say It With Love

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

Sherman: The Ruthless Victor

Smith Wigglesworth On Faith

Soul Work

Soulprint

Stuff Christians Life

Sun Stand Still

The Blessing Of Adversity

The Church In Exile

The Heart Of A Great Pastor

The Hour That Matters Most

The Next Christians

The Seed

Toxic Committees & Venomous Boards

untamed

Upside

Wandering In The Wilderness

We Shall See God

Whale Done

What The Bible Says About The Holy Spirit

Why God Won’t Go Away

Why Great Men Fall

You Were Born For This

Looking forward to sharing more great reads with you in 2012! Let me know if there are any books you would like me to review.

Thursdays With Oswald—Choose Health

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.

Choose Health

     Such passages as Romans 12:2 (‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’) and Ephesians 4:23 (‘be renewed in the spirit of your mind’) apply directly to the moral life of those who have been supernaturally saved by the grace of God, those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and is at work. To renew means to transform to new life. These passages make it clear that we can be renewed in our mind when we choose. … Continual renewal of mind is the only healthy state for a Christian.

From Biblical Ethics

Far too often it seems easier to say, “If only God would change me” or “I pray that the Spirit would free me from…,” when in reality you can choose to be renewed.

God gave you a mind, emotions, and a will. Even if you don’t think you can be free, you can choose to be renewed. Even if you don’t feel free, you can choose to be renewed.

Stop letting your mind or your emotions keep you from the freedom that could be yours! Remember: “Continual renewal of mind is the only healthy state for a Christian.”

Thursdays With Oswald—No Substitution

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.

No Substitution

     If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.

From My Utmost For His Highest

The apostle Paul said,

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. …My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:1, 4, 5)

As a pastor I have be so careful that I am steeped in the Word of God. It’s not my persuasive words that will win people to Christ, or draw them into a deeper relationship with God. My words will only be effective to the extent that they are God’s words. Yes, I still must study to be a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth (1 Timothy 2:15), but I must not allow my “knowledge” to ever be a substitute for the purity of the Word of God.