“When He Has Come”

By Oswald Chambers

November 19 

When He has come, He will convict the world of sin… —John 16:8

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.

He’s Not There

  Nov 18, 2018  

Read:

Luke 24:1-8
Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?” (Luke 24:5).

My dad passed away several years ago from pancreatic cancer. I remember that when we arrived at the graveside for a private family burial, the funeral director was waiting there with my dad’s cremated ashes. It was the first time we had seen the small urn that housed his remains. I suddenly became overwhelmed with grief. A caring family member looked me in the eye and quietly spoke these simple but reassuring words, “Remember, Dad’s not there.”

As I think back to that day, my mind goes to another graveside scene. It was early in the morning, still dark outside. A few women had gone to the tomb that housed the body of their dear friend and Lord—Jesus. But when they entered the tomb, they discovered that His body was gone (Luke 24:1-3).

Suddenly, “two men . . . clothed in dazzling robes” appeared to them and said, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:4-6).

I know I’m going to see my dad again. Because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, a day is coming when we’re going to be reunited—never to be separated again. And even though I still visit Dad’s grave on occasion (along with my mother’s—next to his), I know I can’t find him now—because he’s not there.

But the same isn’t true for Jesus; I can find Him. He rose from His grave. And because He’s alive, anyone who seeks Him today can know Him. He’s our Sovereign Creator, our ruling King, and our gracious Savior who reveals Himself to those who look for Him “wholeheartedly” (Jeremiah 29:13). He alone can provide the peace, hope, and comfort that sustains us in the dark valleys of life.

A Legacy of Prayer

From: Our Daily Journey

  Nov 17, 2018  

Read:

Luke 5:12-16
Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer (Luke 5:16).

Susanna Wesley strived to spend as much time in prayer as in her many other activities. She led Sunday afternoon church during her husband’s travels, homeschooled her ten children, and kept written records of her time with God. She did this despite facing grief, poverty, health issues, and the challenge of often being apart from her spouse due to his travels. Hard-pressed to find privacy in a full house of ten children, she often prayed with an apron over her head. Her example, however, laid the foundation for the prolific ministries of her sons John and Charles.

After His baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. During forty days of prayer and fasting, He faced (and resisted) temptation from the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). This experience marked the beginning of His public ministry. As reports of Jesus’ power spread, “vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases” (Luke 5:15).

With so many people around Him, privacy must have been a rare commodity in Jesus’ life. In order to get some alone time with His Father, “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (Luke 5:16). On the night of His betrayal and arrest, Jesus went with His disciples to the Mount of Olives where He prayed by Himself in preparation for what was to come. His final admonition to His friends before Judas’ arrival was that they should pray so as not to “give in to temptation” (Luke 22:39-46).

Susanna Wesley’s life was full of trials, but it was also replete with prayer. As a result, she was able to overcome and accomplish much for God. As He provides the power, may we make prayer a priority—creating legacies that will withstand the storms of life.

Thanks for Who God Is

  November 16, 2018  

Read: Psalm 95:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 3–4; Hebrews 11:20–40

Let us come before him with thanksgiving . . . for the Lord is the great God. Psalm 95:2–3

From: Our Daily Bread

Among the thousands of sentiments printed on greeting cards, perhaps one of the most touching is this simple statement: “Thanks for being you.” If you receive that card, you know that someone cares for you not because you did something spectacular for that person but because you’re appreciated for your essence.

I wonder if this kind of sentiment might indicate for us one of the best ways to say “thank you” to God. Sure, there are times when God intervenes in our lives in a tangible way, and we say something like, “Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to get that job.” But most often, we can simply say, “Thank You, God, for being who You are.”

That’s what’s behind verses like 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Thank You, God, for who You are—good and loving. And Psalm 7:17: “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness.” Thank You, God, for who You are—the holy One. And “Let us come before him with thanksgiving . . . for the Lord is the great God” (Psalm 95:2–3). Thank You, God, for who You are—the Almighty God of the universe.

Who God is. That’s reason enough for us to stop what we’re doing and praise and thank Him. Thank You, God, for just being You!

Thank You, dear God, for being who You are—the Almighty God who loves us and welcomes our love in return. Thank You for everything that makes You magnificent. We stand in awe of You as we praise You with word and song.

There are countless reasons to thank God, including for who He is!

“What Is That to You?”

By Oswald Chambers

Peter…said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “…what is that to you? You follow Me.” —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

Ascended for Us

From: Our Daily Journey

  Nov 14, 2018  

Read:

Acts 1:6-14
[Jesus] was taken up into a cloud (Acts 1:9).

Jesus’ ascension receives little attention these days. The way we often tell the story, the whole affair is mostly anticlimactic. We tend to think of the ascension as this brief, strange moment when Jesus pulled off one last spectacular feat, vanishing into some distant place. Or worse, the story leaves us empty. What kind of good news is this? He simply bolts after promising a new life and a new world?

Luke describes Jesus’ disciples standing there after He vanished, jaws dropped and “staring into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Sometimes when I read the account I feel the same way—bewildered.

When Jesus ascended to the Father, however, He wasn’t performing intergalactic space travel or rocketing into some faraway galaxy. Rather, Jesus moved out of the confines of the world we know into the heavenly realm from which God rules this very earth (Colossians 1:15-20). He didn’t abandon us but moved into another sphere of reality so that by His Spirit, He could be present with all of us in every place (John 14:26, 16:7). In that way, He would be with us “always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

The “same Jesus” who knows our deep scars and wrenching sorrows, our broken dreams and longings is the One who ascended (Acts 1:11 NIV). Now the True Human sits at the Father’s right hand, ruling over the world, ruling over our lives. His ascension is God’s promise that our own humanity will one day also be fully healed and restored to enjoy life with God. And it’s a promise that through the Spirit, Jesus is bringing His resurrection victory into every corner of creation (Romans 8:20-23).

The ascension assures us that Jesus is not far, but near. His love, power, and healing are everywhere.

The Beauty of Kindness

  Nov 13, 2018  

Read:

Ephesians 4:17-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another (Ephesians 4:31-32).

While sitting in the waiting room at my mechanic’s shop, I watched a segment on the waiting room’s television about a “Secret Santa.” Each year he gives away $100,000 in $100 bills to strangers. In the segment I viewed, the “Secret Santa” was in a grocery store handing $100 to a female senior citizen. It turned out that the woman had been suffering greatly as she battled stage IV cancer. She was surprised and overwhelmed by the “Secret Santa’s” gift, but more so by the kindness that motivated him to give it.

In a day in which there’s so much global “bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander” even among believers in Jesus, kindness is a rarity (Ephesians 4:31). No wonder the woman and the many other recipients of the “Secret Santa’s” kindness were taken aback by his generosity. Thus, a kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, and humble spirit is truly countercultural (Ephesians 4:32).

I know I’m always impressed by people who are kind and tenderhearted when they’re under stress. A question I often ask myself is: Do I show the same kindness in my own home that I show to strangers? Even though some people might consider me to be kindhearted, it can be difficult to be kind to my children or husband when I’m tired; that’s when I’m more easily irritated.

Jesus’ own disciples were impressed by the compassion-fueled kindness He continually exhibited. Matthew noted that even after long periods of teaching in the synagogues and healing many, when Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:35-36).

Kindness and compassion extended, especially amid exhaustion, comes as Jesus works in and through us.