We have renounced the hidden things of shame… —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
“…not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted.
Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, It seems that getting and staying comfortable detracts from our moving on in our faith journey. That is counter intuitive because we mainly seek to get and stay comfortable when left to our own devices.
It’s true, your faith and even our relationship is kind of like a muscle. You build it by stressing it and testing it. Then you have more faith and can stretch it more
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and…every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
Good morning Lord and thank you for this lesson about obedience. This line …”Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear;” really struck home. Thinking about, worrying over and or pondering an issue, problem or opportunity has never seemed to work for me, thank you for the reminder. When I am in that condition I am just kidding myself about “being in control”.
I was never any good at the obedience thing historically, because for me obedience always seemed like just one more authority figure in my life just saying …”because I said so”. And I am not built to follow the rules or guidelines if they do not make sense to me. But what You have shown me is that being obedient to a God that loves me immeasurably is a whole different matter. I can’t figure You out, cannot determine the how or why of it, I just know You love me, and gave your Son for me. I can trust and obey because of that and the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of me.
And God says…”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding, experience or history and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need, including the ability to be obedient. You may not “feel” like being obedient, or even know what you should be obedient about. But when you surrender yourself and your agenda to Me, we are then able to have a relationship that includes the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit guiding you into all things. And the process, outcomes and blessings that come from our relationship will seem as easy and natural as breathing.”
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. —John 13:14
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield— you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.” But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
Good morning God and thank you for this devotional. But once again, it seems to me that Oswald Chambers is talking about OUR character, OUR discipline and OUR commitment to demonstrate Christ to others. Then I think…”could I wash someone else’s feet?” Even though my pastor modeled this behavior for me an Easter week years ago, I am probably not the guy thinking about volunteering to wash the feet of the congregation. However, I am quite certain You could and would do this through me Lord, if and when I am surrendered and connected to You.
And God says…”Apart from Me you can do nothing; and you can do all things through Christ Jesus….or in your idiom, Christ Jesus can do all things through you, when you are surrendered, connected, curious and obedient. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will give you the grace, faith and power in the person of the Holy Spirit to do all manner of things you thought impossible. Do not trust your own strength, faith, discipline, or understanding but trust that I can and will do all things through you…including washing feet and when called for, loving the unlovable.“
When you were under the fig tree, I saw you. —John 1:48
Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.
A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.
Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.
God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.
Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, It is clear that the daily battle is what counts… not super acts of heroism. Little victories daily are what prepare us for the big things when they come. So how can we be victorious against the enemy of our souls on a daily basis. Perhaps the first thing to do is to define victory. Maybe the hardest part is to un-define it… reverse the thinking that we are hardwired with. To look good, feel good, be right, and be in control…. That human hardwiring is then amplified by our society.
Carnal tools won’t work in a spiritual battle and the corollary is probably true as well….Spiritual tools won’t work in a carnal battle. So to re define victory: It is walking in daily connection with Jesus, being unmoved by circumstances, except as, like Jesus, we do what we see the Father doing and say what we hear the Father saying. (John 5:19) So how do we do that? At best we can offer an incomplete list of a few things that seem to work, along with the disclaimer that another person’s mileage my vary. A good start is essential. We need today’s manna. Yesterday’s won’t do. So dedication and devotion at the start of each day is important. CO2 works for us. Others may find other ways to re-connect and re-commit, but a good start is essential.
Surrender is essential. Surrender of our rights to the big 4 drivers of unredeemed humanity, look good, feel good, be right and be in control. Then a pre-commitment to obey, and then really obeying. Connection and conscious connection is key. There are some tools to help maintain that connection in the face of clamoring circumstances. Visioning is helpful. This is where the “personal relationship” becomes personal. How we see ourselves with Jesus, sometimes in the throne room, sometimes walking along together having a discussion, sometimes driving together. A vision of wrapped up sins and failures boxed up and delivered to the foot of the cross is helpful. Also hands raised up in praise. Empty hands. That have been emptied of those 4 hooks of humanity. Seeing objectively, the “balcony view” is helpful in staying curious, waiting to see what God is doing and going to do in otherwise overwhelming circumstances.
I’m sure there are many other tools that are helpful. One thing to note is that the standard list given by all churches since Jesus’ time… go to church more, read the Bible more and pray more… is not listed here. Not because those are not good things, but because, alone, they will only produce what they produced for the Pharisees of Jesus day. Of course they are good things to do, but without Surrender, Connection, Curiosity, and Obedience… they remain dead tools that earned the Pharisees Jesus strongest rebuke. Holy Spirit, help me today to use all these tools and walk in victory as a man after God’s own heart.
…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “…I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ….” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself…” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind….” (Romans 12:2).
Lord, please help us surrender and be connected to you this and every morning. We know that we are not able to bring sufficient discipline and focus to the process that asks us to bring every thought and project into captivity. When we try to do think about the right things, we do the opposite. When we try to wrangle our thoughts and projects into Your will, we fail. When we attempt to make the right argument, we end up trying to impress others with our oratory instead of sharing God’s truth. Who is to save us from this dilemma?
And God says…”As Paul said, thanks be to God Jesus Christ has already saved you from this dilemma. It is not a matter of your discipline and focus, or your constant wrangling of your thoughts and actions. Your ability to discipline yourself and your thoughts and projects into My will and My ways is non-existent. Quit trying, forget it, and give up…..yes surrender! Surrender your abilities and inabilities to Jesus, and accept the Holy Spirit and your connection…then let go and let Me take the steps that need to be taken, speak the words that need to be spoken, and live the life that needs to be lived through you. I will transform your mind and direct your actions. I will make a way where there seemed to be “no way’. And I will abandon projects and opportunities that seemed so “spiritual and proper”, and raise up many that seemed lacking or inadequate. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require, including the discipline and transformation of thoughts, ideas and projects. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and do not rely on your own ways and means and understanding and I will make your paths straight. Seek surrender and connection, then remain curious and obedient as I transform you the thoughts and projects that surround you.“
…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God… —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).
It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Destroying old things by sheer neglect caught my attention today. It sounds really good. But my experience is that some of those things keep resurrecting and neglect hasn’t worked too well by itself. Then you reminded me of the tools in the toolbox metaphor that you have given us. And one of the tools that seems to work well for us humans is the tool of “replacement” We can’t stand a vacuum, so we replace one habit with another, hopefully a less destructive one, even a more godly one, or, as the devo suggests, we move toward sanctification. But I find that even those tools don’t work 100%.
The “tools” as you mention work best in the surrendered life. Sowing and Reaping, for example, can turn from something beautiful to something ugly if you approach it with force. I don’t run a cosmic vending machine, and when people try to make it that with their “service in, — blessings out” quid pro quo approach…. well, That’s not what I bless. Even the tool of replacement or substitution, won’t work as well if you are planning it out and forcing things to happen. All these tools work best in the surrendered life. If you start with surrender, I can empower the sanctification in my time and my way. You’ll be happier so just relax stay connected and let me complete the good work that I began in you. I secured all the power you’ll ever need at the Cross 2000 years ago. Just let it flow. Surrender and Connection. Then live out of what I show you.
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. —John 4:14
The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
Good morning Lord and thank you for this reminder; one more key to determining if we are connected to you: Are we a blessing to others? Have we helped others receive their blessings? Are we a blessing to them? David and I learned that if we are not a blessing to others; if we are spiteful, stingy, wanting our blessing’s to remain with us, then perhaps we are not allowing You to live through us because we are not surrendered or connected. Is our thinking accurate Lord? Is this an indicator of our disconnect with You? What about those that take from us? What about those that take what is ours, and do not offer up payment or restitution? What about those that take from our meager supply or resources. We only have so much time, money, or patience Lord.
And God says…”When you are truly surrendered and connected to Me, you share my unlimited time, money and patience….and you know it, feel it and have faith in the unseen. My resources are your resources and they are unlimited. When you start thinking about tightly holding onto the blessings I have given you, you are in effect saying, “Lord, I do not trust you to provide for me, I can only trust what I can see, touch and feel.” You become like the Israelites in the desert trying to store up the daily manna. As Chambers says…You are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38). You are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of you are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because your relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus…(that is to say you are not surrendered and connected to Jesus).
Let your lack of bubbling waters of blessings and your lack of desire to offer these blessings up to others be a simple indicator of your need….You can pray…”Lord, I feel the natural inclination to hold onto my time, money, and related blessings and resources. Please help me surrender this need and live in connection with You knowing You will meet all my needs, as I demonstrate and reinforce my trust by offering up my time, money, patience and other resources that You give me, to others
He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. —2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (2 Samuel 23:16)? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.
How can I pour out “to the Lord” natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out “to the Lord.” Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as “rivers of living water” all around me (John 7:38). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out “to the Lord.”
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.
Luke 6:38The Message
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”
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He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow… —John 7:38
Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask…of very costly oil…and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “…there were some who…said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “…wherever this gospel is preached…what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?“He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
Good morning God . Thank You for this devotional about being surrendered and connected; about self-expenditure. David and I talked and prayed today that we might be more aware of our state of surrender and connectedness today, and that we enjoy just “being with You”. We talked about using our minds eye to visualize You more frequently in our day, and to give less thought to our needs, or tasks at hand, and like Mary of Bethany, simply be available to be poured out in our relationship. Is it right and proper to ask Your help in being poured out with and to You, and simply be in relationship, not thinking about doing anything?
And God says…”When you are surrendered and connected to Me it is right and proper, and natural to simply “be with Me”; with no purpose or request. But to simply be with Me. You can know that I have met all your needs, regardless of what your senses may tell you….seek first the kingdom of God and I will provide everything else you require. And once you know, in your spirit, that all your needs are being met, your heart and mind are free to concentrate on our relationship. Trust that when you acknowledge Me in all your ways, I will make your paths straight. When you let go of requests, petitions, and tasks, and are simply with Me first, as the song says, your ability to trust and believe grows and you know, just know, that I work all things together for your good. Practice just being in relationship, pour yourself out to Me, walking, talking and being with Me this day, then look back and see how I have met all your needs. Do not be consumed by the cares of the world, be surrendered and connected and allow Me to be God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not relay on your own devices, and I will make your paths straight.“
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…it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, Today some thinking that I have considered for a long time came again to the fore. We were discussing Wayne Dyer, who recently passed away and his teachings. The idea was that by aligning ourselves with correct thinking we can control our circumstances and “be blessed.” This thinking has some attractiveness, If looked at as merely a tool, correct thinking certainly seems to generate better results than “stinking thinking.” Can these teachings be looked at simply as tools in the tool kit for us to work our way thru life with? Or is there a problem with considering them that way. Chambers said, “The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.”
There you have it. Relationship with me is the goal and needs to be kept as primary. The problem with using the mental and spiritual tool kits that do indeed contain some truth, is that they can lead you away from your first love and your top priority. Here’s the priority…
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Notice that these other things come second, as by products of seeking relationship first. All those things that people seek, peace, joy, serenity, even prosperity need to be by products of what you “Seek first” which is found in relationship with me.
The tools and spiritual laws are there, just like gravity. Sowing and reaping is obvious. But keep first things first. Relationship with me. Then you can safely use the tools in the tool kit. Without relationship with me, you can be led to worship the tool kit. That’s the difference. You cannot have a relationship with a tool kit. What I offer is a relationship first of all. That can be a litmus for teachers and what they are teaching: Do they have a personal relationship with a person (me) and does using their tools lead the learner to a personal relationship with me? If not, you are on dangerous ground. Keep me and our relationship primary and you will be safe.
This CO2- (Church Of 2) is where two guys meet each day to tighten up our Connections with Jesus. We start by placing the daily “My Utmost For His Highest” in this WordPress blog. Then we prayerfully select some matching worship music and usually pick out a few lyrics that fit especially well. Then we just start praying and editing and Bolding and adding comments and see where the Spirit takes us.
It’s been a blessing for both of us.
If you’d like to start a CO2, we’d be glad to help you and your partner get started. Also click the link below to see how others are doing CO2.Odds Monkey
Click Image for John White's Original Vision For CO2's
