It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. —Galatians 4:22
Paul was not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural can be turned into the spiritual only through sacrifice. Without this a person will lead a divided life. Why did God demand that the natural must be sacrificed? God did not demand it. It is not God’s perfect will, but His permissive will. God’s perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience. Sin is what made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed.
Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac (see Genesis 21:8-14). Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). Sanctification means more than being freed from sin. It means the deliberate commitment of myself to the God of my salvation, and being willing to pay whatever it may cost.
If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will resist and defy the life of the Son of God in us and will produce continual turmoil. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves physically, morally, or mentally. We excuse ourselves by saying, “Well, I wasn’t taught to be disciplined when I was a child.” Then discipline yourself now! If you don’t, you will ruin your entire personal life for God.
God is not actively involved with our natural life as long as we continue to pamper and gratify it. But once we are willing to put it out in the desert and are determined to keep it under control, God will be with it. He will then provide wells and oases and fulfill all His promises for the natural (see Genesis 21:15-19).
Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. —Galatians 5:24
The natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle.
Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.
The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.
Lord, the first thing that hit me when I began reading this devotional was guilt. Guilt for not having overcome selfishness, greed, lust, anger, spite, fear…..well, You know. And then it occurred to me to look through the rear view mirror. Look at who I was then and who I am now. I also began to consider your reassurances like: There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. And Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Lord, is this what You would have me consider rather than my failures?
And God says…”The power of Jesus has conquered sin, death and condemnation. There is no reason at all for you to ever see your greed, lust, anger, spite, fear….any of it when you keep your eyes on Jesus. I do not see it. When you are focused on Jesus, when you surrender and give up your rights to yourself; your need to be right, look good, feel good and to be in control, observe what occurs. You are supernaturally transformed over time. You no longer need doctrine, facts, or even your own “perfect” behavior to assure you that you are mine. You just know because you are allowing Me in live within you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding, and I will make your paths straight.”
By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. —Hebrews 10:14
We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “…Christ Jesus…became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.
No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.” God’s response, through Peter, is, “… there is no other name…by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood…” (Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.
God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10
Conviction of sin is best described in the words:My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.
Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.
The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.
Lord, how does repentance fit inside of the teaching You have been giving us about surrender? Is it the same thing? Do we feel the need to repent, and the need to surrender when led by the Holy Spirit? Are they separate human responses? Do we feel one thing and then another? How do we view this, given Your teaching of the last months and years?
And God says…”It is true that of yourselves you would feel no need for repentance and or surrender. The Holy Spirit brought you to the place of repentance when you first became a believer. And the Holy Spirit will also speak to you about confession (some call it repentance) after you became a believer. That is to say the Holy Spirit will point out to you where and when you fall short of the mark in your relationship with Me. However, there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. And when you acknowledge Me in all your ways, I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and I will provide everything else you require, even the awareness of your right standing before Me, regardless of your actions, behaviors or doubts. Do not get confused about repentance, confession and surrender. Simply give yourself and your right to yourself to Me every day and at every opportunity during the day, and see how your life unfolds. Simply live out of that. Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. Then look back after a time, and see how much like Jesus you have become.”
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
Good morning God and thank You for this day, this devotional and Your leading. However, a still small voice inside of me tells me that I cannot fight and overcome all the things that come against me in this world. And my experience confirms it. The trials and tribulations of this world wear me down Lord. The pressures of life, the daily issues of family, relationships, work, friends, finances; they all seem to bring with them enough and new daily trouble of their own. And my track record of winning in the fight(s) against them does not look all that promising. However, You have shown us that our fight is not with the trials of this life, our fight is to simply surrender and let You fight the fight on our behalf. Is that right Lord? Is it right that we are not to fight the trials and tribulations? We are to surrender to You and allow You to fight them on our behalf?
And God says…”That is correct. In your daily life you can only win the fight against the moral, physical and spiritual trials by allowing Me to fight those battles for you. And it always starts with your surrender to Me. You are to fight to overcome those things that come against your surrender; your distractions, service, and “spiritual” work from your own effort and strength. Regardless of your standing and ideas about your strength and position, let it go!”
“And remember that I may not choose to remove your trials. You may need them to have their perfect result. But you know by now that you can still face the trials and tribulations while living an abundant life; one filled with peace that passes all understanding.”
“Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Take my yoke upon you, it is not heavy, My burden is light. And recall that when you are surrendered you will know; simply know, by the power and voice of the Holy Spirit, that all I make all things work together for your good. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need, including the fight against the trials and tribulations of your life… and/or I may simply give you a peace that passes all understanding while you are right in the midst of them. Your role is to simply surrender to Me and let Me be God.”
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power… —1 Corinthians 2:4
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.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect… —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life.
How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection.
Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life.
In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
Good morning Lord and thank You for this day, this lesson and the Holy Spirit that guided our study and surrender. David and I believe that we got the message; that You do not desire our personal perfection, or service? In fact, You say that our Christian perfection it is not even possible this side of heaven; but that we become perfect only as we are surrendered and connected to Jesus. Is this the lesson God? That we are not to even concern ourselves with better outcomes from our prayers and Christian activity? That we are not to be concerned with becoming better Christians? That we are to only be concerned with our relationship with Jesus?
And God says…”Whenever you come to Me with an outcome already in mind, you become your own God. When you surrender yourself and your ideas and thoughts….and desired outcomes to Jesus, I can meet all your needs. Do you need to grow as a believer? Does your neighborhood church need to grow? Do your children need to come back from their prodigal journeys very soon? Perhaps. These are righteous, wonderful and honorable outcomes, but surrender means that you let go of them. You let go of your need to control the outcomes, regardless of how “right” they might seem. You let go of your wants and needs regardless of how lofty or “spiritual” they might seem. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will meet all your needs, including the need for the “right outcomes”. Just seek Jesus and an intimate surrendered relationship with Him.
Remember that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. And when you acknowledge Me in all your ways I can make your paths straight. Let go of your own ideas about what would make yours a better, more “spiritual” or “Christian” world. In your daily life of surrender, let go of what you believe would make you and yours happy and let Me be God. I gave My Son for you, how would I withhold any good thing?”
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, The key that stood out today is that perfect surrender leads to removal of all pressure. So, once again, we can use our “Peace Meter” to know how we’re doing. If we’re feeling pressure, or a lack of peace, it’s an indicator that something is un-surrendered. We’re hanging on to something… probably one of what we’ve come to call the Big Four… the need to look good, feel good, be right, or be in control.
It’s good that you are trying to stay connected and stay surrendered and let obedience flow out of that. Don’t stress that you have not perfected the surrendered life. No humans have. Rest in the fact that my death on the Cross covers all sins, even your lack of surrender
Thank you so much for what you did and what you offer. Lord I surrender, Help my lack of surrender.
I will, Keep coming to me and connecting with me and I will help you.
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
Good morning God, and thank You for this day, this devotional and the lessons You keep teaching David and me. The last paragraph of Chambers’ devotional seems to encapsulate Your teaching of the last months and years. There is only one relationship that really matters and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life.
That seems to be the lesson You have given us over and over and over again. We are to be surrendered and connected to You through the cross of Jesus. From there we can live curious, obedient, and abundant lives, regardless of our circumstances.
And God says…”That is the lesson and that is the simple and everlasting way to the peace that passes all understanding. Be surrendered; that is give up your right to yourself, every day, at every opportunity, and be connected to Jesus. Allow the person of Jesus via the very Spirit of God to live through you, and I can fulfill My purpose through your life. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Seek first the Kingdom of God and I will provide everything else you require for your daily life. Seek Me, and give up your right to look good, feel good, be right and to be in control. When you surrender these things you acknowledge Me as your God and I can lead you into all things.”
…by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. —Galatians 6:14
If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16).
We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?”
Good morning God and thank You for the Thanksgiving and gratitude reminders yesterday. And thank You for the lesson today about consecration, and how we might live more consecrated lives. Consecration or setting ourselves apart seems to me to be almost synonymous with surrender; giving up my rights to myself and choosing You and Your rest. Is that right Lord? When David and I speak about surrender and being focused on You we talk about how we are so easily distracted by the stressors of our days, the demands on our time, and how we get caught up in all of that. But then the song today stopped me in my tracks when I heard the chorus; just breathe.
And God says…”When you take the time to stop, just stop, and breathe Me in, notice how the world slows down, and the main things become the main things? When you focus on the cross of Jesus, notice how the needs you thought were so important become points of trust and faith. When you trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own ways, means and frenetic activity, you allow Me to make your paths straight. When you take your hands off of your life and the “control” and “speed” buttons, and seek Me, I can then provide everything you need. And when you focus on Jesus and the cross you receive power to live an abundant life without concern or worry about the material things of this world. You also receive the power to live without concern about the ongoing pressures of everyday life. You begin to trust Me and know, simply know, that all things work together for your good. Take a moment , just breathe, and know that I am your God, and I love you more than you can ever imagine. ”
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
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