Oswald Chambers

CONFESSION

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PRIDE

screen-shot-2016-10-18-at-4-10-14-pm“Pride slays thanksgiving…A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves” Henry Ward Beecher (ref#130, p177). “Pride is self-absorption whether we’re absorbed with how miserable we are or how wonderful we are” Beth Moore (ref#105, p58).

“As long as we have a conceited, self-righteous idea that we can do the thing if God will help us, God has to allow us to go on until we break the neck of our ignorance over some obstacle…The bedrock of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility” Oswald Chambers (ref#118, p14).

FATHER, it is true that “low self-esteem usually means that I think too highly of myself….The reason I feel bad about myself is that I aspire to something more” Edward T. Welch (ref#106, p32). But, why do I want others, even JESUS to think I am great (ref#106, p19)?

“The first biblical perspective on the fear of man is that it is the result of the nakedness that comes from sin. Because of sin still present within us, we experience embarrassment, shame, the feeling of being exposed and vulnerable. As a result, we try to protect ourselves and avoid the gaze of others….even though it feels as if other people are doing the exposing, in reality we carry the shame with us all the time. Other people simply trigger its appearance” Edward T. Welch (ref#106, p35).

“’Christ could afford to be humble as He served upon this earth. After all, He was the Son of God. He had nothing to prove. Yet does His Word not also say that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ?’” Beth Moore (ref#105, p66).

I have nothing to prove. No one can be in a better position than a child of GOD. Yes, I confess to attempting to be a spiritual giant instead of taking on humility. FATHER, humble and test me so You can do me good (Deut 8:16).

CONFESSION

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ME, IMPUDENT AND HARDHEARTED?

screen-shot-2016-10-14-at-3-59-19-pm“It is not the Devil who switches folk off Christ’s way, but the ordinary steep difficulties of daily life, difficulties connected with food and clothing and situations….the little worries of life have…enfeebled our spirits, and made us sorry and humiliated before Him, even more so than the times when we have been tempted to sin” Oswald Chambers (ref#118, p96).

FATHER, You call Israel, “impudent and hardhearted” (Ezek 3:7), and I agree. Seems Scripture testifies they never got it right. But, You say, “No one is right” (Rom 3:11). Help me find my “not-rightness.”

SPIRIT CHECK: Impudent. Do I have “an arrogant spirit?” Do I lack “holy shame or an unhallowed boldness in evil?” Can I be un-humbled with no inward humiliation? Have I ever pretended to pray or pretended to praise (ref#34, April 28th PM)?

SPIRIT CHECK: Hardhearted. Even though I have a new heart, does much of my former stubbornness remain? How affected am I by the death of JESUS? Am I moved as much as I should be by the ruin of my fellowmen? Do I care about “the wickedness of the times?” Does it move me that You, FATHER, are chastised by unprincipled men? Do I regard my failures as trivial (ref#34, April 28th PM)?

Oh FATHER, I still live in this hateful body of death, though You have changed me to desire to live for You. I bless You now that Your Son’s precious blood will effectively soften me. His blood is a solvent that will melt my heart like “wax before the fire”Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, April 28th PM). You again will do wonderful things for me (Isa 29:14). “Oh that my heart would melt at the recital of my Savior’s sufferings and death” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, April 28th PM)!

SUPPLICATION

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CHRISTIAN

[Because we are Christians and live in the world we will always need prayer for our walk and for witnessing to others about CHRIST. Here’s an opportunity to pray for others or even ourselves. Fill their name or your name in the blanks.]

THE RADICAL GOSPEL

screen-shot-2016-10-14-at-1-25-25-pm…FATHER, guide ____ to always make You the hero of anything (he/she) says. The accomplishments and goals of life do not come from human efforts as non-Christians think. Christians have a radical view of life and care nothing about earthly success.

“This view of life is that we are a people chosen by a sovereign, loving, God who, in Christ, has forgiven us and adopted us into his family. He is at work in each situation to conform us to the image of his Son, supplying all that we need to do what he has called us to do….we are weak vessels of clay that have been filled with the all-surpassing power of God’s presence” Paul David Tripp (ref#5, p297).

“The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Jan 7th).

CONFESSION

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THE SIN OF FRETTING

Screen Shot 2016-08-24 at 2.53.19 PM“Worry is a window into the unregenerate soul [Matt 6:32]—worry is the evidence that satisfaction is being sought apart from God—the soul is searching for satisfaction in idols, the fear that an idol may not be available—worry is the evidence of what one is pursuing, of laying up treasure on earth” (ref#141, “For the Love of Christ,” Jan 22nd, 2006).

FATHER, I know that all fretting and worry is caused by calculating without You (ref#7, July 4th). I also know letting the enemy’s thoughts take root in my head is disastrous but they seem to get planted before I realize. I have to experience Your intervention or I will spin in circles reviewing in my head all the carnal and evil suggestions that are there.

“…don’t take the pressure of forethought upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything else that worries us” (ref#7, May 23rd).

In all situations You put in my path the ending is more important than the beginning. My mistake is being at the beginning of a situation and wanting to see a swift and good ending, but You control the situation; I need not be concerned about the outcome.

FATHER, show me the blessings of leaning—leaning on You as the situation unfolds and caring only about Your will in the situation, not a comfortable outcome for me. Worrying is unbelief.

SUPPLICATION

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PROVISIONS

[We all know someone who is dealing with financial problems. Here is an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

PROBLEM WITH WEALTH

Screen Shot 2016-08-24 at 1.11.33 PM…FATHER, I pray that ____ not be asking for abundance. For (he/she) will not be able to be rendering a slave’s obedience to You and, at the same time, possess a passion for accumulating wealth (ref#37, p14, [Matt 6:24]).

Move ____ to realize (he/she) cannot eat or drink or wear more than a day’s supply and that any surplus left over from the day (he/she) will have the care of storing and watching against theft (ref#34, Feb 14th AM).

Aid ____, LORD, to understand the problem with wealth, as well as the benefit of poverty. JESUS lived with voluntary poverty for it disconnected Him with everything that chains people down to this world. Because of it He was able to go wherever His FATHER wanted Him to go (ref#8, Nov 6th).

ADORATION

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ADORATION

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 4.06.41 PMAdore – to worship, honor highly, love greatly, revere, idolize, respect, prize, treasure, esteem, love to distraction, cherish, admire—these words I read and store in my mind, they all reflect my attitude toward You, FATHER. Morph my thoughts of Your divine perfection into experience that I may actually fellowship with You.

“O LORD,

Help me to approach thee…

Thou inhabitest eternity,

and my life is nothing before thee;

 

Thou dwellest in the highest heaven

and this cannot contain thee;…

Thy power is almighty;…

Thy understanding is infinite;…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p84).

FATHER, “interpret Thyself to me…” Oswald Chambers (ref#27, p66). I want to experience You, not concentrate on finding a method to meet You (ref#103, p34).  “Adoration is not seeking the divine presence, but is conscious of it to an unutterable degree, and therefore full of awe and peace…” Charles Spurgeon (ref#104, Day 10). The stars lose themselves in Your glory not making a sound (Ps 19:3). “Be silent, for that is the Absolute” Soren Kierkegaard (ref#137, page xi).

“It [adoration] is the eloquent silence of a soul that is too full for language. To prostrate yourself in the dust in humility, and yet to soar aloft in sublime thought; to sink into nothing, and yet to be so enlarged as to be filled with all the fullness of God; to have no thought and yet to be all thought; to lose yourself in God; this is adoration” Charles Spurgeon (ref#104, Day 10) (brackets mine).

FATHER, manifest Yourself to me (John 14:21). I want the experience of You “happening” to me instead of me just reflecting good thoughts of You and calling it adoration A.W. Tozer (ref#103, p34).

THANKSGIVING

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THE SUPERIORITY OF THE SON

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 1.53.32 PM“In the beginning the Word was existing….And the Word was as to His essence absolute deity. This Word was in the beginning in fellowship with God the Father. All things through His intermediate agency came into being, and without Him there came into being not even one thing which has come into existence. In Him life was existing” Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p209 [John 1:1-3]).

“…the believing Hebrews were so favored beyond their fathers, to have the best revelation of God in Christ made to them…Christ…is his bosom Son, nearest his heart…” Matthew Poole (ref#21, p809).

“…he is…an engraven image of the Father, every way like him” (ref#21, p810). “Jesus is not merely an image or reflection of God…he is the absolutely authentic representation of God’s being” The NIV Study Bible (ref#96, p1858). “…he is the visible representation of him” (ref#21, p810).

“…the Son…provided purification for sins through his redeeming death on the cross” (ref#96, p1858). “…by himself purged our sins…” (ref#21, p209). “…by his satisfaction and merit, removing both the guilt and stain of sin; so as God, the injured Lawgiver, could be just as well as merciful in pardoning it; and justifying those who believe and plead it from the condemnation they were liable to for it…” (ref#21, p810).

“Jesus Christ is not the best human being, He is a Being Who cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate, God coming into human flesh, coming into it from outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the Lowliest door” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Dec 25th).

“…you are Son of God by virtue of your participation in the divine essence…” (ref#37, p136 [Luke 4:9]). “…in Him the whole fullness of…(the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form…” (Col 2:9 AMP).

“Let the One who comes in the Name of the Lord be eulogized” (ref#37, p53 [Matt 21:9]).

CONFESSION

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CONVICTION OF SIN

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 12.16.47 PM“My sins, my sins, my Saviour, How sad on Thee they fall” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Dec 7th).

“SEARCHER OF HEARTS, It is a good day to me when thou gives me a glimpse of myself;…I have cause to loathe myself, and not to seek self-honour, for no one desires to commend his own dunghill….sinners bring judgment in thinking sins are small…” The Valley of Vision  (ref#76, p69).

Yet, FATHER, keep me from being disgusted though, with my blunders (ref#7, Dec 7th).

“The only explanation of the forgiveness of God and of the unfathomable depth of His forgetting is the Death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the Atonement which He has worked out for us….” (ref#7, Dec 8th). “The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panting pains of repentance crashing into a man’s respectable goodness” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Dec 7th).

SUPPLICATION

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CHRISTIAN

[Because we are Christians and live in the world we will always need prayer for our walk and for witnessing to others about CHRIST. Here’s an opportunity to pray for others or even ourselves. Fill their name or your name in the blanks.]

THE JOY OF PLANTING AND WATERING

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.46.31 AM…FATHER, You have created ____ for fellowshipping with You in Your work. You have fashioned (him/her) to experience the most joy when (he/she) is with You. By steady attention to obedience, natural lives can be turned into spiritual lives (ref#118, p61-62). The farmer joyfully plants anticipating the harvest. Cause ____ who plants to anticipate Your spiritual harvest.

Your powerful Word dawns on men like the morning light—like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning—like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth (2 Sam 23:4). This Word comes through the SPIRIT, LORD, put His words on ____’s tongue (2 Sam 23:2).

Make it, FATHER, ____’s joy to be faithful to You as You make (his/her) way blameless (2 Sam 22:33) and righteous (2 Sam 22:21). You will reward (him/her) with joy when (his/her) work is faithful to You (ref#56, p460, [2 Sam 22:21-25]).

By working in union with You ____ can be bold declaring the Gospel, without error or impurity—having no desire to deceive. Make it (his/her) longing to be approved by You (1 Thes 2:2-4)—desiring not approval for (himself/herself) or from men.

FATHER, make ____ gentle, and affectionately desirous that men hear plainly the Gospel (1 Thes 2:7-8). With You, (he/she) will exhort and encourage and charge men to walk in a manner worthy of You—calling them into Your kingdom and glory (1 Thes 2:12).

Also, FATHER, make the ones You regenerate ____’s hope and joy and crown of boasting (1 Thes 2:19). Joining with You, FATHER, in prayer for the ones awakened to Your free gift of grace, cause it to be (his/her) greatest joy. For (he/she) knows that the ones You draw to Yourself through (him/her), will remain in faith and love (1 Thes 3:6) and continue standing fast (1 Thes 3:8). What joy (he/she) will feel for their sake and will long to continue in fellowship with them so that (he/she) may supply what is lacking in their faith and they may supply what is lacking in (his/her) faith (1 Thes 3:9-10).

CONFESSION

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DEFINING THE “FLESH”

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.29.39 AM“Much of our distress as Christians comes not because of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature” Oswald Chambers  (ref#7, March 22nd).

The Bible terms our born-with natural nature, “flesh” (Rom 8:8). “Flesh” denotes “sinful propensities and passions” of my entire nature Barnes’ Notes (ref#16, [John 3:6]).

This “flesh” urges me to carry out its “sinful passions.” I am the host this sinful nature works through. But as a Christian, You, FATHER have implanted another nature in me—Your nature, Your SPIRIT. He not only overpowers my sinful nature but also allows me to be the host of You accomplishing Your will through me.

CHRIST’s activity on the cross has given me the ability to render useless my fleshly nature, not simply the sins of my flesh. But I am too often concerned with the sins. I’m “occupied with today’s anger, tomorrow’s jealousy, or the day after tomorrow’s strife” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p96).

FATHER, please sensitize me to focus on, not individual sins but denying the urgings of my fleshly nature. It’s a given that my sin and lust keep me away from You, but also remind me that this fleshly nature is a totally selfish nature. Anything I do for my profit, or to make me look righteous, and anything I do out of what I deem my duty to You—all these actions are sin also (ref#35, p255).

Attempting to follow You without denying the flesh is the foundation of failure (ref#33, p116). Whenever I lack trust that is flesh in action (ref#33, p114). Flesh is impatient. It will resist waiting on You, FATHER. It also will not have faith enough to trust the SPIRIT. Flesh will make its own plans never having “the sense of utter dependency” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p114).

FATHER, I ask You give me strength to upstage my flesh so I may sit before You experiencing my dependence upon You. I praise You for the grace You have given me to put into practice the death of my fleshly nature. My most concern is always to recognize and render useless this “flesh.”