Oswald Chambers

THANKSGIVING

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THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS

Screen Shot 2016-03-18 at 3.31.33 PM“The darkness that covered Him there on Golgotha wasn’t an atmospheric phenomenon as much as it was a spiritual reality. In one sense the darkness must have radiated from Jesus, not around Him. For…darkness is the visible manifestation of sin,…” Michael Card (ref#137, p181).

CHRIST became a curse for it is written, “…’Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’…“ (Gal 3:13 ESV). “The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God’s judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about the Cross of Jesus Christ” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, April 6th). “The Cross did not happen to Jesus: He came on purpose for it” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, April 6th). “…he was cut off out of the land of the living…” (Isa 53:8 ESV), being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of You, FATHER. He was taken by lawless hands, crucified, and put to death (Acts 2:23).

“HEAVENLY FATHER, Thou hast led me singing to the cross where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish, where my mountains of guilt are leveled to a plain,…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p173).

ADORATION

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CHRIST’S INTERCESSION

Screen Shot 2016-03-19 at 3.38.15 PM“Immanuel, God with us…—in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph…” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Dec 25th AM).

FATHER, how thankful I am that CHRIST is not come to You as He left, but now comes to You not only as the “Son of GOD” but also as the “Son of Man.” Because He ascended as the “Son of Man,” I can follow Him straight into Your holy of holies.

“As the Son of Man Jesus Christ deliberately limited omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience in Himself. But since His ascension these qualities are His in absolute full power” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, May 17th). He has all power at Your throne. He is now King of kings and Lord of lords (ref#7, May 17th). And as King He does not just rest on His throne:

“…the essence of Christ’s intercession is intervention in our interests rather than supplication on our behalf…” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1505, “The Ascension of Jesus”).  “He sits at the Father’s right hand—not to rest, but to rule. The picture is not of inactivity but of authority” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1572, “Jesus’ Heavenly Reign”).

From His throne He sends the HOLY SPIRIT and equips me for service. I now have at my disposal all the benefits that His suffering won for me (ref#56, p 1505, “The Ascension of Jesus”).

“Jesus provides his righteousness for our sin, his strength for our weakness, and his relationship with the Father to replace our alienation (2 Cor 5:21)” Bryan Chapell (ref#66, p87).

SUPPLICATION

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PRAYING FOR FELLOW CHRISTIANS

[Our brothers and sisters in CHRIST need our prayers.  We can even pray for ourselves in our spiritual battles.  Fill in the blanks with your desired name.]

DISCIPLESHIP

Screen Shot 2016-02-03 at 3.06.31 PM“Luther had said that grace alone can save; his followers took up his doctrine and repeated it word for word. But they left out its invariable corollary, the obligation of discipleship” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p49,50).

FATHER, I bid You teach ____ to not be content to just be a witness and preacher and teacher of JESUS CHRIST. You did not give the Apostle Paul simply a message to proclaim, but, instead, brought him into a personal subduing relationship to JESUS (ref#7, January 24th). “Paul was devoted to a Person not to a cause” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, January 24th).   Please constrain ____ also, to CHRIST.

O FATHER, open ____’s eyes to look for Your control over (him/her) (2 Cor 5:14). Like the Apostle Paul, You overrule (him/her), capturing (him/her) by the love of CHRIST (ref#7, February 4th). Hasten ____ to be still and know that You are GOD (Ps 46:10).

You desire ____’s whole life to be overmastered—changed so much that (he/she) has no end, no aim, and no purpose but Yours (ref#7, January 24th). You have not regenerated (him/her) to merely represent CHRIST.

Disciples are not witnesses of CHRIST—not witnesses of what JESUS can do, but disciples are witness unto Him. FATHER, give ____ a small sense of who CHRIST is. Grant ____ a face-to-face meeting with CHRIST that makes (him/her) forget about witnessing all together. ____’s interaction with JESUS will naturally make (him/her) a model disciple. (He/She) will then make disciples by example.

____ is representing CHRIST bodily now on earth. Teach (him/her) to take everything that happens to (him/her) as happening to CHRIST, “whether it be praise or blame, persecution, or commendation” Oswald Chamber (ref#7, February 4th).

O LORD, control ____ that (he/she) might be a living disciple. The reputation of JESUS CHRIST is at stake in (his/her) life (ref#7, Sept 19th).

“That we gain heaven, that we are delivered from sin, that we are made useful to God—these things never enter as considerations into real abandonment, which is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, March 12th).

CONFESSION

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NEW BIRTH

Screen Shot 2016-02-03 at 2.48.03 PM…FATHER, increase my understanding of regeneration—Your ability to alter my natural-born heredity. My “natural virtues are the remnants of a design that has been broken, and that the only way the design can be fulfilled is by…being made all over again” Oswald Chambers (ref#83, p90). However, “…when the new disposition is put in the old physical case is not taken away. It is left there for me to discipline and turn into an obedient servant to the new disposition” Oswald Chambers (ref#118, p35).

 “Jesus says—If you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living, but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind. You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, July 24th).

CHRIST is the only one who is above censure. And He is the only One who can put His own disposition into people who ask for it. “The purity which God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, July 24th).

“From the divine side, Christ is living in us and enabling us to live the way he teaches us to live. It’s his work. But from our side, it’s experienced by trusting him moment by moment to be with us and to help us” John Piper (ref#92, p87).

FATHER, I desire to take hold of CHRIST’s disposition and mold my life after His. And, praise You, that He will accomplish that when I give myself over to Him.

CONFESSION

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GOD IS BOTH JUST AND JUSTIFIER

Screen Shot 2016-01-28 at 12.15.28 PMWhat do I do with my guilt? FATHER, I am to be perfect as You are perfect (Matt 5:48)! Since I was born in Your image (Gen 1:26) the deepest desire of my heart is to live with You, but I don’t do the things I know I should do (Rom 7:15). I disappoint and have no ability to clear my own name before You (Rom 3:23). I just can’t always do what I know is right—sometimes I can, but not all the time. And You demand that I be perfect… (Matt 5:48).

But, what I could not do, You did (Isa 52:10).   Since You require justice, You, Yourself, must be the justifier (Rom 3:26). And this You did, all on Your own, without any help from me. So, You are both just and the One who brings justice.

Even though I am a sinner (Rom 5:8), You confer—You reckon—You count me as righteous (Rom 4:22). You consider me righteous when I am a sinner. You pronounce sinners righteous! You don’t change me so I am righteous, but You “pronounce” me righteous.

FATHER, You give the free gift of a right standing before You because of what Your Son JESUS did. I am drawn into Your favor because You have accepted the blood of Your Son in His death to soothe Your anger for all my sins—past, present, and future (Rom 3:25).

CHRIST’s dying on the cross does not automatically defuse Your anger toward every sinner.   You confer righteousness only upon sinners who support Your way of reconciliation—who believe CHRIST provides the only way to make peace with You—in contrast to believing that any efforts on my part has any power at all for my justification (Rom 3:28).

“Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvelous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience…I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. It is not repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause” (ref#7, Oct 28th).

CONFESSION

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TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

Screen Shot 2016-01-28 at 9.30.40 AM…FATHER, a blade of grass fulfills its created purpose—it is a praise to Your glory. You intend Your “grace and power and other perfections should…become conspicuous and illustrious” Matthew Henry (ref#18, [Eph 1:3-14]). And Your intention is that I magnify You (ref #18, [Eph 1:3-14]).

Praise is ascribed to You for the salvation You have granted to me (ref#16, [Eph 1:12]). When I let You work through me, You get the praise. All I have to do is follow You where You place me. FATHER, prevent me from placing myself (ref#83, p51).

I am tempted to ask You to help me be like CHRIST thinking others will see the goodness of You in me and praise You. But this is just a prideful request from my self-exalting nature. Another prideful request is for You to help me become more passionate for souls, but concentrating on saving souls is just religious commercialism (ref#83, p51).

Again, all I have to do is to follow You where You place me. When I am following You it will be a matter of indifference whether You put me in the spotlight or back stage. As long as I’m following You I can be unfairly accused or even be proven a failure without any irritation on my part (ref#83, p51).

CHRIST was a praise to Your glory. But, He was not obedient to His needs or the needs of men but obedient to Your will. Because of it, He was a ‘stone of stumbling’ to many people and I will be a ‘stone of stumbling’ by following Him (ref#83, p50-51).

Move me to realize that You have to be followed, I cannot clutch visions of grandeur that I become a beautiful specimen in Your showcase. I will reflect honor to You when I follow You in the mundane circumstances of life. (ref#83, p 53).

How difficult is following? FATHER, help me keep it simple. When I begin to question which way to go, sin has complicated my walk. Sin urges me to involve myself in activities that go beyond Your wishes and my abilities. The sin in me desires to do great spiritual things—things that will wear me out and make me frustrated and sad. Urge me to keep it simple and just walk behind You for the praise of Your glory.

CONFESSION

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WHEN THE LORD WILL NOT HEAR

Screen Shot 2016-01-26 at 2.11.22 PM“For any one…who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart…I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword…and you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezek 14:7-8 ESV).

“…I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them’” (Ezek 8:18 ESV).

FATHER, these hard words You have recorded are a sobering punctuation of how important it is to daily evaluate myself. My ruin will be estrangement from You by deciding to move my dependence from You to someone else (ref#18, [Ezek 14:1-11]). (An idol is some creature, mainly myself, who I allow to set up rule in my heart that replaces You).

“…the only life that pleases God…is His life—never our life, no matter how hard we try. But inasmuch as our self-centered life is the exact opposite of His, we can never be filled with His life unless we are prepared for God to bring our life constantly to death” (ref#97, p25).

The sin of living by my born-with nature is loathsome to GOD. I am in the way of GOD’s wrath when I attempt to “satisfy a vain curiosity, to stop the mouth of a clamorous conscience, or to get or save a reputation among men, but without any desire to be acquainted with God or any design to be ruled by him” (ref#18, [Ezek 14:1-11]).

“…human nature was created by God, not by the devil; it is impaired, and enfeebled, but it is not sinful. The first creation retains the remnants of God’s handiwork; re-creation is the building of a spiritual habitation, ‘an habitation of God,’ and all our effort is to be spent in disciplining the natural life in obedience to the new creation wrought in us through the Spirit….Any attempt to build on the natural virtues will ultimately outrange the grace of God…” (ref#157, June 5th).

SUPPLICATION

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A HUNGER FOR GOD & HIS TRANSFORMING POWER

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 4.19.26 PM[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 the name in the blanks.]

“Jesus says to Simon Peter…do you have a love for me called out of your heart by my preciousness to you, a devotional love that impels you to sacrifice yourself for me? Do you consider me more precious and thus love me more than these [fish]?…” (ref#37, p266, [John 21:15]).

 FATHER.ç “What Christ died for is not that we might help him, but that we might see and savor him as infinitely valuable” John Piper (ref#92, p83).

FATHER, I pray for ____, that (he/she) rest in CHRIST’s love. Remind (him/her) that the moment (he/she) was regenerated (he/she) automatically became “a holy temple fit for habitation of the Holy Spirit”  Roy and Revel Hession (ref#101, p13). Hasten ____ to dwell on this truth as much as (his/her) new birth. “God has given a new life plus the indwelling of the very Person of the Holy Spirit” Roy and Revel Hession (ref#101, p14). It is through the SPIRIT that ____ will find CHRIST waiting for a relationship with (him/her). I pray ____ develop a hunger for fellowship and for CHRIST’s transforming power so that (he/she) may experience a vigorous and joyful life (ref#78, p25,26).

CONFESSION

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FAITH

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 3.58.22 PM“…faith is not a once-in-the-past action, but faith is always a way of seeing, a seeking for God in everything” Ann Voskamp (ref#130, p114).

FATHER, someone recently asked me to pray for strength and courage that they might live their life reflecting CHRIST’s image. This is what we all want; FATHER, this is what we all have trouble with! I feel like I’ve prayed this prayer into the ground for myself and my friends!

But, this is a prayer You will not answer, for You can do nothing more than You already have to prepare me to reflect CHRIST. FATHER, You have done Your part, I am required to do my part. I must begin.

“We have to battle through our moods into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus….All our fears are wicked, and we fear because we will not nourish ourselves in our faith” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Nov 13th).

Give me strength to step out and trust You. My reach must be further than my grasp (ref#7, May 2nd).

“He calls us to do impossible things or to become something we think we could never become. This is His way of teaching us how much we need Him. He breaks us to pieces so that He can put us back together in His image” Michael Card (ref#137, p85).

CONFESSION

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THE SIN OF FRETTING

Screen Shot 2015-11-10 at 12.26.05 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” Dan Cummings (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” Oswald Chambers (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.