Do
we see God at the center of our lives? Or is He simply an
outsider that we try to please from time to time?
To answer that
questions, I turned to one of my favorite teachers: Oswald
Chambers. He who wrote multitudes of encouraging comments from
the Bible. At the end of his life -- when serving as a chaplain
to British soldiers fighting against in
Ethiopia back in the early 19th century, he literally gave his
life for those whom He served. (See )
He knew well what
His precious Lord expected of Him, and decades before his death,
he wrote these words of encouragement for us today:
"Eliezer
[Abraham's oldest servant] is representative of what a
disciple of the Lord should be; the whole molding of his
life was his devotion to his master, not the sense of right
or duty.
"We know very little about devotion to Jesus Christ. We know
about devotion to right and to duty, but none of that is
saintly; it is purely natural. Our sense of duty and right
can never be God's.
"There is only one who knows what my duty
is as a Christian -- and that is God. The Sermon on the Mount
nowhere tells us what our duty is; it tells us the things
a saint will do. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind mind, says Paul, not that you may do your duty,
but that you may
know what God's will is."
Remember that
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
(Psalm 46:1-2). Do we truly accept Him as our only real source
of refuge and strength?
As a shadow of spiritual darkness continues to creep across our
country, we must recognize the great opportunity we have as
Christians to reflect the glorious light of our Savior. He is
still our King and He has declared victory over the devil and
his schemes. So let us be encouraged:
"The light of
the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked goes out"
(Prov. 13:17).
Remember Paul’s
exhortation,
"Put
on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand
firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you
may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand firm" (Eph. 6:10-13).
Let us remember
what children of the King are called to be! "You are the
salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…Let your light
shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Mat. 5:13-16).
"In God,
whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not
be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" (Psalm 56:4)
A Fellow Servant
of the King,
Mike Gendron
Email: ptg@pro-gospel.org
Website:
Proclaiming the Gospel.
Though I'm not familiar with this website or ministry, I really appreciate
the above message, which came to me by email. Permission to post
it has been granted.
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