Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new here-dity which would exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says--If you are my disciple you
must be right not only in your living, but 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. Who can stand in the Eternal Light of God and have nothing for God to censure? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that by His Redemption He can put into any man His own disposition, and make him as unsullied and as simple as a child. The purity which God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is what Jesus has undertaken to do by His Redemption.
No man can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations; His teachings are truths that can only be interpreted by the disposition He puts in. The great marvel of Jesus Christ's salvation is that He alters heredity. He does not alter human nature; He alters its mainspring.
- Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Thursday, January 24, 2019
What if Christians did not fight evil?
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:13, 14
When in a country that was formerly a part of the USSR, several questions can come to the forefront of any conversation. At the center of the debate is what Christians should have done. We know what many did do, but what should have been done? First, I do not want to condemn anyone for what they did do. Liberians in Africa have told me of their own city's bombing. Everyone in the market, upon seeing the bombs coming, began to run. Old people and babies that had been dropped in the melee were trampled to death. How do you suppose the babies' mothers felt the next day? Fear causes many instinctive reactions.However, once the crush of fear is past, it is possible to think more rationally about what a believer should do. I always like to build a foundation before attempting to discuss such questions. 1) God is love. 2) He permits what He could prevent. 3) He does not cause all things, but He causes all things to work together for good. 4) He could send evil to hell as easily today as tomorrow.
There are several ways of looking at things from this foundation. What would happen if every believer followed the command of Christ to love an enemy without reservation? What if tonight every Christian were killed by evil? What would the world be like if evil men helped the rapture of believers by killing them? If every believer were killed, earth would instantly become hell, because God's Holy Spirit would be dwelling in no person, a case of men on their way to hell when hell actually came up to them. Would the killing of every believer hasten or hinder the coming of Christ? If evil is present in the form of a physical force, army, or government, and if Christians are tricked into fighting it in the power of the flesh, would we actually be hindering the coming of Christ?
I talk to so many who came to a personal relationship with Jesus in a concentration camp in Siberia. What do we have to say about those things? Would the people have come to Him without Siberia? Some were persecuted and died immediately, and some lived years in a prison before eventually regaining their freedom. Did those who died miss out on something? I believe that we must see God, believe all things are in His hands, and rest. If we do not see Him, we will try to make sense--in a carnal, intellectual way--of all that happens. I think I can answer all questions with one word—God—because of the knowledge that we rest in Him!
- Mike Wells
When in a country that was formerly a part of the USSR, several questions can come to the forefront of any conversation. At the center of the debate is what Christians should have done. We know what many did do, but what should have been done? First, I do not want to condemn anyone for what they did do. Liberians in Africa have told me of their own city's bombing. Everyone in the market, upon seeing the bombs coming, began to run. Old people and babies that had been dropped in the melee were trampled to death. How do you suppose the babies' mothers felt the next day? Fear causes many instinctive reactions.However, once the crush of fear is past, it is possible to think more rationally about what a believer should do. I always like to build a foundation before attempting to discuss such questions. 1) God is love. 2) He permits what He could prevent. 3) He does not cause all things, but He causes all things to work together for good. 4) He could send evil to hell as easily today as tomorrow.
There are several ways of looking at things from this foundation. What would happen if every believer followed the command of Christ to love an enemy without reservation? What if tonight every Christian were killed by evil? What would the world be like if evil men helped the rapture of believers by killing them? If every believer were killed, earth would instantly become hell, because God's Holy Spirit would be dwelling in no person, a case of men on their way to hell when hell actually came up to them. Would the killing of every believer hasten or hinder the coming of Christ? If evil is present in the form of a physical force, army, or government, and if Christians are tricked into fighting it in the power of the flesh, would we actually be hindering the coming of Christ?
I talk to so many who came to a personal relationship with Jesus in a concentration camp in Siberia. What do we have to say about those things? Would the people have come to Him without Siberia? Some were persecuted and died immediately, and some lived years in a prison before eventually regaining their freedom. Did those who died miss out on something? I believe that we must see God, believe all things are in His hands, and rest. If we do not see Him, we will try to make sense--in a carnal, intellectual way--of all that happens. I think I can answer all questions with one word—God—because of the knowledge that we rest in Him!
- Mike Wells
He Is Our Refuge
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
I once heard the following statement from a simple old man, and I have never forgotten it: "When God tests you, it is a good time to test Him by putting His promises to the test and then claiming from Him exactly what your trials have made necessary.
There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and then to be
thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger
blessing than we have ever before experienced, and to accept it with delight as an opportunity of receiving a greater measure of God's divine grace.
In this way, even the Adversary becomes a help to us, and all things that seem to be against us turn out to assist us along our way. Surely this is what is meant by the words "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Rom 8:37
A B Simpson
Not always OUT of our troubled times,
And the struggles fierce and grim,
But IN--deeper in--to our sure rest,
The place of our peace, IN Him.
Annie Johnson Flint
I once heard the following statement from a simple old man, and I have never forgotten it: "When God tests you, it is a good time to test Him by putting His promises to the test and then claiming from Him exactly what your trials have made necessary.
There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and then to be
thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger
blessing than we have ever before experienced, and to accept it with delight as an opportunity of receiving a greater measure of God's divine grace.
In this way, even the Adversary becomes a help to us, and all things that seem to be against us turn out to assist us along our way. Surely this is what is meant by the words "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Rom 8:37
A B Simpson
Not always OUT of our troubled times,
And the struggles fierce and grim,
But IN--deeper in--to our sure rest,
The place of our peace, IN Him.
Annie Johnson Flint
Thursday, January 17, 2019
What Does a Normal Cross-Section of Christians Look Like?
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. --I Corinthians 1:26
I would add to the list in that scripture verse. There are those that have had divorces, affairs, rebellious children, depression, anxiety, failed careers, dissatisfaction, anger, disappointments, brushes with suicide, and more. This list reflects a cross-section of believers that is only vexing if our goal is to display perfect flesh. However, when our goal is the preparation and perfection of the spirit, we see that many of these things are necessary, for because of them there will occur the loss of self-glory, pride, righteousness, strength, and kingdoms. All of these things are hindrances that need removal before we can manifest the fruit of the Spirit and His life,which is the true goal of the faith. Well-adjusted flesh may make us comfortable and look quite nice to us, but it carries with it a self-satisfied stench to the Lord that proves it is not the proper goal of our lives in Christ.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad that the typical church dwells on the things of “the flesh” instead of focusing completely on helping its membership know, possess, and manifest the fruit of the Spirit and the Life of Christ. And how terribly sad it is that the focus actually works to prohibit the true goal of God from becoming known to most and very rarely experienced. Well, amen.
I would add to the list in that scripture verse. There are those that have had divorces, affairs, rebellious children, depression, anxiety, failed careers, dissatisfaction, anger, disappointments, brushes with suicide, and more. This list reflects a cross-section of believers that is only vexing if our goal is to display perfect flesh. However, when our goal is the preparation and perfection of the spirit, we see that many of these things are necessary, for because of them there will occur the loss of self-glory, pride, righteousness, strength, and kingdoms. All of these things are hindrances that need removal before we can manifest the fruit of the Spirit and His life,which is the true goal of the faith. Well-adjusted flesh may make us comfortable and look quite nice to us, but it carries with it a self-satisfied stench to the Lord that proves it is not the proper goal of our lives in Christ.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad that the typical church dwells on the things of “the flesh” instead of focusing completely on helping its membership know, possess, and manifest the fruit of the Spirit and the Life of Christ. And how terribly sad it is that the focus actually works to prohibit the true goal of God from becoming known to most and very rarely experienced. Well, amen.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Surpassing Greatness
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:8
Are there sorrows that sorely test our heart? Be assured that our Father intends every one of them to be a road for us to Christ; so that we may reach Him and know Him in some character of His love and power, that otherwise our souls had not known.
- C A Coates
Are there sorrows that sorely test our heart? Be assured that our Father intends every one of them to be a road for us to Christ; so that we may reach Him and know Him in some character of His love and power, that otherwise our souls had not known.
- C A Coates
Monday, January 7, 2019
An Ointment Poured Forth
For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:15
The savor of the good ointments of Christ may flow out through the holy lives of His people. Every trait, every perfection exhibited by Himself in His walk through this world may be reproduced in those that are His.
Look, for example, at the precepts and exhortations of the epistles. Every one of them has been perfectly exemplified in Christ; and unless this is remembered, so that they may be associated with Himself as the living Word, they will become hard and legal obligations.
Christ in us, Christ our life, as set forth in Colossians, is to be followed by the display of Christ through us, in the power of the Holy Spirit. For this we need to be much in His company; for the more we are with Him, the more we shall be transformed into His likeness, and the more certainly will the savor of His good ointments be spread abroad. And this will be a mighty testimony to who He is; for in this case His name will, through us, be as ointment poured forth; the sweet savor of the name of Christ will flow forth from our walk as well as from our words.
- Edward Dennett
2 Corinthians 2:15
The savor of the good ointments of Christ may flow out through the holy lives of His people. Every trait, every perfection exhibited by Himself in His walk through this world may be reproduced in those that are His.
Look, for example, at the precepts and exhortations of the epistles. Every one of them has been perfectly exemplified in Christ; and unless this is remembered, so that they may be associated with Himself as the living Word, they will become hard and legal obligations.
Christ in us, Christ our life, as set forth in Colossians, is to be followed by the display of Christ through us, in the power of the Holy Spirit. For this we need to be much in His company; for the more we are with Him, the more we shall be transformed into His likeness, and the more certainly will the savor of His good ointments be spread abroad. And this will be a mighty testimony to who He is; for in this case His name will, through us, be as ointment poured forth; the sweet savor of the name of Christ will flow forth from our walk as well as from our words.
- Edward Dennett
Friday, January 4, 2019
The Individual
The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a water-course wherever he pleases.
Proverbs 21:1
God works through persons, through individual souls, instead of committees, federated bands, or great organizations. The strongest force on earth is the individual soul. God conquers some one heart, and through that heart He pours His purposes like a mighty river.
When men drift away from the Lord, the individual man counts but little, and confidence is placed in the majorities, and heavy armies. The Tower of Babel was built by a national committee, who said, "let us build us a city and tower."
But God singled out one man, Abraham, and called him to be a pilgrim, and the founder of a race of those who had faith. Napoleon said, "That God was on the side of the heaviest battalions," but something happened to prevent his words proving true, and that something will in the end be found to be a Divine touch on someone's soul. The history of the world is found in the lives of a
succession of individuals.
The King of Syria marshaled an army to capture the prophet Elisha, but the lone prophet prayed, and the army went blind, and He led them into Samaria.
Men are forever depending on armies, committees, and a show of strength; and in the most quiet, simple and unexpected way, God gently and secretly inspires some one soul who outwits the wise, and carries out God's purposes in an undreamed way.
- G D Watson
Proverbs 21:1
God works through persons, through individual souls, instead of committees, federated bands, or great organizations. The strongest force on earth is the individual soul. God conquers some one heart, and through that heart He pours His purposes like a mighty river.
When men drift away from the Lord, the individual man counts but little, and confidence is placed in the majorities, and heavy armies. The Tower of Babel was built by a national committee, who said, "let us build us a city and tower."
But God singled out one man, Abraham, and called him to be a pilgrim, and the founder of a race of those who had faith. Napoleon said, "That God was on the side of the heaviest battalions," but something happened to prevent his words proving true, and that something will in the end be found to be a Divine touch on someone's soul. The history of the world is found in the lives of a
succession of individuals.
The King of Syria marshaled an army to capture the prophet Elisha, but the lone prophet prayed, and the army went blind, and He led them into Samaria.
Men are forever depending on armies, committees, and a show of strength; and in the most quiet, simple and unexpected way, God gently and secretly inspires some one soul who outwits the wise, and carries out God's purposes in an undreamed way.
- G D Watson
Our Inheritance
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of
him who works all things after the counsel of his own will. Ephesians 1:11
We are constantly ensnared by looking at secondary causes--we do not realize God in everything.
Were we more alive to the fact that there is not an event which happens to us, from morning to night,
in which the voice of our Father may not be heard, His hand seen, with what a blessed atmosphere
would surround us! Man and circumstances would then be received as so many agents and instruments in our Father's hand; so many ingredients in His cup for us. Thus would our minds be solemnized, our spirits calmed, our hearts subdued.
- C A Coates
him who works all things after the counsel of his own will. Ephesians 1:11
We are constantly ensnared by looking at secondary causes--we do not realize God in everything.
Were we more alive to the fact that there is not an event which happens to us, from morning to night,
in which the voice of our Father may not be heard, His hand seen, with what a blessed atmosphere
would surround us! Man and circumstances would then be received as so many agents and instruments in our Father's hand; so many ingredients in His cup for us. Thus would our minds be solemnized, our spirits calmed, our hearts subdued.
- C A Coates
Thursday, January 3, 2019
If forgiveness is guaranteed and there is no longer any condemnation for me, why not sin?
I think Paul anticipated this in the book of Romans because Romans chapter 6 verse 1 sees them talking about the Gospel, right. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? His answer, of course, by no means. So, the Gospel is really, really good news. The Gospel is far better news than we often even dare believe, right. The Gospel really does forgive us for all we’ve ever done. It really does remove the condemnation for the sins we’re committing now and the sins we will commit. It really does free us in that way. The Gospel is very, very good news. We may have the tendency to think that if we tell the Gospel as it really is, if we share the full Gospel, then people will actually be drawn to sin. Right, if they really understand the freedom they have, if they really understand the full extent of forgiveness. And what is there, what fear is there in them? Isn’t fear what they need to restrain them from sinning? Don’t we need to kind of hold over them some guilt or some fear in order to restrain them from sinning? But, I don’t think the Bible goes there. I think what the Bible holds out is, you so delight in Christ, when you really understand the Gospel, you so delight in Christ that sin becomes unthinkable. Right, it’s not fear that restrains you, in that sense, it’s not the weight of guilt that restrains you, it’s joy, it’s delight in Christ.
So, the Gospel is, the Gospel is amazing news, it’s such wonderful news that I hope you can’t hear the Gospel and repent and believe in Jesus and now see that as being a way of endorsing your sin. Right, saying, now that I understand the Gospel, that I’m free from condemnation, I’m free from guilt, I’m free from sin, now I can go out and sin. Then, you haven’t really understood the Gospel. The Gospel makes you think, I’ve been freed from sin, I am no longer under guilt, I am no longer under condemnation, so praise God, I am going to honor God, I’m going to serve God. I’m going to delight in Christ. The last thing I want is to sin against this God. The last thing I want to do is sin against this savior who’s given so much to me. So, as Christians, I don’t think we’re using fear to motivate obedience in that way, right, I think we’re using delight as the greatest motivator to obedience.
So, the Gospel is, the Gospel is amazing news, it’s such wonderful news that I hope you can’t hear the Gospel and repent and believe in Jesus and now see that as being a way of endorsing your sin. Right, saying, now that I understand the Gospel, that I’m free from condemnation, I’m free from guilt, I’m free from sin, now I can go out and sin. Then, you haven’t really understood the Gospel. The Gospel makes you think, I’ve been freed from sin, I am no longer under guilt, I am no longer under condemnation, so praise God, I am going to honor God, I’m going to serve God. I’m going to delight in Christ. The last thing I want is to sin against this God. The last thing I want to do is sin against this savior who’s given so much to me. So, as Christians, I don’t think we’re using fear to motivate obedience in that way, right, I think we’re using delight as the greatest motivator to obedience.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
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