Is familiarity with the Scriptures making you cynical? Is your heart becoming harder or is it getting softer?
(Dr. Swindoll) told of a beautiful incident in the life of Abraham Lincoln. “One day he was passing by a slave market and saw a beautiful black woman being auctioned off. He bid on her and won. He saw the fear in her eyes, the anger on her face, and he knew that she was thinking – another white man who is going to use, abuse and discard me. He walked a few steps with her then he took the shackles off her and said – you are free. She asked – what does that mean? He said – it means you are free. She asked again – does it mean I can say anything I want to say? Yes, you can. Does it mean I can be anything I want to be? Yes, you can. Does it mean that I can go anywhere I want to go? Yes, you can. With tears running down her face, she said – I think I want to go with you”.
What about us? In this freedom (Galatians 5:1) Christ has set us free and completely liberated us from Satan’s kingdom of darkness, from the power of sin, eternally and from death. Doesn’t that make us want to go with Jesus – all the way with Jesus?
(Dr. Stanley) referred to the fact that “the emperors of Rome were worshiped. One of them, Domitian, signed all his letters – Domitian, Lord and God. Thousands of Christians who were facing beheading, were told that if they would say – Caesar is Lord – they would be set free. Each one said – Jesus Christ is Lord – and laid his head on the chopping block”.
(Pastor McBride) “The sky reveals (Psalms 19:1) that there is a God and the Bible reveals (1 John 4:9) Who that God is. The sun is so huge that it would take the total of 1.3 million earths to match its vast size”. The Lord created the massive sun at exactly the right distance from the earth. We live on a round ball, floating in space, attached to nothing, rotating on its axis at precisely the right speed and as it turns - - nobody falls off into limitless space. We have no trouble in trusting God to keep us firmly and safely (though temporarily) earth-bound by the pull of gravity, which He also created. In this world with its order, climates, produce and beauty, our Omniscient God has overlooked nothing. We can have the same full confidence, that in Jesus Christ we are eternally heaven-bound. By faith we understand (Hebrews 11:3) that the worlds were framed by the Word of God (Dr. A.W. Tozer) “The Word of God is the expression of His thought and will and is identified with our Lord Jesus Christ. This magnificent Creator is the same One Who was (Luke 24:20) crucified and died on the Cross to make full Atonement for all (Acts 16:30-31) who would receive Him. What my mind cannot fully grasp, my heart fully believes with absolute confidence and steadfast assurance. The Cross is the Centre of Time and Eternity.
(Oswald Chambers) “The thing that ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the Atonement of the Lord”.
What is a Christian? (Dr.A.W.Tozer) “A Christian is a person (Matthew 16:24) carrying a cross. He does not control his own destiny. He is (Galatians 2:20) moving toward crucifixion.” Positionally we are crucified with Christ and now our life experience must be brought more and more into accordance with our position. To live is Christ because (Colossians 3:4) He is our life, and to die to self (Philippians 1:21) is rich gain because godliness with contentment (1 Timothy 6:6) is great gain. During the process of sanctification we can often be shocked to discover within ourselves, remnants of the flesh struggling to hang on (Romans 7:18) when we want to obey the Lord. Self-effort will continually fail. It must be Christ in me, living in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and we receive (Oswald Chambers) “the quickening life of the ascended Lord.” Long ago God fore-ordained whatsoever and whomsoever He would use to accomplish His purpose in the world, so that (Psalms 76:10) even the wrath of man would praise Him. We cannot stand steadfastly loyal to Jesus unless (Oswald Chambers) “we are constrained by the majesty of His personal power”. (Part of that last sentence, which thrills me, came from one of Oswald Chambers’ devotionals).
God takes thousands of years to make anthracite/coal into diamonds. In God’s sight our lifetime is like (Job 7:7) a brief wind, a puff, a breath, but during our lifetime God will continue His good work in us (Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13) which He began in accordance with the Pattern, actually (1 John 3:2) Divine Blueprint; in order to make us into what we were created to be by fully restoring us to the Divine Image. Our part is to trust and obey in full co-operation with Him. Always obey God NOW because it is always NOW and NOW is all the time we have. We have no guarantee that we will have any NOW time to-morrow. What is tomorrow but a recent yesterday – gone beyond recall and never to return.
(Oswald Chambers) reminds us that “personal contact with Jesus changes everything.” Let us determine to stay close to Him – lovingly close to Him – and fill all our NOW times with victory.