Monday, August 5, 2013

A calling to share

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve been reading more of Oswald Chamber.  This is one of his writings I read today and just feel like sharing this in my little corner.  This becomes my prayer today for those who want questions answered, for those who just want to slow down and for those who want to understand God more. 

“God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster.  And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken.  His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s.  But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was to triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.

Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance – they happen entirely by the decree of God.  God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purpose, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are.  As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less included to say, ‘I wonder why God allowed this or that?’  And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose.  A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge of the wisdom of God not in his own abilities.  If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys that simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.”

Wow.  Am I destroying the simplicity of God’s pace, trying to do things in my own often-too-quick-pace, as He’s trying to form me into His image?  

Lord, I simply want to trust Your sovereignty.  I simply what to trust Your compelling purpose.  Make it clear to me how you can use me to bring you glory.  Make it simpler for me to grasp, in this complex world that won’t slow down, the rest we can have in You.

 

Joys counted last week

 

#1583  me and the kids picking blueberries with our friend, Mitchie

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#1584  blueberry crunch

#1585  a basket full of ripe blueberries right off the bush

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#1586  ripe bunches that fall in your hand

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#1587  celebrating 16 years with my husband

#1588  friend who offered to take the kids when we go on a date

#1589  coconut shrimp

#1590  key lime pie

#1591 a new book

#1592  took first e-course class

#1593  daughter enjoying theater camp

#1594  old school buildings

#1595  watching “Great and Powerful Oz” at family movie night

#1596  gift at 10am  eating a late breakfast, because we all slept in late, of fresh blueberry pancakes my husband made

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#1597  gift at 1pm – clean sheets, clothes put away, dusted and vacuumed bedroom

#1598  gift at 10pm-  conversation about rap with son and how we’re to have a mushy heart for God to form

#1599  opportunity to teach about God wanting his children to keep trying and not give up that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

#1600  a comment from a friend

#1601  Jarm’s message in reference to Romans 10:8-11 in The Message (emphasis added)

“…Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”

11 Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.”

#1602  Our family talking on Skyp with friend in Italy

 

multitudesonmondaysbutton2-1_thumbJoining with Ann Voskamp counting thanks to God

4 comments:

  1. Hi Beth!
    I love Oswald Chambers, too! I have a leather journal copy of My Utmost for His Highest that a friend gave me over 10 years ago. The cover has come off and I have taped the outside a couple of times, but it is my favorite copy because of all the notes I have taken in it. It never ceases to amaze me how the devotional entries directly minister to my daily life.

    Thanks for sharing--I enjoyed this post!
    Blessings,
    Selena

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    1. I think my book is going to look like yours before I know it! I'm glad it's spoken to you, too. Thanks for your comment Selena! Blessings!

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  2. Thank you for sharing Oswald Chambers. I used to read from My Utmost every morning but not lately; a good reminder. I especially love your blueberry photos. No wonder they've been on sale in the grocery store. It's the season for blueberries and ...I'm loving them.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

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    1. Enjoy some blueberries!! Thanks for stopping by and your comment! Blessings to you!

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