Morning Devotion With Pastor Dan
. June 25th, 2020Have you ever wondered just what God has in-store for your life? Or maybe you’ve wondered why God called you to salvation, and now that you are His you are wondering what is involved in the everyday life of a Christian? Sometimes the Lord does not directly show us and because of that, we may not really know why He has laid hold of us. I know this, that once the Lord places His call on you, serving Him (in whatever capacityHe plans) is what matters most. This reminds me of a section of Scripture that reads…..
(Philippians 3:7-14)…..But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Now, although this is a great passage in Philippians, and there is much that can be said about these verses, I want to focus on (Philippians 3:12). We press on! Why? Because I want to work out in my life God’s reason for bringing me to faith in Him. Just listen to what Oswald Chambers says about this verse.
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you turn aside to the right hand or left.
(Deuteronomy 5:32)…..“Therefore you shall [a]be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of ” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m not really suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you – your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Oswald Chambers
I want to encourage each of you to never soften your words when speaking of the Scriptures. Never water down God’s Word in any way. Rather preach and teach it in an undiluted way. You must have unflinching faithfulness to the Lord and His Word. When you come to personal dealings with others, remember who your are as a Christian, not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace that the Lord has laid hold of.