OC February 28th

-
“‘Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus asked, ‘Do you finally believe?’” John 16:30-31 NLT

In verse 32 Jesus tells them that they will be scattered and will leave Jesus alone. As Chambers discusses this section of scripture he writes, 

“Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a resell of their own discernment. . . Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with Gos by leaning on our own religious understanding.”

I do think a lot about this. Chambers discusses that this isn’t a deliberate sin with punishment attached, but that one is not having the relationship with God that He intends. So what do we do?

“We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them.”

When doing something out of a sense of duty we can become prideful and arrogant. We might think - look at what I have done for You, Lord. Chambers says, “When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation - just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.”

Later on, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, and given over to the Roman soldiers. When He is being questioned and beaten Peter is recognized in the crowd, but denies knowing Jesus. He is left alone.

Are you going through the motions of your faith out of a sense of duty? Is it easy to explain why you do the things you do for Jesus? We are warriors for Him, but it can’t be service because WE THINK we need to do it. There is no intimacy or real relationship there. It has to be done out of direct obedience to Him. To hear where He is leading we have to “continually seek His counsel.” Acknowledging His sovereignty and almighty power each day and all throughout the day. Because just like the discussion of digging in your own wells for the water - when something happens, your sense of duty cannot help you. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OC April 6th

-
“He personally carried out sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and love for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 NLT Title - “The Collision of God and Sin” Underlines: “He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.” “The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus - He came to die…” “The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.” “The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain was absorbed by the heart of God.” Notes: -fellowship -He came to die -thank you  I wrote a note in my Bible by 1 Peter 2:24 - “Jesus Submitted”. Today was a great reminder that He submitted to this plan long before He was incarnate. He came to die, and bore all the pain and cost of it…
Read more

OC April 5th

-
“Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, … ‘Stay here and keep watch with me.’” Matthew 26:36,38 NLT Title - “His Agony and Our Access” Underlines: “Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique - they are the gateway into life for us.” “The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ…” Notes: -fully God and fully man  He knew His Father’s will and would fulfill it. As the Son of God, He knew this. As a man He struggled with the emotion, or weight, of the pain and suffering He was about to go through.  “His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God - Satan could not touch Him there.” Our...
Read more

OC April 2nd

-
“‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 9:17 NLT Title - “The Glory That’s Unsurpassed” Underlines: “When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person or Jesus Christ.” “…maintain a strong degree of character in our lives…” “The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others.” “Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.” Notes: -are your spiritual or unspiritual -fascinated with Christ, or other things  -after God’s own heart or your own desires  We must be seeking the mind of Christ constantly. All else will fade away. His Glory is ...
Read more