Destiny of Holiness

I was greatly convicted through this wise word from Chambers this morning and thought I would share:

"Continually restate to yourself what the purpose of your life is. The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. Nowadays we have far too many affinities, we are dissipated with them; right, good, noble affinities which will yet have their fulfillment, but in the meantime God has to atrophy them. The one thing that matters is whether a man will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs a man must be rightly related to God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe God can come into me and make me holy? If by your preaching you convince me that I am unholy I resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it must reveal that I am unholy; but it also awakens an intense craving. God has one destined end of mankind, holiness. His one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing-machine for men; He did not come to save men out of pity: He came to save men because He had created them to be holy. The Atonement means that God can put me back into perfect union with Himself, without a shadow between, through the Death of Jesus Christ.

Never tolerate through sympathy with yourself or with others any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means unsullied walking with the feet, unsullied talking with the tongue, unsullied thinking with the mind- every detail of the life under the scrutiny of God. Holiness is not only what God gives me, but what I manifest that God has given in me." 
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest



 

The Discipline of Difficulty

"An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different. 'He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High...the evil befall thee' -no plague can come nigh the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, there certainly will be troubles to meet, but Jesus says do not be surprised when they come. 'In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, there is nothing for you to fear." Men who before they were saved would scorn to talk about troubles, often become 'fushionless' after being born again because they have a wrong idea of a Christian.

God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength. Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy? He cannot, unless you will accept the strain. Immediately you face the strain, you will get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and tak the step, and God will give you to eat of the tree of life and you will get nourishment. If you spend yourself out physically, you become exhausted; but spend yourself spiritually, and you get more strength. God never gives strength for tomorrow, or the next hour, but only for the strain of the minute. The temptation is to face difficulties from a common-sense standpoint. The Christian is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God."

-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

This morning, I read the above excerpt and was very encouraged. Why is it we, as Believers, become anxious about cirumstances (some that haven't even occurred!), choose not to spend time reading Scripture, or choose to believe life should be easier? Has Christ not overcome the world? Has he not given us the Spirit of Truth, which glorifies Christ and delcares to us what is His? If we, as Believers, have been given everything that Christ is, through the Spirit of Truth, this should completely and wholly fill the very depths of our souls, leaving us longing for nothing more than Him.

I mean, think about it. What does Christ have? Righteousness-there is no need for us to bury ourselves in guilt. Love- we need to no longer live controlled by our bitterness, jealousy, or hatred. Peace- no more anxiety because His peace can live within us. Faithfulness- He will never leave us and pursues us always. Hope- we can rejoice that our hope is in a perfect person rather than imperfect relationships. Consistency- we live in a place filled with inconsistent relationships, jobs, futures, but we can trust that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Relationship with God- we no longer are lonely and can have a full relationship with God.

Christ has all this and more. If we are living in truth, then we have a fulfilled life that cleanses us from the despairs of a world ruled by darkness. The first part of John 16:13 says, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth..." We live by two ways: truth or lies. We either act upon the Truth that has been given to us by God, Himself, or we act upon lies that we have mistaken as truth. It is so easy to believe lies about ourselves, other people, and even about God- We have got to be able to decipher a lie from truth, and the only way to do so is by knowing God- because God is Truth.

How does someone learn to see the difference between counterfeit money and the real thing? Does he study counterfeit money and compare it to the real thing? No. He only studies the real thing. He learns how it looks and feels. He memorizes it, that way, when he comes across conterfeit, he can easily spot the deceit.In order to learn the difference between truth and lies, we have to study truth. We need to know truth, so we can recognize deceit.

We aren't promised a perfect world, a perfect life, perfect relationships, or a perfect job...otherwise Jesus wouldn't have needed to come. As believers we aren't immune from trials, but by God's perfect grace, He has given us everything we need to make it in this world. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).