Devotionals
Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, “No, by nothing,” but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.
If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.
“He himself shall dwell in prosperity…” (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to “dwell in prosperity,” keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. “God is our refuge…” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.
~O. Chambers
then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with the sword, and with the spear, and with the shield: but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have defied (I Sam. 17:45).
When David, who was just a young stripling, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, went to the battlefront where his brothers were, he went there to bless them and do them good; however, like Joseph’s brothers, when he was sent to bless them, he was met with envy and hatred. Thus it was with God’s Beloved Son. His brothers, Mary’s sons, did not believe on Him (Jn. 7:5), and, with her, sought to lay hold upon Him as being beside Himself (Mk. 3:32); His spiritual brethren, Israel, nailed Him to the tree.
When David offered to fight the giant, not for money, nor for the hand of the king’s daughter—every man he spoke to had no higher thought than that—but David knew that the matter was more noble and more serious than this. He was to bring the Philistine giant and the Living God face-to-face. What had a woman and her money to do with that?
Saul tried to get David to use his armor, but David knew that God could not give victories to “the flesh,” nor can faith use it. In the Name of the Lord, David had privately vanquished the “lion” and the “bear.” This is one of the fundamental principles governing the Christian life. Public victories can come only after private victories are won.
Going toward the giant, David chose five smooth stones out of the brook. If the brook, with its living running water, pictures the Holy Spirit, then the five smooth stones picture Grace; to be sure, Grace won the day! The Stone, picturing Christ, smote the giant in the forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
The Scripture then says, “David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith” (I Sam. 17:51). This is the posture for the Child of God. We are to stand as “more than a conqueror” on the head of any giant that may come against us, which we can do in Christ.
The Believer must understand that the terrible forces of darkness facing him are beyond his power and capabilities. As Goliath, Satan can only be defeated by and through Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross. To face the giants that come against us in any other fashion is to guarantee defeat. To place one’s Faith in Christ and the Cross guarantees victory, and a total and complete victory, at that (Rom. 6:3–14).
Has the Lamp of God Gone Out in Today’s Church?
and ere the Lamp of God went out in the Temple of the LORD, where the Ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep (I Sam. 3:3).
I Samuel 3:1 says “The Word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” This means there was a scarcity of the Word of the Lord in Israel of that day. The nation and its people were in serious straits, which always is the case when the Word of the Lord is scarce.
There have never been more Churches in America than at the present time; however, there has never been less true Word of the Lord preached at any time since the Reformation than now!
Eli, the High Priest, was not only physically blind, but spiritually blind, as well. Consequently, Israel had no spiritual leadership. How so much that mirrors the present!
Then the Scripture says, “And ere the Lamp of God went out in the Temple of the LORD,” which proclaims the Golden Lampstand, which sat in the Holy Place, giving light so that the Priests could see to minister. Regrettably, it is unattended, which means the oil has not been replenished. Is the “Lamp” going out in the modern Church?
The phrase, “Where the Ark of God was,” proclaimed the Holy of Holies, and typified the Throne of God. In other words, access to the Throne was being seriously curtailed. But then God spoke. It was at this dark moment that He chose to reveal Himself; yet not to some influential personage, but to a little boy!
Many people say that it is wrong to speak to a child about the Wrath of God; however, this belief shows how even religious teachers are fallen from God’s moral likeness. For His first Message to little Samuel was an appalling one!
Regrettably, if the modern Church doesn’t like the messenger, they reject the Message.
However, let it ever be understood:
It is God Who chooses the messenger, and not man. Those whom man chooses are not accepted by God; sadly, those whom God chooses, it seems, are little accepted by man. Nevertheless, the Word of God holds true, irrespective as to the messenger.
Jesus did not meet with the approval of Israel, so they rejected Him. In rejecting Him, they rejected His Message, which was the only Message of Life.
Listen to the Message! If it’s not the Message of the Cross, then it’s not the Message of the Lord, for the entirety of the Tabernacle and all of its furnishings typified Christ and the Cross.
~JSM
The Destitution of Service
Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.
~Oswald Chambers