Devotional 040809

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. What a wonderful blessing to see sunshine in Daly City again! Though we have no certainty how long this beautiful weather will last, we simply enjoy it when it is available. Life is full of uncertainty. It is not always filled with sunshine, nor is foggy at all time. No matter how our circumstances may change, we learn to rejoice in the Lord always, because He is the ultimate source of our joy and fulfillment in life. In Him there is no darkness. And in Him we find true security and peace. Let's continue to meditate with Brother Chambers on the same passage we read yesterday.

"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). The bravery of God in trusting us! You say - "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value." That is why He chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.

We tend to believe that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good Christian. It is not a question of our strength but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a question of natural virtues of strength of character, knowledge, and experience - all that is of no advantage in this matter. The only thing that avails is that we are taken up into the big missions of God and became His partner. Apostle Paul reminded us of how we became His chosen partners, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:26-30). The partnership of God is made up out of men who know their poverty. He can do nothing with the man who thinks that he is great asset to God. As Christians we are not out for our own cause at all, we are out for the cause of God, which can never be our cause. We do not know what God is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with Him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with God; if it does get injured we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually attacked by Satan.

Being a self-centered being, we have a tendency to think how important we are or how much we deserve other’s attention and recognition. Even for those who have inferiority complex or low self-esteem problem, they basically want to think the same way except they are conditioned to express in a contrary manner. They became too absorbed into their negative “self” image (dwell in their negative nutshell), that they even nullify what God can do with or in their lives. Yes. I totally agree with Brother Chambers that we need to fully recognize our inadequacy or insufficiency, before we can partner with God in His grant plan on earth. But this is very different from people who stubbornly refuse God’s work in their lives, simply because they have made up their mind that they are useless. They don’t think God can change such useless person to become His vessel of Grace. They can’t accept God’s grace through other people who offer to help. They just concluded that they know better than God; they are nothing but lowly dirt.

Romans 9:20-21 says, “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” If you are truly humble before God, you have no right to nullify how God want to do with your lives. Why can’t you let Him make you a noble vessel, a beautiful person, a gracious channel of His blessing, or a lovely person like angel? God can make you in whatever way He wants, we just let go of our stubborn mindset or our success-driven mentality that interferes with His work.

Let’s walk close to the Lord and learn to truly live a submissive lifestyle for His glory.

Love you by His strength,
Lawrence