Devotional 201008

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I thank God for doing His marvelous work in each of our lives for His glory. When we give Him the freedom to do His will, we will not be disappointed in witnessing His amazing works in and through our lives. Yesterday was a very meaningful and tiring day; Loretta and I went to Home of Christ church in Cupertino early in the morning to set up a display table for their Missions conference (see the pictures I had posted last night). We had a chance to share the vision of GO international to several Sunday school classes and with church leaders at the booth. The church also arranged all the representatives from different missions agencies sit down together for some fellowship time. Afterward, we went to the ‘One Man One Woman’ campaign rally. If I were to find a common theme that links up all the things we did and said yesterday, I would say ‘a display of God’s work.’ The church or the collective new creation in Christ is the display of God’s masterpiece for mankind, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10).
As one of the speakers at the campaign rally said, marriage is the masterpiece that God has created for mankind. Even though the institution of marriage may have been covered with dusts and dirt right now, it does not mean we should ignore and even destroy it. That’s why we should defend it from any form of abuse and destruction. In a similar manner, the church is the masterpiece of God. Even though the church has been scared by many shameful conflicts and failures throughout history, it does not mean we should ignore and destroy it. The church stands as the masterpiece of Christ’s atonement. We continue to let Christ display His atonement in and through His church for the world to see and experience. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:13-14). Our sweet Holy Spirit will relentlessly works toward this goal of making His church to be salt and light of the world. With this in mind, let us read Oswald Chambers’ devotional journal for today.
It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying - Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction - "Nothing in my hands I can bring into this sanctification." Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8). No wonder Paul says nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:35a)
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the out come of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvelous sanctification accomplished in me because of the Atonement of Christ on the cross.
Hope this sharing will inspire you to allow Christ continue to display His good work in you at wherever you may be.
Love you because of the work of Christ in me,
Lawrence