Morning Prayer: 23 October – Luke 18:41 ~ persistent disturbance

30 Days with Oswald Chambers: “My Utmost for His Highest”

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

Listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into His peace.
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Morning Reading: Luke 18:41 NLT

“What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
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“My Utmost for His Highest” – 30 Day Reading Plan

Day 18: What Do You Want The Lord To Do For You?

Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. “Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more . . .” (18:39). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don’t deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn’t work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.

Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, “I always failed there, and I always will.” Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, “It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.” If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.

This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for us is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of our old life remaining. God will do it if we will ask Him. But we have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself…. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing.
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Prayer: I praise You that all I am is Yours. Oh, that I could delight You as the lily does, or the tree, or even the sparrows, just living the life You have granted! Draw me close to You today and do the impossible – in me. Amen.
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“When You Walk Into the Room” – Bryan & Katie Torwalt (Jesus Culture)

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Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 22 October – John 16:30-31 ~ relying on the resurrection life of Jesus

30 Days with Oswald Chambers: “My Utmost for His Highest”

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

Listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into His peace.
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Morning Reading: John 16:30-31 NLT

“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?
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“My Utmost for His Highest” – 30 Day Reading Plan

Day 17: “Do You Now Believe?”

Now we believe. But Jesus asks, “Do you . . . ? Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you . . . will leave Me alone” (16:31–32).

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 result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5–6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

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….

If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ…. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7). 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.
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Prayer: O Lord, when I awake, I am still with You. Quicken my mortal body with Your mighty resurrection life; rouse me this hour with a gracious influx of power. And let me be a witness to You today… lowly and meek, yet all powerful. Amen.
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“Stronger” – Hillsong Chapel

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 21 October – John 4:11 ~ deep cries out

30 Days with Oswald Chambers: “My Utmost for His Highest”

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

Listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into His peace.
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Morning Reading: John 4:11 NLT

Pozzo di San Patrizio Orvieto, Italy | very deep well with a double spiral staircase designed by Antonio da Sangallo

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?”
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“My Utmost for His Highest” – 30 Day Reading Plan

Day 16: The Impoverished Ministry Of Jesus

“The well is deep” — and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew (4:11)! Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life?

Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.”

Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature — He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do.

We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him…. We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
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Prayer: O Lord, what a wonder of perfect confidence it would create could I but hear some clear disposing word of Yours! From the depth of my soul, I cry out to You. Lord, speak to me today.
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“Deep cries out” – Bethel Church (Feat. William Mathews)

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 20 October – John 4:11 ~ reality check

30 Days with Oswald Chambers: “My Utmost for His Highest”

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

Listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into His peace.
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Morning Reading: John 4:11 NLT

Woman at the Well Wayne Forte (2004) — Woman at the Well
Wayne Forte (2004)

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?”
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“My Utmost for His Highest” – 30 Day Reading Plan

Day 15: Our Misgivings About Jesus

Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality — that what He says cannot actually be done.

Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water — no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus.

My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly — “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
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Prayer: O Lord, with what abundant relief I turn to You! I need You in unfathomable ways, and with what amazed relief and joy I find all I need in You.
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“God I Look to You” – Jenn Johnson (Bethel Church)

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 19 October – 2 Corinthians 5:13-15 ~ compelled to surrender

30 Days with Oswald Chambers: “My Utmost for His Highest”

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

Listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into His peace.
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Morning Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:13-15 NLT

Face of Christ Painting based on the Shroud of Turin — Face of Christ
Painting based on the Shroud of Turin

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
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“My Utmost for His Highest” – 30 Day Reading Plan

Day 14: The Compelling Majesty Of His Power

Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by “the love of Christ.” Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. “The love of Christ compels us . . . .” When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.

When we are born again by the Spirit of God, our testimony is based solely on what God has done for us, and rightly so. But that will change and be removed forever once you “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8).

Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus meant when He went on to say, “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . . .” Not witnesses to what Jesus can do — that is basic and understood — but “witnesses to Me . . . .” We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward.

No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally compelled by the majesty of His power. It is the only thing that matters, and yet it is strange that it’s the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive him as mad or sane—he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for — to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of “the love of Christ.”

This total surrender to “the love of Christ” is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.
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Prayer:

Draw me, O Lord, into vital communion with Yourself. Press through till I am thrilled with Your presence. Cause me to be Yours in the expression of Your grace as well as in the experience of it. Fill me with Your Spirit – that I may live wholly for You today. Amen.
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“I Surrender” – Hillsong Live