"The
first thing that impresses us about the call of God is that it comes to the
whole man, not to one part of him. The majority of us are godly in streaks,
spiritual in sections; it takes a long time to locate us altogether to the call
of God. We have special days and religious moods, but when we get into contact
with God we are brought in touch with Reality and made all of a piece. Our
Lord's life was all one reality; you could never cut it into two--shallow here
and profound there. My conception of God must embrace the whole of my
life." –
Oswald
Chambers
I’ve just started to read a book called , “ Follow Me” by David
Platt, David quotes this in the above book, it’s from “ My utmost for His
Highest” by Oswald Chambers.
Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your
common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back?
If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every
time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And
the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what
Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing,
until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we
tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . .
?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my
common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those
who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person
is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk
everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ
demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common
sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately
find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.
By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but
when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit
with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in
God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to
you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an
entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
Oswald Chambers
It
is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when
nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so
attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will
not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of
a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the
choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to
do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to
allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit
yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the
world more human and more fraternal.”
Pope Paul John 11
What
the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations
or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use -- men of
prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but
through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint
plans, but men -- men of prayer.”
― E.M. Bounds, Power
Through Prayer
Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of
waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God's Holy
Name let us arise and build! 'The God of Heaven, He will fight for us', as we
for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of
Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should
such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm,
faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will
venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do
it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand
times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man. And when we
come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious
campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff
of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine
Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.
C T Studd
“Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”
— extra stanza —
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”
SOVEREIGN
GOD,
Thy
cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest
freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place
where Satan reigns;
Glorify
thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to thy name is my sole
desire.
I
adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.
O
that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightest have all glory
from the intelligent world!
Let
sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!
To
the eye of reason everything respecting
the conversion of others is as dark as
midnight,
But
thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and it is to thy glory that men should be
saved.
Lord,
use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let thy kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced
in this world!
O
do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitably in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It
is thy cause and kingdom I long for,
not my own.
O,
answer thou my request!
Valley
of Vision, Banner of Truth
C.T Studd
If Jesus
Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to
make for Him.
Should such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy,
lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our
God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and
we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a
thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man.
“Some want to live within the sound Of
church or chapel bell;I want to run a rescue shop, Within a yard of hell.”
C T Studd
Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of
the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity,
and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and
hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers
and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ
in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you
will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his
mercy to the world." William Booth.
“While women weep, as they do now,
I'll fight
While little children go hungry, as they do now,
I'll fight
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now,
I'll fight
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
While there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!”
William Booth
The Church is a movement for change and transformation but for many of
us The Church has become a monument to our spiritual forefathers who were a
movement for change and transformation !.
We, the Church are the visible representation of
God’s Kingdom Rule and Reign here on Earth, we are his messengers of hope, love
and compassion, salvation & restoration, the people we see every day are
the people for whom Jesus died on the Cross for, we are the ones who are to
bring hope and healing to our communities.
Blair Humphreys." The last two quotes are my own, and have been previously posted on V3, I want to be more than an echo of other christian writers."
