Day: July 21, 2011

Dependent on God’s Presence

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Oswald Chambers 90x115by Oswald Chambers

Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).

When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.

If We Will Not Carry The Cross—We Shall Never Wear The Crown!

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J.C. Ryle 90x115by J.C. Ryle

"Then Jesus said to His disciples: If anyone would come after Me–he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me!" Matthew 16:24

Salvation is undoubtedly all of grace. It is offered freely in the Gospel to the chief of sinners–without money and without price. But all who receive this great salvation, must prove the reality of their faith–by carrying their cross after Christ. They must not think to enter Heaven without trouble, pain, suffering, and conflict on earth. They must be content to take up . . . the cross of DOCTRINE–holding a faith which the world despises; and the cross of PRACTICE–the cross of living a life which the world ridicules as too strict, and righteous over much.

They must be willing . . . to crucify the flesh, to mortify the deeds of the body, to fight daily with the devil, to come out from the world, and to lose their lives, if needful, for Christ’s sake.

These are hard sayings, but they admit of no evasion. The words of our Lord are plain and unmistakable. If we will not carry the cross–we shall never wear the crown!

"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me, cannot be My disciple!" Luke 14:27

by J.C. Ryle