Day: October 10, 2011

Building on The Atonement

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Oswald Chambers 90x115by Oswald Chambers

. . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13

I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things, but to believe things. The redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build my faith on it. If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of experience you have by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

Peace Be Unto You

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A.B. Simpson 90 x115by A.B. Simpson

Peace be unto you—John 20:21

Peace be unto you. These words are a type of Jesus’ first appearing to our hearts when He comes to bring us His peace and to teach us to trust Him and to love Him.

But there is a second peace which He has to give. Jesus said unto them again, Peace be unto you. There is a "peace," and there is an 44 again peace." There is a peace with God, and there is the peace of God, which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). It is the deeper peace that we need before we can serve Him or be used for His glory.

While we are burdened with our own cares, He cannot give us His. While we are occupied with ourselves, we cannot be at leisure to serve Him. Our minds will be so filled with our own anxieties that we would not be equal to the trust which He requires of us. Before He can entrust us with His work, He wants to deliver us from every burden and anxiety.

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