VIDEO Christ-Awareness

…and I will give you rest. —Matthew 11:28

Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don’t allow yourself to say, “Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I’m sure I must have this cleared up with them already.” Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest,” that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest— the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L

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A Gracious Invitation Matthew 11:28-30 by Pastor Chuck Smith

Working v Retiring

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 

Older workers are once again in the news, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced changes in the retirement and re-employment ages, and in the Central Provident Fund contribution rates. More will also be done to help older workers adapt to technological changes and raise their productivity, so that they can continue their careers well into their 60s and beyond. I am sure there are some who would still like to retire early.

But there are others who would welcome the changes. They feel that working longer will help them keep their sense of worth and purpose, because they can continue to contribute to their families instead of becoming idle in retirement.

The news prompted me to reflect on my own life journey. While I’ve always believed in serving the Lord in whatever ways I can—at work, in church, and in the community—I wonder what will happen when I am unable to do all this one day. Where will my worth and purpose come from then?

Then an inspiration came—from my own mother.

When Mum accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour at the age of 84 (she is now 93), she found it hard to attend church because of her age. So I got her the large-print version of Our Daily Bread, which she read every morning. It brought me much joy to see her keenness to find out what God had to say to her each day.

In recent days, however, even reading Our Daily Bread has become hard because of her deteriorating health and eyesight. Yet this has not deterred Mum from wanting to be close to God. Now, she tells me, she’ll spend time praying to God daily.

Even in her late age, my mother does not feel that it is too late for her to learn about God and to trust Him. It struck me then: Her sense of worth and purpose did not come from doing things, but from simply trusting God.

In Psalm 90:12, the psalmist prays: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” How interesting, that as we get on in age, we are reminded not to “work hard” for God, but simply to focus on growing in His wisdom. That is where we can find our true worth and purpose!

Though she tires easily from reading, my mum continues to worship God through her daily quiet time and prayers. Her example spurs me to treasure the opportunity I have to read and learn from God’s Word. And that even when reading is difficult, I can continue to stay in a conversation with God through prayer. I am also reminded of how God has promised to be with us through our old age and beyond:

 

Even to your old age and grey hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
—Isaiah 46:4

—C. H. Tan

 

Father, help me to remember that
my true worth and purpose lie
not in doing things and being someone,
but simpy in seeking You.
Grant me the passion and strength
to keep seeking You in Your Word,
and give me the heart
to know You more and more each day,
for I know You will carry me through
as You have promised.

Every day is an opportunity to draw closer to God.

 

Veteran pastor and writer Robert Solomon looks at what it means to finish the race, staying faithful to the end. Read https://ourdailybread.org/article/ending-well//

Relying on the Spirit in Our Work

Ezra 4:1-5

Israel’s enemies were clever in their efforts to block the temple’s reconstruction. First, they offered to help. What better way to cause things to go wrong than to get involved in the work? When their aid was rejected, they set out to discourage the workers and make them afraid. The opponents even hired counselors to thwart the Israelites and were successful in hindering the project.

God, however, wanted His people to reject self-reliance and instead carry out His work in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. He offered them encouragement and protected their building project despite the mountain of opposition facing them. Sometimes this means He will remove the problem; at other times He walks us through it. In either case, we are to rely steadily on God’s Holy Spirit. Doing so will allow us to:

•Patiently love our spouse when there is turmoil in the home.

•Wisely guide our children toward godliness in our self-centered culture.

•Follow scriptural principles about giving, saving, and spending in a society that urges us to get what we want now.

•Experience contentment and God’s peace in our current circumstances—single or married, employed or out of a job, healthy or sick.

•Do God’s work His way.

Being led by the Spirit characterizes how we work. While that mindset is countercultural and not pleasing to the flesh (Gal. 5:16), it’s the only way to live as a child of God. Seek out believers who are trying to practice dependence on the Spirit, and encourage one another not to give up.

Best To Be Born into God’s Family

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” (1 John 3:1)

One of the most motivating truths of the Bible is the doctrine that we become sons of God when we are born again through faith in Christ. God then deals with us as a father does with his beloved children. We should therefore respond as obedient children who love their father.

The little epistle of 1 John has many references to this relationship and our consequent responsibilities. In the first place, “ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him” (2:29). “Whosoever is born of God doth not [habitually] commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (3:9).

Another attribute of our sonship is brotherly love: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him” (5:1). “Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (4:7). Furthermore, each child of God should have a victorious faith. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (5:4).

All who are truly sons of God will never lose that holy relationship. “He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (5:18). This is because of the fact that “greater is he that is in [us], than he that is in the world” (4:4).

There are many such references in the Bible. All stress that we should reflect the character of the Father in our lives as His children. The glorious, ultimate promise is this: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (3:2). HMM

We Are Saved to Worship

She unto the LORD me glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

—1 Chronicles 16:29

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with signing a card. It can be a helpful thing so we know who has made inquiry.

But really, my brother or sister, we are brought to God and to faith and to salvation that we might worship and adore Him. We do not come to God that we might be automatic Christians, cookie-cutter Christians, Christians stamped out with a die.

God has provided His salvation that we might be, individually and personally, vibrant children of God, loving God with all our hearts and worshiping Him in the beauty of holiness.   WHT014

Lord, I don’t need another name in my file, another notch on my belt. But I would like the privilege of bringing someone to the point of salvation so he could become a genuine worshiper of You. Use me, I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Keep Pressing toward the mark

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark.—Philippians 3:13, 14.

 

Till, as each moment wafts us higher,

By every gush of pure desire,

And high-breathed hopes of joys above,

By every sacred sigh we heave,

Whole years of folly we outlive,

In His unerring sight, who measures Life by Love.

John Keble.

 

What we can do is a small thing; but we can will and aspire to great things. Thus, if a man cannot be great, he can yet be good in will j and what he, with his whole heart and mind, love and desire, wills to be, that without doubt he most truly is. It is little we can bring to pass; but our will and desire may be large. Nay, they may grow till they lose themselves in the infinite abyss of God. And if ye cannot be as entirely His as ye fain would be, be His as much as ye may attain unto; but, whatever ye are, be that truly and entirely; and what ye cannot be, that be contented not to be, in a sincere spirit of resignation, for God’s sake and in Him. So shall you per—ad venture possess more of God in lacking than in having.

John Tauler.

 

Deliverance Is Not Limited

“He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.” Job 5:19

Eliphaz in this spoke the truth of God. We may have as many troubles as the workdays of the week, but the God who worked on those six days will work for us till our deliverance is complete. We shall rest with Him, and in Him on our Sabbath. The rapid succession of trials is one of the sorest tests of faith. Before we have recovered from one blow, it is followed by another and another till we are staggered. Still, the equally quick succession of deliverances is exceedingly cheering. New songs are rung out upon the anvil by the hammer of affliction, till we see in the spiritual world the anti-type of “the Harmonious Blacksmith.” Our confidence is, that when the Lord makes our trials six, six they will be, and no more.

It may be that we have no rest day, for seven troubles come upon us. What then? “In seven there shall be no evil touch thee.” Evil may roar at us, but it shall be kept at more than arm’s length, and shall not even touch us. Its hot breath may distress us, but its little finger cannot be laid upon us.

With our loins girt about us we will meet the six or the seven troubles, and leave fear to those who have no Father, no Saviour, and no Sanctifier.