Friday, December 16, 2005

Oswald for Today:

So technically I'm not wrestling with God....but before Him.....just to be clear!! Have a great weekend and remember a seeking heart He never denies!!

WRESTLING BEFORE GOD
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God ...praying always ...Ephesians 6:13,18

You have to wrestle against the things that prevent you from getting to God, and you wrestle in prayer for other souls; but never say that you wrestle with God in prayer, it is scripturally untrue. If you do wrestle with God, you will be crippled all the rest of your life. If, when God comes in some way you do not want, you take hold of Him as Jacob did and wrestle with Him, you compel Him to put you out of joint. Don't be a hirpler in God's ways, but be one who wrestles before God with things, becoming more than conqueror through Him.
Wrestling before God tells in His Kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you and I am not complete in Christ, I may pray but it avails nothing; but if I am complete in Christ my prayer prevails all the time. Prayer is only effective when there is completeness - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God."
Always distinguish between God's order and His permissive will, i.e., His providential purpose towards us. God's order is unchangeable; His permissive will is that with which we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to the permissive will of God that enables us to get at His order. "All things work together for good to them that love God" - to those who remain true to God's order, to His calling in Christ Jesus. God's permissive will is the means whereby His sons and daughters are to be manifested. We are not to be like jelly-fish saying, "It's the Lord's will." We have not to put up a fight before God, not to wrestle with God, but to wrestle before God with things.
Beware of squatting lazily before God in stead of putting up a glorious fight so that you may lay hold of His strength.


OK had to go look up 'hirpler'....
hirple
to be lame; a lame person: As in He was hirpling, he was hirpling about.

5 comments:

daisymarie said...

I guess I've done both and perhaps why life feels like a limpy sort of thing...and it will from now on to a certain degree.

the tentmaker said...

I have been a friend of Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" since I was in college. Ten years ago, I found a leather bound edition updated by James Reimann. Chambers' daily thoughts are as relevant to me now as they were 40 years ago. And every time I read them, I pick up something new.

bigsky said...

I enjoyed discovering your web site today for the first time via a word search for the Dec 16 Utmost for His Highest devotional. We've been blessed by the conviction from the writings of Oswald Chambers for many years.
A quotation from Henri Nouwen appears on your banner which has a wonderful thought. I wonder if were you aware that Henri Nouwen, in fact, said several other things? In one of his books, In the Name of Jesus, he said this, "Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen to the voice of love ... For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required" (pp. 6,31,32).
After years of following the mystical way, this same Henri Nouwen, near the end of his life, stated:
Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God. From Sabbatical Journey, Henri Nouwen's last book, page 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition.
Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). I view that statement as a narrow gate, but good news. It is the end of confusion. It is the end of ambiguity. It is the end of wishy-washy postmodernist ideas. It is simply good news! When I became a Christian through faith in God's finished work of forgiveness through the death of His son, Jesus Christ, it was a relief and a joy to finally know the truth about God, to know who He is, to understand His nature, and to know His will.
Does the statement above sound to you as though Jesus' exclusive claim was a source of embarrassment to Henri Nouwen?
I trust that God may grant you His discernment as you fulfill His purposes through the ministry of your web site.
May God Bless you,

jaykneepray said...

I have been reading Oswald Chambers for almost 10 years. Why is it his writings prompts me to so much thought. I read my Bible but things are most "quiet." Any comments out there?
By the way, I have repented of my sin and accept that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the only way to the Father (born again) since 1981.

bigsky said...

JayKneePray - So glad to hear you've received God's free gift of salvation. My wife and I have walked with the Lord for many years and read Oswald Chambers for our devotion each day as well as pray-read the scriptures during a personal Quiet Time. I would suggest exploring the thoughts found in some resources such as;
MANNA IN THE MORNING, Stephen F. Olford, Moody Press, Encounter Ministries; BIBLE BEFORE BREAKFAST, Richard A. Bennett, Cross Currents International Ministries; THE QUIET TIME, Alfred P. Gibbs, Good News Publishers; QUIET TIMES FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH, Kelly J. Clark, Inter-Varsity.
We have discovered the Lord speaks to us in wonderful, personal ways through His Word. Repeating mantras, opening one's mind thru silence prayer are sure ways to receive the suggestions of our enemy, Satan.