“Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me
as I hand it to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach?”
~Oswald Chambers
Oh, how I wish I could do
my life over living what I know now— the Word of God that I plant daily in my
heart and soul. I’ve been writing meditations since 2004. Yet, after 14 years,
do I still not operate fully in God’s Word? This is the struggle with
progressive sanctification (the result of obeying God’s teachings, growing in
the Lord, spiritual maturity)— We want to operate in what we know in our mind, yet our will and
emotions lead rather than follow our mind. Emotions flow from the heart as a reaction, and when emotions are not
tamed, they can overtake our behavior. Taming comes from self-control and self-control
results from surrender—surrendering our will for God’s will. When Jesus was in
the garden sweating blood, he was emotionally in great anguish. Humanly, as the
Son of Man, the only way Jesus could carry through with His Father’s purpose
for him (“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”) was to
voluntarily surrender his will for His Father’s (as we would surrender, so
there would be no conflict between God’s will and our desires). We should not
let our emotions rule—our mind is to lead our will and emotions—and the
conscience of our spirit (to know
right and wrong and to condemn or make right through God’s eyes) must be united
(yoked) with God’s Spirit within us— A perfect oneness with the Father.
So back to Oswald
Chambers’ question, “Does my life give the lie to the things I profess to
teach?” Jesus gives an answer— “Take my
yoke (Join your life with mine. Picture Jesus with His arm around your
shoulders as you walk together in relationship.) and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (do not be
wise in your opinion of yourself), and
you will find refreshment (not resentment) and rest (not fear or anxiety) in
me.” ~Matthew 11:29
Praise God for the rhema He has revealed to me. ~Jeff Cambridge
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