what happened!

so, I didn't have internet this week so I was unable to update this thing, but here are some things I contemplated this week during my QT.

God doesn't want to save us from sorrow, he wants to strengthen and comfort us in our sorrow.

Another thing is that yesterday's grace is just that, yesterday's grace. God's grace is overflowing and we should draw upon it constantly.

"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3

Grief comes from sin and we have not been acquainted with grief. We know what it is, but we have not become intimate with it. Sin is in our lives and we are born with it and it is always there until we accept Jesus' sacrifice.

Jesus was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." It was for this sorrow and grief that he was nailed to the cross. And we must accept his sacrifice and allow God to rule in our lives.

"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends." Job 42:10

Another point we can get from the story of Job is that the LORD "freed" Job of his suffering once he began praying for his friends.

Are we too busy praying for ourselves and not praying enough for our friends? Maybe we should try focusing our prayers towards those around us and not just on ourselves.

"Lovest thou Me? . . . Feed My sheep." John 21:16

Chambers presents an interesting angle on this famous verse. Jesus is telling us to "feed" his sheep. And by feeding, he means that we should give our brothers and sisters the knowledge and love of Christ.

Chambers also reminds us not to believe in ideas or creeds, but to put our faith and belief in Jesus. Putting our belief in an idea will make us tired and love will feel like it is gone, but putting our belief in Jesus will never let us down or grow weary.

"And Peter . . . walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid." Matthew 14:29-30

Have we recklessly abandoned our lives for the calling of Jesus? When God calls us, we shouldn't look around to see who follows or fear what might get in the way. When we hear the call, we must throw ourselves headlong into it.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1

*Just because I didn't write yesterday does not mean I did not do my QT!

Chambers tells us not to judge, and that the only judge is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can show us what we are doing wrong without "hurting or wounding." Judging others only makes us bitter and resentful.

When we something wrong in someone, we probably do not have the full context of what is going on is someone's life.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." . . . "I have called you friends." John 15:13, 15

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command.

Jesus is not commanding us to die for our friends, he is commanding us to lay down our lives. Laying down our lives is giving up control of our lives to him through service to our friends.

Sometimes, dying is the easier thing to do for God. It is the daily laying down of our lives that is sometimes the hardest thing to do. If we are the friends of God, we will do what he commands, and what he commands is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

"Master, where dwellest Thou? . . Come and see." "Come with Me." John 1:39

When Jesus renamed Simon to Cephas, or Peter, Jesus was changing his entire identity, not just certain aspects of his life. Jesus wanted to represent Simon's complete change.

Have we changed only certain parts of our lives, or have we completely turned away from our previous identities?

"Come unto Me." Matthew 11:28

Chambers says that Jesus ultimately commands us to come unto him. His commands to do or not do this or that are not the reasons why he came to Earth. Once we are in Jesus, what we want to do and what we do not want to do will become automatically what God wants for us.

"...and I will give you rest." The rest God is talking about is not physical rest, but comfort and freedom from restlessness to continue to do the work of God.

"Seek, and ye shall find." Luke 11:9

It is when we truly seek that we find. We shouldn't seek because we believe we should seek, we should be seeking whole-heartedly.

"You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him homesick for what you have."

"For every one that asketh receiveth." Luke 11:10

We, as people, are so independent that asking for help is usually the last thing we will resort to in times of need or trouble. It is when we are completely lacking and have no where or no one else to turn to that we ask God for what we need and want.

We pray for our friends, family and ourselves, but have we reached a point where we can no longer rely on ourselves but completely rely on God to answer our prayers? We should be asking, begging, God to fill us Spiritually.

"Work out your own salvation." Philippians 2:12-13

How many times have we said "the mind is willing, but the body is weak."

Today's QT says that when we are saved by the blood of Jesus, our will and conscience are in tune with God's will, but it is our perversity or obstinacy that gets in the way of our will and conscience and causes us to turn away from God's will.

"He hath said . . . so that we may boldly say . . ." Hebrews 13:5-6

Today's reflection is telling us to believe that the desires God has placed in our hearts has been placed there by Him and that we are to go fourth boldly with his plans.

Some of the things that get in the way of not fulfilling God's say-so is our own desires that interfere with God's desire, the second thing is our fear. The third thing is our own weakness.

God wants what is best for us, God is with us and God gives us his strength.

"For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

Today's reading points out that sometimes it is hard to see God because of the "drudgery" of life. Almost everyday we live through, what happens today, happened yesterday and will happen again tomorrow.

Do we believe that God will reveal himself to us in one bright and shining moment? Are we, in the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, Waiting for Lightning? Or do we believe is God constantly present and constantly revealing himself to us.

Can we find God in the mundane aspects of our lives?

“The secret (friendship R.V.) of the Lord is with them that fear Him.”

Today, Oswald Chambers tells us that true friends not only share their sorrows and frustrations with each other, but true friends will also share their joy with each other.

God also wants to share his joy with us. Sometimes we get so tied up with asking God for this and that and thanking him and praising him that we won't stop to experience the joy that comes from being his children.

Chambers also tells us that once we are in tune with God's will, we will instinctively follow his will without having to question whether it is God's will or not. It's similar to the quote from Ronin, "If there's any doubt, there's no doubt."

"What man is he that feareth the Lord?" Psalm 25:12

Lately, I have been using the daily devotional called My Utmost for His Highest. Today, Oswald Chambers asks us whom are we haunted by.

When we are haunted by God (and not in a scary or ghost-like fashion), we are constantly aware of the presence of God in our lives. We have an assurance that God has a plan and will always be by our side to help us.