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Daily Reflections with Oswald Chambers [September 13, 2006]
My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers; 1992) ^ | 1935/1992 | Oswald Chambers

Posted on 09/13/2006 3:08:39 AM PDT by .30Carbine

After Surrender— Then What?

" I have finished the work which You have given Me to do "

—John 17:4

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . " ( Matthew 16:24 ). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. ". . . another will gird you . . ." ( John 21:18-19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death" ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

In 1910 Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen, who still resides in London (as of 1992).

In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.

My Utmost for His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and in this, the last decade of the century, remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic. [from the flyleaf of the book]


TOPICS: Ecumenism; General Discusssion; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: prayer; reflection; selfexamination
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To: DieHard the Hunter
You cited Casuistry. That is why I used the word manish.

Peter did not determine ahead of time that he would betray his Lord. Far from it, he could not imagine doing such a thing. And in the end he died rather than deny His Forgiving Lord and Redeemer. Judas, on the other hand, premeditated his betrayal, thinking to gain by it; rather than gaining even 30 pieces of silver, by the path of his own premeditated betrayal he took his own life, finding no forgiveness.

"What," says the Master, "does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but forfeit his own soul?"

I find these things very worthy of consideration.

41 posted on 09/21/2006 3:37:30 AM PDT by .30Carbine
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To: .30Carbine

So where is your complaint, ma'am? I am a Christian Soldier, a Crusader, wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. I will use the weapons of the Devil against Him without demur.

Specifically, this means that I will lie, cheat and steal from the Devil, kick Him in the bollix and otherwise dirty-fight and inconvenience Him, without remorse or hindrance or demur. When finished, I will dance around His twitching corpse and skin him for a trophy.

And I will never Surrender to the forces of Evil. Or to anything else, for that matter: including the forces of Good (Christ does not require my Surrender, only my Obedience which I give willingly, as a Volunteer).

*DieHard the Hunter*


42 posted on 09/21/2006 3:48:53 AM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (I am the Chieftain of my Clan. I bow to nobody. Get out of my way.)
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To: DieHard the Hunter; .30Carbine

Theological and philosophical differences are not to be argued on devotional threads. Take it to one of the "open" threads on the Religion Forum.


43 posted on 09/21/2006 6:21:17 AM PDT by Religion Moderator
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To: Religion Moderator; .30Carbine

> Theological and philosophical differences are not to be argued on devotional threads. Take it to one of the "open" threads on the Religion Forum.

Thanx -- I have nothing more to say on the subject.

*DieHard*


44 posted on 09/21/2006 2:35:55 PM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (I am the Chieftain of my Clan. I bow to nobody. Get out of my way.)
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To: Religion Moderator

THANK YOU.


45 posted on 09/22/2006 12:55:00 AM PDT by .30Carbine
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Comment #46 Removed by Moderator

Comment #47 Removed by Moderator


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