http://www.rbc.org/ http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/04/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/04/devotion.aspx Fretting means getting ourselves "out of joint" mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, "Do not fret," but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" ( Psalm 37:7  ) until our own little world is turned upside down and Oswald Chambers Sun, 04 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/03/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/03/devotion.aspx When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, "Oh yes, I know I am a sinner," but when he comes into the presence of Oswald Chambers Sat, 03 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/02/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/02/devotion.aspx If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to Oswald Chambers Fri, 02 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/01/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/01/devotion.aspx There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to Oswald Chambers Thu, 01 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/30/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/30/devotion.aspx In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, "Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work Oswald Chambers Wed, 30 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/29/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/29/devotion.aspx Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that "if your right hand causes you to sin" in your walk with Him, then it is better to "cut it off." There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the Oswald Chambers Tue, 29 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/28/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/28/devotion.aspx Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you "turn aside to the right hand or to the left" ( Deuteronomy 5:32  ). We are not here to work for God because Oswald Chambers Mon, 28 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/27/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/27/devotion.aspx God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— ". . . your life shall be as a prize to you . . ." (Jeremiah 39:18  ). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply Oswald Chambers Sun, 27 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/26/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/26/devotion.aspx The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself Oswald Chambers Sat, 26 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/25/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/25/devotion.aspx As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing Oswald Chambers Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/24/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/24/devotion.aspx Not being reconciled to the fact of sin— not recognizing it and refusing to deal with it— produces all the disasters in life. You may talk about the lofty virtues of human nature, but there is something in human nature that will mockingly laugh in the face of every principle you have. If you Oswald Chambers Thu, 24 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/23/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/23/devotion.aspx We are not "acquainted with grief" in the same way our Lord was acquainted with it. We endure it and live through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of our lives we do not bring ourselves to the point of dealing with the reality of sin. We look at life through the eyes of Oswald Chambers Wed, 23 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/22/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/22/devotion.aspx This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between Oswald Chambers Tue, 22 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/21/devotion.aspx @/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/06/21/devotion.aspx By what right have we become "a royal priesthood"? It is by the right of the atonement by the Cross of Christ that this has been accomplished. Are we prepared to purposely disregard ourselves and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual inner-searching we do in an effort Oswald Chambers Mon, 21 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT