The Awareness of the Call by Oswald Chambers of My Utmost for His Highest for Sunday, 29 September 2019 Daily Devotional
The Awareness of the Call by Oswald Chambers of My Utmost for His Highest <donotreply@email.odb.org> for Sunday, 29 September 2019 Daily Devotional
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony. (From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition)
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2
Isaiah 7 1 During the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of 'Uziyahu, king of Y'hudah, Retzin the king of Aram and Pekach the son of Remalyah, king of Isra'el, advanced on Yerushalayim to attack it but were unable to conquer it. 2 It was told to the house of David that Aram and Efrayim had become allies. Achaz's heart began to tremble, as did the hearts of his people, like forest trees shaken by the wind. 3 Then ADONAI said to Yesha'yahu, "Go out now to meet Achaz, you and your son Sh'ar Yashuv, at the end of the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderers' Field; 4 and say to him, 'Take care to stay calm and unafraid; don't be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah; 5 or because Aram, Efrayim and the son of Remalyah have been plotting against you, thinking, 6 "We will invade Y'hudah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves and appoint the son of Tav'el as king there." 7 "'This is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "It won't occur, it won't happen. 8 For the head of Aram is Dammesek, and the head of Dammesek Retzin. In sixty-five years Efrayim will be broken and will cease to be a people. 9 The head of Efrayim is Shomron, and the head of Shomron is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established."'" 10 ADONAI spoke again to Achaz; he said, 11 "Ask ADONAI your God to give you a sign. Ask it anywhere, from the depths of Sh'ol to the heights above." 12 But Achaz answered, "I won't ask, I won't test ADONAI." 13 Then [the prophet] said, "Listen here, house of David! Is trying people's patience such a small thing for you that you must try the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore Adonai himself will give you people a sign: the young woman will become pregnant, bear a son and name him 'Immanu El [God is with us]. 15 By the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, he will [have to] eat curdled milk and [wild] honey. 16 Yes, before the child knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be left abandoned. 17 ADONAI will bring the king of Ashur on you, your people and your father's house. These will be days worse than any you've known since Efrayim broke loose from Y'hudah." Or: "the virgin." See Introduction, Section XIV, footnote 69. 18 Yes, when that day comes, ADONAI will whistle for the fly in the farthest streams of the Nile in Egypt and for the bee in the land of Ashur. 19 They will come and settle, all of them, in steep vadis and holes in the rocks and on all thorn bushes and brambles. 20 When that day comes, Adonai will shave - with a razor hired beyond the [Euphrates] River, that is, with the king of Ashur - the head and the hair between the legs, and get rid of the beard as well. 21 When that day comes, a man will raise a young cow and two sheep. 22 Will they produce in abundance? No, he will [have to] eat curdled milk. Indeed, everyone left in the land will eat curdled milk and [wild] honey. 23 When that day comes, wherever there once were a thousand grapevines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, there will be only briars and thorns. 24 One will go there [to hunt] with bow and arrow, because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 You won't visit hills once worked with a hoe, for fear of the briars and thorns; it will be good only for pasturing cattle and being trampled down by sheep.
Isaiah 8 1 ADONAI said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it in easily readable letters; 'Maher shalal, hash baz [the spoil hurries, the prey speeds along].'" 2 I had it witnessed for me by reliable witnesses - Uriyah the cohen and Z'kharyahu the son of Y'verekhyahu. 3 Then I had sexual relations with my wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and ADONAI said to me, "Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz; 4 because before the child knows how to cry, 'Abba!' and 'Eema!', the riches of Dammesek and the spoil of Shomron will be carried off and given to the king of Ashur." 5 ADONAI went on speaking and said more to me: 6 "Since this people has rejected the gently flowing waters from Shilo'ach and takes joy in Retzin and the son of Remalyah; 7 now Adonai will bring upon them the mighty floodwaters of the [Euphrates] River - that is, the king of Ashur and his power. It will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks. 8 It will sweep through Y'hudah, flooding everything and passing on. It will reach even up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the whole expanse of the land." God is with us! [Hebrew: 'immanu El] 9 You may make an uproar, peoples; but you will be shattered. Listen, all of you from distant lands: arm yourselves, but you will be shattered; yes, arm yourselves, but you will be shattered; 10 devise a plan, but it will come to nothing; say anything you like, but it won't happen; because God is with us [Hebrew: 'immanu El]. 11 For this is what ADONAI said to me, speaking with a strong hand, warning me not to live the way this people does: 12 "Don't regard as alliance what this people calls alliance, and don't fear what they fear or be awestruck by it; 13 but ADONAI-Tzva'ot - consecrate him! Let him be the object of your fear and awe! 14 He is there to be a sanctuary. But for both the houses of Isra'el he will be a stone to stumble over, a rock obstructing their way; a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. 15 Many of them will stumble and fall, be broken and trapped and captured. 16 Wrap up this document, and confine its teaching to those I have instructed." 17 I will wait for ADONAI, who is hiding his face from the house of Ya'akov; yes, I will look for him. 18 Meanwhile, I and the children whom ADONAI has given me will become for Isra'el signs and wonders from ADONAI-Tzva'ot living on Mount Tziyon. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 819 19 So when they tell you to consult those squeaking, squawking mediums and fortune-tellers; [you are to answer], "Shouldn't a people seek their God? Must the living ask the dead 20 for teaching and instruction?" For they will indeed give you this unenlightened suggestion. 21 Distressed and hungry they will pass through the land; and because of their hunger they will grow angry and curse by their king and by their God. But whether they look up [to God] 22 or [down] at the earth, they will see only trouble and darkness, anguished gloom and pervasive darkness.
Ephesians 2 1 You used to be dead because of your sins and acts of disobedience. 2 You walked in the ways of the 'olam hazeh and obeyed the Ruler of the Powers of the Air, who is still at work among the disobedient. 3 Indeed, we all once lived this way - we followed the passions of our old nature and obeyed the wishes of our old nature and our own thoughts. In our natural condition we were headed for God's wrath, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love 5 that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah - it is by grace that you have been delivered. 6 That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with him in heaven, 7 in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely rich is his grace, how great is his kindness toward us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. 8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God's gift. 9 You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. 10 For we are of God's making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do. 11 Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth - called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised - 12 at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra'el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were in this world without hope and without God. 13 But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. 14 For he himself is our shalom - he has made us both one and has broken down the m'chitzah which divided us 15 by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, 16 and in order to reconcile to God both in a single body by being executed on a stake as a criminal and thus in himself killing that enmity. 17 Also, when he came, he announced as Good News shalom to you far off and shalom to those nearby, b 18 news that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's family. 20 You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. 21 In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. 22 Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!
Sunday, 29 September 2019 Daily Devotional
The Awareness of the Call by Oswald Chambers
…for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 CORINTHIANS 9:16
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural— something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through— “I chose you…” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony. (From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition)
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2
Isaiah 7 1 During the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of 'Uziyahu, king of Y'hudah, Retzin the king of Aram and Pekach the son of Remalyah, king of Isra'el, advanced on Yerushalayim to attack it but were unable to conquer it. 2 It was told to the house of David that Aram and Efrayim had become allies. Achaz's heart began to tremble, as did the hearts of his people, like forest trees shaken by the wind. 3 Then ADONAI said to Yesha'yahu, "Go out now to meet Achaz, you and your son Sh'ar Yashuv, at the end of the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderers' Field; 4 and say to him, 'Take care to stay calm and unafraid; don't be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah; 5 or because Aram, Efrayim and the son of Remalyah have been plotting against you, thinking, 6 "We will invade Y'hudah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves and appoint the son of Tav'el as king there." 7 "'This is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "It won't occur, it won't happen. 8 For the head of Aram is Dammesek, and the head of Dammesek Retzin. In sixty-five years Efrayim will be broken and will cease to be a people. 9 The head of Efrayim is Shomron, and the head of Shomron is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established."'" 10 ADONAI spoke again to Achaz; he said, 11 "Ask ADONAI your God to give you a sign. Ask it anywhere, from the depths of Sh'ol to the heights above." 12 But Achaz answered, "I won't ask, I won't test ADONAI." 13 Then [the prophet] said, "Listen here, house of David! Is trying people's patience such a small thing for you that you must try the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore Adonai himself will give you people a sign: the young woman will become pregnant, bear a son and name him 'Immanu El [God is with us]. 15 By the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, he will [have to] eat curdled milk and [wild] honey. 16 Yes, before the child knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be left abandoned. 17 ADONAI will bring the king of Ashur on you, your people and your father's house. These will be days worse than any you've known since Efrayim broke loose from Y'hudah." Or: "the virgin." See Introduction, Section XIV, footnote 69. 18 Yes, when that day comes, ADONAI will whistle for the fly in the farthest streams of the Nile in Egypt and for the bee in the land of Ashur. 19 They will come and settle, all of them, in steep vadis and holes in the rocks and on all thorn bushes and brambles. 20 When that day comes, Adonai will shave - with a razor hired beyond the [Euphrates] River, that is, with the king of Ashur - the head and the hair between the legs, and get rid of the beard as well. 21 When that day comes, a man will raise a young cow and two sheep. 22 Will they produce in abundance? No, he will [have to] eat curdled milk. Indeed, everyone left in the land will eat curdled milk and [wild] honey. 23 When that day comes, wherever there once were a thousand grapevines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, there will be only briars and thorns. 24 One will go there [to hunt] with bow and arrow, because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 You won't visit hills once worked with a hoe, for fear of the briars and thorns; it will be good only for pasturing cattle and being trampled down by sheep.
Isaiah 8 1 ADONAI said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it in easily readable letters; 'Maher shalal, hash baz [the spoil hurries, the prey speeds along].'" 2 I had it witnessed for me by reliable witnesses - Uriyah the cohen and Z'kharyahu the son of Y'verekhyahu. 3 Then I had sexual relations with my wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and ADONAI said to me, "Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz; 4 because before the child knows how to cry, 'Abba!' and 'Eema!', the riches of Dammesek and the spoil of Shomron will be carried off and given to the king of Ashur." 5 ADONAI went on speaking and said more to me: 6 "Since this people has rejected the gently flowing waters from Shilo'ach and takes joy in Retzin and the son of Remalyah; 7 now Adonai will bring upon them the mighty floodwaters of the [Euphrates] River - that is, the king of Ashur and his power. It will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks. 8 It will sweep through Y'hudah, flooding everything and passing on. It will reach even up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the whole expanse of the land." God is with us! [Hebrew: 'immanu El] 9 You may make an uproar, peoples; but you will be shattered. Listen, all of you from distant lands: arm yourselves, but you will be shattered; yes, arm yourselves, but you will be shattered; 10 devise a plan, but it will come to nothing; say anything you like, but it won't happen; because God is with us [Hebrew: 'immanu El]. 11 For this is what ADONAI said to me, speaking with a strong hand, warning me not to live the way this people does: 12 "Don't regard as alliance what this people calls alliance, and don't fear what they fear or be awestruck by it; 13 but ADONAI-Tzva'ot - consecrate him! Let him be the object of your fear and awe! 14 He is there to be a sanctuary. But for both the houses of Isra'el he will be a stone to stumble over, a rock obstructing their way; a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. 15 Many of them will stumble and fall, be broken and trapped and captured. 16 Wrap up this document, and confine its teaching to those I have instructed." 17 I will wait for ADONAI, who is hiding his face from the house of Ya'akov; yes, I will look for him. 18 Meanwhile, I and the children whom ADONAI has given me will become for Isra'el signs and wonders from ADONAI-Tzva'ot living on Mount Tziyon. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 819 19 So when they tell you to consult those squeaking, squawking mediums and fortune-tellers; [you are to answer], "Shouldn't a people seek their God? Must the living ask the dead 20 for teaching and instruction?" For they will indeed give you this unenlightened suggestion. 21 Distressed and hungry they will pass through the land; and because of their hunger they will grow angry and curse by their king and by their God. But whether they look up [to God] 22 or [down] at the earth, they will see only trouble and darkness, anguished gloom and pervasive darkness.
Ephesians 2 1 You used to be dead because of your sins and acts of disobedience. 2 You walked in the ways of the 'olam hazeh and obeyed the Ruler of the Powers of the Air, who is still at work among the disobedient. 3 Indeed, we all once lived this way - we followed the passions of our old nature and obeyed the wishes of our old nature and our own thoughts. In our natural condition we were headed for God's wrath, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love 5 that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah - it is by grace that you have been delivered. 6 That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with him in heaven, 7 in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely rich is his grace, how great is his kindness toward us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. 8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God's gift. 9 You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. 10 For we are of God's making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do. 11 Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth - called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised - 12 at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra'el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were in this world without hope and without God. 13 But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. 14 For he himself is our shalom - he has made us both one and has broken down the m'chitzah which divided us 15 by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, 16 and in order to reconcile to God both in a single body by being executed on a stake as a criminal and thus in himself killing that enmity. 17 Also, when he came, he announced as Good News shalom to you far off and shalom to those nearby, b 18 news that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's family. 20 You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. 21 In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. 22 Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. from The Place of Help
My Utmost for His Highest © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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