Scripture

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.

~Philippians 2:13, NLT

Quote

The moment you are willing, God will being altering your selfish disposition and His recreating forces will begin to work.

~Qswald Chambers

Every now and again I read something so well constructed that I just want to share it word for word. This comes out of Oswald Chambers devotional, My Utmost For His Highest {July 1} entry. “God is determined to make you pure, holy and right. He will not allow you to escape the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. He urged you to come to judgment with your sins the moment you were converted but we did not.” The moment our hearts are willing, God via grace and the Holy Spirit began the work of sanctification, of identifying and rooting out our selfish disposition and replaces it with the Spirit of His Son. Understand, God is determined  to bring you out undefiled, pure and spotless.

The first challenge is our will and the second is unbelief…“I don’t believe I can ever be made holy.” Certainly you cannot make yourself holy; what you would become in the process would be a hypocrite not a holy person. Your pastor can’t make you holy; he can’t make himself holy. I am going to concede: for me to be made holy would take a miracle but am I to disbelieve that the God who spoke this universe into existence and the God has kept every other promise made, cannot keep this one. No, I not only believe He can, I believe He is. I am a long way from being holy but I know for sure that God is at work in me giving me the desire to be holy. This was a desire I did not have when I was young. My struggle this week as been to leave the office and do some projects for others and some visiting. In my earlier days, I couldn’t stay in an office and read, study and pray all day. Who put this desire in me? It wasn’t Jack! This is the opposite of Jack. In the old days, Jack had much rather been on the tractor or the lawn mower than praying or reading. If you are a child of God, you will see this process at work in you. Trust me, He will crush your idols one by one and that includes the worship of your children or your own body. He doesn’t rush and He doesn’t push but He works continually and He will get the job done.

Extra

Everyone reports on Facebook the rain they got: will here at 1120 Iron man we have had three dust settlers but not measurable rain in weeks. We are always on the edge. The storm last night barely missed us. God is good. He has allowed me not to give it a lot of thought: that is a huge change for me; normally I would be depressed. If Paul and Silas could rejoice in the dark, in pain and in jail; I think I can rejoice in a little drought. Amen! We will get it when God sends it; in the meantime, we wait patiently.

Have a great day!