THE GREATEST SOURCE OF POWER

THE GREATEST SOURCE OF POWER

I appreciated so much the study that Pastor Strain did for us in June from the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is one of those books that speaks to my heart daily as I continue the discipline of reading a chapter a day. If you haven't taken the challenge to do so, I want to encourage you on day 3 of the month of July -- start reading a chapter a day and allow the Spirit of God to build character into your life.

I want to share with you some devotionals on prayer that have touched my heart during the month of June. God longs to have you and me come to him in prayer. It is one of the easiest things to do, yet one of the hardest of the disciplines.

This morning I share some thoughts from Oswald Chambers, June 7th, from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST.

"Whatever you ask in MY name, that I will do . . ." (John 14:13)

This reading is riddled with questions that will help us look at our prayer life. Good questions to think through on this 3rd day of July:

"Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified.
Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused bringing EVERYTHING to one central point -- the atonement of my Lord?
Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear more fruit for Him. I must take the time to realize what the central point of power is.

Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? "If you abide in Me ..." -- that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point -- "you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).

Ask your selves these questions:
Am I abiding?
Am I taking the time to abide?
What is the greatest source of power in your life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work FOR God? It should be none of these -- what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on WHAT we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power OVER us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our DESIRES and INTERESTS on the atonement of the Cross of Christ . . .

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do . . ." The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God's foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God."

Good thought and questions for us to ponder throughout the day.

Join me on KESWICK TODAY this week as I talk with Chris Conners, one of our Colony of Mercy graduates who is now serving in our internship program. You can listen to Chris' testimony right from our home page -- www.americaskeswick.org.