Useful?

This morning Oswald Chambers got me good. For a while now, he has been speaking on something we so often miss in our own lives and it is a dangerous seed indeed; so dangerous and important, that Jesus spends most of the gospels combatting such a belief: pharisaism. All of us can have hints of it in our lives and if kept unchecked they can lead us into dangerous places. This disease can take the purest act and turn it into the most prideful, self-driven deed that exists. This is why it is so important for us to recognize it in us and give it over to God.

Here is the quote from Chambers this morning:

Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “. . . but perfect love casts out fear . . .” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.

Holiness is a wonderful thing for us to go after, however, it can't be our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal ought to be showing that love, grace and mercy to others in response to it first being shown to us. So often we (and I am first) get caught up in wanting to be the "best" Christian, that we lose sight of Christ crucified. Never let anything stand in the way of you and the cross. God is the one that will sanctify us, not our works, those are just evidence of sanctification. God's will for us is to continually be sanctified (1 Thess 4:1-3) and abound more and more in Him.


Let's all be careful not to make personal sanctification our end goal. Because in that phrase "personal sanctification" there is implied focus on the wrong thing: myself. Don't ever get so caught up in showing people what God has done in you that you fail to show them God and the best way to do this is love.

These verses came to mind as I read the devo, I pray they bless you and help make you better equipped for kingdom business. :D

About our righteousness

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

His work

Zech 3:4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

On our driver

Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Our compelling argument

2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;