Still I'm amazed when I don't see it coming... even though He does it often... building thought... on thought... on Word... to deepen... expand... a message...
Testimony... for Christ... written on the heart of every Believer... remains hidden in the ark... when we lean on our own understanding... the Light... kept under a bushel... so to speak...
Leaning on our own understanding... we default to our old heart... which is not good...
For out of the heart come evil thoughts (reasonings and disputings and designs) such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, and, irreverent speech.
Matthew 15:19 Amp
Oswald Chambers... today... focused on this particular passage... Matthew 15:18-20... and said...
We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity; and when we hear these rugged statements of Our Lord's, we shrink and say --- 'But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.' We resent what Jesus Christ reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme Authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust His penetration, or do I prefer to trust my innocent ignorance?
---My Utmost For His Highest, July 26Will we give a testimony that reveals Light... by agreeing with Him... or will we give false testimony... based on our understanding... choosing to please self... and lead others astray...?
There's a choice... stay comfortable... in the dark... or face the hard Truth... that brings light... and freedom...
I've come to accept... there is no choice... agreeing with Simon Peter...
"Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. ..."
There is no other Way...
Bonhoeffer, too, had words today... that echoed... the same...
The essence of Christianity lies in the news of the sovereign God, to whom alone honor is due in all the world. It is news of the eternal Other; the One who is apart from the world; the One who in love and out of the ground of his being has mercy on human beings, who give honor to him alone; who undertakes the journey to human beings in order to seek his honor in the vessels where human beings are no longer anything, where they fall silent, where they give way to God alone.
--- I Want to Live These Days with You, "The News of the Sovereign God", July 26 (my emphasis)Giving way... to God alone... in understanding... in word... in deed... through radical... trusting... obedience...
Obedience... unlocks the ark of our hearts... to reveal the testimony...
Here... again... He's expanded... the word for the year... deepened a lesson... a heart overwhelmed... truly amazed... by Him... and His teaching...
Chambers's devotion... goes on to say...
If I have never been a blackguard, the reason is a mixture of cowardice and the protection of civilized life; but when I am undressed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis.
The only thing that safeguards is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will hand myself over to Him, I need never experience the terrible possibilities that are in my heart.
--- My Utmost for His Highest, July 26
Having seen... the depth of darkness... in my own heart... I find comfort... grace... peace... in the redemption of Jesus Christ... knowing He is my only safeguard... I continue to welcome... the Light of Truth...
Lord... continue to teach me Your understanding... continue to reveal... where I fail to offer valid testimony... of You... embolden me... to radical obedience... to give way... to You... alone...
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