Oswald Chambers... praise God for him

November 30, 2007

"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . .
1 Corinthians 15:10

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

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This week has been a bit rough on me as I have been sorting through a lot of things. We are studying Hebrews... which has absolutely blown my mind as I see who Jesus really is. This week God has really been humbling me and this caught my attention as soon as I read it this morning. Christ has done something truly liberating for us... he has purchased me from sin and death. This is what he has done on the cross. He is Lord and has given me justification before God. I am his son, an heir of the kingdom of heaven through the gift of his blood poured out to redeem me from hell. This is the reality of who I am and for me to live in anything less is a tragedy... because it is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). The reality that God wants me to live by is this... I am nothing more than a sinner saved by grace... but I am also nothing less than a sinner saved by grace (his beloved son whom he values and is faithfully bringing to glory in Christ).

Today was Friday... and every Friday is what "Formal Friday" for me here during SBS. The tradition began last year when the students at the ESBS at Lurecrest dressed formally every Friday. I decided to 'represent' for Lurecrest and bring "Formal Friday" to Montana. Thus far I have been the only die hard but I am still holding strong and am going to stay strong all year. Quite a few of the other students have latched onto it themselves and will dress up with me most weeks but as far as being totally faithful that they are not. Nonetheless it is fun. This was my outfit today... the vest and pants courtesy of the Salvation Army.