The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections   Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page Aug 2 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest John 16:33 "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Grace For The Hard Places   Chambers begins with the explanation that despite the way most people typically view the Christian life—as being delivered from all adversity—in reality it means—being delivered in  all adversity.  Like the three young men thrown into the roaring flames of the furnace, God did not keep them from the fire; He kept them in the fire. The Lord's protection was all over them. The Christian life is more akin to that story than any other I know. But if you will recall, the boys declared their trust and faith in the Lord before they were thrown into the fire for refusing to bow down to the king's statue, and then the Lord protected them in the fire, they came out with no harm done to th...

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections   Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page   But the Comforter . . . he shall teach you all things,  and bring all things to your remembrance . . . John 14:26 July 25 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest Matthew 5:3-11 "Blessed are . . ." The Astonishing Beatitude Chambers' dry humor made me laugh saying... when you read the Beatitudes they seem to be beautiful precepts for seemingly overly spiritual and useless people, but of very little practical use for us.   Until you encounter a circumstance in your own life that brings you face to face with one of the principles Jesus taught.  And then you realize how difficult it really is to live the way that Jesus taught. In reality we rarely come across a time in our lives when we must turn the other cheek... but they do surface and what do we do? We demand justice, the pride within us rises and all we want to do is retaliate, we realize we do not wa...

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page July 13 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . ." When God Gets You Alone Chambers’ message today is simple and cuts right straight to the heart: God has to get you alone so you will depend on Him alone. There are seasons when God gently removes the supports we once leaned on — not to isolate us, but to purify our dependence. Isaiah’s vision of God came after Uzziah died. When the earthly support was gone, the heavenly reality became clear. I am living in a season like that now. My family and friends are accessible only on a limited scale. My mom is passed on. My circle is quiet. My life is simple. And I am solely dependent on the Lord for all things right now. And I see Him. I have seen Him prominently in my life these last few months. He is reshaping me. He is purifying me. He is tuning my heart to...

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections  Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page July 6 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest Isaiah 35:7 "The parched ground shall become a pool . . ." He Is The Potter;  I Am The Clay There are seasons when God leads us into a valley to shape us. In this season, I have felt His hands upon my life — steady, intentional, purposeful — like a potter working clay on the wheel. I have walked through storms, wept through breaking points, and watched old walls fall so new character could rise. I have faced my own fears and anxieties, gathered them up, and laid them at His feet. On the other side of that surrender, I found something I had never known before: a quiet freedom from worry. Peace and silence have become my companions. I sense that He is still working in me here, in this valley, and that this season is not finished yet. I cannot see what lies ahead, but I know this: He is with me , and His presence is enough...

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page May 15 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest Ephesians 1:18 ". . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . ." Standing In His Strength When we come to Christ as our Savior, He takes up residence within us. Our body becomes His temple. Our life becomes the place where His life is expressed. When we surrender to Him, His faith becomes our faith, His strength becomes our strength, and His Spirit becomes the power within us. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one. And this One God now dwells in us through His Spirit. This is a magnificent truth to pause and consider. So much of life is busy and loud that we often forget the Holy Spirit is even there. I lived many years like this. It is painful to look back and realize how often I ignored Him. But I am not ignoring Him anymore. I am learning to stay aware of His presence, moment by mo...

The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections Today's Devotional • Back to Home Page May 14 Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest 2 Corinthians 4:10 ". . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" Adversity The other day we learned from Chambers that spiritual habits can easily turn into empty routines—rituals that end up replacing God. When that happens, the habit is no longer about Him at all; it becomes about self. Chambers reminded us that we should be in the habit of having no habits—just a natural, living walk with God throughout the day. Today, Chambers shows us another side of this truth: we do need habits—habits that turn us toward God. We learn to bring everything to Him. When adversity hits, our first reaction is often panic, and in that panic we lose sight of God. But adversity is actually a moment to turn to God. It becomes a place where the Son of God can shine through us. We see this in Jesus Himself. When the crow...