Post: #1

I said yesterday that the devotional was by Oswald Chambers. I was thinking of another book I have. This one is actually by A.F. Harper.

God's High Call

But this one thing I do,...I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 3:13-14)

All that you do, do with your might;
Things done by halves are never done right.

As these lines come back from childhood memories, we approve them almost instinctively. We know that Oliver Wendell Holmes was right:

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make a house where gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire and clean.

Deep within the mind of every right-thinking person is the conviction that anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. If this be true of other worthy endeavors, how much more should it be true of my religion?

We who have once felt God's presence with us can never be content without Him; and we who have enjoyed something of His love know an ever-recurring hunger for more of that grace. Peter writes to his fellow Christians: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious...Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:2-5)

Peter mixed his metaphors but he knew the urgency of this spiritual hunger. And we know it. With Paul my own heart responds: "My one thought...is to press on to the goal for the prize of God's high call in Christ Jesus."

More about jesu would I know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
-E.E. Hewitt

Post: #2

July 29

Luke 11:8,13 (NIV) 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Jesus told a parable about a man who had a guest arrive late in the evening. In the oriental tradition, the community is to see that its guest is well received. The reputation of the community is at stake. Is the community hospitable or hostile? The man went to a neighbor who is sleeping. He asked for bread to set before the guest. We may have a problem with translation at this point. The word translated 'boldness' is, in the original, the negative of shame. The oriental would lose face if he did not get up and provide the bread. He would have been letting down the entire community.

When we look at the passage in this light, it may be teaching us something other than persistent knocking on God's door. The man who is without shame may be the one who was in bed. It may be telling us that God has a reputation. He has His name to defend. If an evil man will get up for the reputation of the community, how much more will God respond to your prayers for His great name's sake. If you, an evil person give good things to your children because it is expected of fathers and mothers, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Do you want to walk with God? Do you desire to live a life pleasing to Him? You just need to ask your gracious, loving Father, and He will surely give you the Holy Spirit. It is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that empowers us to be more like our Father in our words and actions. Have you stumbled in an area? Ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit to help you crucify the flesh and walk in holiness. He will give you Himself, not because you are bothering Him, but it is His very nature to do so. It is His character to give good things to those who ask. Expect the answer to come in an even greater measure than your original request. Why? Because God is the giver of all good things. His name is on the line. He is always true to His nature.