Thursday, February 5, 2009

Poured Out

If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
—Philippians 2:17

"It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a 'doormat' under other people’s feet."
~Oswald Chambers


You know, this is why I like Oswald Chambers... the man can use a verse of scripture and thirty-eight words to rock my world.

The magic of the Spirit is revealed in so many ways, just one of them in the ability of God-inspired truth to peel back layers and get to the meat of things (Hebrews 4:12-13). This revelation of my own hard heart in repeated waves also illustrates a huge hang-up for so many. I think of my father's tendency to associate uncovered sin with guilt and shame.

We cannot remove guilt and shame from our collection of valid feelings, but we must find a way to associate the uncovering of sin with the glory of cleanliness and spiritual wantonness. Without the magic dividing of the "...joints and marrow..." down to the bone, the heart, of the matter, we so easily lose sight of the reason for our utter dependency and need for a Savior.

May I be extremely happy as a doormat... but, if it could work out that....

I've gotta remove the 'but' from the rest of my prayer. Lord, please help me remove the 'buts' from my life :-)

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Romans 12

The voices of our world constantly spin us in disconnected circles. Our entire existence strives toward an ideal of one sort or another.

Where am I going?

Where is my neighbor going?

What is my purpose?