Walking Darkness

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Having been spiritually attacked lately, when I received this, a writing from Charles Stanley, on top of having just read Oswald Chambers of Oct 2, I knew God was ministering to me in a special way.

If feel you too have been under attack, sometimes it is devastating; the two articles, meant much to me.

Maranatha,
Robbie <x><
http://www.thegospeltruthministry.com/

The Sphere Of Humiliation

October 2nd

Oswald Chambers

Mark 9:21, 22
And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood; and it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."

After every time of exaltation we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountain top is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley; but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mount, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the sphere of humiliation that we find our true worth to God, that is where our faithfulness is revealed. Most of us can do things if we are always at the heroic pitch because of the natural selfishness of our hearts, but God wants us at the drab commonplace pitch, where we live in the valley according to our personal relationship to Him. Peter thought it would be a fine thing for them to remain on the mount, but Jesus Christ took the disciples down from the mount into the valley, the place where the meaning of the vision is explained.

"If you can do anything.. ." It takes the valley of humiliation to root the skepticism out of us. Look back at your own experience, and you will find that until you learned Who Jesus was, you were a cunning skeptic about His power. When you were on the mount, you could believe anything, but what about the time when you were up against facts in the valley? You may be able to give a testimony to sanctification, but what about the thing that is a humiliation to you just now? The last time you were on the mount with God, you saw that all power in heaven and in earth belonged to Jesus—will you be skeptical now in the valley of humiliation?

Walking Through the Darkness

Dr. Charles Stanley

Matthew 26:7-13 : a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."

From time to time, dark nights of the soul are the lot of every Christian. Sometimes they come when we offer our best to Jesus and it is misunderstood or even ridiculed by those who should know better. Such an event is described in today*s Scripture reading.

In this passage, a woman took a vial of precious perfume and emptied it on Jesus* head as He reclined at the table. There is no record of any great results coming from this loving gesture. No lives were saved, no converts were made, and nothing measurable was obtained. Worse still, the woman was roundly scolded for her actions. Her efforts were viewed as extravagant, unreasonable, and irresponsible. Jesus, however, thought otherwise. The Lord*s commendation for this loving sacrifice was astonishing. In His mind, it deserved to be memorialized for ages to come.

We sometimes wonder how much God is noticing our efforts to please Him. At times some of our greatest sacrifices seem to bring nothing but misunderstanding or even criticism from family members and friends. Voices from others and even from within our own hearts rise up to condemn us for godly choices that now seem to be incapacitating us.

But Jesus, who knows the depths of our soul, sees and understands our torment. He hears the condemning voices of our accusers. When our sacrifices for God make little sense to the inhospitable world around us, it is His voice that will prevail in our behalf.