Tag Archives: oswald chambers

The measure of a disciple

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“It is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine outsteps intimate touch with Jesus.” – Ozzie Chambers

I wonder how connected I am to the heart of Jesus lately. The true measure of a disciple is his intimacy with Jesus; not how much they know. Now this is not to say that knowledge and study are characteristics of people who are not disciples. That knowledge can and should always bring us toward intimacy with the Father. But the primary question remains, “Do I have an intimate connection with the heart of Jesus?” Because THAT is the knowledge of Jesus that I desire.

There is a great story to be remembered here. There was a small church that had had a new pastor come to lead them. The church leaders came together to discuss the transition. One leader said, “Well what’s the difference between the pastors?”

Another answered, “Well the old pastor preached that we are all sinners in need of grace, and Jesus came to die that we may be saved.”

“Well what does the new pastor preach?”

“He preaches that we are all sinners in need of grace, and Jesus came to die that we may be saved.”

“I fail to se a difference in that.”

“Our pastor, now, preaches it with tears in his eyes.”

Intimate quotes of connection

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“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be ALERT, and self-controlled.” -1 Thessalonians 5:6

“Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray…” -Luke 22:46

“The basic human problem is that all men are bored.” – Kierkegaard

“When we MEDITATE, our eyes are taken off ourselves…our eyes are FIXED on Jesus.” – Brennan Manning

“The one sign of discipleship is INTIMATE CONNECTION with Him, a knowledge OF [not 'about'] Jesus Christ which nothing can shake.” – Ozzie Chambers

Jesus is wrecking everything

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Ozzie Chambers writes, “Have you ever heard the Master say a  hard word?  If you have not, I question whether you have heard Him say anything.”

I am reminded today of how destructive and abrasive the words of Jesus should be to our lives.  Most of Jesus’ words and commands should be wrecking our lives.  We are to obey a drastic call to be counter-cultural.

We in America are rich young rulers (Luke 18), and we are being called to many things that are going to be very hard for us to obey.  They are difficult because these are not things we are used to and comfortable with.  Many of the pursuits…MOST of the pursuits of our culture are not as Jesus has called us to live.  Jesus intends to wreck our lives…as they are.

Most of the time, I am a rich young ruler, and I walk away sorrowful because I cannot bring myself to fully follow Jesus.  Jesus never comes running after me begging and pleading.  Another day my desire will bring me back to Jesus; he will challenge me to something that will require a sacrifice on my part, and I will be faced with a difficult decision as to whether or not to do it.

Some days I follow Jesus; other days I walk away from Him and His command on my life with my head hung low because, once again, I am unable (unwilling) to fully obey and follow.

Jesus has not quite wrecked my life, but He’s always trying.

Blameless; not faultless

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Consistently thorughout scripture is reference to people being blameless before God. A few years ago I read an Oswald Chambers footnote that changed the way I read that word from then on. It simply said “blameless; not faultless”.

This is humbling on one hand and encouraging on the other.

It is humbling to know that you are still not without fault. It is humbling to remember that you still live on earth short of perfection. It is good to have this humble reminder once you have been called ‘blameless’.

It is encouraging to know because of Jesus and as you consistently walk with God, you are blameless before Christ even though your life is still not without faults.

It is encouraging to know even though your life is bent toward destructive choices (faults) you can still be seen as blameless if you will be entangled with Christ and walk with God.

May I learn to live blameless though not always faultless.

Don’t Focus On Spiritual Growth

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There is something in each of us, which wants to ‘grow’ and ‘mature’ and ‘develop’ spiritually. We think all the methods and practices will make us reach the goal. We get focused.

But we focus in the wrong direction.

Growing in our spiritual lives does not happen by focusing directly on it.

Spiritual growth and maturity happens from concentrating on and entangling with the Father.

Sticky authors

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Without thinking too much about it.  Fifteen authors (poets included) who have influenced me and will always stick with me.

Brennan Manning
Anis Mojgani
Henri Nouwen
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Phillip Yancey
Tony Campolo
Derrick Brown
Donald Miller
Mortimer Adler
Francis Chan
Augustine
Adam Duritz
S.D. Gordon
Oswald Chambers
Dr Seuss

What are yours?? [you can't sit and think about it]

Quote Month – Gifts

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“The great stumbling block in the way of some people being simple disciples is that they are so gifted they won’t trust God.” – Oswald Chambers

Many leaders have fallen prey to the temptation I frequently battle. Instilled with particular gifting, I can become dependent upon those gifts instead of the God who gave them to me.

Reality is that great leaders can form large churches and organizations without the help of God.

Let that statement sink in…allow yourself to get frustrated with me for writing it…

Now realize large does not mean healthy. Large does not mean growth. Large does not mean consecrated, holy, spirit-driven, or even good. It simply means large.

Leaders have a tendency to recognize and even use the gifts God has given them to a dangerous degree to which they end up depending on the gift. I’ve taken my fair share of profiles, tests, and questionnaires to have a strong understanding of the gifts God has given me. The danger lies in the reality that I depend heavily on the gift instead of the God who gave me those gifts.

We are frequently challenged to avoid stifling our gifts…to thrive or seize opportunities to use those gifts, but we are not frequently enough challenged to depend on the Holy Spirit more than we depend on those gifts.

Of course, this is not only a lesson for leaders. We have all been given gifts, but we have to remember what it means to trust outrageously in God.

Perhaps we have too much to really need a Provider.
Perhaps we know too much to need a Counselor.
Perhaps we are too comfortable to need a Comforter.
Perhaps we we know and do too much for God to be Sovereign.
Perhaps we are trying to save too many people to need a Christ.
Perhaps people seek us more than they do The Truth.
Perhaps we are too busy being the 4th person of the Trinity.

Perhaps we are depending too much on our gifts and not enough on the God who gave us our gifts.