Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake. (Colossians 1:24, KJV)

Discern The Signs Of The Times

As this apostasy intensifies and the time grows shorter if you are truly do belong to the Lord you will be sensing an “urgency” in the Spirit. A kind of: “I just can’t seem to understand why I’m kind of stirred up inside right now.” Quite likely you are yourself–but certainly you know other Christians–now going through situations which are very trying and just don’t seem to let up. I offer what is to follow from Oswald Chambers as encouragement to you.

Chambers spoke the absolute truth when he said:

This call [to be a strong witness for Christ] has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with.

I also pray you will please understand something about the following verse while we are struggling with these things. When someone quotes this to you or when we read it ourselves – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV), please remember that it does not mean that it won’t feel as if we cannot bear it.

Does this make sense now? This is what people today so often forget. While the genuine child of God will sometimes be pressed far beyond anything we personally can endure in the natural, it is at this time those around us might come to see something we as Christians should already know from God’s inerrant and infallible Word in the Bible – I can do all things through Him [Christ our Lord] Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13, KJV).

You see, we overcome in His strength and not our own. Here is the rest of this insightful entry from My Utmost for His Highest for your edification:

We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say – “Here am I, send me.”

This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way!

But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.

I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means that the elements of the natural life are presenced by God as they are broken providentially in His service.

We have to be adjusted into God before we can be broken bread in His hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children. (September 30)

The Red Sky Grows Darker Each Morning

There is an old proverb of the sea that goes: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.” What you might not have known is this is actually based on something Jesus Himself said:

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:1-3, KJV)

And so with this in mind I also offer a previous missive of mine which you may not have seen called A Storm Is Coming. Beloved, today in the Name of the Lord I exhort you to turn your back on the “country club Christianity” of the Ecumenical Church of Deceit and strive to be found among those of us who are willing to give our utmost because we just won’t settle for less than His highest…

…to be continued later today…