"Vision" by Oswald Chambers
I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. (ACTS 26:19)
“So, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven! (Complete Jewish Bible)
***
If we lose the vision, we alone are responsible, and the way we lose the vision is by spiritual leakage. If we do not run our belief about God into practical issues, it is all up with the vision God has given. The only way to be obedient to the heavenly vision is to give our utmost for God’s highest, and this can only be done by continually and resolutely recalling the vision. The test is the sixty seconds of every minute, and the sixty minutes of every hour, not our times of prayer and devotional meetings.“Though it tarry, wait for it.” We cannot attain to a vision, we must live in the inspiration of it until it accomplishes itself. We get so practical that we forget the vision. At the beginning we saw it but did not wait for it; we rushed off into practical work, and when the vision was fulfilled, we did not see it. Waiting for the vision that tarries is the test of our loyalty to God. It is at the peril of our soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical work and miss the fulfilment of the vision.
Watch God’s cyclones. The only way God sows His saints is by His whirlwind. Are you going to prove an empty pod? It will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of what you have seen. Let God fling you out, and do not go until He does. If you select your own spot, you will prove an empty pod. If God sows you, you will bring forth fruit.
It is essential to practise the walk of the feet in the light of the vision. (From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition)
Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44
Deuteronomy 14:1 (iv) “You are the people of Adonai your God. You are not to gash yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead, 2 because you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
3 “You are not to eat anything disgusting. 4 The animals which you may eat are: ox, sheep, goat, 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, oryx and mountain sheep. 6 Any animal that has a separate hoof that is completely divided and also chews the cud, these animals you may eat. 7 But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof. For example, the camel, the hare and the coney are unclean for you because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; 8 while the pig is unclean for you because, although it has a separate hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud. You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses.
9 “Of all that lives in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, these you may eat. 10 But whatever lacks fins and scales you are not to eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any clean bird; 12 but these you are not to eat: eagles, vultures, ospreys, 13 kites, any kind of buzzard, 14 any kind of raven, 15 ostriches, screech-owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk, 16 little owls, great owls, horned owls, 17 pelicans, barn owls, cormorants, 18 storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes and bats.
19 “All winged swarming creatures are unclean for you; they are not to be eaten; 20 but all clean flying creatures you may eat.
21 “You are not to eat any animal that dies naturally; although you may let a stranger staying with you eat it, or sell it to a foreigner; because you are a holy people for Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.
(v) 22 “Every year you must take one tenth of everything your seed produces in the field, 23 and eat it in the presence of Adonai your God. In the place where he chooses to have his name live you will eat the tenth of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that you will learn to fear Adonai your God always. 24 But if the distance is too great for you, so that you are unable to transport it, because the place where Adonai chooses to put his name is too far away from you; then, when Adonai your God prospers you, 25 you are to convert it into money, take the money with you, go to the place which Adonai your God will choose, 26 and exchange the money for anything you want — cattle, sheep, wine, other intoxicating liquor, or anything you please — and you are to eat there in the presence of Adonai your God, and enjoy yourselves, you and your household.
27 “But don’t neglect the Levi staying with you, because he has no share or inheritance like yours. 28 At the end of every three years you are to take all the tenths of your produce from that year and store it in your towns. 29 Then the Levi, because he has no share or inheritance like yours, along with the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your towns, will come, eat and be satisfied — so that Adonai your God will bless you in everything your hands produce.
15:1 (vi) “At the end of every seven years you are to have a sh’mittah. 2 Here is how the sh’mittah is to be done: every creditor is to give up what he has loaned to his fellow member of the community — he is not to force his neighbor or relative to repay it, because Adonai’s time of remission has been proclaimed. 3 You may demand that a foreigner repay his debt, but you are to release your claim on whatever your brother owes you. 4 In spite of this, there will be no one needy among you; because Adonai will certainly bless you in the land which Adonai your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess — 5 if only you will listen carefully to what Adonai your God says and take care to obey all these mitzvot I am giving you today. 6 Yes, Adonai your God will bless you, as he promised you — you will lend money to many nations without having to borrow, and you will rule over many nations without their ruling over you.
7 “If someone among you is needy, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which Adonai your God is giving you, you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from giving to your needy brother. 8 No, you must open your hand to him and lend him enough to meet his need and enable him to obtain what he wants. 9 Guard yourself against allowing your heart to entertain the mean-spirited thought that because the seventh year, the year of sh’mittah is at hand, you would be stingy toward your needy brother and not give him anything; for then he may cry out to Adonai against you, and it will be your sin. 10 Rather, you must give to him; and you are not to be grudging when you give to him. If you do this, Adonai your God will bless you in all your work, in everything you undertake — 11 for there will always be poor people in the land. That is why I am giving you this order, ‘You must open your hand to your poor and needy brother in your land.’
12 “If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he is to serve you for six years; but in the seventh year, you are to set him free. 13 Moreover, when you set him free, don’t let him leave empty-handed; 14 but supply him generously from your flock, threshing-floor and winepress; from what Adonai your God has blessed you with, you are to give to him. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this order today. 16 But if he says to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, and because his life with you is a good one; 17 then take an awl, and pierce his ear through, right into the door; and he will be your slave forever. Do the same with your female slave. 18 Don’t resent it when you set him free, since during his six years of service he has been worth twice as much as a hired employee. Then Adonai your God will bless you in everything you do.
(vii) 19 “All the firstborn males in your herd of cattle and in your flock you are to set aside for Adonai your God; you are not to do any work with a firstborn from your herd or shear a firstborn sheep. 20 Each year you and your household are to eat it in the presence of Adonai your God in the place which Adonai will choose. 21 But if it has a defect, is lame or blind, or has some other kind of fault, you are not to sacrifice it to Adonai your God; 22 rather, eat it on your own property; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, like the gazelle or the deer. 23 Just don’t eat its blood, but pour it out on the ground like water.
16:1 “Observe the month of Aviv, and keep Pesach to Adonai your God; for in the month of Aviv, Adonai your God brought you out of Egypt at night. 2 You are to sacrifice the Pesach offering from flock and herd to Adonai your God in the place where Adonai will choose to have his name live. 3 You are not to eat any hametz with it; for seven days you are to eat with it matzah, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live. 4 No leaven is to be seen with you anywhere in your territory for seven days. None of the meat from your sacrifice on the first day in the evening is to remain all night until morning. 5 You may not sacrifice the Pesach offering in just any of the towns that Adonai your God is giving you; 6 but at the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live — there is where you are to sacrifice the Pesach offering, in the evening, when the sun sets, at the time of year that you came out of Egypt. 7 You are to roast it and eat it in the place Adonai your God will choose; in the morning you will return and go to your tents. 8 For six days you are to eat matzah; on the seventh day there is to be a festive assembly for Adonai your God; do not do any kind of work.
9 “You are to count seven weeks; you are to begin counting seven weeks from the time you first put your sickle to the standing grain. 10 You are to observe the festival of Shavu‘ot [weeks] for Adonai your God with a voluntary offering, which you are to give in accordance with the degree to which Adonai your God has prospered you. 11 You are to rejoice in the presence of Adonai your God — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L’vi’im living in your towns, and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you — in the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live. 12 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt; then you will keep and obey these laws.
(Maftir) 13 “You are to keep the festival of Sukkot for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress. 14 Rejoice at your festival — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L’vi’im, and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you. 15 Seven days you are to keep the festival for Adonai your God in the place Adonai your God will choose, because Adonai your God will bless you in all your crops and in all your work, so you are to be full of joy!
16 “Three times a year all your men are to appear in the presence of Adonai your God in the place which he will choose — at the festival of matzah, at the festival of Shavu‘ot and at the festival of Sukkot. They are not to show up before Adonai empty-handed, 17 but every man is to give what he can, in accordance with the blessing Adonai your God has given you.
18 “You are to appoint judges and officers for all your gates [in the cities] Adonai your God is giving you, tribe by tribe; and they are to judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You are not to distort justice or show favoritism, and you are not to accept a bribe, for a gift blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of even the upright. 20 Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live and inherit the land Adonai your God is giving you.
21 “You are not to plant any sort of tree as a sacred pole beside the altar of Adonai your God that you will make for yourselves. 22 Likewise, do not set up a standing-stone; Adonai your God hates such things.
Mark 12:28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], 30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[Mark 12:30 Deuteronomy 6:4–5]
31 The second is this:
‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Mark 12:31 Leviticus 19:18]
There is no other mitzvah greater than these.” 32 The Torah-teacher said to him, “Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him; 33 and that loving him with all one’s heart, understanding and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah.
35 As Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How is it that the Torah-teachers say the Messiah is the Son of David? 36 David himself, inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh, said,
‘Adonai said to my Lord,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’[Mark 12:36 Psalm 110:1]
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord’; so how is he his son?”
The great crowd listened eagerly to him. 38 As he taught them, he said, “Watch out for the kind of Torah-teachers who like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces, 39 who like to have the best seats in the synagogues and take the places of honor at banquets, 40 who like to swallow up widows’ houses while making a show of davvening at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!”
41 Then Yeshua sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the crowd as they put money into the offering-boxes. Many rich people put in large sums, 42 but a poor widow came and put in two small coins. 43 He called his talmidim to him and said to them, “Yes! I tell you, this poor widow has put more in the offering-box than all the others making donations. 44 For all of them, out of their wealth, have contributed money they can easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.” Complete Jewish Bible)
***
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. (from Biblical Psychology, 189 L)
My Utmost for His Highest © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment