Attacked By Oswald

In my mind there is no greater author and no better text (outside of Scriptures) at quickly and effectively challenging Christians and providing a necessarily blunt wake-up call to all things spiritual than Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest. I'm not a "devotional" kind of guy; I never have been. But this book, set up in one page increments for each day of the year, is so full of reflection-worthy commentary that I find myself spending a great deal of time on each page. I highly recommend this text to anyone unfamiliar with it.

I've picked the text up off my shelf and have been carrying it around in my bag the last few weeks, reading a passage or two over my lunch hour and taking notes. In my last few readings, Chambers has had challenging words regarding the "death of the self" and truly being a living sacrifice. Christians like me tend to give lip-service to making our lives all for the purposes of God and "seeking His will" in our lives. Chambers has some piercing quotes that really question one's commitment to this idea:

• "We are not sanctified for ourselves. . . Things happen which have nothing to do with us; God is getting us into fellowship with Himself."
• "The first thing God does with us is to get us based on rugged Reality until we do not care what becomes of us individually as long as He gets His way for the purpose of His redemption."
• "If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart."
• "If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across."
• "The circumstances of a saint's life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is not such thing as chance."
• "I have to learn that the aim in life is God's, not mine. God is using me from His great personal standpoint, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him, and never say - Lord, this gives me such heartache. To talk in that way makes me a clog."
• "If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if he has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him."

Thought these might be worth sharing here. They really punched me in the gut, which Chambers is quite adept at doing. Hopefully something here challenges you the way they've challenged me.