Utmost For His Highest November 19
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know better only the experience of being disturbed by our sin, because we do know we have done some really bad things. But the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit uniquely blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one – “Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of their sin to this magnitude, they know with every bit of their conscience that God does forgive all sin, and that it cost Him the breaking of His heart with grief to witness the death of Jesus Christ ultimately enabling Him to complete his mission, total and complete forgiveness!
The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ that enables the divine nature to forgive and remain true to its itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary – nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and am made ready for heaven. No one would accept forgiveness on that level, such as possessing the necessary ticket. Rather, forgiveness means that I am also empowered and transformed into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the very nature of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps this is a good time to give you some personal history. I was introduced the first time to Oswald Chambers classic devotional Utmost For His Highest by Dr. Jim Miller in early ’97 during our congregation’s LIFE (Living In Faithful Evangelism) process as he gave each member a copy. Next to our Bibles, it has been our daily inspiration for Loretta and I more than any other one book. Frequently during the events of our days, we refer to that morning’s reading amazed at the appropriateness of its comments, or even after being through it repeatedly over the years, the wonder and the freshness of that day’s reading. And even when a reading is recognized, and the supporting events for its processing recalled from prior years, I find a freshness and even a new interpretation forthcoming to add yet another dimension in our Utmost legacy arsenal.
I invite you to consider reading Utmost during 2022 whether from a printed copy or subscribe online. Enhance your legacy arsenal! Blessings as you go forth on this 2021 Thanksgiving Day>>>>> merlin