01/21/2024 – “Recall What God Remembers” //”Thus says the Lord: ‘I remember …the kindness of your youth…'” Jeremiah 2:2 // Oswald Chambers biography attached.
“Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet–‘Give me a drink’ (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, ‘You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.’ He says ‘I remember … the love of your betrothal …’ (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over tru love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that he is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and ‘godly sorrow produces repentance …” (2 Corinthians 7:10).”
Soli Deo Gloria!
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Insert: Oswald Chambers biography :
First an excerpt from wikipedia:
“
YMCA chaplain
In 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, Chambers suspended the operation of the school and was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. He was assigned to Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops, who later participated in the Battle of Gallipoli.[18]Chambers raised the spiritual tone of a center intended by both the military and the YMCA to be simply an institution of social service providing wholesome alternatives to the brothels of Cairo. When he told a group of fellow YMCA workers that he had decided to abandon concerts and movies for Bible classes, they predicted the exodus of soldiers from his facilities. “What the skeptics had not considered was Chamber’s unusual personal appeal, his gift in speaking, and his genuine concern for the men.” Soon his wooden-framed “hut” was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to messages such as “What Is the Good of Prayer?” Confronted by a soldier who said, “I can’t stand religious people,” Chambers replied, “Neither can I.”[19] Chambers irritated his YMCA superiors by giving away refreshments that the organization believed should be sold so as not to raise expectations elsewhere. Chambers installed a contribution box but refused to ask soldiers to pay for tea and cakes.[20]
Death and influence
Chambers was stricken with appendicitis on 17 October 1917, but resisted going to a hospital on the grounds that the beds would be needed by men wounded in the long-expected Third Battle of Gaza. On 29 October, a surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy; however, Chambers died 15 November 1917 from a pulmonary hemorrhage. He was buried in Cairo with full military honors.[21]
Before he died, Chambers had proofread the manuscript of his first book, Baffled to Fight Better, a title he had taken from a favorite line by Robert Browning.[22] For the remainder of her life—and at first under very straitened circumstances—Chambers’ widow transcribed and published books and articles edited from the notes she had taken in shorthand during the Bible College years and at Zeitoun. Most successful of the thirty books was My Utmost for His Highest (1924), a daily devotional composed of 365 selections of Chamber’s talks, each of about 500 words. The work has never been out of print and has been translated into 39 languages.[23]“
And a short excerpt from christianity.com, the telegram message sent out by Biddy, his beloved wife, upon his sudden death:
“His wife sent a message when he died. Upon his death in 1917 in Egypt, Oswald’s wife sent a telegram to his family back in England with the simple but powerful message: “Oswald, In His Presence.””
And the link to the summary bio with photos on myutmost.org: