Oswald Chambers says that the battle is won or lost in the secret places of the will before God, never in the external world.  He says that we must get the thing that we need settled, settled between ourselves and God in the secret places of our soul where no stranger intermeddles, and then we can go forth with the certainty that the battle is won.

He also says that in dealing with other people, the line to take is to push them to an issue of will.  That is the way abandonment begins.  That is the great divide in life; from that point we either go towards a more and more dilatory and useless type of Christian life, or we become more and more ablaze for the glory of God.

Are there things that only God can really help us with?  Are there issues that only He understands?  Are there longings that will never be satisfied this side of heaven?

Tell me what you think?

I was reading my Bible this morning and I read Matthew 12:30, and Jesus says, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."  Jesus made it clear that we are on one side or the other in believing in Him.  There is no middle ground.  It's like saying a person can't be a little married, a little broke, or a little pregnant; you are or you are not.  By not choosing, we make a choice.  No one can remain neutral.  Like it or not, we are in the battle.  We are born into it.  We want peace, but there can be no peace in this holy war.  Are we cold in the cause of Christ?  Do we think that Jesus is basically okay, that He had a lot of good ideas, but we can take Him or leave Him and it doesn't matter that much?  He drew the line in the sand, no one but Him; we are either on one side or the other.  The second half of that sentence is of the same decree, we either gather with Him or we scatter abroad.  Jesus' errand into this world was to gather together those whom the Father had given Him.  If we are not helping Him gather, we are scattering, and we are scattering to places where it would be difficult to gather again.  It's a little like tossing a basket full of roses petals to the wind from a mountain top.  Can one ever have the opportunity to gather each and every one of them again?   What do you say?

I am a pilgrim on this earth.  Maybe you're one too.  Here's the dictionary's definition: one who journeys a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of devotion.  Life is a long journey and we leave footprints whether we choose to or not.  A journey usually ends up in a destination or it is amiless wandering.  I like the rest of the definition, that it's to some sacred place as an act of devotion.  What sacred place do you choose?  We always have a choice in the place we choose as our destination.  It doesn't matter what life throws at us, the sacred place is ours to choose.  That sacred place is reflected in the state of our soul when life draws to a close.  What exactly is devotion anyway?  The dictionary says it's a giving over or appropriating to a purpose or a cause.  Are we that devoted to anything?  The question to you this day is:  Are you a person who knows where you are going, who doesn't mind the distance, with the idea that that your life is worth a purpose or a cause?  Let's talk!