July 29 – Day 3

all of this for 2.48 pounds!! C'est bonne, non? That's under $5 CDN

Day 2 in London – after obedience, what?

I’ve had some time to finally catch up on sleep as well as some thoughts.  Today’s My Utmost couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.  Here is why, read below an excerpt from today’s reflection.

“and straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side…” Mark 6:45

We are apt to imagine that Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success.  We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite.  We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.

What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process– that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea.  It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterward. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.

God’s end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present; if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.

It couldn’t be better put in words, than how Oswald Chambers did.  Interestingly enough, this blog was created with the intention to capture His purpose through blogging my experiences, testimonies and thoughts.  What a great reminder that His purpose is all in the process and not one particular end in time or goal.  Please keep me accountable.

Blessed are the poor in spirit..

From My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers:

“The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility –”

precious time

Time is precious, but is it really?  So often, a day goes by without me even realizing it and before I know it, day quickly turns into night.  I think time is precious to those who realize the value of time…time spent alone, time spent with loved ones and time spent with strangers.  They say the best thing you can give someone is your time.  This also, is very true; however maybe unrealized until after the fact.  I might realize that I spent too much unnecessary time doing one thing, only after completing the task.  I might realize I didn’t spend enough time with someone, only at the end of the meeting.  I’m not quite sure where this is going, but I suppose knowing that there is limited time between now and when I leave, it’s worth re-assessing how I will spend my time; with whom, doing what – and being intentional about it all.