BYM ONLINE DESK November 2019 Blessing Emagazine | Page 10

willed He cannot use us. “To obey is better than
sacrifice...” (1 Sam 15:22). Rebellion in the camp is
fatal to the cause. Loyalty He must have. Blunders are
permissible; mistakes will be overlooked, but disloyalty
never!
If we are to be used of God we must be obedient.
We must be prepared to go where God wants us to go. It
must be His way instead of our own, His choice rather
than ours. And, blessed be God, when we really yield to
Him, His plan becomes ours, and we delight to do His
will.
Let us not think of Him as a hard taskmaster; One
who insists on us doing things we do not want to do. Not
at all. He is our Father. He loves to lead us to the still
waters. Within our hearts He puts the very desires that
are pleasing to Him. All He asks is that we yield, for we
are His, body, soul and spirit. Hence, there can be no
fellowship apart from obedience.
know Him I will want to study it. And the more I read it
the more interesting it will become. I will find that I
cannot do without it. It will be my meat and my drink for
the day's work.
Again and again I turned to it in the early days of
my Christian life. When I was first converted I read it
daily. But am I still poring over its pages? Is it just as
new to me now as it was the first time I read it? Do I
revel in the experiences of the apostles and prophets?
Am I still finding comfort from the Psalms of David? Is
the Word of God a living Book to me, and am I feeding
on it daily?
Perhaps I am weak. God compares His Word to
milk and meat. Hence, if I am to be strong I must turn to
it constantly. May He enable me, therefore, to become a
diligent student of His Word.
3. Am I spending time each day in prayer?
No one can be victorious apart from prayer. No
one can make a success of the Christian life unless he
prays. If you have neglected prayer you are weak. It is
those who wait upon the Lord who renew their strength.
Unless you have been living, therefore, in an
atmosphere of prayer you are open to the attacks of the
enemy. Jesus prayed. He spent whole nights in prayer.
Paul prayed. The early church prayed. All those who
have been used of God have been men and women of
prayer.
So, let me ask myself the question, do I pray? Do I
keep tryst with God? Have I an appointment with Him
day by day and am I careful to keep it? Does God know
me as a man of prayer? Or have I failed Him? If so, may
He enable me to renew my covenant and begin again to
meet Him morning by morning, lest He come and find
me sleeping.
4. Am I a diligent student of God's Word?
To neglect the Word of God is to cut myself off
from hearing His voice, for God speaks through His
Word. Hence, if I am not giving time to Bible Study I am
without guidance. Many a man has gone astray simply
because he has ignored the Word of God. Nothing can
take its place. It is God's Word to man, and if I really
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5. Am I confessing Christ publicly?
During the early years of my
Christian experience I was on fire for souls. I enjoyed
getting out on the street corner with a company of God's
people and giving my testimony. I reveled in the
opportunity of working in rescue missions and pointing
souls to Christ. I was burdened about the condition of
the unsaved. In the glow of my first love for Christ I
eagerly sought to tell others what He had done for me. I
went home to my friends even as the demoniac of old.
But what about today? Have I lost my first love?
Have I become cold and indifferent? Does the fire of
God no longer burn in my heart? Can I attend church
and go through religious performances without any
burden concerning the lost? If so, why? What has
happened? I sing, “Rescue the perishing,” but do I do