Being Beaten by a Dead Horse (or How an Old, Dead Guy Has Been Kicking the Every Living Crap Out of Me):

This title, I am sure, puts a puzzling image in your mind. How is it that I am either being being by a deceased equestrian mount or lambasted by the gnarled frame of the dearly departed?

Sounds funny.

Imagination-wise, looks funnier.

In reality, I welcome the beaters, not the masochistic pleasure, but as one relearning humility and grace day to day.

A few weeks ago, I had received a leather-bound copy of Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest” as a graduation gift from my church. Usually, these are the types of books which make me look intelligent or spiritual for having them, but I would gracefully put them on a bookshelf to provide appearance...

Not with this.

After college, I have had this desire to continue molding myself further into the image of Christ. That isn’t saying that I haven’t had my missteps and mistakes, trials and temptations - but that is truly the desire of my heart... to be great in God’s eyes.

In an attempt to break my neural laziness, I decided that I would take the church and Chambers up on their challenge to set out on this journey of learning to give my utmost for Christ on high.

Now, you must understand that Oswald Chambers has been dead for 111 years. So there is no possibility of the publisher secretly spying on me, knowing the areas in which God has been convicting me, stretching me, breaking me, and remolding me anew.

Yet, even from the grave, the Holy Spirit has used Chambers writings to batter my soul in the sort of disciplinary way that I have needed. Every day has been something that I’ve been learning or something I’ve struggled through or been without an answer on!

And so I have been learning to daily raise the white flag because I cannot live this life on my own! If we don’t daily surrender those things which we desire, but hold us from Christlikeness, we will remain were we are.

Remain teachable... seek wisdom... allow the Holy Spirit to reveal areas which require surrender. And when (not if, but when) you experience freedom, daily recognize the source of it... it is nothing of us, but all of Christ’s grace imparted to us.

So rather than being settled in the mediocre or rigid religiosity, friends.... brothers.... sisters... let us walk together in grace...

We’re lost without it.