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Put God First in Trust. Jesus did not commit Himself unto them,...for He knew what was in man. John 2:24-25.

Our Lord trusted no man; yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, never in despair about any man because He put God first in trust; He trusted absolutely in what God's grace could do for any man. If I put my trust in human beings first, I will end in despairing of everyone; I will become bitter, because I have insisted on man being what no man ever can be-absolutely right. Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in anyone else.

Put God's Needs First. Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. Hebrews 10:9.

A man's obedience is to what he sees to be a need;Our Lord's obedience was to the will of His Father. The cry to-day is-'We must get some work to do; the heathen are dying without God; we must go and tell them of Him.' We have to see first of all that God's needs in us personally are being met. 'Tarry ye until ..." The purpose of this College is to get us rightly related to the needs of God. When God's needs in us have been met, then He will open the way for us to realize His needs elsewhere.

Put God's Trust First. And whoso receiveth one such little child in My name, receiveth Me. Matthew 18:5.

God's trust is that He gives me Himself as a babe. God expects my personal life to be a 'Bethlehem.' Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transfigured by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God's ultimate purpose is that His Son might be manifested in my mortal flesh.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (May 31). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

Dane, I'm back! Glad to be missed. Camps, the rains, and Chandler graduation has kept us busy this pasts couple of weeks.

God first. That is the message that we strive to instill in our boys at the ranch. Friday, we had two more boys graduate from high school. Miguel and LaRon have been with us eight years. They moved their tassles to the other side at graduation, moved over to the Nichols Graduate House on the ranch, and have move on to a new chapter in their lives. Both have the opportunity to work as interns this summer at Deep Fork Tree Farm in Arcadia, OK. Miguel will finish mansory school at Gordon Cooper this fall. LaRon is apply to school to become a physical fitness trainer. Thank you to all of you who have invested in both of them over the years. We have had the priviledge to see the fruit of your labor.

As I read today's devotion by Oswald Chambers, I realized that it was a great summary of our mission at WSBR. Life is much more fulfiling when we put First Things,...First.

1. "Put God First in Trust"....then man.
2. "Put God's Needs First"....then our needs.
3. "Put God's Trust First"...let Him manifest Himself in your life.

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Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matt. 6:33

We need have only one care, that we put the first thing first-faithfulness to God. Then all else we need for both worlds will be supplied. God will never fail us; but we forget, sometimes, in our rejoicing over such an assurance, that we must fulfill our part if we would claim the divine promise.
It will not always be easy. Tomorrow it may mean a distasteful task, a disagreeable duty, a costly sacrifice for one who does not seem worthy. Life is full of sore testings of our willingness to follow the Good Shepherd. We have not the slightest right to claim this assurance unless we have taken Christ as the guide of our life.

~J. R. Miller

Hardman, S. G., & Moody, D. L. (1998, c1997, c1994, c1990). Thoughts for the quiet hour. Originally published: Chicago: Revell, c1990. (May 17). Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing.

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That ye may know what is the hope of His calling . . . . Eph. 1:18.

Remember what you are saved for-that the Son of God might be manifested in your mortal flesh. Bend the whole energy of your powers to realize your election as a child of God; rise to the occasion every time.
You cannot do anything for your salvation, but you must do something to manifest it, you must work out what God has worked in. Are you working it out with your tongue, and your brain and your nerves? If you are still the same miserable crosspatch, set on your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Engineer, He allows the difficulties to come in order to see if you can vault over them properly-"By my God have I leaped over a wall." God will never shield you from any of the requirements of a son or daughter of His. Peter says-"Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you." Rise to the occasion; do the thing. It does not matter how it hurts as long as it gives God the chance to manifest Himself in your mortal flesh.
May God not find the whine in us any more, but may He find us full of spiritual pluck and athleticism, ready to face anything He brings. We have to exercise ourselves in order that the Son of God may be manifested in our mortal flesh. God never has museums. The only aim of the life is that the Son of God may be manifested, and all dictation to God vanishes. Our Lord never dictated to His Father, and we are not here to dictate to God; we are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. When we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine to feed and nourish others.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (May 15). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

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That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:10

We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It is not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life. Do I manifest the essential sweetness of the Son of God, or the essential irritation of 'myself' apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy the disagreeable is the keen enthusiasm of letting the life of the Son of God manifest itself in me. No matter how disagreeable a thing may be, say- "Lord, I am delighted to obey Thee in this matter," and instantly the Son of God will press to the front, and there will be manifested in my human life that which glorifies Jesus.
There must be no debate. The moment you obey the light, the Son of God presses through you in that particular; but if you debate you grieve the Spirit of God. You must keep yourself fit to let the life of the Son of God be manifested, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means of manifesting how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure the Son of God is. The thing that ought to make the heart beat is a new way of manifesting the Son of God. It is one thing to choose the disagreeable, and another thing to go into the disagreeable by God's engineering. If God puts you there, He is amply sufficient.
Keep your soul fit to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on memories; let the word of God be always living and active in you.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (May 14). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

My flesh is in the habit of enjoying the agreeable. I tend to run away from or try to "fix" the disagreeable. However, the most growth in my life does not usually happen when things are going extremely well. There is no need to trust God there. I find myself most dependant on God when I find myself in a squeeze.

I have a friend who regularly prays for me that we will be on scholaship short at the ranch. I asked him to stop praying for me! That was until I realized why he prayed that prayer. He wants me to remain needy...needy for God, not self-sufficient in Todd. To develop a habit means that it is something that you do on a regular basis. It takes effort to develop the habit of enjoying the disagreeable, as Oswald Chambers puts it. Though sometimes painful in the moment, it produces character in my life that can not be produced anywhere else.

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Add to your faith virtue . . . . ("Furnish your faith with resolution.") (MOFFATT)
2 Peter 1:5.

"Add" means there is something we have to do. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves, God does that; but God will not give us good habits, He will not give us character, He will not make us walk aright. We have to do all that ourselves, we have to work out the salvation God has worked in. "Add" means to get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages it is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning, to instruct yourself in the way you have to go.

Beware of the tendency of asking the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative, stop hesitating, and take the first step. Be resolute when God speaks, act in faith immediately on what He says, and never revise your decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do a thing, you endanger your standing in grace. Take the initiative, take it yourself, take the step with your will now, make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you- "I will write that letter'; 'I will pay that debt.' Make the thing inevitable.

We have to get into the habit of hearkening to God about everything, to form the habit of finding out what God says. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we know that the habit has been formed. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we are not.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (May 10). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

I haven't read Oswald Chambers for weeks. And everytime I do, it hits me square between the eyes. Today's is no different. We are never disappointed when we take the initiative to follow after God. "We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we are not."

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Jacob's Ladder hosted the Men's Retreat for Henderson HIll's Baptist Church this past weekend. 125 men showed up for the event. 45 stayed in tents in the Great Outdoors. We had more men sign up than we had than the bunkhouses could hold. It was an incredible weekend! Patrick Payton from Stone Gate Fellowship was the guest speaker. In the last session on Saturday, Patrick talked about the unshakable man described in Psalms 15. Here are five characteristic of the unshakable man:

1. The unshakable man is a man who does what is right.
2. The unshakable man is a man who controls his mouth.
3. The unshakable man is a man who keeps good company.
4. The unshakable man is a man who is a sacrificial man.
5. The unshakable man is a man who is a gracious giver.

These are 5 pillars to build your life on. God says when we do, we will stand firm..

Psalms 15 NLT

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives
and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to slander others
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise persistent sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
5 Those who do not charge interest on the money they lend,
and who refuse to accept bribes to testify against the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Ps 15:1-5). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.

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I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a solitary place. David says: "Early will I seek thee. Thou shalt early hear my voice." Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then when in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune, I feel it is far better to begin with God-to see his face first, to get my soul near him before it is near another.

~Robert Murray McCheyne

Bounds, E. M. (1999). Power through prayer. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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