Quotes from Oswald Chambers

Yet 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin—it simply means that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to sin.

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires;

Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God's work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed.

As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, "I wonder why God allowed this or that?" And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose.

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion.

Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God's interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.

Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God's Word fit what you have said?

If you have heard Jesus Christ's voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.

Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God.

People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.

O Lord, this morning disperse every mist, and shine clear and strong and invigoratingly. Forgive my tardiness, it takes me so long to awaken to some things.

He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.

The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and "the lilies of the field"—simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives.

Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.

If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard—"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, "Here am I! Send me.

Lord God Omniscient, give me wisdom this day to worship and work aright and be well pleasing to Thee. Lord, interpret Thyself to me more and more in fulness and beauty.

The temptation is to face difficulties from a commonsense standpoint. The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God.

Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are always in such a frantic hurry.

Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit.

Dark and appalling are the clouds of war and wickedness and we know not where to turn, but, Lord God, Thou reignest.

Getting into God's stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don't give up because the pain is intense right now—get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.

Quit praying about yourself and be spent for others as the bondslave of Jesus. That is the meaning of being made broken bread and poured-out wine in reality.