My Utmost!

Letter

BuildingOne Another

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

My Utmost!

Dear Friend,

Oswald Chambers famous devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, was based on his lectures and talks that his wife, Gertrude Hobbs, transcribed and published after his death. It has never gone out of print!

Utmost means, “to the highest degree” and “to the greatest extent possible.”

When you give your utmost, you give your all. Utmost is pedal to the metal, flat out, all out, full tilt, to the max. When you give your utmost to anything, there is nothing left. You are spent!

While this idea of offering our Lord everything we have is wonderful, the giving of our all, we also know that in order to be expendable we must also be renewable!

Jesus took care of himself. He spent time in prayer. He spent time with people who refreshed him. He spent time on retreat.

At the same time you give your utmost to the Lord who loves you, remember and savor these famous words of the 23rd Psalm, ”The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3a

Give your upmost to God, yes, but remember, you cannot be expendable for a lifetime unless you are renewable throughout your lifetime!

Joy to you -- E. Stanley Ott

Scripture from the ESV

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Show Notes

Where in your life are you giving your utmost in serving and loving the Lord who loves you - and where or in what way are you falling short?

How may you give more of yourself in this love and service - and at the same time take care of yourself.

If you cannot be expendable without being renewable, how are you or will you renew yourself? Time to reflect? Time for personal prayer and Bible Reading? Time with the people who refresh you? Time taking the 23rd Psalm literally and walking beside still waters or enjoying the wonder of God's creation in some other way?

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Enjoy this clip from the movie Chariots of Fire in which Eric Liddell expresses the joy of purpose and of giving his utmost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd5LCN53q9Y

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Photo by Nicolas Hoizey on Unsplash