The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . .” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.

“Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “. . . you will ask what you desire. . .” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.

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September 16, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I wonder what happened to those “immediate answers” that used to show up  instantaneously (or so it seemed). When I was a very young Christian and believed that God was my cosmic bellhop, it seemed that He delivered on all of my prayers as soon as I offered them up. Nowadays it seems like He takes longer and longer.

And God says…”As you seek more and more of Me, and you seek to become more like Jesus I use patience and time to shape and mold you. You have become more focused on others as you are being transformed. You will also notice that more and more you are seeking Me and not just what I can deliver for you. You are now starting to understand that real peace and joy does not come from delivering things to you or delivering you from circumstances. Real joy and peace comes from being connected to Me and your prayers are the means by which we are joined.”

Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life—the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind—renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.

“. . . not walking in craftiness. . .” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way—the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way—the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others—God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest—your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted

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September 15, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Somewhere, sometime, a transformation began to take place. In the past my mind would start spinning and spinning, trying to find my own answers and solutions. I have the experience and I am good at solving problems so in the past I would rush out and grab hold and hang on. But somewhere and somehow this changed.

And God says…”When you asked Me to change you from the inside out, I began. I continue as long as you allow Me to lead, guide and direct your life. Sometimes you lose sight of Jesus, and inside your old nature become frightened and take your life back. When you do this I allow you to take your control back. When you focus on Jesus and give Me the control, I continue to give you peace that passes understanding as I change the circumstance, or you. Seek Me first and all things are added unto you.”

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

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September 13, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

How do I know if I have surrendered all when I still doubt and am afraid that God will not meet me at the point of my needs? I have asked God to take all of me, and change me from the inside out, but how can I really know that He has consumed me from the inside out when I still have doubts?

And God says…”You will always have doubts when you take your eyes off of Jesus. You are human and full of human frailty. You keep waiting on changes within you and it is not you that changes, it is you that diminishes. This does not mean that you are less likely to be your old self, it means that when you are focused on Jesus you cannot be you old self……but take your eyes off of Him and you are like Peter sinking.”

“Focus on Jesus, worship and give your day to Me, and tell Me then if you have any doubts. It is not possible. Knock and the door shall be opened, seek and you shall find. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.”

Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.

A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.

Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.

God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.

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September 10, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

During a conversation very early this morning I became aware that whatever the circumstance, worship will bring it all into focus. I may not see the circumstance clearly through my worship, but I will see my God more clearly.

And God says …”Seek first the kingdom of God….delight yourself in the Lord….acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. When you worship and give Me the glory for the unseen victory, reflect on your state of mind. Your hope and faith are restored and refreshed as you worship. When you are truly in communion with Me, you are at peace knowing I will never leave you nor forsake you, and if I am for you who or what can stand against you?”

Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” ( John 5:19 ). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.

Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.

We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2 ).

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September 9, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

And I wonder how long I must be patient and hopeful before God answers my prayers? I wonder how long it will take before He sees my need and responds.

And God says…”Let patience have its perfect result. I see your need and I also see your need to be right where you are in the very perfect circumstance for your growth and maturity. I see you right where I put you; in the midst of circumstances designed to help you and others. How you respond inside these circumstances will have a significant impact on many others.”

“Remember that nothing can touch you that has not first touched My hands, and understand that I have a good future for you. I know you are impatient and eager to move on, but then patience and hope could not work an important result in you.”

“While you are waiting and hopeful,  remember; delight yourself in Me, and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).

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September 8, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Sometimes I wonder where God has gone. I cannot sense His presence. It is like He has taken leave of me, and my first thought is that well, I finally did it; I finally wore out His patience. The lesson I was supposed to have learned keeps popping up again and again. My prayers are filled with far too many I, me and mines. And I have become so focused on my own wants and needs that I cannot remember reaching out to touch anyone else.

Where is my peace and joy?

And God says….”Let me remind you that you may be a blessing and not even know it. It is not in your best interest to know the blessings you have delivered for Me. You cannot handle the glory. Glory is toxic for you and other believers, that is one of the reasons glory always belongs to Me.”

“You have been hearing  the accusations of the enemy. Those accusations have no value or substance. They are simply the enemy’s way of trying to steal your peace and joy.”

“Listen to My voice; I give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  I am the voice of truth. Any voice that does not reinforce your demonstration of these gifts is not from Me.  Remember, you are mine and nothing can separate you from MY love.”

“Do not listen to any voice that does not remind you of your worthiness in Jesus Christ. “

The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” ( Ephesians 5:18 ) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life ( John 7:38 ).

We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.

Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.

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September 7, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I woke up this morning and yesterday morning with the words to a contemporary Christian song rolling around in my head; “He’s not mad at you, He’s not disappointed. His love is greater than all your wrong choices”. (Come As You Are Pocket Full Of Rocks).

I was beating myself up a bit wondering what I did or could have done to have stopped the flow of living waters.

And God says…”You could not do anything to stop the joy and abundant life except to stop believing and trusting in Me. You are mine, and nothing can separate you from Me. You can however, stop experiencing the day to day joy and an abundant life if you believe the lie that you are undeserving because of something you did or did not do. My love and my grace cover you forever.

Trust, rest in Me and let My love flow from you to others. You will experience the joy and abundant life when you simply focus on Me. The joy and peace I give you becomes a river, as you give your life away to others.”

“Focus on Me and then others. This is how to live the abundant life and experience fountains of blessings”

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe. . .” ( John 6:29 ). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.

His!

September 4, 2010