The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.

We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.

It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.

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October 19, 2010

Over and over Jesus is the answer to all my questions. Where I should go, what I should do, how will I live…..all of the questions begin and end here. The answers to my prayers are always the same, Jesus. Every other answer starts and ends here. When I am seeking an answer to a business problem or a family matter, I know that if I start with Jesus, everything else will evolve, and I will always find the answer in Him.

And God says…”Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and do not trust your own understanding or thought processes, and He will make your paths straight. I am the way, the truth and the light.”

“If you begin and end all your searching right here, with Jesus, you will be satisfied, full of joy, and your faith will know no bounds.”

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” Gal. 3:26   

” I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy maybe complete” John 15:11

Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.

Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.

The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.

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October 18, 2010

Journal Entry for Today

My daily, hourly worship is very important  to my growth and connection to Jesus Christ. I used to think worship was something I did on Sundays or with a group of believers. Now I am learning that daily, hourly worship is essential to an ongoing connection with Jesus.

And God says…”Your worship brings you into a place where you are separated from the things of this world. You are simply focused on Me. It is during worship that you can actually stop thinking about your circumstances and issues and focus on Me. It is here that you can hear me the clearest. And I know that when you hear Me clearly, you respond.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12

The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest . . . .” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.

From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.

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October 16, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Prayer is a dialog I have been told; speaking and listening. Prayer is powerful: I have been told prayer moves heaven and earth. I pray now that the Holy Spirit of God will give me a constant awareness of the power of prayer.

And God says…”You often pray for faith, peace, and courage. You petition Me for changes in your circumstances, and then you run off to do this and that without listening for my voice. Remember that prayer is not a series of requests from you to Me, but an ongoing dialog between us that sustains and nurtures our relationship. I too have requests of you and you cannot hear them if you are running about focused on your day to day, minute by minute responsibilities. When you pray, worship, request and wait for My voice. You will know that I am with you. Your faith will be strong and your hope full and compete. With faith, and hope you can then approach your day with confidence knowing that if God is for you, what can stand against you?”

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24

” Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12

The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.

The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “. . . repentance and remission of sins should be preached . . . to all nations . . .” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins . . . .” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.

A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “. . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

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October 15, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

When I awoke I reached out for God with a prayer for His love, grace and provision and a request that He make me a man after His own heart. For a while I did not feel or hear Him. I wondered where He had gone. Where was the still small voice of comfort and reassurance? And then I started worshipping God and His presence became very clear. He spoke to me and reminded me of the Israelites in the desert for 40 years for a month long journey. Of how they cried out for Egypt and their previous lives as slaves because they could not see their future provision. They did not “see” God and His future promises for provision. Consequently, they wanted to go back to what was familiar even though they would be returning to bondage.

They could recall the miracles of God and the presence of God, but still they were worried and concerned for their future. They did not trust God. They only trusted what they could see, touch and feel. Their senses ruled over their faith. They did not trust His future provision and move ahead in faith, they needed constant reassurance.

I am embarrassed to say that sometimes I feel just like the Israelites. I am full of faith as long as God makes Himself known to me.

And God says…”And so it is when there are pressures and demands of life that you cannot address. You must turn to Me and trust me to deliver you. You can attempt to return to your old ways…….but that is unlikely as I have removed all of your safety nets and self-supporting mechanisms. I have brought you to a place where there is no “going back”. I have brought you to a place where you are dependent on Me and where you must trust Me. I have brought you to a place where you can be conformed and shaped by your circumstances to become transformed into a man after My own heart. Trust Me and rest in my promises.

“But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm” Proverbs 1:33

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . .” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”

“Then the eleven disciples went . . . to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me . . .”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden . . .” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.

“Go therefore . . . .” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you . . .” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.

“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . .” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.

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October 14, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I want to know God’s will for my life and hear His direction clearly. If I know it is God’s voice directing me, then I can and will go forward with eager anticipation and confidence.

And God says…”You come to know My voice by listening closely as you pray, study the word and focus on Jesus. When you do not hear Me it is not because I am not speaking to you, it is most often because your mind and heart are cluttered with issues of the world, and your concerns about tomorrow. Once again you have your answer; pray without ceasing and listen without ceasing, remember that prayer is a dialog. Focus on Jesus, and when you hear my voice, trust and obey immediately. As you learn to trust and obey, My voice will become clearer and you will learn to recognize my voice at every opportunity.”

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27 

Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, ” ’. . . bring My people . . . out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ’Who am I that I should go . . . ?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.

We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses’ forty years in the wilderness. It’s as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, “Who am I that I should go . . . ?” We must learn that God’s great stride is summed up in these words— “I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him— our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, “I know this is what God wants me to do.” But we have not yet learned to get into God’s stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.

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October 13, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I have seen and felt the healing hand of God many times but sometimes it seems as if I can sense my current worry and fear and pain more than I can remember His ongoing salvation in my life. If I stop and remind myself of His promises and all the times He has rescued me, the scales start to turn and I forget the pain, worry and concern.

And God says…”That is why it is so important to constantly look into My word for MY promises, and why you need to stay connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The world is full of trouble, and you live in the world right now. When you seek Me and My kingdom first, when you set your eyes on Jesus, notice how your pain, worry and concern evaporates. You may forget your own experiences of My help and rescue, but when you look into the promises I have provided, you remember and are strengthened. When you look into the promises I have provided, the Holy Spirit  reminds you of My everlasting love and that I will never leave or forsake you. When you look into My word and stay connected to Jesus through the Spirit, you become certain…….”

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be moved, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” Isaiah 54:10

 “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Job 22:21

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. (When we are walking in our own power-JDV-When we walk in His power we are always aligned) He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged . . .” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. 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.

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October 12, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I want to walk with God all the time, not just some of the time. I want to be open to God’s direction in all areas of my life, all the time. I want to be consumed like a fire so that there is nothing left of me and only Jesus remains.

And God says…”Keep looking into the word, stay connected and pray without ceasing. Every day, hour and minute, focus on Jesus. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, direct and comfort you and watch the transformation.It is beautiful to watch”

^{2 Corinthians 3:18}

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).

A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.

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October 11, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

And so I wonder if lessons like this one by Oswald Chambers were simply lessons for the newly trained missionaries to try and explain unanswered prayers so they would not be disheartened when God did not respond to their prayers? Or is this God’s lesson for me to be patient and trust His timing and love completely?

And God says…”Time is not my environment and neither is imperfection. When you feel as if I am not answering your prayer, it has already been answered and I give you the Holy Spirit to comfort and make you confident of my love. Lazarus was raised and the waiting had had a glorious result. Take heart, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own designs. Let patience have its reward. Those who wait on the Lord will rise up with the wings of eagles.”

“And you can wait in eager anticipation, knowing….”

I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things, but to believe things. The redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build my faith on it.

If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of experience you have by our Lord Himself.

We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

The atonement of Jesus must be exhibited in practical, unassuming ways in my life. Every time I obey, the absolute deity of God is on my side, so that the grace of God and my natural obedience are in perfect agreement.

Obedience means that I have completely placed my trust in the atonement, and my obedience is immediately met by the delight of the supernatural grace of God.

Beware of the human holiness that denies the reality of the natural life— it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the trial or test of the atonement and ask, “Where is the discernment of the atonement in this, and in that?”

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October 9, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

This devotional spoke to me about obedience and how important it is to be obedient to the Spirit of God. Even in the smallest of decisions and issues, there can be no rationalization or wavering if I want to be in the center of God’s grace and will. And it is only in His grace and will that I find hope, faith,  peace and happiness.

And God says…”I have a plan for your life, a hope and a dream that is at the very core of who you are. I put that hope and dream inside of you. It is right inside my will for your life. However, your view of my plan for your life will get cloudy when you seek your own designs and desires. When you chose to step outside of my will and choose your own way, you disconnect from Me and My plans for your life.”

“Stay connected, stay obedient, and rest in knowing you are in My will that includes your highest hopes and dreams and service.”

DJR Journal 10 9 10

It occurs that several things conspire against simple obedience for me.   Being an American … We started with a Declaration of INDEPENDENCE,  Being my father’s son, to strive and excel.    And the nature from Adam.    …   But if and when I do submit and obey, the results are really great.    I’m finally beginning to learn that.

It’s true, you have a lot pulling you to independence and rebellion.   But you can overcome.  As I overcame,   The rewards are great.

I am seeing that and thank you for lessons like this from Oswald and the music and my brother.   With all of that we’ll see if we cant start winning more than we are losing.    Thank you Lord.

Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words— “Come to Me . . . .” In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come; and you will do anything rather than come the last lap of the race of seemingly unspeakable foolishness and say, “Just as I am, I come.” As long as you have even the least bit of spiritual disrespect, it will always reveal itself in the fact that you are expecting God to tell you to do something very big, and yet all He is telling you to do is to “Come . . . .

“Come to Me . . . .” When you hear those words, you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, and it will involve anything that will uproot whatever is preventing you from getting through to Jesus. And you will never get any further until you are willing to do that very thing. The Holy Spirit will search out that one immovable stronghold within you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him do so.

How often have you come to God with your requests and gone away thinking, “I’ve really received what I wanted this time!” And yet you go away with nothing, while all the time God has stood with His hands outstretched not only to take you but also for you to take Him. Just think of the invincible, unconquerable, and untiring patience of Jesus, who lovingly says, “Come to Me. . . .”

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October 8, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Just when I feel like I have given up my nature to Jesus I do something or say something stupid and or very self serving, and my natural self stares back at me in all his muck and grime. Just when I think I have finally reached a place where I no longer have to be vigilant, I find I should have been vigilant.

And God says…”When you fall, get back up. Confess your sin and come to Jesus. Look to Jesus for your resurrection and vigilance. The Holy Spirit is with you so you can become and remain vigilant. “

“As you have learned, in all things the answer to the question is Jesus. Come to Jesus. Stay connected to Jesus,,,,and live.”

DJR Journal 10 8 10

It is interesting that JD and i are finding places to serve and fellowship with roots to John Wesley.   Here is a page from a book given to me by the local Methodist Pastor.

Good roots for sure.   I plan to ask him, “When do we get to do the stuff?”   …  The stuff in the book.      The stuff Wesley said to do at every meeting?

Luelle and i have visited one service of this 100+ year old church and one small group.    It feels good to us.    The best part is the openness to a wide variety of experience.  Along with the congeniality of the people.   Certainly not flaming charismatics, but open to as much of that as a person wants to have in their own life.    From the book, one of Wesley’s mantra’s was “think and let think”      I like that.   I never really studied Methodism seriously,  but I like what I’m experiencing here.   My stereotype of Methodist was off base, at least at this local congregation.   We’ll see where this goes……….. Who’d of thunk it?

Round Hill Methodist Church