Archive for March, 2012

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Is He Really My Lord?

March 5th, 2012

. . . so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . . —Acts 20:24

 


From the song…..
I gave into a God I didn’t know
And now everything is falling into place
A brand new life is calling and I owe it all to grace
It’s So much brighter living in your world
Savior what you did for me
You gave me something I want everyone, and I mean everyone to see
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Chambers writes….
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”“Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
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March 5, 2012

Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, this song reminds me that I am learning to be the light, and my ability to learn to be the light comes from my connection with You. It has nothing to do with my abilities, gifts or even opportunities. All those follow my connection and relationship with You.

And God says…”I will equip and provide all that you need when you walk in My will for your life. And you know My will for your life includes my commandments; love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor just as you would yourself. As you pursue My will and commandments from Jesus, you are transformed, equipped, and given opportunities. And as you seek Me everything else you need will be provided. You are then free from every worry and care to learn to be the light.”

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3-5-12 Journal DJR
Good morning, Lord
Today I have so many things to get done. Or things that could get done. I know they wont all happen. Help me choose the best and forget the rest. I dont know if that is your will or just good time management for a non-multi-tasker like me.
You will notice from reading the gospels that I avoided overload and stress by staying in the moment and focusing 100% on the task at hand … and that I knew what that was from spending time with Dad.
John 5:19-20 “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.
That is my prayer, that as I spend time in prayer that I can get laser clear on what you would have me do and help me gracefully decline and off-load the rest … without guilt.

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Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?

March 2nd, 2012

He said to him the third time, ’. . . do you love Me?’ —John 21:17

 


Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ’Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things . . . .” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.
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March 2, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I have felt the pain of your piercing questions. I have felt the pain of being separated from You right when I need you the most; then I realize that You did not move… I did. I would also like to avoid the pain of your piercing conditional question…”if you love Me then feed my sheep.” And while I want to avoid the pain and heartache of this life I have also come to understand that you will not allow anything to touch me that does not come from your overwhelming love for me. I may not understand it all, and I may not know the rhyme or reasons…but as the song reminds me…You love like a hurricane, and I am a tree…bending beneath your wind and mercy.

And God says…”Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding…and I will make your paths straight…means that you are not to interpret your circumstances or situations as issues related to how much I love you. I love you against the backdrop of eternity and My omnipotence. I absolutely know what is the very best for you in that context, and provide and protect for you with full knowledge of your future that includes eternity with Me. My love for you in this life is not intended as an opportunity for you to get what you want. It is for you to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. And that transformation often demands the shaping that can only come from your trials.”

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Trials and Temptations

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

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The Piercing Question

March 1st, 2012

Do you love Me? —John 21:17

Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful . . . , piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . .”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord,
Exquisite Pain, Are you kidding me? I can see that I really need to be in the right frame of mind to see that as a good thing. Kind of like Peter change of context from a few days earlier with his loud denial to the more humbled response to this question. Can we get to that place earlier? Shorten the time of the pain?

Yes, of course. But you can’t eliminate it altogether. Not if you want to grow in my love and the things I have for you. You can minimize it by coming quickly to me and staying tightly connected to me.

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