Note: When I saw today’s devo from My Utmost, I knew immediately that this was the song. For the story that makes it real check out Laura Story’s bio here:

http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=1549

. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10

We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.

You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord,
I dont know that it could be called a “habit” yet … but it’s getting there. I find that if I am dialed in to You, having worshipped, and rehearsed the many blessings and your awesome ways … then when some circumstance jumps up unexpectedly … I do better at responding with, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” When this is my response, then your response is indeed … “Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.”
So, like Laura Story says in her bio, “I wouldn’t have signed up for it” …. but there are blessings in the adversities, when I respond this way … heading into the storm rather than running from it.
Lord, help me today to remember your blessings and to remember that you are a “Blesser” by nature. And to live expectantly, expecting blessings to come thru all circumstances. Help me live in that place and if I start to debate about my circumstances, remind me quickly how foolish that is. And get quickly on the track of expectation and curiosity about how you are going to bring the blessing out of these circumstances.

 … strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men —Acts 24:16

God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.

Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).

God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . .” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.

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May 13, 2013

Lord, when I read a devotional like this I am reminded that my conscience is constantly telling me that I am following my own path, chasing my own needs and desires; provision, safety,  health,  and my own sense of happiness. How can I train myself to trust You for these things?

And God says…”You cannot train yourself, you can however, surrender yourself and your wants and needs to Me…this and every morning. Trust in Me with all your heart. Do not trust your own instincts or inclinations. And remember that you become like Christ by faith through grace.  May your personal failures today, guide you to the grace of God that will also reinforce your faith as you grasp My perfect plan for my imperfect children. Delight yourself in the Lord,  your LifeSong will sing, and you will be blessed, this and every day.”

. . . add to your faith virtue . . . —2 Peter 1:5

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.

Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . . —Proverbs 29:18

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]. . . .” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

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May 9, 2013

Lord, I am convicted by the devotional, knowing I am not always seeking You and Your path…I often strike out on my own and seek my own way….and ways and means.  Help me find You and Your ways and means this day. Show me how to stay connected to You as my day unfolds and tries to overwhelm me.

And God says…”You live in this world, but you do not have to be overwhelmed or caught up in it. Take each step of your day, knowing I am here, with you in all you say and do. I will prepare the day before you, I will strengthen you, and I will rescue you when and if you need rescuing. I know the plan I have for you, a plan for good. Trust in Me, acknowledge Me, and know your paths are laid out and prepared by Me. Delight yourself in the Lord, and receive the desires of your heart, this and every day. Give me your burdens, trust and believe in Me and just like a little child, go through your day without a care in the world, knowing that I love you immeasurably and have your world and life in the palm of my hand”

Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10

Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.

God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.

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May 8, 2013

Lord, thank you for the devotional and music; it is a very good way to start my day; proclaiming that whatever comes my way, I will trust You. Reminders like this in the morning are great ways to start my day, being reminded that whenever I am intimately connected to you, I need not be shaken, and I will not be moved. Thank you for the reminder Lord.

And God says…”Recall the days and weeks when you thought you could not go on, but you did. Recall the times when you had no idea which way to turn, so you turned to Me.  Recall your fear and anxiety that turned to overwhelming joy when you observed what I can and will do in your life.  Trust in Me, and know that I will only allow the fire to touch you enough to strengthen and purify you. I am the refiner of your life. And recall this…if I loved you enough to give my life why would I not give you every good thing that is good for your life now?  Celebrate your circumstances, recall my love and trust in Me. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28

Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).

The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.

All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.

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May 7, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I would like to “Live like that”: Be totally focused on You. But I find I am so easily distracted by my desires, trials and circumstances. And even if I find myself “in the good fight” taking the high road (which I do not always take) I find myself often wounded and off track…simply focused on righting myself or getting treatment for my wounds.  How can I stay focused on You all the time and learn some of these lessons once and for all?

And God says…”You think it is a race and you are running out of time as you get older. You think and feel like you should have learned a number of lessons years ago.  But that is not how it works. You cannot learn to be less human, or less worldly, you can only surrender. You cannot save yourself, or improve yourself, or even learn lesson after lesson to become a stronger and more mature believer. You can only surrender, and let Jesus live through you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own devices, and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided. Now go out into your day, focused on Jesus, trusting that He will open doors, heal your wounds and make a way when it appears there is no way. Be happy and know that I came to give you life and life more abundantly.”