Archive for May, 2014

The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience

May 13th, 2014

. . . 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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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
If we, as Mr Chambers suggests, “attach to the highest standard I know, and then continually strive toward what that standard demands that I do”…. It seems there is plenty of room to run amuck. Witness Christians fighting other Christians, Crusades, Manifest Destiny and a host of other things that the people thought were your standards, and the highest standards….. but they were mistaken. What are we to do?

It’s time to “keep it simple” Remember my two primary commandments. Require that all your other options grow out of and support those two … Love God, Love Neighbor. Obviously the examples you mentioned didn’t fit in either one or both of those two.

That makes it clear (er) Now just to implement it. Help me this day to run all the options and all my thinking thru that filter of Love God, Love Neighbor

Would it be fair to say that those people did the best they could with what they had? Or that they did what they thought was right and Godly? Even as they were sometimes missing your two Great Commandments?

Yes, in most cases people felt they were doing the right and highest thing. Either that or they didn’t think about it at all in those terms. So a regular review of your position relative to those two is a good idea. So is a willingness to be wrong and change direction. Cultivate your hearing and also your quick obedience … and your hearing will get better and better.

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The Habit of Having No Habits

May 12th, 2014

If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful . . . —2 Peter 1:8


When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, “I can’t do that right now; this is my time alone with God.” No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcoming and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things— things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.

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May 12, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I did not quite “get this devotional”. I thought that whatever we do that helps us get and stay connected to You would be a good thing. Should I take a look at my own habits? Should I reconsider a daily devotional at the same time with David Mondays through Thursdays? Is Chambers saying that this habit is misplaced?

And God says…”There are those that allow the habit to become so established that they forget the original reason for the habit was to get and stay connected to Jesus. That is the litmus test. Does the habit establish or strengthen your connection with Jesus? If so, continue. If not, well….you know the answer to that. Beware of spiritual conventions and patterns that do not help establish or maintain connection with Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.”

The Faith to Persevere

May 8th, 2014

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


Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).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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Prayer for Today-JDV

May 8, 2014

Lord, if I am to be a man after Your own heart, You will have to write the story on my heart. If I am to “stay the course” or return to the course when I stray, You will have to lead me. If I am to find the strength and courage to persevere, You will need to provide the strength and courage.  Lord when circumstances and trials become too difficult for me, I am prone to run and hide, or seek my own power and distractions. Lord, please write Your love, power and grace on my heart and mind today. Please keep me connected to You and make me a man after Your own heart.

Building For Eternity

May 7th, 2014

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, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, thank you for the reminder that I cannot build any lasting thing from my own ideas and effort.  Thank you for reminding me that I am to simply surrender and allow You to live in me and through me.

And God says…”This is not a partnership. God is not your co-pilot. Let Jesus be your pilot, co-pilot, even airplane itself.  I am not your helper in this life; I must be your life. Simply surrender yourself to Jesus trust in Him and He will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. I cannot let you down. It is not in My nature. However, I cannot reach out and lift you up as long as you are “grounded and mired” in your own effort.  You must let go and let Me be your God. Simply surrender to Jesus, and let my love lift you up and into whatever you require. Trust in Me and do not rely on your own devices and I will make your paths straight. Trust Me to make your life complete and provide all you need in this life; including the ways and means of the work you do in My name.”

Liberty and the Standards of Jesus

May 6th, 2014

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . . —Galatians 5:1


A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand—”Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”

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May 6, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I am so thankful that Your great grace finds me wherever I am, whatever I am doing.  Thank you for reminding me that this very same grace you provide me is provided everyone. Thank you for lifting me up this morning with this song and the reminder that Your grace finds me wherever I am.

And God says…”Only a sacrifice the magnitude of which can only be imagined could have provided and demonstrated the love, grace and care I hold for you. Because of My grace, the grace demonstrated by Jesus, you do not have to focus on your life and your inability to “live the life.” You can focus on Jesus and your connection with Him, and My grace and love, and transformation will find you.”

Judgment and the Love of God

May 5th, 2014

The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God . . . —1 Peter 4:17


The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this feels so much like condemnation or rationalization for why bad things happen to believers. Should our concern with judgment be a part of our thinking? Should we be concerned about judgment at all? Lord, I have memory of many of my daily failures. Should I be concerned about my failures and the judgment that starts within Your house?

And God says…”There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. I can find no fault in you. I can see no imperfection in you at all. When I look at you all I can see is Christ Jesus. The processes of redemption and sanctification do not come from you, your knowledge, behavior or lifestyle; they come from Jesus. The judgment that starts with the house of God, is simply the decision, or decree that this is where we can begin our knowledge and understanding of our need for Jesus. That even in the church, or especially in the church, we find our need to be connected to Jesus so that we can be whole and complete. Trust in the Me with all your heart, do not rely on your own understanding, or your institutions, and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Give your heart to Me and watch a wonderful life and story unfold.”

Faith— Not Emotion

May 1st, 2014

 

We walk by faith, not by sight —2 Corinthians 5:7


For a while, we are fully aware of God’s concern for us. But then, when God begins to use us in His work, we begin to take on a pitiful look and talk only of our trials and difficulties. And all the while God is trying to make us do our work as hidden people who are not in the spotlight. None of us would be hidden spiritually if we could help it. Can we do our work when it seems that God has sealed up heaven? Some of us always want to be brightly illuminated saints with golden halos and with the continual glow of inspiration, and to have other saints of God dealing with us all the time. A self-assured saint is of no value to God. He is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and completely unlike God. We are here, not as immature angels, but as men and women, to do the work of this world. And we are to do it with an infinitely greater power to withstand the struggle because we have been born from above.If we continually try to bring back those exceptional moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are becoming obsessed with the moments when God did come and speak with us, and we are insisting that He do it again. But what God wants us to do is to “walk by faith.” How many of us have set ourselves aside as if to say, “I cannot do anything else until God appears to me”? He will never do it. We will have to get up on our own, without any inspiration and without any sudden touch from God. Then comes our surprise and we find ourselves exclaiming, “Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!” Never live for those exceptional moments— they are surprises. God will give us His touches of inspiration only when He sees that we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never consider our moments of inspiration as the standard way of life— our work is our standard.
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Prayer for Today-JD

Thank you Lord for the reminder to walk by faith.  As you know I have a tendency to let circumstances define my mood, attitude and outlook on life. Help me to walk by faith trusting your promises, and not my feelings or circumstances. And once again I confess that I do believe, but please help me in my unbelief.  And God please direct this day, help me to be and stay connected to Jesus as I give myself to You asking that You make me a man after Your own heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.