. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5

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).

They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).

“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). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”

Be entirely His!

He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16

He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38

Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.

When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “. . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “. . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?

“He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, Today you showed us (we think) that all the blessings and answers we need are already “deployed” and heading our way. The thing that sometimes happens is that we miss them by stressing out and trying to control things. Rather than staying curious and letting your blessings and answers come in your time and your way. When we stress out and strive in our own power and intellect, we usually come up with a mess – and miss out on your best. We’re coming to the conclusion that the lynchpin – cornerstone – benchmark … the only thing worth striving for, is maintaining our connection with you and staying in peace, remaining curious & expectant, seeing what you have for us and just living out of that. Simple. A simple road map for the Blessed Life. But so easy to wander off the path. So many enticements to take control and find a “better way” Help us stay on track. On track to You.

No problem. That’s what I sent Holy Spirit for. And the Stories. They are there for you to learn from history and the successes and mistakes of others. As you say, it is simple. Your challenge is more about unlearning than learning. Just like the Scribes and Pharisees. They had learned so much. So much that wasn’t so. And only a few could unlearn enough of it to see and receive the simple blessing that I was (am) offering.

Keep it simple. Be a blessing … and be blessed. Or be blessed and be a blessing. It works both ways if you’re connected with me.

Genesis 12:1-20
The Call of Abram … Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

You see, Abram was connected. He heard my voice and was obedient to it. And it worked out well for him. He received the blessing that had already been deployed toward him. And you, and all my kids, are still being blessed because he was connected enough to hear and obedient enough to receive and become the blessing that I deployed when I promised. Don’t misunderstand. There were bumps and detours in his path … just like there are in yours. Don’t beat yourself up when you miss a turn on the path, just come back (quickly) to Me and we’ll get you back on the path. Like the prodigal son. There are many lessons that you can learn from that story. But the relevant one is to minimize the time you stay “off the trail” Come back to me quickly and I will love you and re-deploy you toward being blessed and being a blessing.

. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

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DJR Journal
Good Morning Lord,
I would have written this differently. Chambers says your only goal is to produce holiness in us. I would say that you have many goals but if it were narrowed down to one … that it would be to have a love relationship with us. That in turn would produce holiness. Perhaps it’s semantics or the chicken and egg, but it seems important which is comes first and which is the side effect or consequence. I have found that striving for Holiness doesn’t work so well in me. I can do it for a while but backsliding and failure followed by guilt mark that path. When I strive to merely tighten up the relationship, spend more time with you, learning to hear your voice and feel your heart … then Holiness kind of falls in place. And to the extent that it doesn’t … I receive your grace and know that Jesus’ sacrifice is making up the difference. Because of the relationship, I dont want to abuse that grace, but I dont feel driven by guilt to “get better” or more holy. Am I on the right track here?

Yes. Keep on coming to me. You will receive more than you expected, and part of what you receive will be the power to be Holy. Some unholiness will just fall away. In some cases there will be a decision point. But the decision will be empowered by my Love, not your will power. It will be a lot easier.