CO2MannaToday

Staying Connected In A Fragmented World

Archive for November, 2014

The Changed Life

November 12th, 2014

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

_____________________________________________________________

November 12, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it feels like Chambers is preaching a “quid pro quo”. Not unlike the very conservative church where I grew up…And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being… It seems like he is saying that as long as I am a “good boy” You will not rebuke me. However, You have been teaching and reminding us for years that our salvation and sanctification has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. Are we to question our salvation and sanctification every time we chose a selfish and self-serving thought or activity or action? Do I evaluate my position and condition based on my human condition and inclination to choose my own ways? Or do we trust the substitution of Jesus and Spirit of God to complete the work You began in us? Do we trust that our surrender and that Your substitution is sufficient?

And God says…”Jesus paid it all. There is no activity, action or awareness that can or will change this truth. Are you to judge your condition and sanctification based on your conformity? A great deal of your self-examination and evaluation of your positioning with Me are based on man-made hurdles, culture and doctrines that you face every day: what you eat, what you drink, how you are married, your relationships, how much you give or do not give, and on and on. The established church of any given era or geography has set guidelines to help direct believers, however, whenever you are given rules and guidelines, instead of Jesus… there will always be doubts and confusion. It is the space where we give the enemy his opportunity because it is about your performance instead of the sacrifice and substitution of Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own ways and means and I will direct your paths. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus and I will give you the desires of your heart. You will not question your salvation or position with Me when you are connected and communicating with Jesus. And when you are not tightly connected and fall, my grace is sufficient to fill your gaps.”

Comments Off on The Changed Life »

Posted in Uncategorized

The Supreme Climb

November 11th, 2014

He said, “Take now your son…” —Genesis 22:2

God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

______________________________________________________

November 11, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, Chambers once again reminds me that when you make your will known to me, and often I wonder and wander around on this important step; that I am to respond immediately. But I am often confused regarding Your will, especially when I am at a crossroads facing difficult times, uncertainty and pressure all around. Although I have never faced the same kind of pressure as Abraham, I have often found myself in difficult situations, calling out to You for rescue, direction and answers, only to hear the cacophony of silence. Is this the way of the lesson? That I wait on You? Wait until I am certain of Your will even though it seems as if You will never answer?

And God says…”Remember My promises, recall My commitments to You and yours… those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired…..Know that I shall meet all your needs according to My riches in glory. And I know the plans I have for you; they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own ways and means and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I shall provide everything else you require.”

“Do not measure my response by your ideas of time and need. My ways are not your ways. Do not evaluate my response by what you can and cannot see, touch, taste, feel or hear. Your senses are too limiting. Know that I am God, and all things work for good for those that love the Lord. If I did not spare my Son, I will not spare you any good thing.”

Comments Off on The Supreme Climb »

Posted in Uncategorized

Fellowship in the Gospel

November 10th, 2014

…fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”

___________________________________________________

November 10, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I found this devotional a little confusing. Chambers says that I am to give up all my personal plans once and for all, if I am to be used by You. But Lord, I thought if we surrendered our hopes and plans to You that our plans were, or are, in fact Your plans for us. Are we to constantly wonder if we are connected to Your plans, constantly questioning our hopes and dreams? How can we be certain that our hopes, dreams and plans for living are the hopes, dreams and plans you You have given us?

And God says…”Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and do not rely on your own ways and means or understanding and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. If you spend your prayer time seeking to be connected to Me you will understand to the point of really knowing that this idea, or that thought or plan comes from Me. (Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you).”

“ Perhaps you can spend more of your early morning prayer time, seeking connection with Me, surrendering your own ideas and thoughts to Me. Simply “see” yourself placing your life, loves, fears, activities, hopes and dreams at the foot of the cross; know that you have consciously surrendered them to Me, and then live your day. I will guide you for I am the way the truth and the life. Know that you are made righteous by Jesus, and the steps of a righteous man are guided by Me.”

Comments Off on Fellowship in the Gospel »

Posted in Uncategorized

The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances

November 7th, 2014

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28

The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.

Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “…but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.

_______________________________________________________________

November 7, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this seems to be a lesson You want me to learn well…. “God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose…” Yesterday Dave and I talked and prayed about how to respond in difficult circumstances, knowing that we are shaped by You in these spaces. And Your word tells us to not try and get out of our trials too early so they may have their perfect result in shaping us. But every time we find ourselves inside a difficult circumstance all we seem to want and pray for is rescue and relief. How can we respond as You teach us when our natural inclination is to try and avoid the pain and heartache of difficult times? How can we see difficult times as times for growth and trust You completely? When we see a freight train of difficulty bearing down on us all we can think about is getting out of the way.

And God says…”As the scripture says for this devotional, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God…” As you have been learning, your role and responsibilities are very simple. When you find yourself in a difficult time: be connected to Me, (know that we are communicating), be curious and expectant about how and when I might respond, listen for and to me carefully, and then respond obediently. Within this context you know I love you immeasurable, recall My sacrifice, you know I will respond as a loving father, and recall all the times in your personal history when I have responded. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own answers or ways and means and I will make your paths straight. You need not be worthy, Jesus is worthy and He is your substitute. You need not be faithful enough; I have faith, love and mercy enough for you. Simply delight yourself in Me; surrender your circumstances, dreams and trials to Me…. I will give you the desires of your heart, and in the process I will continue to shape and mold you into My image.”

Comments Off on The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances »

Posted in Uncategorized

Intimate Theology

November 6th, 2014

Do you believe this? —John 11:26

Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ…” (John 11:27).

Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.

To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.

Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier.

____________________________________________________________

November 6, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it seems that when a crisis appears like the one that Martha faced, her brother sick and dying, I turn to you because I have nowhere else to go. When I am at the end of my own power, knowledge and resources, it is much easier to turn to You. When I cannot find any solution, it is natural that I turn to You. I pray that You will help me surrender myself, my life, activities, resources, and all that is occurring around me to You, regardless of the pressure or lack of pressure. Help me to surrender to You, be connected and remain curious, regardless of the pressure or circumstances.

And God says…”The human condition is that you will try and “do it yourself” until you cannot. The apostle Paul said that he learned how to be content with much or with little….Philippians 4 says from the Message, “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” Paul learned, over time to trust Me regardless….but he too often let his own power and strength govern his responses when other disciples did not agree with him. This added pressure was instrumental in helping shape and mold him. Just as pressure helps shape you. Don’t try to get out of your trials too soon. Let them shape and mold you to a perfect result. (James 1). Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own devices and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. And when you cannot find the faith or strength to trust Me; let my love, grace and mercy fill those needs as well. Remember that Jesus provided all you need, you simply need to surrender and accept His love, grace and mercy and remain curious.”

Comments Off on Intimate Theology »

Posted in Uncategorized

The Authority of Truth

November 4th, 2014

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. —James 4:8

It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.

When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me…” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.

_________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord,
You’ve made it clear over the last many months that connection with you is the key to the Christian Life. Now I’m seeing the difference between connection as a player in the game compared to merely being connected as a spectator at the game. It’s not actually new. You’ve shown us the value of staying connected, curious, expectant, surrendered and obedient. It’s those last two that are getting the focus today. Continuing the spectator vs player metaphor… It’s hard to say I’m really connected if I just stay in the stands, watching the game. At least not at the same level as if I get out there and play, take some hits, swing at the pitch…..

John said that “I only did what I saw the Father doing, only said what I heard Father saying… John 5:19 I was connected. And I fought to maintain that connection. When the stressors built up, I would slip away to renew that connection. You should too.

Are we to strive to be consciously connected all the time? Or is the goal to be “unconsciously connected?”

Checking your connection every few minutes will lead to navel gazing and self absorption. You can be more unconsciously connected than that. Start your day with a strong connection. Check yourself from time to time. But live in the moment, unconsciously bringing those things you’ve stored in your mind and heart to bear on the situations.

Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Comments Off on The Authority of Truth »

Posted in Uncategorized

A Bondservant of Jesus

November 3rd, 2014

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… —Galatians 2:20

These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “…for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ….”The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?

______________________________________________

November 3, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional makes me wonder if I am totally surrendered to you, or am I only surrendered in those areas that are easy or convenient. Perhaps I am only surrendered in those areas where I do not have another choice? Am I surrendered in those secret areas where I still want it my own way?

And God says…”You will never be totally surrendered on this side of heaven. However, in every area where you hold on to your own ideas, even ideas considered religious or spiritual, like building a church or a Sunday School class, you will often hold on to your own ideas and training of how it all should work. You use your ability to plan, organize and motivate people to achieve a goal because you know you can. However, even if you bring a large group to your new church, (you will notice I did not say My new church) or if your friends tell you your new Sunday School class is a great success; that does not mean you are totally surrendered. It means you have done things in a logical, efficient and productive human way. Being totally surrendered is a way of life, a daily process that evolves into a lifetime of surrender, whereby you do not step out until you know you have consciously surrendered this idea, that activity or those objects to Me. Make it a practice of seeing yourself surrender your ideas, activities and yes your life to Me each morning, and then stay curious as you are connected, and obedient. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything thing s else you require, including your surrender, will be provided.”