If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own.

The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency.

But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.

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July 2 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord. This scripture is one mom and I spoke about Saturday morning as we discussed the devotional about cutting off the right hand if it offends you and causes you to sin. Once again we have hyperbole to get our attention with a teaching that tells us a true disciple will hate his mother and father. But then I find many scriptures that tell us to love one another. The second and last commandment given us by Jesus was to love my neighbor as myself….after the commandment to love God with all my mind, heart and soul.  Why are you telling us to hate members of our family?

And God says…”Jesus taught in parables and used extreme hyperbole to get the attention of his followers. This lesson was even more difficult to hear and accept in those days than it is now. In the time of Jesus and in the Middle East family is everything. Three and four generations of family live together, and if you were told to abandon a teaching by your family, most people would abandon the teaching in order to stay reconciled to the family that provides food , shelter, love, and acceptance.”

“In this scripture Jesus was teaching that nothing can stand in the way of your commitment to Jesus, not even the most revered institution of the culture. In your country and culture the family is more fragmented and dispersed: your extended family does not occupy the same house for generations anymore, and most often peer groups and friends may hold more power over ideas and commitments than family. But the message is the same; you cannot let anything get in the way of your relationship with Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus….and I will provide everything else you require…including the support of people close to you…Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. “

“When you make Jesus your first priority, surrender your life to Him and seek a supernatural connection, you can expect the Holy Spirit to lead you to and through the relationships you require to live an abundant life. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own culture, institutions and understandings and I will make your paths straight. I will give you all the familial support you require and it may look like your family, or it may look like something even more magnificent. I will meet all your needs. I came to give you life and life more abundantly.”

 

There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.

 

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July 1 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again it appears that Oswald Chambers takes a position that I ought to do this, or I ought to do that…as he continues to write and teach that there is more work to do to make me “flawless”. But You have been teaching us that the cross has made us “flawless”; that there is no more work to do; that I can add not one iota of value to the work of Jesus on the cross. So why would Chamber teach that we must be convicted and pay a penalty?….He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty…..I thought the penalty was totally paid by Jesus.

And God says…”Chambers is describing the process I use to transform you. There are causes and effects in the world. And part of the transforming process includes allowing you the freedom to make wrong choices…and the scriptures have been very clear about causes and effects. When you make a wrong choice, you are subject to the effects of that choice. I do not keep score, because Jesus has paid for all your wrong choices; past, present and future. However the effects of those choices on your life remain. And I use those choices and effects to help mold and shape you. All things work for the good of those that love the Lord. Before Me you are flawless as I see Jesus and the cross instead of your wrong choices. And over time, you are being made into the likeness of Jesus, pure and spotless. Your actual life changes; you are being transformed, as you are surrendered and connected. As you allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your life. “

“As Chambers says….. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road.”