Archive for August, 2015

Does He Know Me…?

August 16th, 2015

He calls his own…by name… —John 10:3

When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus….Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ ” (John 20:16).

When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29). Have I been doubting something about Jesus— maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). But Thomas doubted, saying, “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).

When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).

Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him— a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.

The Discipline of the Lord

August 14th, 2015

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. —Hebrews 12:5


It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”

“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.

“…nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” We begin to pout, become irritated with God, and then say, “Oh well, I can’t help it. I prayed and things didn’t turn out right anyway. So I’m simply going to give up on everything.” Just think what would happen if we acted like this in any other area of our lives!

Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

________________________________________________________________________

August 14 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I agree with Chambers on almost everything in this devotional except the piece that says… It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. I believe You already know my stubborn, self-righteous, self-serving, discipline avoiding human nature, and You love me anyway and have made a way for me to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus, regardless. Do I grieve You when I go off on my own, or forget that the tough times are part of the sandpaper and whetstones of life that You use to mold me into the shape of Jesus? Do I grieve You when I do not respond to your discipline or give up on You and Your promises?

And God says…”The sacrifice of Jesus allows Me to see Jesus instead of you…He was and is your substitute. I am not grieved; however, I do wish you would learn early and quickly for your own sake. When you go through the same trial time after time it is not because I want to discipline you over and over, it is because you have not availed yourself of the benefits of the trial. And it goes on and on, over and over until you are blessed and transformed by the trial. Jesus cannot operate on your behalf when do not believe. Your abundant life lies inside the teaching and discipline of the Holy Spirit. When you try to avoid the discipline, you are also avoiding the abundant life that lies on the other side of faith, hope, and belief. I simply want my children to enjoy the benefits of the abundant life I prepared on the other side of the discipline. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

“Do Not Quench the Spirit”

August 13th, 2015

Do not quench the Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 5:19

 

The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.

Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.

________________________________________________________________

August 13 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I did a  digital search to gain opinions and Bible Commentary about how we might “quench the spirit”. In a blog called Jesus Plus Nothing, it said….. How can we quench the Spirit? By not doing the things that give him access to control our lives. That sounds a lot like the teaching You have given us, and keep reinforcing daily: surrender our lives, decisions, and day to day activities to You, be connected to You in everything, be curious about how you will respond and make our paths straight and immediate obedience when You speak to us through whatever vehicle or mechanism. Is this the issue and question for today? How to avoid quenching the Spirit?

And God says…” Yes, that is the lesson for today. To remind and reinforce one more time the notion that you engage and ignite the Spirit of God in your life when you surrender your life to God. And it does not just mean surrender your life in the sense that you know Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life, but in addition you also surrender your day to day living as outlined by Paul and translated by Eugene Peterson in Romans 12:2 (MSG): Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

The Theology of Resting in God

August 12th, 2015

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26


When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.“…O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.

_______________________________________________________________

 

August 12, 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Dear Lord,

Help me cast my cares on You, not just in the difficult times when I have no other choice, but as a matter of course, as I live out my life. Help me to live out my surrender and our connection in everything I do this and every day. As Paul says in Romans 12:2…(MSG) So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Help me Lord live this way. And Lord I believe, but please help me in my unbelief.

This Experience Must Come

August 11th, 2015

Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha…saw him no more. —2 Kings 2:11-12


It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah” for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, “I cannot continue without my ‘Elijah.’ ” Yet God says you must continue.Alone at Your “Jordan” (2 Kings 2:14). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your “Elijah.” You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your “Jordan” alone.Alone at Your “Jericho” (2 Kings 2:15). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your “Elijah” do great things. Yet when you come alone to your “Jericho,” you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your “Elijah,” you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.

Alone at Your “Bethel” (2 Kings 2:23). At your “Bethel” you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your “Elijah”— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.

____________________________________________________________

August 11 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord. This devotional made me think about the role models I have had over the years and how at first, they seemed 20 feet tall and impervious to fear and failure; and then their humanity made them seem not so tall and impervious. I can recall putting pastors, teachers and Christian brothers and sisters on Christian pedestals…until they fell off. Is this a lesson about an amazing prophet and his accomplishments or is it a lesson about his fear and failures? This seems to be a lesson about finding Christian mentors and letting them go.

And Gods says…”The Bible and history are full of stories about the failures of strong believers, teachers and prophets. Just when you thought a disciple or prophet was worth following, he  or she finds their Jezebel or Bathsheba and/or denies Christ before the rooster comes fully awake in the morning. And when you turn your eyes inward you recall your own Jezebel, Bathsheba, and accompanying fears and misdeeds. This is a lesson of reminder that when you put your eyes on men, ultimately you will always be disappointed. And even if you are not disappointed, they will provide no real transformation. When you hold up a pastor, teacher or political party or candidate as a solution, you will always be disappointed. And when someone holds you up as a great example you too will fail and falter. But take heart, this then becomes the time and place for My great grace.”

“Let go of your human pillars of “truth and strength” including your own righteousness, and remember to acknowledge Me in all your ways and let Me make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything you else you require for your life, including the strength for taking the right paths and the grace for the times you and your mentors will not. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding or worthiness, or that of others and I will make your paths straight.”

The Holy Suffering of the Saint

August 10th, 2015

Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good… —1 Peter 4:19


Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, “God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult.” That is why Jesus said that self-pity was of the devil (see Matthew 16:21-23). We must be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy for us to tarnish God’s character because He never argues back; He never tries to defend or vindicate Himself. Beware of thinking that Jesus needed sympathy during His life on earth. He refused the sympathy of people because in His great wisdom He knew that no one on earth understood His purpose (see Matthew 16:23). He accepted only the sympathy of His Father and the angels (see Luke 15:10).Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, “God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.” Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.

_________________________________________________________________

August 10 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this seems like a very difficult teaching; that we should be prepared and accepting of pain and suffering for our own lives and that we should not offer sympathy to Christians going through pain and suffering. This seems somewhat counter intuitive to the two commandments of Jesus: love God with all your heart mind and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. What do I do when I see a Christian brother or sister suffering? What do we do when we are suffering? Do we accept the suffering, simply assuming You will use the suffering and pain to make us stronger? If You came to give us life and life more abundantly, how does this fit?

And God says…(Romans 12:1-2) “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and visually, in your mind, daily,  place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

“As you are being transformed by this process, and begin living surrendered, connected, curious, and obedient, you will know when to reach out and offer comfort, and when to stay within your own connection with Jesus. You will know when and how to respond to the many difficult and challenging circumstances you are bound to face. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus and I will provide everything you require, including discernment and a peace that passes all understanding.”

Prayer in the Father’s House

August 7th, 2015

 

they found Him in the temple….And He said to them, “…Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” —Luke 2:46, 49


Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “…I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.

_______________________________________________________________

August 7 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again the Chambers’ devotional seems to load up on platitudes and disciplines that don’t seem to work for me. He writes “Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Clearly what he writes is a goal, but I would be hard pressed to say that this is the way that I live every day, 100% of the time. When I read teachings like this I wonder if there are believers that really can live like that 100% of the time, or are platitudes like this simply ways of reminding me that I am once again ”less than”?

And God says…”There is the other part of Chambers’ devotional that might bring some clarity…. “The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn.”

“You have been learning to identify closely with Me in difficult times and because of the shaping and discipline of difficult times, you are learning to find the oneness in connection with Me during times of well being and prosperity. Of course you are not able to be connected all the time, however, you are learning to live every day in pursuit of surrender, connection (oneness), curiosity (about how I will meet your needs and respond to your prayers) and obedience. Your focus on surrender, connection and curiosity began and automatically restarts when you face the difficulties of life. And then they become a pattern. Let your trials have their perfect result. And when you revert to your old ways of control, fear and  occasional self-righteousness, trust that my love and grace holds you up and fills the gaps until you once again seek our oneness and find yourself in your Father’s house.”

The Cross in Prayer

August 6th, 2015

In that day you will ask in My name… —John 16:26

 

We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.

“…I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you…” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.

________________________________________________________

August 6 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional reminds me of the visual surrender and connection process You have given me. When I know it is time to surrender and be connected (usually just before writing this journal), I always start with the vision of me bringing my issues, opportunities and ultimately myself to the foot of the cross. In my mind’s eye I carry a box wrapped and labeled fear, and others labeled family, self, work, new business, finances, and then a box called peace, joy and happiness. In my mind’s eye I carry my concerns, hurts, fears and problems to the cross and then I carry my hopes and dreams as well, and place them all at the foot of Your cross. This visual process helps me “see” and believe that I have surrendered myself to You. Is this the right way to surrender and be connected to You in the morning?

And God says…”If this visual process helps you surrender yourself and your issues and opportunities, and be connected to Me, then it is a good thing. And as long as it serves you in your quest for surrender and connection, and you do not begin to serve it, please continue. However like a number of worship activities humans have used over time, be certain you do not begin to serve this process. It only works if it serves the purpose of bringing us into an intimate relationship based on your surrender then connection to and with Me. When you are surrendered and connected, all your fears, concerns, hopes and dreams feel like an easy yoke, your burdens light, because you have surrendered them to Me. And remember I always answer your prayers; however it may best serve you and yours if I do not always give you an update or status report. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, things not seen. It is impossible to please God without faith. Give me your issues and opportunities daily and let Me give you the peace that passes all understanding. And as long as this visual process serves you, and your surrender and connection, with Me, I will bless it.”

 

 

The Bewildering Call of God

August 5th, 2015

“…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.”…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34


God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.

_______________________________________________________

August 5 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it seems as if this devotional is focused on letting go of the outcomes, and letting You be God. That we neither need to know how the short or long term stories end, because You are God and You are good all the time. But how do we do that Lord, when the bank account is really low, or the job so demanding and unfulfilling, or our families in turmoil? How can we take our eyes off our issues? I know you say to worry about nothing and pray about everything, but Lord, when we see impending disaster coming our way, how can we just let go of our desired outcomes and or circumstances and simply trust?

And God says…” There will always be trials and tribulations in the world; they are byproducts of a fallen world. And you will be tried and tested regularly, because it is the way your faith is made stronger. You will question how and why I allow certain circumstances to come into your life.”

“But what occurs, when you see Me instead of your circumstances? What occurs when you surrender and allow Me to be the one that controls the storms, circumstances and outcomes of your life? When you surrender your circumstances and or ideas of what the outcomes need to be, you in effect are saying, Lord, I have the faith to trust You. When you let go of your ideas of control and outcomes, I can and will act on your behalf.”

“However I cannot act as long as you have or seek control. I cannot act when you seek understanding, which is very often simply another word for control. Trust in Me with all your heart, do not rely on your own understanding and I can make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, and I will provide everything else you require….everything including the right outcomes. Do not try to figure Me out, or put Me into your box of thought out solutions. Immerse yourself in Me by surrendering your right to be in control or to even know what I have in store for you. I promise I will provide outcomes that delight you. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

The Brave Friendship of God

August 4th, 2015

He took the twelve aside… —Luke 18:31

 

Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same.
We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
___________________________________________________________

 

August 4 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord, and thank you once again for the reminder that it is You that works in me, not me doing service or work for You. You have reminded us often that the only way we can accomplish anything worthwhile is through our surrender and Your Spirit living and working through us. However, it is not easy to maintain this state of connection Lord. How can we do this? How can I be in a constant state of surrender, connection, curiosity and obedience when my heart and mind cries out for me to deal with the pressing issues of life?

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. And do not try to get out of the pressures of everyday life, let these pressures have their perfect result, by turning you to surrender and connection. Trust that when you seek first the kingdom of God that I will provide everything you require to lead an abundant life including the pressures of everyday life…and the remedies you and yours require”

“When your heart and mind cry out for you to pay attention to the pressures of life, let the Spirit of God guide you to surrender and connection before you take any action. When you are surrendered, connected, curious and obedient, I can accomplish a great many things through you. As Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi; don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces the worry over the everyday pressures at the center of your life.”