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A Bondservant of Jesus

November 3rd, 2015

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?

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Journal DJR

Good morning, Lord
This whole idea of surrender seems pretty important in living the Christian Life. It would be easy to skip over that point and just focus on your teachings…. Love your neighbor, etc. But that seems like skipping first base in baseball… what comes after falls short. If I am not surrendered, my idea of “loving my neighbor” will be defined by my preconceptions of what that will look like, and my neighbor may not perceive the love at all.

It is easy and normal to pick and choose what you like from my words. Cults do that. Charismatic teachers do that. Even denominations emphasize some of my words and ignore others. But ignoring this surrender piece and jumping ahead to favorite doctrine will lead to a sub-standard life. It means surrendering your right to your life and giving up demands about outcomes. Once you have truly surrendered, you can live in a joy and exuberance that is rare. And impossible to experience without surrender. Surrender your rights and expectations, Strive only to maintain our connection, Stay curious and expectant about what I’m bringing next and stay ready to be obedient to the nudges from my Holy Spirit. It can be an exciting life.

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Obedience or Independence?

November 2nd, 2015

If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15


Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
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November 2, 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God. Thank You for this day and the opportunity to start my day with You. I recall and read that we are not to confuse the commandments of Jesus with the Ten Commandments. Jesus was clear when asked about the commandments: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” (Matt 22:36-40, Amp).

The lesson further reinforces what You have been teaching us about surrender: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.”

This seems very consistent with Your leading over the past several months and years; that when we are in an intimate relationship with You (loving You with all our heart and mind) and surrendered (giving up our rights to ourselves) and connected, we then are in a position to allow You in the person of the Holy Spirit to live through us and guide us into obedience.

 

And God says…”Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. I will lead you into obedience out of your surrender and connection with Me, not because you feel obligated or guilty, but out of love. And I even provide you this capacity to love, when you ask for the ability to surrender. When you love Me with all your heart and soul, it is surrender. And out of this love comes the ability to love yourself and your neighbor.”

“When you seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, I can meet all your needs, because you allow Me to do this out of your surrender. You can choose to strive, grit your teeth and try, try, try to meet your own needs…and fail. You can choose to strive to become a better person, a better Christian, a better husband, wife, mother or father,  son or daughter, employer or employee, a better provider…and over time you will fail. Or you can choose to surrender and delight yourself in Me and allow Me to give you the desires of your heart. Take My yoke upon you daily….and let go of your own ideas of how to live and you will discover the daily wonder and true success and satisfaction of a surrendered and connected life”.

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