Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, “I always failed there, and I always will.” Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, “It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.” If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.

This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won’t believe; we won’t let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore— we prefer to worry.

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February 29, 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God and thank You for the reminder about rescue. Thank You for nudging me to recall how You meet me right at the point of my need and that there is nothing in my life too large or small to surrender to You. I sometimes forget that I am to acknowledge You in ALL my ways. I sometimes think that You would not like to be involved in this area of my life, or that area. I forget that that You want me to surrender my entire life, all my wants, needs, hopes and dreams to You every day, hour and minute of the day. Thank You for this devotional reminder.

And God says…”As you recall the scripture, acknowledge Me in all your ways, do not rely on your own understanding, skills or talents, and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God which is Jesus and I will make provision for everything else you require. It is right and proper for you to seek Me and to trust Me to meet all your needs according to My riches in glory. Do not separate your worldly needs into categories: This one is yours that one is mine; you have skills in one area, you will handle your needs there, and give me the needs you could not possibly secure. The way to live the abundant life I promise is to surrender all your needs to Me, and trust that I will arrange and work out all things together for your good. If I would not spare my own Son, how is it that I would withhold any good thing from you? So like the blind man, shout out your needs, wants, hopes, desires to Me. Delight yourself in Me and allow Me to give you the desires of your heart.”

 

 

 

My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”

When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren…” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling.

Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, “because you have kept My command to persevere…” (Revelation3:10).

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Journal Entry for Today-JDVFebruary 22, 2016

Good Morning Lord and thank you for this devotional and the opportunity to once again explore the abundant life of surrender, connection and curiosity. Chambers says….”Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us”. However, I find that this does not ring true for me. My greatest fear is NOT that Jesus Christ will be defeated, nor do I fear that what the Lord stood for: love, justice, forgiveness and kindness among men will not win out in the end. My fear has always been that I cannot or will not measure up to Jesus and His character, and that the tools God uses to form Christ in me will prove very difficult and painful.

 

And God says…”Imagine how you feel about your children, and consider the lengths you would go to spare them pain and heartache. And also consider how you might allow them to make their own wrong decisions as an act of love and kindness. You may well allow them to make wrong choices, so that they will learn about the impact of choices in the future. I love you so much that I gave you My only Son, how can I withhold any good thing from you? When I encourage you to stay in your trials…”Do not try to get out of your trials too early, let them have their perfect result”; it is with the hope and plan that you will be strengthened, and made more like Jesus.”

“And to be sure, you neither can nor will ever measure up. But that is not a requirement. The only requirement for perseverance is surrender, connection and curiosity. When you surrender and allow Me to live through you, you can do all things. When you acknowledge Me in all your ways and forget about your strengths and weaknesses, I will make your paths straight. And when you seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, I will provide everything else you require for successful abundant living. Do not worry about “measuring up”; Jesus has done that for you.”

 

Continue to persevere spiritually.

The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive— only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation.

There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there.

The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

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February 17, 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God and thank You for this day and this devotional. Chambers’ writing was uplifting for me today. Especially when he wrote about You touching us inside the most simplest of things….. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. This is true, and my experience is that I find You inside the simple and most complex of things. I can feel Your inspiration inside of the most complex of problems and issues, and inside a very simple observation of nature. I can feel Your inspiration inside a pop song on the radio, or the sound of a song bird. It seems like I find You whenever and wherever I look for You.

And God says…” Knock and the door will be opened. Seek and you will find. As the Psalmist said, The Lord is near to all who call on him. If you look for Me you will find Me. But look to Me in faith, believing that I will be there for you and yours. And if you feel as if your faith is not strong enough remember that I even provide the faith and grace you need. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.”

“When you find yourself depressed, use your vision to step out of it; like you have done many times over the years with other issues, trials, prayer requests and circumstances. Close your eyes and envision yourself putting your depression inside of a box, tie it with a bow, and write in block letters, “DEPRESSION”. Now watch yourself carry it to the foot of the cross where Jesus hangs, and leave it there. Now set your mind on the wonderful things that that I have done in your life over the years as you take up your personal mantra once again…”All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord”.

“You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “…lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

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February 15, 2016

Journal Entry for 2-15-2916

Lord, once again thank You for this day and devotional. And once again it appears that Chambers and I will be at odds on a couple of issues. However, I suspect this “iron sharpening iron” is a very good tool for learning and relying on the Holy Spirit. If I am opposed to issues and premises brought forth by a great writer and Christian such as Oswald Chambers, You must be leading me. When Chambers says…”How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ; I suspect most of us would say we cannot imagine being able to invest every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus; even if we worked very hard at it. It feels like the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus raises the bar so high that there is no way we can reach it in our own power, or with our own effort. And when Chambers says… it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “, it feels like one more Christian guilt hook. Are we to be motivated to by guilt and fear? Is this the way to daily sanctification?

And God says…”Do not be concerned with what other people say about your life, how you live it or how and where you serve, The question will always be, are you surrendered to Jesus in all you do? Are you surrendered, connected, and curious about how Jesus will lead you day by day and minute by minute? When you surrender your life to Jesus, your energy will be directed just as it should be by the Holy Spirit. And when you live out of your surrender, connection, curiosity and obedience, you will be right in the center of My will. Seek first the kingdom of God and I will furnish, everything else you require, including the vision, strength and power to properly invest your energy. And when you live out of this, there is no worry or concern about being of service to Me. You know, just KNOW that I am God and I will work all things out for your good. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, do not rely on your own understanding, discipline, or effort, and I will make all your paths straight. Continue to live in surrender, connection, curiosity and the ability to obey and serve as I intend will flow supernaturally into and from your life.”

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.__________________________________________________________________

February 12 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good Morning Lord and thank You for this day and this devotional. And once again I read Chambers feeling like he just cannot help himself and must use guilt and condemnation to try and “persuade” his students (and now his readers) to do as he says. Chambers says we do not listen to You because we do not love You and because we do not want to keep Your commandments. He lays some pretty good guilt hooks inside his teaching today Lord. He says we humiliate You when we do not listen. This kind of teaching does not seem to hold true with Romans 8:1: there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. How do we respond to teaching like this Lord?

And God says…”The church and teachers in the church have been leveraging guilt and condemnation to try and bring sinners to Me and closer to Me for centuries. It is natural for children of God to want the very best for their brothers and sisters, and many believe that guilt, condemnation and obligation used in the “right doses” will help bring sinners and wayward believers back to Me. However, they forget that this “natural” human tendency is just one more way humans use their own ways and means instead of trusting in My supernatural ways. It is one more way humans can try to control circumstances and others. However, there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.”

“The way to reach others for Me and on my behalf is by demonstrating the life of Jesus that flows freely from Jesus to one that is surrendered, connected and curious; living life out with My strength to be obedient and responsive. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need, including the ability and motivation to listen and respond to my voice. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.”