Archive for April, 2016

What You Will Get

April 28th, 2016

I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go. —Jeremiah 45:5

This is the firm and immovable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him– “I will give your life to you….” What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. “…your life…as a prize…” means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life and nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in exhibiting things for others to see, not showing off property and possessions, but our blessings. All these things that we so proudly show have to go. But there is something greater that can never go– the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Are you prepared to let God take you into total oneness with Himself, paying no more attention to what you call the great things of life? Are you prepared to surrender totally and let go? The true test of abandonment or surrender is in refusing to say, “Well, what about this?” Beware of your own ideas and speculations. The moment you allow yourself to think, “What about this?” you show that you have not surrendered and that you do not really trust God. But once you do surrender, you will no longer think about what God is going to do. Abandonment means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you totally abandon yourself to God, He immediately says to you, “I will give your life to you as a prize….” The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything— they have not been given their life “as a prize.” The way to get out of that condition is to abandon yourself to God. And once you do get to the point of total surrender to Him, you will be the most surprised and delighted person on earth. God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, and He will have given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience in your life or your refusal to be simple enough.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord
Today we focus on abandonment and total surrender. Chambers and your Word assure us that if we do indeed totally surrender and abandon our own desires… that we will receive more than we could ever imagine. But the state of total surrender seems elusive. And not a “once and for all” type of thing. Sometimes I feel surrendered but then a little while later, something will pop up and prove that I’m not.

What Do You Want?

April 27th, 2016

Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5

Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).

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April 27 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord. This devotional convicted me Lord. Even as I read it I knew that I was and am guilty of seeking an intimacy with You so that You would assuage life’s uncertainties, hurt and pain while helping me make a better life by making me a better person here on earth. So many of my prayers have been about what you can or “should” do for me or mine. Now I am focused and motivated to seek You for a more intimate relationship as an end in itself. I do not believe I have explored and lived in that space as often or as completely as I could. Thank You for this reminder. I pray for Your strength and power to focus more on our intimate relationship as an end in itself.

And God says…”It is not wrong to ask Me for blessings, gifts or your daily bread. It is not wrong to pray to avoid temptation and the evil one. However, sometimes the things requested in prayer like peace, daily bread, courage, financial security and health for you and yours, become the ends in themselves. I can respond and your life becomes transformed when you first seek Me and our intimate relationship. Strive to be surrendered so that we have an intimate relationship and connection that leads you first to Jesus and His love, mercy and grace. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require for your daily living. Take time to simply engage Me for the sake of knowing Me more intimately, and I will provide everything else you require. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Let My word and direction be a lamp that lights your way, one step at a time as we live in intimate connection that springs from your surrender.”

The Supreme Climb

April 26th, 2016

Take now your son…and offer him…as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. —Genesis 22:2

A person’s character determines how he interprets God’s will (see Psalm 18:25-26). Abraham interpreted God’s command to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this traditional belief behind through the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will break us from those traditional beliefs that misrepresent Him. There are many such beliefs which must be removed– for example, that God removes a child because his mother loves him too much. That is the devil’s lie and a travesty on the true nature of God! If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of Himself.

The great lesson to be learned from Abraham’s faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God, no matter what contrary belief of his might be violated by his obedience. Abraham was not devoted to his own convictions or else he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was actually the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did that you are willing to do anything, even “to go …both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Abraham did not make any such statement— he simply remained true to God, and God purified his faith.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
It is interesting that much of the evil that us humans get ourselves into is rooted in religion, everything from Salem witch burnings, to ISIS beheadings, and KKK racism, all claim godly motivation. Even the more godly sounding explanations of why You allow cancer or earthquakes. Today Chambers identifies perhaps the main reason for these errors… An incorrect understanding of You and your ways. And that if we maintain connection, You will purge us of these incorrect understandings. The more we clearly understand, the better we can obey. As Chambers says, “you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs.” How do we do this without being “wishy washy” and easily swayed?

Consider Abraham. He was not wishy washy. He was willing to go all the way to obey me. But he was also ready to change his position when I showed him my plan. That is the key. Be ready to give up anything, especially your incorrect religious beliefs, when I reveal a new facet of my character that I want to build in you. A fallback position of staying Curious is it will allow/provide for accepting new revelation. Being positive of your religious convictions, beyond that I love you and have good plans for you… is dangerous. It’s what fueled the Pharisees. I had to spend so much effort trying to shake them loose from those positions that they were sure of. Don’t be so sure that you are right, that you miss a new thing that I am trying to show you. Staying curious and looking at your life objectively, like a balcony view… will be helpful in this. Visualize that. Standing on a balcony with Me… looking down at the scene. Seeing yourself there. But stay up here with me. Watch that guy. What is that? That tone that came along with those words… From down there in the thick of it, you’ll miss it. But from up here on the balcony with me, you can easily see that judgmental spirit or (fill in the blank) Just stay up here on the balcony with me and stay open and curious and I will show you great and wonderful things. BTW most of these are not for you to run out and share or beat your brothers and sisters over the head with…. Just saying…

“Ready in Season”

April 25th, 2016

Be ready in season and out of season. —2 Timothy 4:2

One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Many years ago I wrote a quote in my Bible that seems to apply here… Don’t doubt in the dark what you’ve seen in the light. What Chambers adds is the negative side of that… Don’t doubt, but also don’t expect or demand to live on those mountain tops. And if we do expect or demand to live in that rarified atmosphere, we are setting ourselves up for disillusionment.

It’s true that life will bring ups and downs. But another phrase that I’ve heard you saying … that “you have to take your own party with you” If you carry that to it’s conclusion, you can always have the effects of what you saw on the mountain…. even when you are in the valley. Faith, Hope, and Love can be built on Mountain tops. If they are real, and not subverted by the carnal expectations that Chambers mentions, and if they are cultivated by continuing with me and all the other things I’ve been teaching you…they will stand strong and carry you thru the storms of life that will surely come.

Readiness

April 18th, 2016

God called to him….And he said, “Here I am.” —Exodus 3:4


When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, and we give no answer. Moses’ reply to God revealed that he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry out, “Here I am.” Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty.

Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing— it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready. Whenever any duty presents itself, we hear God’s voice as our Lord heard His Father’s voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in menial ones, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).

 

Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready— he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself.

What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming

April 13th, 2016

Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22


We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”
“Cast your burden on the Lord….” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “…the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.

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April 13 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good afternoon Lord and thank you for this devotional and the music. The song seemed to put it in context for me; namely that You are my Deliverer not only for my salvation and right standing with You, but that You are also my Deliverer in all the difficulties, circumstances and uncertainty that tries to suffocate me. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of circumstances and concerns of this life, and then I remember that You are indeed my Deliverer. All I need do is let go of my circumstances and concerns, and surrender them all to You.

And God says…”I came to give you life and life more abundant however; I know it is easy to become overwhelmed by the trials of the world. But you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, reminding you that you are mine. And you know that I work all things together for your good. You know that you never have to “measure up” in order to receive my blessings and gifts; Jesus has “measured up” for you. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require for daily living. Knock and the door will be answered. Seek and you shall find. If I would not withhold My own Son, how can you imagine I would not also give you every good thing? When you feel overwhelmed by the world just remember, that Jesus overcame the world, and His victory is to be shared by and with all my children.”

Complete and Effective Dominion

April 12th, 2016

Death no longer has dominion over Him.…the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God… —Romans 6:9-11

Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)— not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life— “…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to “let go.” But any effort to “hang on” to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord,
So is it a one time decision or a continual deciding to surrender? I guess I don’t need to ask that… of course it’s “Both” But how the continuing surrender works out, provides a lifetime of adventure. Adventure with grand success, and also failures and fallings… but always with the invitation to get back up and go again. And never condemnation. Thank you for Grace. I need it.

Don’t get the idea that surrender means you abandon your will power and become a lump of Jello. I need your will power. Think about the apostles or the prophets of old. Their will was strong … but submitted to and empowered by my Spirit. It takes practice. Once you decide to live this way, you will have successes and failures. Your reliance on self dies hard. But keep at it. I don’t condemn you when you go another way… Like the prodigal son. I am the prodigal father, waiting for you to come to your senses and return to this way of living. Come on, we’ll have a party. It’s the best way to live. Surrendered, Connected, Curious, Ready and Excited about the next step in the Adventure.

Complete and Effective Divinity

April 11th, 2016

If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection… —Romans 6:5

The idea all through the apostle Paul’s writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God— His complete and effective divinity— to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house— He invades all of it. And once I decide that my “old man” (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am actually “dead indeed to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time (Romans 6:11). Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness— the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

April 11, 2016

Good morning God and thank you for this day, and devotional. Chambers writes about how the Holy Spirit must occupy our entire being, not just one area…..”The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house— He invades all of it. And once I decide that my “old man” (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me.” I understand this concept and agree, however the last sentence where he writes about “My part” does not ring true in my own experience. Historically, I have never been able to “live up to my part”. Whenever I try to grit my teeth and try to be a better Christian, more obedient, more compliant, it never seems to work out. The only thing that has worked out is my complete surrender; giving up all my rights to myself, allowing You to live through me. My only ability is the ability to surrender. It seems that my only role is one of surrender, letting You then live out the Christian life through me. Is this right?

And God says…” Paul wrote about this in Romans (7:21-25). Trying to do the right thing, he found a war going on inside of himself. And he concluded that the battle was already fought and won by Jesus; your requirement is simply to surrender and acknowledge this fact. Your only part is surrender. A one-time “born again” surrender and a daily, hour by hour, minute by minute living surrender. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, do not rely on your own understanding, and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require, including the Holy Spirit to guide you in your daily living. When you let go of the notion that you have any good thing to add to the cross of Christ, I can then begin to work it all out for your good. Delight yourself in the Lord, and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

 

Why We Lack Understanding

April 7th, 2016

He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. —Mark 9:9

Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don’t have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us. But our insensible thinking will end immediately once His resurrection life has its way with us.

“…tell no one….” But so many people do tell what they saw on the Mount of Transfiguration— their mountaintop experience. They have seen a vision and they testify to it, but there is no connection between what they say and how they live. Their lives don’t add up because the Son of Man has not yet risen in them. How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me?

The Collision of God and Sin

April 6th, 2016

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1 Peter 2:24

The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating “God was manifested in the flesh…” from “…He made Himto be sin for us…” (1 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.

The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

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April 6, 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I am not sure how to interpret this devotional. Like the devotional from yesterday and Dave’s journal entry, the complex discussion and elements about the role of the Son of Man compared to the Son of God….and, what that entire discussion means, escapes me somehow. Or perhaps I am just too simple? Should I really be concerned about the role of Jesus as God and as man in this context? Is it important to understand the complexities and nuances? Or is it enough to recall what Chambers wrote in the last paragraph? “The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.”

And God says… “Chambers also wrote in this devotional; God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both. I do not want you to try and intellectualize or understand all there is to understand about the cross and the question…. was Jesus the Son of Man and or the Son of God during the crucifixion? I want you to simply understand that He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with Me. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with Me. When you fix your eyes and heart on Jesus, and surrender your rights to understand, it all becomes clear. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. “