The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.

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July 25, 2016

Journal Entry-JDV

Good morning Lord. It has been a while since I wrote my last journal entry. Two ambulance rides, one spinal cord surgery, and now rehab and more tests today. It seems like a long, long time ago. But the words of Chambers jumped out at me just like before: The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us. Based on the teaching we have been receiving over the last several months (and years) it seems that once again the solution to all our issues here on earth, including our ability to live out the Beatitudes, is to surrender our own thinking, surrender our own understanding, to suspend our “common sense”, and allow the Holy Spirit to move through us. Is this right?

And God says…”When you stop trusting your own senses, and let go of the big four: to look good, feel good, be right and to be in control, the Holy Spirit is free to work His power in and around you. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and 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 meet all your daily needs. The impossibilities of the Beatitudes become possible when you surrender and are connected to the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit can lift you up and live out the Beatitudes through you.”