A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand—”Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

May 6, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I am so thankful that Your great grace finds me wherever I am, whatever I am doing.  Thank you for reminding me that this very same grace you provide me is provided everyone. Thank you for lifting me up this morning with this song and the reminder that Your grace finds me wherever I am.

And God says…”Only a sacrifice the magnitude of which can only be imagined could have provided and demonstrated the love, grace and care I hold for you. Because of My grace, the grace demonstrated by Jesus, you do not have to focus on your life and your inability to “live the life.” You can focus on Jesus and your connection with Him, and My grace and love, and transformation will find you.”