We are not “acquainted with grief” in the same way our Lord was acquainted with it. We endure it and live through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of our lives we do not bring ourselves to the point of dealing with the reality of sin. We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we continue on through life, we find the presence of something which we have not yet taken into account, namely, sin— and it upsets all of our thinking and our plans. Sin has made the foundation of our thinking unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational.We have to recognize that sin is a fact of life, not just a shortcoming. Sin is blatant mutiny against God, and either sin or God must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue— if sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is nothing more fundamental than that. The culmination of sin was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will also be true in your history and in mine— that is, sin will kill the life of God in us. We must mentally bring ourselves to terms with this fact of sin. It is the only explanation why Jesus Christ came to earth, and it is the explanation of the grief and sorrow of life.

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June 23 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional reminds me of my failures as a Christian, and my fear that my failures will as Chambers says…” will kill the life of God in us.” Is this possible? Should we worry about our status as believers when we miss the mark and fall short? Am I in danger of killing the life of God that lives inside of me?

And God says…”You cannot kill the life of God that lives within you. Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. “being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV). Yes your old nature and the enemy will try to convince you that you are doomed…and your old nature is doomed, but you are not doomed: you and the Spirit of God that lives within you is ever present. The Spirit of God that lives within you and every believer has already rescued you from your old nature and it is no longer a question of doing “good things or bad things”. It is not a question of “sin management”. It is a question of surrender and connection. Who shall save you from the desires and sin of your nature? It is already done…simply trust God. Keep your eyes on heart on Him, and watch your transformation as a result of your surrender.”

Romans 7: 25 Living Bible  “So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.”

“So go and live in this freedom: trust in the Lord, trust in Jesus. He that began the good work in you will complete it. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Be connected and curious about how He will live through you and give you victory this day.”