If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult.  The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome.  Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory?God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
All efforts worthwhile are difficult……. OK, that could be taken two ways. Difficult if we strive to do them in our own power, But it’s easy (easier, anyway) when we relax and rely on your grace and mercy and completed work. And what you’ve been teaching us is that staying connected and curious is the way to access your power and to be “our utmost for your highest.” So what about when it doesn’t seem to work? Like when Paul asked 3 times for thorn removal and you said, “My grace is sufficient for you?”

Because Paul was connected to me, he really got it, and my grace really was sufficient for him. So he finished strongly. It is only thru our connection that you will be able to see from Heaven’s point of view and the “hard message” will make sense and be acceptable to you. Without a strong connection and seeing thru my eyes, you will be dissatisfied and continue to whine about your circumstances.

What about the example of the widow lady and the unjust judge. She kept hammering and finally got what she needed.

A perfect example. There are times to keep on hammering and times for acceptance without complaint. How will you know? Only by maintaining connection with me. Actually acceptance without complaint is a good place to be … even when you are to keep on hammering. Either the gates of heaven or the gates of bureaucracy … the attitude of complaint doesn’t help your cause. You can press your cause with consistency without complaint. The point here is to stay connected and I will show you which causes to press and which to just watch. You cannot pray (specifically) about 7 billion souls. But I know about and care about them all. You can rest in that and pray about the ones I show you.