What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing ( 2 Samuel 23:16 )? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.How can I pour out “to the Lord” natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out “to the Lord.” Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as “rivers of living water” all around me (John 7:38). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out “to the Lord.”If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.______________________________________________

 

September 3, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, please help me understand the meaning and impact of pouring my blessings out to You. I do not mean poured out blessings that become yours once I am blessed….like giving 10% of the income you have given me, I mean please help me understand the impact of taking action in life because it is for you. Is it symbolic? Will it make me a better person? I love you Lord, but do not really understand the impact of pouring myself out to You; I do not really understand the what or why.

 

And God says…”Apart from faith you cannot believe, love or please Me; nor can we have any lasting relationship. Pouring out to Me is simply the act of you surrendering your victories and blessings so that I can provide more and more for you. I do not need your money or sacrifices, it is not the money or sacrifice that changes you and blesses others. I can reach out to those in need just fine without you. However, for you to experience a true portion of the impact of our relationship, you must, like Abraham, be prepared to pour out, or surrender your greatest blessings and achievements to Me. If you want to truly experience …….day by day, minute by minute blessings, you simply let go of whatever blessing or dream you are holding onto, so your hands, mind and spirit are free to take hold of the ongoing blessings I have for you. Do not grab hold of the manna for today and try to hoard it for the future. Use it up, spend it on the needs of the day knowing I will bless you time after time after time, when you surrender your wants and needs to Me. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything you need will be given you.  Delight and immerse yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”