In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—”. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”

“. . . there they crucified Him . . .” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ’up to Jerusalem.’ “

 

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September 23 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, thank you for reminding me that it is a “glorious unfolding” ….your promises including following You into Jerusalem. Thank You for the song that reminds me that You are God and the highs and lows of this life including very difficult circumstances cannot change the fact that You are God and all things work for my good; including Jerusalem. But Lord, how can I keep your promises in mind when the circumstances can often seem so overwhelming?

And God says…”You can remember to trust Me and My promises more than you trust your senses. This is not an easy path to follow, and you can accomplish this not out of your strength, but only out of your weakness and surrender.   Surrender your life, actions, discipline, strengths, and weaknesses to Me, and let Me carry you to and through Jerusalem, out to your own glorious unfolding.  Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else you need will be provided, including your own path into and through Jerusalem with Me.  Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Know and believe that I love you so much; I have provided a glorious unfolding in in the face of Jerusalem and other apparent difficulties and defeat.  But like My Jerusalem, yours too will result in overwhelming victory. See Me, be connected to Me, and everything else including your glorious unfoldings will follow.”