God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.

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August 19 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God and thank You for one more day of surrender and connection to You. And I need Your help once again to balance this devotional with what You have been teaching us. Or could it be true that if we are truly connected to You we are not distracted by anything? Chambers says…”Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him. Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. “

Lord, I would love for this to work out this way; to be able to live in constant Christ-awareness, or oneness in You. But that is not how it has worked for me. For a time I will be surrendered and connected and then….Out of the blue an event, circumstance, or problem hits me and once again I fall into worry, fear and uncertainty.

And God says…”You live in a fallen world and as a consequence difficult circumstances and the enemy may find you at any time. However, you can use the “pressure” or “self-awareness” of the circumstance or trial to remind you that Jesus came to give you life and life more abundantly. Once you feel the pressure of the trial, simply recommit to living in oneness with Jesus by placing your trials and circumstances at the foot of the cross, and surrendering your worry, fear and anxiety. Also ask Me for the faith, strength and grace to surrender and be one with Jesus. Acknowledge Me in all our ways and I will make your paths straight. In this way your trials can become teachers and reminders to live surrendered and connected to Jesus. Do not try to get out of your trials too early, let them have their perfect result; bringing you into oneness with Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need for your life. And you will find the peace the passes all understanding.”