Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.

The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves.

We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.________________________________________________________________

September 25 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord. Today the devotional confirms what You have been teaching us day after day after day. Namely that when we surrender daily and are connected to You, You can then live through us. We are not capable of living the life You describe in the Sermon on the Mount. Oswald describes it clearly….The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount. Thank You for this wonderful supernatural result….and thank you for Your grace when it is not.

And God says…”When you start and end with Jesus, everything else falls into place. When you acknowledge Me in all your ways, surrender and seek connection in the morning, and throughout your day, I can make your paths straight. I can live through you and do things you cannot and will not do in your natural state. You will want to walk the extra mile, give away your coat, and love your enemies. You will do things you thought impossible, because it is Me living through You. This is the abundant life; Me living through you. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart….. make certain that you are immersed in God delight, and then stay curious in your obedience. You will truly see that all things work for your good, and you are able to do all things through Christ Jesus.”