“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?

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January 18 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord and thank you for this day and this devotional. Lord, I think once again Oswald Chambers has me confused with someone else. Especially when he writes: “We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.” That is simply not how it works for me Lord. And once again Chambers tells me what I should be doing, ought to be doing, offering up more obligation and guilt because God, as you know, I am easily distracted from my surrender and connection to You.

And God says…”There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. When you say you want to be more devoted, more aware and more committed, have you considered that you are saying that I am not transforming you fast enough? Just because you or someone else tells you that you ought to be more devoted or committed does not make it so. All things work together for good for those that love the Lord.”

“When you surrender and are intimately connected to Me you get a sense of peace. You can be undisturbed in a whirlwind of disturbing circumstances. And you know that you are mine and I am yours. You trust that My ways are not your ways, and suddenly life is less about your “perfection”, it is more about delighting yourself in Me and living an abundant and wonderful adventure. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of our heart. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God and I will provide everything else you require, including peace about your growth and standing.”