These words are not an exaggeration. The only reason they may not be true of us who call ourselves ministers of the gospel is not that Paul forgot or misunderstood the exact truth of them, but that we are too cautious and concerned about our own desires to allow ourselves to become the refuse or “filth of the world.” “Fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24) is not the result of the holiness of sanctification, but the evidence of consecration— being “separated to the gospel of God…” (Romans 1:1).

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…” (1 Peter 4:12). If we do think the things we encounter are strange, it is because we are fearful and cowardly. We pay such close attention to our own interests and desires that we stay out of the mire and say, “I won’t submit; I won’t bow or bend.” And you don’t have to— you can be saved by the “skin of your teeth” if you like. You can refuse to let God count you as one who is “separated to the gospel….” Or you can say, “I don’t care if I am treated like ‘the filth of the world’ as long as the gospel is proclaimed.”A true servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to experience martyrdom for the reality of the gospel of God.

When a moral person is confronted with contempt, immorality, disloyalty, or dishonesty, he is so repulsed by the offense that he turns away and in despair closes his heart to the offender. But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but “to reveal His Son in me…” (Galatians 1:16).

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February 3, 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God and thank you for this lesson and Your leading today. David and I saw this lesson as one more extension of the: surrender, connection, and curiosity process You have been teaching us. You have been leading us to an awareness that in reality there is no difference between the calls to preach, or to simply live out the Gospel and love our neighbors. We are to be surrendered to You and allow You to live through us. We are to expect You to do things Your way, not our ways. We can expect to have peace and the abundant life right inside our trials, even though or perhaps especially when they have not been removed. And we believe we understand that it is “woe is me” if we are not surrendered, regardless of the calling You have or will give us.

And God says…”Yes. That is the lesson. When you are surrendered, connected, and curious about how I am going to deal with you or some trial in your life or the lives of those you love; and you have let go of your desired outcomes, allowing Me to be the God of your life, I can give you the desires of your heart. When you are willing to “be the filth of the world” that is, when your standing or status or circumstances in the world do not matter, because you trust Me to be God and provide you with every good thing, you are free to live an amazing and fruitful adventure. When your mind and heart are truly synchronized around the belief that “all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord”; your ministry can then grow beyond your wildest expectations. And you may even use words on occasion.”