It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.

Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.

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December 2, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I am starting to understand more about my day to day, minute by minute relationship with God. It is not about what I do and do not do. It is not about how I pray or do not pray, nor is it about how and when and even IF I study the word; although all those things play into my day to day relationship with God. What is becoming more and more clear and imperative is that I have a vibrant, real and vital day to day, minute by minute relationship with God.

And God says…”Your peace and well being are governed by your relationship in and with Me. Let Me govern and direct your path and life….even what appears to you to be mundane minutia. When you know that I am in control and directing your paths you can run with confidence knowing that your paths and very next steps are directed by Me. Engage Me in a daily dialog about all of your life and decisions…and you can live in peace moving ahead with amazing confidence.”

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

Proverbs 20:24 Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?

Jeremiah 10:23 O Lord [pleads Jeremiah in the name of the people], I know that [the determination of] the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man [even in a strong man or in a man at his best] to direct his [own] steps.