These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “. . . for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.

Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .”

The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.

One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?

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November 3, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I want to surrender, but even surrender is hard.  For some reason, I sometimes want to hold onto my worries, fears and concerns about so many things. Sometimes I want to hold onto my religion: Of what I must do to be close to you; study, read my Bible, and pray. It is hard to believe that all I must do is surrender. You will accomplish everything else necessary for my transformation.

And God says…” He that began a good work in you will finish it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own good devices or activities, and I will make your paths straight. The love that transforms you and makes you the “better person” or more devoted Christian cannot come from your own good intentions or efforts. Your transformation can only come as Jesus lives through you, after your surrender.”