The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “…love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He is saying, “I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.

“The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish…” (2 Peter 3:9). I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.

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May 11 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord and thank You for the music and devotional…and a special thank you for the chorus of the song that is a reminder that today is the first day of the rest of our lives.

Like so many other times before, David and I took issue with Chambers, especially when he says that our love for others can only come from discipline. That sounds a lot like “gritting my teeth and forcing myself” to love difficult people. That is never the way that has worked for me in real life. I cannot turn the other cheek, give up my coat and cloak, nor have I been able to walk an extra mile for someone I do not even like. However, when I am surrendered and connected to You, allowing the Holy Spirit to live through me, everything changes. For me it is not my personal self-discipline that makes the difference in my love for others, it is my surrender to You. Am I on the right track?

And God says…”You already know the answer to your rhetorical question. Of course that is the way it works in “real life”. When you give up the right to yourself; give up the “big four”; to look good, feel good, to be right and to be in control, the Holy Spirit can live through you. When you pick up your cross, that is you sacrifice yourself, give up your right to yourself, then I can live through you. And I have the capacity to love the unlovable. You do not need the “grit your teeth” kind of personal discipline to love the unlovable; you simply give up your right to yourself, and let Me love them through you.”

“When you seek first the kingdom of God, all things become possible. When you make our relationship first, by your surrender and connection, I will make your paths straight. If you want to have your life, you must give it up. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. When you are surrendered, connected and curious you can live your life knowing that all things work together for good, and even you can love the unlovable.”

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]….” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

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May 9, 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning God and thank you for this day and this devotional that took David and me on a brief journey right back to surrender and connection. In my research I found writers that believe many churches and pastors erroneously use this scripture to point to the need for a vision for their church and service. Another writer took me on a journey to understand that this scripture; where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]; the people cast off restraint… —Proverbs 29:18 is really about living out of Gods guidance. Eugene Peterson’s The Message version says it clearly….¹⁸ if people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

And God says…” When you live moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day in a surrendered, connected and curious way, your mantra then becomes…”all things work together for good”. It becomes easier for you to live in this space, because you are no longer (as Chambers says in this devotional) “eating out of your own hand”. Another way to read this scripture is; when you subordinate yourself to God’s guidance, you thrive! And how do you know God is guiding? Because I promised you that when you acknowledge Me in all your ways, I will make your paths straight. When you seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, which is Jesus, I will provide everything else you require. Knock and the door will be opened, seek and you shall find. Delight yourself in the Lord, and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

“Though it tarries, wait for it….” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, “What shall I render to the Lord…? I will take up the cup of salvation…” (Psalm 116:12-13). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, “Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure.” Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.

Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).

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April 27 2016

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord. This devotional convicted me Lord. Even as I read it I knew that I was and am guilty of seeking an intimacy with You so that You would assuage life’s uncertainties, hurt and pain while helping me make a better life by making me a better person here on earth. So many of my prayers have been about what you can or “should” do for me or mine. Now I am focused and motivated to seek You for a more intimate relationship as an end in itself. I do not believe I have explored and lived in that space as often or as completely as I could. Thank You for this reminder. I pray for Your strength and power to focus more on our intimate relationship as an end in itself.

And God says…”It is not wrong to ask Me for blessings, gifts or your daily bread. It is not wrong to pray to avoid temptation and the evil one. However, sometimes the things requested in prayer like peace, daily bread, courage, financial security and health for you and yours, become the ends in themselves. I can respond and your life becomes transformed when you first seek Me and our intimate relationship. Strive to be surrendered so that we have an intimate relationship and connection that leads you first to Jesus and His love, mercy and grace. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you require for your daily living. Take time to simply engage Me for the sake of knowing Me more intimately, and I will provide everything else you require. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Let My word and direction be a lamp that lights your way, one step at a time as we live in intimate connection that springs from your surrender.”

One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Many years ago I wrote a quote in my Bible that seems to apply here… Don’t doubt in the dark what you’ve seen in the light. What Chambers adds is the negative side of that… Don’t doubt, but also don’t expect or demand to live on those mountain tops. And if we do expect or demand to live in that rarified atmosphere, we are setting ourselves up for disillusionment.

It’s true that life will bring ups and downs. But another phrase that I’ve heard you saying … that “you have to take your own party with you” If you carry that to it’s conclusion, you can always have the effects of what you saw on the mountain…. even when you are in the valley. Faith, Hope, and Love can be built on Mountain tops. If they are real, and not subverted by the carnal expectations that Chambers mentions, and if they are cultivated by continuing with me and all the other things I’ve been teaching you…they will stand strong and carry you thru the storms of life that will surely come.

Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing— it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready. Whenever any duty presents itself, we hear God’s voice as our Lord heard His Father’s voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in menial ones, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).

Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready— he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself.