The Brave Friendship of God

August 4th, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

He took the twelve aside… —Luke 18:31

 

Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same.
We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
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August 4 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord, and thank you once again for the reminder that it is You that works in me, not me doing service or work for You. You have reminded us often that the only way we can accomplish anything worthwhile is through our surrender and Your Spirit living and working through us. However, it is not easy to maintain this state of connection Lord. How can we do this? How can I be in a constant state of surrender, connection, curiosity and obedience when my heart and mind cries out for me to deal with the pressing issues of life?

And God says…”Acknowledge Me in all your ways and do not rely on your own ways and means or understanding and I will make your paths straight. And do not try to get out of the pressures of everyday life, let these pressures have their perfect result, by turning you to surrender and connection. Trust that when you seek first the kingdom of God that I will provide everything you require to lead an abundant life including the pressures of everyday life…and the remedies you and yours require”

“When your heart and mind cry out for you to pay attention to the pressures of life, let the Spirit of God guide you to surrender and connection before you take any action. When you are surrendered, connected, curious and obedient, I can accomplish a great many things through you. As Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi; don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces the worry over the everyday pressures at the center of your life.”

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The Compelling Purpose of God

August 3rd, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

He…said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…” —Luke 18:31

 

Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.

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August 3 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional reminds us that You are God, and Your ways may not be our ways. Often I forget that it is not Your role to bless what we think  our “good Christian service” or our ideas of the best outcomes through our circumstances. But how can we be certain that we are pursuing the right duties, obligations, and or opportunities ordained by You? How can we be certain that we are not pursuing our own ideas of what those duties, obligations and opportunities might be?

And God says…”Remember, I do not want your duties, obligations or rule keeping, I want an intimate relationship that will result in your transformation. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need to live an abundant life, including the discernment about your ways, My ways and the path to obedience. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.”

“The key to certainty about My will is to simply be surrendered, connected, curious and obedient to Me. Seek Me and you will find Me. Knock and the door will be answered. And when you do not feel as if I am responding quickly enough to address your circumstances or problems, remember that those that wait upon the Lord run and do not get weary, their strength is renewed and they soar like having the wings of eagles. When you are discouraged, remember My promises, for I know the plans I have for you, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

 

 

 

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Becoming Entirely His

July 31st, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:4

Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.

Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.

We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.

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July 31 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord it seems as if Chambers is once again trying to make us pay more and more attention to our spiritual development; to make us come out of our sense of grace and wonder as he once again says…”Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life.” Lord, I do not want to worry about the small details of life; I really don’t want to beware of the big details of life either. Do I achieve greater spiritual growth and your approval by worrying about the small details of life?

And God says…”Worry about nothing but pray about everything. And in the area of your spiritual development, there  is no work, worry or effort required other than your surrender and connection whereby you allow the Holy Spirit to live within you. I do not judge your spiritual growth and development, because all I see when I look at you is Jesus. Trust in Jesus, look to Him, and your life will be transformed NOT because you worried or worked over it but because the Holy Spirit transforms you. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and do not rely on your own ways, means and or worry and concern, and I will provide everything you require, including a changed life complete in all the small details.”

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The Teaching Of DisIllusionment

July 30th, 2015 by Dave No comments »

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25

Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.

Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
If we break the word disillusion down to mean getting free of illusions which are lies … it makes perfect sense that disillusionment is a good thing. Then clarifying that expecting perfection of people and situations this side of heaven is setting oneself up for disappointment for sure. You are the only one who will not disappoint. And even then, You must be understood correctly.

Yes, when my children come to me and put their expectations which come from the human heart and human understanding, on me … they are setting themselves up for disillusionment, just the same as when they have expectations of their human relationships. Only when you know me as I am, can you rely on me. If you rely on what your church tradition may have taught you … you may be relying on an illusion. You can learn about me academically, but it will never be perfect, so there will be disillusionment. Only through connection and daily communing can you get to know me as I am. Then you can weather the storms and stand with me on the balcony of life, watching the storms rage and remain curious to see how things will work out. When you come up here with me and learn to see through my eyes … everything becomes fascinating, even formerly obnoxious people and stressful situations.

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Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?

July 29th, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

Behold, He is coming with clouds… —Revelation 1:7

 

In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?

There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.

“…they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus …” (Mark 9:8; also see Mark 2:7).

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July 29 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this devotional reminds me of what C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” It is true, whenever we are up against it, and/or have nowhere else to turn, we turn to You Lord. When all our options are gone, we seek Your answers. And it seems as if You use these kinds of circumstances to show us your love, grace and mercy; AND to show us that even though the outcomes may not have changed, our fears are/were unfounded. Thank You God for using my circumstances to help me love You as a child.

And God says…”Like most humans, you first want to be right, appear to be right, seek pleasure and avoid pain. You want to choose the easy route and avoid pain, however, when you avoid pain and difficulties you are also avoiding the growth and opportunity that can come from your trials. Do not try to get out of your trials too early, let them have their perfect result. And part of that perfect result is allowing Me to demonstrate that your fears are not justified. Trust in Me with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight.”

“Over and over again you are learning the way to deal with life and the storms of life; surrender your worries, circumstances, trials, hopes and dreams to Me. Seek connection and allow the Holy Spirit to live through you as you remain curious about My response(s) to your trials. And when I do provide answers and opportunities, allow the Holy Spirit inside of you guide you to and through obedience. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need, including the understanding, strength, power and humility to be obedient inside your trials and the outcomes.”                                

 

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God’s Purpose Or Mine?

July 28th, 2015 by Dave No comments »

He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side… —Mark 6:45

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord,
I seem so tuned in to goal seeking and achieving…. I think you made me this way? Or perhaps I had some hardwiring this direction and then it got even stronger by the culture I was raised in and the push that I added to it? However I got to where I am, I find it very difficult to stop striving for goals. I do it in all areas, business, politics, relational, art, … everything. I find it easy to intellectually agree with the message that the process is more important than the goal but where the rubber meets the road…not so much. When it comes to practicality, I revert quickly to goal seeking and challenge overcoming.

You are focusing on a single aspect of this issue. It is not that I dont want you to overcome challenges and seek goals. You are correct, I made you in my image and I do those things. It is only a matter of focus and priority. If you strive to know me, commune with me, and stay connected with me …. everything else will follow out of what comes thru that connection. Then you can live in chaos and storms and still be at peace and joy. Get simple, like a child and focus on the one thing… our connection. Then you’ll understand what Solomon concluded.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14The Message (MSG)

12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you.
14 And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.

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The Way to Knowledge

July 27th, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine… —John 7:17


The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First…go….” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.

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July 27 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again it seems like Chambers is using his place to teach and leverage scripture to get his students to be and do what he believes. This line he writes; “No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it” seems at odds with your teaching. You already know that I do not have the capacity to “pass the test” daily. You already know my condition. I try to do the right thing, to instantly obey, and then I don’t. You already know that when I want to do the right thing, I do not. You already know that with the best of intentions, my faith often fails me. And then I remember that Paul said the same thing. Who will save me from this predicament? I want to obey, I want to do the right thing, but it seems I am at war within myself. Who will save me from this dilemma? Thanks be to God Jesus Christ has already saved me from this circumstance. (Romans 7:21-25)

And God says…”Since the beginning of time, humans have thought they could improve on the plans I have made for you. From the Garden to the present, history is full of examples of where and how good Christians have tried to remind other Christians about how to live and how to grow and prosper. Many times you confuse cultural imperatives with spiritual directives. And good teachers will try to leverage their experiences to help others “get it” more quickly. Of course you are supposed to be immediately obedient, of course you should have volumes of faith, of course you are to love your neighbor, of course you are to reject and deny your father and mother and entire family in favor of Me. But it takes what it takes for you to “get it”. It takes time, difficult circumstances and My grace. It takes enough failure in your own power for you to surrender, be connected, curious and obedient. “

“Apart from Me you can do nothing. But do not worry about anything, pray about everything. And I will give you the grace, faith and peace that passes all understanding as you surrender, and are connected and curious.”

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His Nature and Our Motives

July 24th, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:20

 

The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.

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July 24 2015

Good morning Lord. Thank You for reminding us that You have made us flawless through Christ Jesus. Please help us be men after Your own heart this day as we seek to surrender our hopes, dreams, rights and wrongs to You. Thank You for the intimate connection and reassurance of Your grace. We believe that we walk in your light this day, and when we do not “feel” surrendered and connected, we ask that You remind us again that Your grace and love fill the gaps of our humanity. We believe Lord and thank you for helping us with our unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Sanctification (2)

July 23rd, 2015 by Dave No comments »

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us…sanctification… —1 Corinthians 1:30

The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me]…sanctification….” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.

The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you…” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?

Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “…kept by the power of God…” (1 Peter 1:5).

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
The first sentence mentions immediately … the last sentence says, slowly but surely. Is it that the the perfect holiness of Jesus becomes available to me immediately … but I slowly but surely work it out and work it in to my life? To be honest, this is a little discouraging, to see so much available and so little actualized.

You are on a journey toward Christlikeness. Just like you see different levels of maturity in children, teenagers, and young adults… your growth in spiritual things and holiness is the same. It doesn’t come in an instant. But in slow growth with spurts and plateaus and sometimes quantum leaps forward. I dont have “expectations” of you that you will (always) fail to meet. I have curiosity about how you will receive the gifts I have given you and how you will develop them. You should too. Curiosity in this, will serve you (and me) better than self condemnation and judgement.

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Sanctification (1)

July 22nd, 2015 by JDVaughn No comments »

This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3


The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate…his own life…he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).

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July 22 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, when I first read this devotional, I immediately started to reject Chambers polarizing position; Chambers writes…”Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.“ Then I read in Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

So which is it Lord? Are You that strict? Do I give up my friends, family and my self interest in order to be sanctified? Or is it as you say in Matthew; if I keep company with You will I learn to live freely and lightly?

And God says…”The easy part of being sanctified is the actual living it out once you have surrendered and are connected, allowing the Holy Spirit to live through you. The hard part is to put away your human priorities of family, work, church duties, service activities, chasing wealth and any and everything else that can and does get in the way of your surrender to Me.”

“Before you know it you are involved in so many things every morning, you have not found time to consciously surrender and be connected with Me, allowing the Holy Spirit to take over your living. You get so caught up in chasing your goals, executing on objectives, and making a way for you and your family, that our relationship comes second, or third in your life. And as you chase your life goals and objectives, you ask Me to bless them. That cannot result in living an abundant life. I cannot always bless your ways, as your ways are not My ways.”

“Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need, including an abundant life. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. I began the good work in you, and it is My role and opportunity to finish the work that I began. Surrender, be connected daily, and watch your transformation. Wait on Me, be curious, and you can walk and not get weary. You will rise up with the wings of eagles.”

 

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