Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them… —Mark 16:12

Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.

You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, “Now I see Him!” (see John 9:25).

Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.

O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, till He bringeth you where I have been?

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? —Luke 24:26

He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. —Mark 9:9

As the disciples were commanded, you should also say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you— until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what He taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.

Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don’t have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us. But our insensible thinking will end immediately once His resurrection life has its way with us.

“…tell no one….” But so many people do tell what they saw on the Mount of Transfiguration— their mountaintop experience. They have seen a vision and they testify to it, but there is no connection between what they say and how they live. Their lives don’t add up because the Son of Man has not yet risen in them. How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me?

______________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord

I am reminded of the way Mary, mother of Jesus “pondered these things in her heart” when she had that mountaintop experience with the Angel. … But how does this balance with your great commission? Go make disciples of the whole earth. And You will be my witnesses? I’m sure “balance” is key, but please clarify.

You will be making disciples, whatever you do. Remember I told the Pharisees that they were making disciples and it was not a good thing. (John 8) Because their lives were not authentic to the truths they were trying to preach, they were hypocrites. Being a hypocritical preacher is worse than saying nothing at all. You terminate your hypocrisy through connection with me. As we are connected your need to impress and have the right answers will fall away. Your outside will begin to match your inside. Then you are ready to be my witness and then words won’t be so important.

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1 Peter 2:24

…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight… —Acts 9:17

When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.

The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).

Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.

Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Gazing on the Crucified.

____________________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, I see something a little differently than Mr Chambers here today. Where he says, “To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.” … I’m thinking that perhaps the most spiritual way of all is to be curious and fascinated about all things AND keep you as the context in which we think of all those other things. Perhaps it is drawing a fine line of semantics but it seems less restrictive and more conducive to being ready for you to show me new things … which I’m convinced you want to do.

Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Do not remember the past events,
pay no attention to things of old.
19 Look, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert.

Your point is indeed a matter of emphasis and perspective. Like the four blind men encountering an elephant. They thought it was a wall, a rope, etc depending on their experience and perspective. Continuing the metaphor, realize that all humans are like the blind men. So your perspective is your perspective. It comes from your set of experiences and your set of giftings. Every person has their own set of giftings and experiences so their perspective is of necessity going to be different. That’s not a bad thing. Celebrate the diversity. You don’t need to try to change people. You’ll notice that’s not what I did. Just get connected, stay connected and live out of that. That’s what I did.

Second Song … Compare and Enjoy.

It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16


If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.

One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.

Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.

____________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Getting your “view concerning the people for whom we pray” is not only how we want to pray about people but also how we want to pray about everything … and even how we should live our whole life. Easy to say and easy to see that it would be a wonderful way to live. There just seem to be so many barriers to it’s implementation. Like the strong pull to judge ourselves unworthy and get onto a squirrel cage of guilt management where we try to “get better” When we are striving, I suspect that missing your best is just built in, as striving and peace dont seem to go together.

If you want to strive, strive only for this: to know me, to connect with me and to love as I love … actually get connected so tightly that you can love not only as I love but with my love. It will be my love flowing thru you.

OK, I believe, Help my unbelief. I’ve been mentally convinced and am even more convinced today. So here I go into my day. Let’s see if I can just stay connected with you and deliver your love into the folks you bring across my path.

Yes, let’s go have an adventure today. The only dragons I have for you to slay today are the backsliding dragons that would pull you back into self reliance instead of relying on me. Resist those and stay with me.

________________________________________________________________________

BTW as we were playing the song today, this other song with a similar title came to mind. Together they bring a fuller message. Enjoy.

He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8

Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”

God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”

__________________________________________________________

March 26 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Dear Lord, being and or keeping myself pure seems like an unattainable goal.  Sometimes I feel like my Christian life is two steps forward and three steps backward.  When my pride or selfish wants and needs get in the way, I can make choices that have more to do with making me look or feel good.  I can rationalize and otherwise obfuscate my responsibilities and Christian discipline. How can I be certain that I am growing in purity when it seems like I am always behind the curve in that area?

And God says…”First of all you must always see yourself as I see you; as a child of God, perfect in every way, as the result of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  And instead of looking at your blemishes, or working hard on more and more discipline, trust that I will mold and shape you in and to my likeness.”

“Remember, purity is the result of being in continued harmony with Me.  And when you are in harmony, or when (as you say) you are connected with Me, you are being transformed.  And as this transformation is being accomplished you will find that you no longer have to struggle to make the right choices. Over time, the blemishes disappear and you find that right choices are the only choices you are able to make.  Acknowledge me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.  Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will provide everything else you need in your life, including your transformation and purity. Your role is to surrender, be connected, curious, expectant and obedient.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord,

Today Oswald Chambers gives the practical advice of looking at others and trying to see them through your eyes … perfect in Christ. This is a useful tool, but perhaps even more important and primary is to look at ourselves and see ourselves through your eyes … perfect in Christ. Seeing ourselves this way frees us from the bondage of guilt and allows us to see others that way also. We have been so used to “human motivations” (guilt management, comparing against others or checklists, etc) that we are left with the question, “how then shall we deal with the remaining sin that we see in our lives?” or why try to get better if we’re already perfect in Christ? Especially if we dont feel like it.

You are right. Human motivation will fail at perfecting you in Christ. But remember, My ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are different and higher than your thoughts. If you strive for perfection with guilt management and checking off checklists, you will get tired and disappointed in your lack of perfection. On the other hand if you rely on my completed work and hold your remaining imperfections in a stress free “open palm”… and stay connected daily with me … I will give you the motivation and ability to leave those imperfections behind. Stressing to be better won’t make you better. It will actually hold you back because when you’re stressing, you’re not hearing or seeing.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28