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

. . . 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.

______________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for your grace which covers the multitude of my sins. I still feel guilty when I fall short. Even though I know they are all covered by your sacrifice. Should I? Is there such a thing as “good guilt?”

Well, how’s that working out for you?

Not too well.

Guilt can be used to modify behavior. It has been used by society and religion for centuries. People even use it on themselves. People like you.
But it is never my highest and best tool for the job of behavior change.
My choice is love. Think about it. When you do something from guilt vs when you do the same thing for love. The motive changes everything. So when you set up lists of do’s and dont’s, even if they have scripture verses next to them, you are setting yourself up a life of white knuckling and striving and failing. All those things on your lists are good. But you striving in your own power to be better at them…. will make you tired and depressed. Come to me. Hear my plan for you, my plan for today … and live out of that. We will work those things out of your character that need to be worked out, in my time. I dont need your help in your self improvement program. You heaping guilt on yourself will just slow down our program.

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

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).

___________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord,
These are hard sayings, hate my life, hate my mother, take up a sword, …..
Obviously you are speaking metaphorically … but what are some of the practical applications of picking up lethal weapons and hating, etc?

One reason that I gave the truth in metaphor rather than a checklist of action items is so that the Holy Spirit could fill in the real life blanks for each individual. Only as you get and stay connected with me will you know where to apply the “sword” or the cross, or what element of your existence to “hate” and which is ready to take the next step of sanctification.
You must listen carefully for this. If you just start down a list of imperfections, whether prepared by others or even by yourself … you will become overwhelmed and despair. I don’t expect instant perfection. Stick with me and I will show you the areas that are ready for the sword. Speaking metaphorically again. Done this way, these “heavy” things become light.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

« Previous Day

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4


Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.

Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “. . . as though God were pleading through us . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.

“And I, if I am lifted up. . . , will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

______________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Am I to worry about doing too good a job and garnering praise for myself? It seems that the opposite of that would be to throttle back my (God given) abilities and do less than my best. Doesn’t seem right. ???

I want you to do your best and be the best blessing that you can. Who you’re connected to and what you’re focused on will make the difference. Some people will worship you inappropriately. Hero worship is big in your culture. But your connection to me will keep you from falling for that trap. Stay connected with me and I’ll show you how to handle those situations and glorify God … sometimes with words, usually without.

. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14

Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.

I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “. . . you are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.

_________________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, This selection leaves me with two feelings … I am not as devoted as Paul (or Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot or other heroes of our faith) … And at the same time I see that this motivation to be broken bread and poured out wine is in me to some extent. How do I increase it? How do I become more like Paul or Mother Theresa? Or is comparison a bad idea?

Comparison for the sake of ranking is a bad idea. Looking at other lives for inspiration, that’s a good thing. But the best is just to connect with me and follow me. I will lead you into your best. It will be customized for you. You will not become Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot. It’s not my plan for you. But you can still be the best Kingdom Servant and Warrior that you can be. It won’t happen by check lists or religious calisthenics. The only thing you need to do is tighten up your connection with me. Learn to hear my voice and see what Father wants and then just live out of that.

________________________________________________________

Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, I am not all that certain that we should feel “indebted” and allow the sense of indebtedness to become a motivating factor for our service and commitment to others. Trying to repay Jesus for His sacrifice seems like a task without end, and the wrong emotion.  Trying to do good things or touch others so that I can try and repay Jesus seems to me to devalue the sacrifice of Jesus. What if I simply get connected to Jesus and allow Him to live through me? What if love is the motivating factor instead of a sense of obligation?

And God says…”If you reached all the non believers in the world out of obligation it would not have the same value for you as reaching out to one out of love. You could do all things for others, however, if you did not do them out of love, they would have no value at all.  All things work for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. The church has done a good job of leveraging obligation, guilt and responsibility to generate the “right” behavior and for “sin management”. But this is simply one more human attempt to codify the relationship I want with you, and it will keep you in bondage. Clearly I want you to reach out to others, but out of love not obligation and responsibility.  Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus and everything else you need will be added. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Anything done apart from love and faith is not worthy of the Jesus that works within you. And you find the faith and love by connecting with Jesus, not by following some sense of obligation or indebtedness. When you find that you do not possess the faith and love essential for reaching others, simply trust Me to provide them to you through Jesus.  I know you do believe, but let Me help you in your unbelief.”

I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also —Matthew 5:39

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . —Hebrews 10:24-25

We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.

“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “. . . to stir you up by reminding you . . .” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren . . .” (Matthew 28:10).

_______________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord
I look at the visions and dreams that I have and I can see that they are not good or bad, sacred or secular – in themselves. But any of them can be either … depending on how I am holding them and how I am connected and obedient to you in their execution.

Yes, beyond the basics of robbing, killing, lying etc, most activities can be carried out with or without kingdom benefits. It all depends on your connection and what you do with it.

Some days I start off so well connected, (at least it seems so) and later in the day it all seems to fall apart and I seem so normally carnal. What do I do about that?

Get up, repent, and go again. Know that you are like a fish swimming upstream. You can never stop or you will slide back … back slide. I’m glad you are concerned about these questions. Keep pressing in. You are getting better. You can bring Heaven to Earth but only to a certain extent. Heaven and perfection will still be waiting for you and it will exceed your imagination of what it will be like. Dont get too anxious. I still have work for you to do there.

The time is getting shorter every day. I want to spend less time missing the target and more time hitting.

Good. You are on the right path. Connection, expectation, curiosity, quick obedience, 2 way communication, quick repentance …. Just do these and we will meet you along the road of life. Rarely will I show you what you need for next month or next year. Except you will always need those things I just mentioned. Just do them and leave the rest to us.