The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days —2 Chronicles 15:17

Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, “Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much.” The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, “I know I am right with God”— yet the “high places” still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.

Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless— you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes’ effort.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
We found this prescription hard to argue with. But also found in it the possibility of getting Pharisaical and creating a checklist to make sure we were rooting out all the imperfections in our lives. Just thinking about that makes us tired, … Not to mention the facts that we’ve had such dismal results with the will power and organized methods like that … and that you didn’t have much good to say about those Pharisaical methods when you were here either. Then a phrase from The Message translation came to mind… “the unforced rhythms of grace” Here it is in context.

Matthew 11:28-30 The Message (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.”

That seems so much more inviting than ramping up my diligence to keep myself spiritually fit. Obviously you ensured that both verses made it into the canon that we read. So are they just two sides of the same coin? What is the middle way that you would have us to walk?

You brought to JD’s mind Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

and Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Maybe if we just focus on those two in the “unforced rhythms of grace” we’ll be safe from running off the road into either Phariseeism, or License for Whatever Feels Good. How does that sound to you? Sorry about doing all the talking today.

It sounds great to me. Now just go out and do it. It may seem that you’re doing all the talking … but you invited me into your conversation at the beginning. I heard that and I came. So I was there the whole time. Who do you think brought those thoughts to your minds? I will work with my kids, especially when I’m invited.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . —Matthew 11:29

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

If you had known . . . in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes —Luke 19:42

Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there-the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god-not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.

“If you had known . . . .” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord
The beginning and middle of this message caused me to feel bad … guilty that I had missed all those opportunities while catering to “another god” But then, as he usually does, Oswald Chambers, the author, brings redemption at the end. He brings the concept of “good guilt” … that is can bring “a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.” It seems to me, however, that most of the guilt that I feel is all negative. What’s the difference and what’s the lesson?

I’m glad you asked, because I’ve noticed you carrying more of that than is healthy for my kids. You are not designed to carry guilt, sadness at what might have been, or sorrow. It has its value in the spectrum of human emotions but dont dwell there. It is recorded how I wept over Jerusalem, over Lazarus, and other issues. But I didn’t live in those places long term. I wept because I was seeing the Father’s heart. I was “moved by compassion.” You are designed the same way. Look at this verse. It has the the framework you can use to evaluate your emotions.

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

It all depends on what you choose to focus on. Lines 1&3 or lines 2&4. If you are living in lines 1&3 (anger and weeping) for more than a day or two, you can suspect that it’s not me. My desire is that you learn whatever is to be learned and move ahead, empowered with lines 2&4 (favor and joy)

. . . 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, There are so many things that I’m interested in. All of which are going to burn. I dont try to be interested in them … it just happens. Energy Efficient Inventions, World Events, Peak Oil, my businesses, Real Estate, hobbies, farming, permaculture, computers, cars, tractors, all kinds of things … there are not enough hours in the day. After I’ve been thinking about those things for a while, I feel guilty that I haven’t been conscious of you all these last hours. Wrenching my mind into prayer mode seems like a good idea for a good Christian … but it doesn’t work very well for me. My thoughts just wander back to the “secular” thing I was thinking about. It seems I’m stuck in unspiritual mode. At least compared to Paul, Lord, You made me. A little help here please.

You are right, I made you. And I made all my kids … all different. You I made to not only have ideas but to bring some of them to life and be a blessing in the world. The secular – sacred divide causes problems. Forget that. Invite me into all your thinking. I’m the source of it all anyway. Just invite me in. I like working together with you. And dont you think partnering with the creator of the universe could have some benefits. Remember, there’s nothing new under the sun … but I know all those ideas before they enter your mind. Ask me and I will send you more.

Yes, You just did earlier today. I can see it will be a blessing in Haiti. But I’m already overloaded with good ideas.

Ask me and I’ll help you focus and prioritize. I know you can’t do every good idea. I only give you 24 hours, like everyone else. In my own ministry, with its earthly constraints, I had these same challenges. I looked to Father and got my daily priorities and just did those. You can too. Come to me daily and I will help you focus your efforts and your thinking. If I’m in it, even the most mundane and secular seeming things will be sacred. If it’s not on My list for you for now …… it doesn’t need to get done. Let some things go. I’ll show you what to pick up and what to let go.

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

Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors-that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.

Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.

Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?

______________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, To that last question, the answer is, Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. The first thing that came to mind was a case from yesterday where I felt a nudge to go see a friend who needs some encouragement … and I was “too busy” and dismissed it. Actually I said, “I’ll do it later,” I felt bad at the time and today’s reading amplified that. Then I remembered being an encouragement to four other friends in another venue last night … and felt better. So yesterday, some targets I hit, some I missed. I suppose it will always be like that??? Depending on how tight I am walking with you and hearing and seeing what Father wants (John 5:19)

It is true that you will “hit your targets” as you say, more and more as you walk closer and closer with me, more and more continuously during your days. It is also true that as that happens, you will see more and more things that you are missing. But guilt won’t weigh you down because you will get clearer and clearer that I love you and have ransomed you from all your misses and running amuck. Adventure with me. Let’s go adventuring into town today. You have a lunch scheduled … Let’s go there together and have an adventure. You have other appointments. Don’t let them be stressors. Let them be adventures. I really do like you and you are the only one that can reach into some of those places that I send you.

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

Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place . . . —Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.

Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.

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!”

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord.
I’m nervous when I hear prescriptions like, our inner and outer MUST be kept right with God and in perfect harmony or my vision will cloud.…. Of course I fall short. Maybe the good news is that you know I fall short and have made provision for my shortfall. Thanks for that. I get it that when I’m running amuck or acting like the Prodigal, that my vision is clouded. What would you have to say about regaining clarity? Is it just repenting and “getting back on the horse?” Is there a time lag from repentance to full clarity of vision?

Repentance is a gift. Pray for it and seek it. Once the prodigal son got clear on what to do and did the work of repentance, he was fully accepted and fully clear on Father’s love for him. Once you have repented your vision of me and feeling of my love and acceptance will return immediately. That’s why it’s such a precious gift. From there you can go to the next level of clarity — seeing the world as I see it. It is your vision of other people and circumstances that will improve over time as you live pure and walking with me. Practice looking at other people, striving to see them as I see them. Pray for this and of course I will help you.