Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28

Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me . . . .” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.

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August 19, 2013

Lord, I have never thought that self-awareness was anything but a positive trait. I thought that keeping myself in the right state of mind to help me see myself in the right light was a good thing; especially as I interact with others. But as I rethink it, I suppose I need Your eyes and Your state of mind to see myself clearly.

And God says…”You cannot see yourself as I see you, unless you are connected to Me. I do not see you in your natural state. When I look at you, I see Jesus. I see His sacrifice covering you. I do not see your natural state, because I cannot look on your natural state. I can only see the goodness of Jesus when I look at you. And when you are connected to Jesus, tightly connected to Him you can see yourself as I do.  Delight yourself in the Lord, seek first the kingdom of God (which is Jesus), acknowledge Me in all your ways…and you will see yourself in the proper light…….and  live the abundant life I promised.”

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him —Hebrews 12:5

“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.

“. . . nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” We begin to pout, become irritated with God, and then say, “Oh well, I can’t help it. I prayed and things didn’t turn out right anyway. So I’m simply going to give up on everything.” Just think what would happen if we acted like this in any other area of our lives!

Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

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August 14, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I really do not like the idea of being disciplined. My experience with discipline has not been positive over the years. It hurts. Not just the chastening, but the realization that I slipped again and again; the realization that I had not grown like I had hoped and prayed. Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief; help me understand and trust You to make me a man after Your own heart.

And God says…”When you consider the sacrifice I provided for you, you begin to grasp the depth and breadth of My love for you. Consider the cross and then examine the molding and shaping you experience. I will never give you more than you can bear, nor are you disciplined as payment for your deeds or actions. The sacrifice of Jesus covers all of you; past, present and future. The loving discipline I provide as well as the circumstances I allow, are designed to help make you a man after my own heart. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided.”

Do not quench the Spirit —1 Thessalonians 5:19

The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.

Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.

Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.

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August 13, 2013

Today’s Journal Entry-JDV

Lord, I did not really understand the idea that the Spirit of God could be quenched. This is like….God losing patience with me and I know from the lessons about grace and mercy that your grace and love have no boundaries or limit; and certainly no boundaries that can be created by a believer. The only boundary I know about is the boundary of knowing or not knowing Jesus. If I am your child, through my identification with Christ then I understand that your grace, patience and mercy is unending; that I cannot possibly disobey or sin beyond your grace and forgiveness. If this is the case, then how can I quench the Spirit?

And God says…”The Holy Spirit deals with you on issues and opportunities all the day long. And as long as you listen closely you will hear the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is always trying to engage you, I never stop reaching out to you and speaking to you. However, you can and often do stop listening to Me. In certain areas of your life, where you do not want My involvement, where you want to have your own way, you stop hearing Me. And because you quit hearing me you cannot avail yourself of my direction, guidance and resulting blessings and growth; you in effect quench the Spirit by failing to listen and respond. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything you need will be provided. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26

“. . . O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.

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August 12, 2013

Thank you Lord, for the reminder; for the encouragement to trust You this day, in all that I encounter. Often I get caught up in my own ideas about helping myself. “Oh God does not want or need to be bothered about this little thing, I can handle this one. Or worse, I don’t even begin to think about You in this area of my life, because I am certain You would not want to be associated with that part of my life. Thank You for reminding me that You want to be in control of every area of my life, not to control me, but to  give me an abundant and happy life.

And God says…”Trust in Me with your entire life; the big things, the little things, and the in between things, everything from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night. Trust in Me, and rest in the knowledge that if I would not withhold my very own Son from you, I would not withhold any good thing from you. You may think a person, place or opportunity is good for you, but how often have you been wrong? How many times have you hurt yourself and those you love with your own notions of what is and is not good for you?”

“How often has it turned out the way you expected? You keep searching for your own treasure of happiness and love. And I have already secured it for you.  Trust in Me with all your heart, and do not rely on your own devices, and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Trust in Me and experience My river of love and happiness running through your heart.”

. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49

The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “. . . I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.

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August 7, 2013

Lord, I recall an old and dear friend telling me that you never understand what you are going through until years later and you are well out of those circumstances. And then I can recall saying, and believing …. in the midst of a storm of very difficult circumstances, that we GET to go through the storms….not we have to go through the storms. Is that the way of it?

And God says…”I allow circumstances and difficulties to come your way so that you will be “forced” to turn to Me and pray. I allow the world and the fallen nature of your loved ones to impact you in ways that help you surrender. Let your trials have their perfect result, trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own ideas and energy, and I will make your paths straight.  Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26

We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.

“. . . I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . .” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.

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August 6, 2013

Journal for Today-JDV

Lord it is hard to change my mind and immediate responses about many things (and people) that are important to me. Every time I think this way or act that way…or fail to tell the whole story …. it occurs to me that what I am in fact saying is that I do not trust You to guide me through this world and the issues of everyday life. Every time the issues or relationships seem important, I seem to want to “take over” instead of trusting You to guide my life and circumstances. I try to believe you will make my paths straight, but will You help me in my unbelief?

And God says…”How does it work for you when you are in charge of your life and circumstances? Are you at peace, happy and content regardless of the storms and broken things and people around you?  I never promised to remove the storms, or give you everything you wanted, but I did promise to bring you life and life more abundant. I did promise to provide everything you need if you would first seek the Kingdom of Heaven (which is Jesus). Trust Me for everything you need in your life, try to stand on the balcony and observe your life unfold as I take over.  You will know the peace that passes all understanding. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord: The words of the song today speak to all of us. But the hip-hop style is different than a lot of us grew up with. So I wanted to share the artist’s testimony here. Thank you, Lord for the work you are doing in and thru our brother, Lecrae.

’. . . and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34

This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.

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August 5, 2013

Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, help me understand that Your ways are not my ways and teach me how to wait on you. Teach me to wait upon You and Your will. Help me to be still waiting on You to show me the way, every day with every part of my life.

And God says…”You want to chase your own notions of what will make you happy and give you peace, many times forgetting that real happiness and peace comes from trusting Me. How has your own notions worked for you in the past? Have you found long term happiness and peace in your own ideas of what makes you happy and gives you peace?  Trust in Me with all your heart, and I will give you real happiness, peace and fulfillment. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples . . . He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities —Matthew 11:1

He comes where He commands us to leave. If you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach, but as long as you were disobedient, you blocked His way. Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, “I know that He told me to go, but my duty is here,” it simply means that you do not believe that Jesus means what He says.

He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. “Master . . . let us make three tabernacles . . .” (Luke 9:33).

Are we playing the part of an amateur providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? Are we so noisy in our instruction of other people that God cannot get near them? We must learn to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert. God wants to instruct us regarding His Son, and He wants to turn our times of prayer into mounts of transfiguration. When we become certain that God is going to work in a particular way, He will never work in that way again.

He works where He sends us to wait. “. . . tarry . . . until . . .” (Luke 24:49). “Wait on the Lord” and He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual fits of emotion to “wait patiently for Him”? (Psalm 37:7). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.

These are some of the facets of His ways that we rarely recognize.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
It really is true, that whenever we start thinking that you always do a thing in a particular way … that’s when you refuse to show up in that way. “Your mercies are new every morning” and you seem to want us in a mode of discovering them new, each day. One exception that may be in a different category is this CO2 time I spend with my brother. We’ve been doing it for about 4 years now and it doesn’t get old and you dont seem to disappear. We are even using the same Oswald Chambers devo to start the conversation each day … we’ve talked about changing, but wont until this seems to get repetitive … and so far, it hasn’t.
Actually, it leads to new ways of hearing the same message: That the important thing is to stay connected with you, stay curious and expectant and letting you lead in our lives. We’ve got a long way to go …. but we’ve come a long way. Thanks for that.

When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples . . . He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities —Matthew 11:1

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, 2013

When I am focused on You Lord, it seems that it is all I need. When I am connected to You, Jesus, I can be at peace without answers or solutions, because You are the answer and solution. You fill up my heart and head, when I seek You and You alone.  How is this Lord, and how can I sustain this kind of intimacy?

And God says…” You cannot capture nor seek intimacy with Me, you can only surrender. When you surrender to Me, you are connected. You are not connected when you try to find Me in works, study or even prayer or conformity. Although those are all things that are good .You will find our intimacy in your surrender, allowing Me to live through you; works, study prayer and transformation can then occur.  Let patience have its proper result…and allow your faith to grow through  surrender, and connection.”