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

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.

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

April 15, 2013

Lord, one more time Chambers hits me right where I feel most vulnerable; in my ability to stay connected to You all the time. When I slip and fall it feels like I have fallen so far from You. And when I read a devotional like this one, I realize just how far I am from You. Please help me stay connected this and every day Lord. Help me to turn from myself, my circumstances, and my  failures into You.

And God says…”You cannot fall too far from Me. You are not judged by your ability to stay connected, were that true there would be no need of my all-consuming love and grace.  In fact you are not judged at all, ever. You have been covered by the life and sacrifice of Jesus, which is always sufficient even though you are not. When I look at you, I see Jesus. Look to Me and you will grasp this fact of life.”

. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin —Romans 6:6

Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin—that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you-not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified—just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, “Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me.” Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . .” (Galatians 2:20).

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

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?

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April, 9, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Jesus, when I have looked for You inside of certain kinds of blessings or events, it seems I am disappointed. When I expect to see you I do not. But it seems when I look for you in everything and every event, You are there. I cannot explain it.

And God says…”You cannot put God into a place or time, and pull Him out when you are in need or have time for worship. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus. When you look for Me in all things, all day, every day, I am there. Seek Me first, delight yourself in Me and I am there. I am there because you put Me first and want to see Me in all things, not just some religious times, or times when it occurs to you. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.”

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

Our Lord’s Cross is the gateway into His life. His resurrection means that He has the power to convey His life to me. When I was born again, I received the very life of the risen Lord from Jesus Himself.

Christ’s resurrection destiny— His foreordained purpose— was to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). The fulfilling of His destiny gives Him the right to make us sons and daughters of God. We never have exactly the same relationship to God that the Son of God has, but we are brought by the Son into the relation of sonship. When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absolutely new life— a life He had never lived before He was God Incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before. And what His resurrection means for us is that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Paul’s determined purpose was to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

Jesus prayed, “. . . as You have given Him authority over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (John 17:2 . The term Holy Spirit is actually another name for the experience of eternal life working in human beings here and now. The Holy Spirit is the deity of God who continues to apply the power of the atonement by the Cross of Christ to our lives. Thank God for the glorious and majestic truth that His Spirit can work the very nature of Jesus into us, if we will only obey Him.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord.
It is a mystery how you can put your perfection into this imperfect vessel. It seems like it I do anything at all to try to improve or hurry the process … that I mess it up and prove my imperfection once again.

When humans try to do my job in their lives, it never works. It makes religious systems and religious pride but it wont create the life in you that I will create if you just totally release yourself to me and let me show you the things I have prepared for you … this side of heaven … and you cant even conceive of what I’ve got for you on that side. Here and now you can walk in awesomeness and wonder and power. But not if you keep trying to walk in awesomeness and wonder and power. I know you’ve heard it before but you really must Let Go and Let God. Not that there is nothing for you to do … Your job is to stay connected and hear and see and then obey. When you obey quickly … then you see and hear more. If you dont obey what you see, then you will see less.

Help me today Lord, to stay connected, to see and hear what you are doing and to quickly obey.

Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you will be scattered . . . —John 16:32

Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.

“. . . you . . . will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental

“. . . be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you will be scattered . . . —John 16:32

“. . . you . . . will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental

“. . . be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

. . . 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.

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?

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April 1, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this seems to be an extension of my most recent series of prayer requests…that You make me a man after Your own heart. I know, although I often find it hard to live out, that being connected to You is the most important thing this day, and every day. Help me to live out this prayer and to stop and acknowledge, many times today, that being connected to Jesus is the most important thing I can do this day and every day.

And God says…”Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus…and all things will be added to you. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight. It is the very same lesson, over and over; that you seek Jesus in all you say and do every day…and you will find life and life more abundant, regardless of your circumstances.”

’Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to Him, ’. . . are You going there again?’ —John 11:7-8

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it ” (John 2:5).

Journal, DJR
Good Morning Lord.
That last question, Am I faithful to you, or just my ideas about you … pointed to some work that still needs to be done. I think the main reason I am more faithful to my ideas about you, than actually to you … is that I am more clear about my ideas of you than of you yourself. My ideas reside in the cerebral realm, they can be studied and analyzed and compared … and I have done all of that. So I have some pretty good ideas about you. But knowing and hearing you yourself … that’s in a whole different realm, the realm of relationship. There, I am less sure. What do I need to do to get as sure about you as I am about my ideas about you?

You, like most people, have assumed that by studying me that you will get to know me. It doesn’t work that way. By studying me, you get to know your ideas about me, and theological constructs and you become able to answer theological questions … But you dont get to know me all that well. Getting to know me comes from relationship more than study. Relationship that includes 2 way conversation and especially obedience when you hear a suggestion. Remember, I give suggestions. That leaves room for you to obey or not. When you have chosen to think about it, or pray about it, or analyze it, so many times … that becomes your habit, and my suggestions seem fainter. To get to know me better … quickly obey. Of course you will make mistakes. But less and less as our relationship grows. And that’s what grace is for anyway.

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

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.

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March 27, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord I see one more time that my growth and understanding is dependent on my personal character, my personal integrity. And when I sense this I cringe because all I can see are my many, many flaws. How can I ever reach the higher level of spiritual understanding? Even as I have gone to your alter time after time, setting my teeth with resolve to be a “better man”, all I can recall are my failures.

And God says…” And yet all I can see when I look at you is Jesus. I do not recall your flaws or failures; they are spread as far as the East is from the West. Acknowledge Me in all your ways….seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus and all you need will be provided. My grace is sufficient for you to reach the higher level. The plans I have for you are for good, for you to prosper.  Take your eyes off of yourself and your flaws, and look to Jesus,  and everything else, including your transformation will fall into place.”