When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Today’s devo differentiates between a full Conviction of Sin by the Holy Spirit and the twinges of guilt which are the more common experience. With these minor twinges of guilt, we are tempted to do “guilt management” and try our best to clean up our act. This is an exercise of will power and although we may manage our sin for a while, it never achieves the glorious realization of your love that David had after being busted by Nathan the prophet. I wonder how many times per lifetime we can expect an experience of that magnitude. … And if the ones of lesser magnitude can add up to the impact and revelation that is referred to here?

The key to remember is that I deal with all my children differently. It is dangerous to count and compare experiences. I put them in the Book so you could know some of my ways. But I don’t fit in a recipe book. or a spreadsheet, or bar graph and your experiences shouldn’t either. The main thing is to stay tight with me and I will show you great insights. I don’t usually shout. I mainly whisper … The busy-ness and stress of your life can drown it out and you will miss it. Come away with me … even in a crowd, and I will show you my ways.

Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
It is counter intuitive that being conscious of our Christ-Likeness isn’t really the objective … but rather being unconsciously aware of the Christ-motivated things that we do … and then realize when looking back, that our connection with you was functioning and your love and blessing came thru. Usually to someone else, but also to us. It is similar to the same concept in business, being unconsciously competent, where the desired responses become second nature.
Prayer: Lord, help me stay connected so closely today that you are able to flow your love and blessings thru me to those you send across my path, and at the end of the day, show me some of what we’ve done together.

As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.

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November 14, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord I wonder why I doubt You? Why I seem to revert to my own strength when I have lived lesson after lesson. I know the scriptures and have experience after experience to remind me that You are the Great I AM. And yet when I see the raging sea or waterfalls approaching, I feel fear and uncertainty.  How can I live outside my own strength, just trusting You?

And God says…”You have a fallen nature, and  are living in a fallen world, surrounded and bombarded by messages that tell you to “stand on your own two feet”, “take the bull by the horns”, and “face your issues head on”.  It is not natural for you to surrender everything to Me; it requires the work of the Holy Spirit and your own surrender every day, every hour, every minute. Begin your day acknowledging your own weakness and desire to surrender your will to Me, through Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you through this every day…..do not rely on your own devices. Seek first the Kingdom of God, (which is Jesus) and everything you need will be given you.”

. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Once again, Oswald paints the picture of a perfect walk with You … one that I compare my everyday life with and find that I dont measure up. Can I observe that without guilt? Not that I’m not guilty, It’s just that guilt by itself doesn’t do anything to make me better or more Christlike.
You can stay on the path and journey along the path and get farther with less angst if you just let me drive. Keep me in the center of your picture. When circumstances come your way that are not what you wanted or expected … you can stress out over it …or you can stay expectantly curious about how I am going to work it out for good as I promised in Romans 8:28.
OK, that is where I will try to live when challenges and stress come my way … Expectantly Curious.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

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November 12, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I think you can find many things in me to rebuke. I seem to be messing up constantly lately, trying to scramble to avoid pain or scramble to hold on to some vestige of self-control, doing all I can in my power to make things turn out the way I want them to turn out. And then I fill in the open time with things that will keep me from thinking about  life’s uncertainties. Am I truly redeemed when I live like this?

And God says…”When I look at you My son, I see Jesus. I see His life, not yours. And while I know you are scrambling to try and make sense of the pain, hurt and struggle I have given
you Jesus, and He provides all your answers. You are not worthy, you never will be worthy,  but Jesus is worthy and He has given His life to you for this very purpose; so that it is no longer you that live but Jesus through you. Do not focus on what you do wrong or how you have “messed up”, focus on Jesus and you will understand that you are redeemed, you have been set free. Seek Jesus and everything else can and does fall into place, regardless of your circumstances.”

We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26

We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.

“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.

The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).

Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.

Journal, DJR
Good Morning Lord,
It is good to realize that we are only responsible for the conscious part of our mind … and that the Holy Spirit uses the rest of it for his intercession and other purposes. It brings to mind the study on “Free Will” that we are doing as a group at church. How free are we? Did you cause a behavior or just know about it from before time began? That whole thinking quagmire that humans of all and no religious persuasions have tinkered with for millennia. Today we add another aspect … that the Holy Spirit may have an agenda and want to use us and our prayers for his ends.
Prayer: Help me today to walk in the Spirit, reckognizing the nudges and whispers … and obeying quickly. And help me do my part of keeping my temple clean for you and watching with expectation to see what you will do.

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

3 You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28

Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.

Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord over the past few weeks I have abandoned the idea that You are behind all things in my life, and consequently have been fighting hard against all the circumstances instead of trusting You. Somehow I forgot how to surrender. Well, it did not take long for me to “suddenly” get it. You would allow me to stay right there as long as I chose to handle my circumstances and difficulties by myself. I wonder why it takes so long sometimes. Thank You for once again showing me the need and opportunity to surrender this portion of my life to You as well.

And God says…”You know the scriptures…”seek first the Kingdom of heaven (which is Jesus) and all things shall 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.  However, your circumstances imbed them in your heart. You must learn surrender just as you learned your independence as a child. Trust Me in everything, even trust me for the faith and hope you need to trust Me. I will provide all you need in this life, simply look to Me. And very often your circumstances lead you here to this place of surrender and remind you of this process.”

Do you believe this? —John 11:26

Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).

Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.

To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.

Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier

Journal, DJR
Good Morning Lord,
The recurring theme that comes thru to me is that the really good things in our walk with you are not available by directly trying to achieve them …. Rather they are more like by-products of other actions. “Trying harder to believe” or trying to increase my faith, always seems to lead to a work of the flesh with frustration and ultimate failure. So it seems that just “walking in the Spirit” as relaxed as I can, and letting you bring me the agenda and bring me thru it….. Then, later I look back and see that my faith was exercized and increased.
Prayer: Lord help me walk in the Spirit today, holding the events and stresses in an “open palm” and letting you lead. Keep me learning, learning your ways, which are different and higher than my ways.

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JD’s prayer for today-

Lord, help me to simply trust you and let the outcomes and results belong to You. Help me to understand that the focus today is intimacy with You. And please give me the reassurance of knowing that everything else will  …or will not occur based on Your love and grace. Thank you in Jesus’ name.

Amen

. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . —1 Peter 4:13

If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.

The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”

Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”

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November 5, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I really do not want or need to hear one more lesson about suffering and why and how it is the process through which you help me grow as a believer. I have heard all the lessons and read all the scriptures about how and why suffering is something “I get to go through”….well when I am in the middle of some major hurting, all I want is “out of it” now! Like my cosmic bellhop I want and need you to stop my pain, heal my hurt, and dust me off and send me back refreshed and renewed and upbeat again.  I mean after all, you made me, you know how and why I hurt. You know my strong parts and weak parts, why not just tune them up a bit and get me back to square one? Lord, when I am hurting, I just want to stop hurting. Is that too much to ask?

And God says…”No it is not too much to ask, it is too little to ask. I love you too much to do so little for you. My ways are not your ways, and in your fallen earthly body, (mind and spirit) you want and desire more pleasure, less pain and less waiting. But less pain and more pleasure are not the nutrients for shaping you into the image of Jesus. Do not try to get out of suffering too early, let it have its perfect result. Do not pursue pleasure or distractions at the expense of  feeling your pain and suffering, the pain and suffering are the building blocks I am able to use. Just like a silversmith heats silver until the impurities can be poured out, I will keep the heat on you (just the right amount) so your impurities and imperfections can be removed ….over time. Trust Me. I loved you enough to give you My Son; you must know I love you enough to give you exactly what you need…even if it may not be exactly what you want this very moment. Trust in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. And remember, all we have is time.”

Do you not know that . . . you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19

There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.

The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord
One focus of today’s devo is that you come thru our pain and Christlikeness is accomplished in the valleys of life. And you accomplish your will thru broken hearts. This is true but it must be only one facet of your workings. Cannot you also accomplish your will thru blessings and mountaintop experiences.
Yes, of course. And I have blessings in store for my people. But my ways are not your ways … my thoughts not your thoughts. They are higher, and a thing you count a curse, may turn out to be a blessing. Isn’t that what you’ve found when looking back.
Yes, sometimes. Some of them may need even more time for me to gain your perspective.
I use it all, Pain and Prosperity, the question is, will you believe me that I’ll use it all, and thank me in the storms and in the calm?
Well as you know, it’s a work in process.