. . . that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us . . . —John 17:21

If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one” with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be.

God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?

God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?” No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, “. . . that they all may be one . . . .”

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
I am so glad that you are patient with us. It seems like it takes me so long to learn some of the lessons on the journey toward Christlikeness.

It takes as long as it takes. You do have some choice, but remember I dont scold or condemn. I only accept and love. So it takes as long as it takes. You are wise to surrender quickly. But if you are gaming the system, it wont work. So it takes as long as it takes. If you are walking closely with me, you will be tuned in to my ways of thinking and your journey will rapidly accelerate. Come to me … early and first thing … every day

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you —Matthew 6:33

“. . . do not worry about your life. . .” (Matthew 6:25). Our Lord pointed out that from His standpoint it is absolutely unreasonable for us to be anxious, worrying about how we will live. Jesus did not say that the person who takes no thought for anything in his life is blessed— no, that person is a fool. But Jesus did teach that His disciple must make his relationship with God the dominating focus of his life, and to be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison to that. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Don’t make food and drink the controlling factor of your life, but be focused absolutely on God.” Some people are careless about what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless about what they wear, having no business looking the way they do; they are careless with their earthly matters, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second.

It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.

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May 21, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this lesson is a difficult one to internalize. Our senses cry out for us to be concerned about pain, hunger and uncertainty.  Our “common sense” tells us to be concerned about what we shall eat and how we shall live and be clothed. And most of us spent the first 16-20 years of our lives being trained to take care of ourselves, to earn a living and to be independent of others. But You teach us to be concerned only for our relationship; our connection. I love the message, but Lord I really need your help in learning how to live this promise.

And God says…”All my promises are empty if you cannot live them out in your daily life.  If you truly want to learn to live them out; and if you ask me for My help with this learning, you will find yourself in circumstances where there is nothing else to do but trust in Me. You will  find yourself in situations where you are no longer “in control” or “in charge” of your life circumstances….you must look to Me for  to meet all your needs, and not for just a short period…until you are “out of the woods”, away from those trying circumstances. This is not an occasional learning opportunity, it is a lifestyle, a daily way of living; trusting Me to meet all your needs.”

It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven —Luke 24:51

The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.

The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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May 17, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, the evidence of late is that You are not here, you have gone somewhere else…..My prayers seem to bounce off of the ceiling and all I can notice are my failures and inadequacies. I wonder if it is possible to damage our relationship so badly that I cannot know without a doubt that You are here with me and mine. Right now all I have are doubts and worries and while I think I can remember giving them all to You, I cannot be certain that I really was able to do that. Right now I need to be reminded of Your all-consuming love, mercy and grace.

And God says…”I am with you always. Right now, last night, this morning …all the time.  I have not left you.  I am greater than your fear, selfishness, self-indulgence or anger…… Do you recall the words to the song….”He’s not mad at you, He’s not disappointed, His grace is greater still than all your wrong choices?” I am never mad at you, never disappointed, and I always hear and respond to your prayers. I always answer your prayers to your optimum benefit. That does not mean that I will always answer your prayers the way you want them answered, however, I am always taking your part; the part that is working out for your good. All things are working out for your good; your focused and concentrated attention on Me right now is good. And this is possible because of Jesus. Whenever you feel disconnected, just recall the magnitude of His sacrifice. As a result, I cannot ever see your failures, or disappointments.  When I see you, I see Jesus in all His glory.”

. . . you may be partakers of the divine nature . . . —2 Peter 1:4

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.

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May 16, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, your promise here is very clear; that You will provide for our every need so that we will have plenty for ourselves and to give to others. I have learned through experience that it is not easy to hold onto to that promise until it is all that we have to hold on to. It is easy to say we trust You to meet all our needs, when we have no need. It is when I am truly in need that I learn to trust You completely.

And God says…”You could and would not learn to live in my hope and faith, without circumstances that require you to do so.  When you can meet all your own needs, you rely and trust yourself. When your health is good, bank account full, and your family’s wants and needs met, it is hard for you to experience my love, hope and provision. Your trials and difficulties and yes, the pain and uncertainty of your life create the megaphone for our communications. Notice how closely we are aligned and connected during difficult times? Here is where you learn to trust Me with all aspects of your life and where you build up a storehouse of faith, hope, love and grace…enough to give away.”

James 1: 2-7 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18

Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.

May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord.
The message of striving only for Christlikeness … seems so logical and makes so much sense … when we approach it cerebrally … and from a distance. It is also clear when looking at it from your point of view. And it’s even clear when looking at another person going through a refining fire. But when I’m in the heat of the battle and the stress is rising … then it’s not so easy. Actually the default position is to stress out … and then beg you to “fix” things … meaning, of course, fix them the way I’m expecting. And that almost never happens. But it all works out for good in the end, so you obviously are reading from a different playbook …

You are right, I do have a different playbook. My ways are higher than your ways, etc. But I will let you look over my shoulder and see from my view from time to time. But you have to come up here on this balcony and walk with me to see it. If you stay down there in your stress mess, you will only see what you always see and what all natural humans see. But if you come up here and walk with me … you will get glances, at least, of life seen from my perspective.

. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10

You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.

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May 14, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it is different writing and listening to lyrics about “the hurt and Healer” when Melissa is facing chemotherapy. It is different when the esoteric is no longer esoteric and the hypothetical is no longer hypothetical. Lord, I ask you to step in and hold her and Patrick so tightly that they absolutely know You are right there in this with them. Sometimes it is hard to believe the depths of Your love when we are facing very difficult, frightening and uncertain times. Lord I ask You to give Melissa and Patrick the certain knowledge that You are right there in this with them. I ask You to demonstrate the scriptures that tell us You are right in the middle of all we are going through and that You will change it into something beautiful.

And God says…”It is often very difficult to hear the scripture, “all things work for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” It is very difficult to hear any of the scriptures that remind you that I am in charge of the world and can remove you from the hurt and pain in this world…..and then not do it. However, I have already made a place for you and yours outside the pain and suffering and you can live in it today and forever. Nothing can separate you from My love, nothing. Trust in Me with all your heart, seek first the Kingdom of heaven, which is Jesus, pray about everything, and you will know peace that transcends the hurt and circumstance, and you will know that peace is from Me. I am holding you and yours in my arms; you simply must accept and trust that I am with you always. And I will always turn pain, hurt, illness…all hurtful things into beautiful and  amazing outcomes.”

. . . add to your faith virtue . . . —2 Peter 1:5

Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians 2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been

DJR Journal
Trying to manage our lives by managing our habits is a delicate balancing act on a slippery slope … in which we may conclude that we are in control and that “if it’s to be, it’s up to me” etc. Ideas that have some truth, but tend to leave you out of our lives and lead us off onto our own paths. But this one habit in today’s song, Raising the White Flag … that is always safe and a good first step.

After that, you can hear my voice better. It wont be competing so much with the other voices that come thru your own “good ideas.” So build the habit of Surrender, and start all your projects with a White Flag. You say you want me to lead you and direct you. A White Flag is a good way to start each day and each project.

Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . . —Proverbs 29:18

Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10

Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.

God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.

Journal DJR
Good morning, Lord. It is so true … “There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet” The places where faith works are beautiful … and the ones where it hasn’t are painfully not so beautiful. More metaphors from the woodshop: The beautiful grain in wood comes in areas where the tree experiences the most strain, near the roots, at branch intersections etc, where the tree is buffeted by the natural forces of winds and weather. A tree has no problem when the trunk is growing straight (same with us) But to branch off and cast a bigger shadow into a new direction and face the wind and storms … that tests the tree (and us) And it creates a greater beauty in wood and in humans. So, I’m not asking for storms in my life … but I see your logic in allowing them. And ultimately agree that you know best. Help me get along the way toward that Christlikness that you describe in John 17 “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3) Once again, we see that knowing you is the answer to all of our problems. Thank You for your sacrifice and the offer to come and know you. And the lessons from the woodshop.

A recent bowl reclaimed from a downed Maple tree showing the stress induced figure and shimmering "chatoyance" which only happens near crotches, bends and other areas of increased stress.

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28