Look Again and Consecrate

January 26th, 2012 by JDVaughn No comments »

If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30


A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field . . .” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.“Look at the birds of the air . . .” (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.“Consider the lilies of the field . . .” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the “much more” He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
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January 26, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it seems if I can go forward one or two steps and then slip back one. Then I read a devotional or scripture that reminds, corrects and directs me. I wonder if it is possible to stay connected, all the time, 24 hours a day. Is it possible to stay in relationship with You, in obedience all the time, and if so, how can I accomplish this?

 

And God says…”Yes it is possible to stay in relationship with Jesus 24 hours, 1440 minutes per day. It is possible to pray without ceasing. However, this requires trust in God, believing I will meet all your needs. It requires you to believe in my provision and plan for your life. When you “get off track” it is generally because  you are concerned with meeting your own needs, concerned that you will miss out.  You abandon your trust and faith relationship with Me and strike out on your  own.

Matthew 6:33

The Message (MSG)

“If God gives  such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even  seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for  you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so  preoccupied with getting, so  you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you  know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative,  God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday  human concerns will be met.

 

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God’s Overpowering Purpose

January 24th, 2012 by Dave No comments »

 

I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .—Acts 26:16

The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . .” (John 15:16).

When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision”—not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “. . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . .” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

 

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Journal DJR
Good morning, Lord. It’s clear today that you are the source of the call and the vision and the power to get the vision built. And if you call me and empower me, why dont I get more done?

That is not the right focus. I am not worried about getting projects or visions done. You are the project that I focus on. When you see that and start seeing my workings in all the day to day circumstances, things will go much smoother and even the things you call projects will go better.

I know that you said you were the potter and I am the clay. And I suspect you are teaching me in the shop with the wood and the lathe.

Yes, I will teach anyone who comes to me … anywhere they are.

I’ve expected you were in there when I’ve had some near misses and said “thank you” … but I know you have more than that to teach me.

Indeed I do. Stay expectant and curious and you will see it more and more.

Will do. I love you.

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Transformed by Beholding

January 23rd, 2012 by JDVaughn No comments »

We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18


The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . .”
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January 23, 2012
Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, you are the mirror that transforms me….. living water that satisfies my thirst once and for all. It is not coincidence, this lesson  about being transformed, is it Lord? I heard the message last week and this  week in the sermon, how we are transformed by simply staying connected to You; in every way that we can…prayer, study, intimate dialog. We are able to be and stay connected, when our intention is to be close to Jesus. I also heard that You give us transforming power as we are connected to You.

And God says…”I am the vine you are the branch. You can do nothing apart from Me. Stay connected to Me  and live life more abundantly.  Trust  in Me with all your heart, and watch as your life is transformed. When you trust  in Me with all your heart, the circumstances of this world cannot define you. You  are defined by Me.

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Vision and Darkness

January 19th, 2012 by JDVaughn No comments »

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12


Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
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January 19, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, how do I know that it is a vision from You and not  just the sound of my own voice and my own wants and needs? Lord, I want to wait  on You and wait for what You have in store, and will as long as I am certain  that the vision is from You.

And God says…”Your  uncertainty is found inside your own mind and feelings. Your certainty is fed  by My word, My Spirit and prayer. Notice that when you pray without ceasing and  seek Jesus your uncertainty is gone; sometimes replaced by a definitive vision,  sometimes replaced with simply knowing you are right where you are  supposed to be. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your  own devices and I will make all your paths straight. Be anxious about noting
but pray about everything and the peace that passes all understanding shall
fill your heart and mind.

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“It Is the Lord!”

January 18th, 2012 by Dave No comments »

 

Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28

Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?

Journal DJR

Good morning Lord.   It does seem easier to get involved in service than relationship.   It’s true on the human level as well as with you.   Service can actually numb the pain of lack of relationship.   But what Oswald said about needing to ensure your pleasure seems only half of the story … one side of the coin … true, but not complete.

Yes, of course, there is another side.  When you go all out for me, you receive more from me than if you had just tried to get fulfillment.  Remember you can’t out give me.  The more you give, the more you will receive   … unless you are trying to formularize it.  Then it won’t work.

 

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The Call of the Natural Life

January 17th, 2012 by Dave No comments »

When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call ofGod is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is,purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

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Journal DJR

Good Morning, Lord.

It is good to hear that your call may be a fluid and changing thing … but it is empowered from our relationship with you.   It may result in our service in one area and then another area later.   So we just keep getting filled up with your Crazy Love and then keep on serving … somewhere, somehow, however you lead or ??

I love to sit back and watch how you will respond to your new revelations of my love and my character.  You are not robots, you have choices.   Especially after you experience my love, I love to see what you will choose to do with it.    

When your service comes from your revelation of me, it is wonderful and world changing.   When it comes from guilt or hype or other human motive … it’s a mess.   I dont live there.    So follow me tightly and get full of my love … then go pour it out in whatever service you would like.   I’ll watch, and keep the love coming.

OK,  I like that better than motivation by guilt or should or ought.

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The Voice of the Nature of God

January 16th, 2012 by JDVaughn No comments »

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ —Isaiah 6:8


When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
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January 16, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again I woke up this morning in a prayer…seeking You; seeking Your voice and direction. I remember, it was a prayer begun about four am, when I turned over, and it was on my heart and lips two hours later when I woke to the alarm. I was seeking You and the natural, or is it supernatural, intimacy I have enjoyed.  But the intimacy was not right there at my “beck and call”. So I searched harder. I suspect that was exactly what I was supposed to do.

And God says…” Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus…knock and the door shall be opened, seek and you will find.

When you seek Me, truly seek Me, and not just relief from your circumstances, you
will find Me. I do not hide from you I am always right here with you as I [promised. However, you can miss Me when you are seeking something other than just Me. When you seek peace, relief, courage, healing, blessings, or a supernatural  experience, you can find yourself struggling to find Me. But when you simply seek Me, you will always find Me, because I am not hidden. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Nothing can separate you from Me and My love…nothing.

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Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)

January 12th, 2012 by Dave No comments »

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples —Mark 4:34

Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?

We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

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Journal DJR

Good morning Lord,

I am overwhelmed by the tragedy that has happened to my friend who just lost his son to suicide.   The fact that just last year, he lost his daughter to a freak blood clot embolism makes it doubly hard.   I dont know how to think or feel or respond.   I want to help and I will reach out today … but what to say?  Cant say, been there, done that.  Almost no one in this country could say that….

Well, I can say that I’ve been there, done that.   Even more so.   I gave up my son … and knew it was coming … even planned it.   For you.  

Wow.  Yes of course, that’s right.  But still it leaves the question of what to say and how to be in this time.  I dont want to be like “Job’s Comforters”

Keep the emphasis on “be”   Job’s friends ran amuck when they opened their mouths.   So be his friend.  Be there.   Dont offer platitudes or cliches.   You know how to be … and I will guide you on the few things to “do and say”

I’m reminded of the Laura Story song, Blessings … that grew out of her husbands life threatening illness.    There are so many things in life that start out bad and turn out good … if we keep our hands off and make things worse.   I’m reminded of Romans 8:28.    It still doesn’t seem time to send my friend a link … so let me know when.

I’ve also noticed that there are very few songs about the part of our relationship with you that the lesson today brings.   Even the one I  chose is more about the warm and fuzzy side.

So why dont you write one?

OK, if you give me the material and the push … I carry a little notebook in my pocket.  BTW, I’m not asking to go thru anything like my friend has on his plate, just so I can write a song.

Dont worry, everyone’s path is different.   But everyone’s formula is the same.   Walk close with me.  Focus on our relationship and our love and I will pour the power thru you to get through victoriously.

You have been teaching us that.  Thank You.  I love you.

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What My Obedience to God Costs Other People

January 11th, 2012 by JDVaughn No comments »

As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon . . . , and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26


If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, “You call this Christianity?” We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, “I will never accept anything from anyone.” But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, “I will not cause other people to suffer”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.

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January 11, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again I am a little crossways with Oswald  Chambers on the devotional. I do agree that our obedience will confuse and  baffle others. Sometimes my obedience confuses and baffles me. If his objective  in this devotional was to show that other people may not understand our  commitment to You, because they do not have the Holy Spirit, and access to a  supernatural understanding; I get it. Even as I look back over the last several  years myself, Your leading has taken me where I did not expect to go. However,  I know I am exactly where you want me to be. I have found peace that passes understanding  and while the transformation to obedience may confuse others, they can see the  peace and I get to live it….when I am connected and surrendered.

And God says…” When  you choose to surrender, you choose to give up the right to yourself, and to  that point, self-focus was the motivating and governing part of your life. It  hurts others when they cannot and do not understand your motivation. They may  still be self-focused.  However, when you  surrender yourself and allow Me to live through you, while it may confuse and  cost others, it will also demonstrate the life worth living and the peace that  passes all understanding. Trust Me, and trust Me to handle the response of  others.

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The Opened Sight

January 10th, 2012 by Dave No comments »

I now send you, to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . —Acts 26:17-18

This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.

God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.

This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.

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Journal, DJR

Good Morning, Lord

Today’s message reminds me that sometimes I feel like I’m only converted … but haven’t received what Oswald is talking about or what the “super saints” have.   I know it doesn’t do any good, thinking that way or striving to create something.   In my own power I know I’ll only create a temporary and small thing and probably a mess.   When You get involved, big and eternal things … miraculous things, can happen.    Help me get out of the way.

That is the correct attitude and the only attitude of a vessel that I will use to the max.   Of course I can use donkeys and rocks,  But I delight in pouring my power thru a submitted vessel committed to instant obedience.   In addition to moving my kingdom in this way, it is FUN … for you and for me.

Thanks for the reminder Lord.

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