{"id":12134,"date":"2014-12-29T09:31:26","date_gmt":"2014-12-29T14:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=12134"},"modified":"2014-12-29T12:16:14","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T17:16:14","slug":"deserter-or-disciple-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=12134","title":{"rendered":"Deserter or Disciple?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\">From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. \u2014<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?version=31&amp;search=John+6%3A66\" target=\"_blank\">John 6:66<\/a><\/h1>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --> <!-- .entry-header --><\/p>\n<section class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"post-content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A8JsRxVczmQ\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhen God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must \u201cwalk in the light\u201d of that vision (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+John+1:7\">1 John 1:7<\/a>). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don\u2019t \u201cwalk in the light\u201d of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the \u201cheavenly vision\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Acts+26:19\">Acts 26:19<\/a>) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don\u2019t look at someone else and say, \u201cWell, if he can have those views and prosper, why can\u2019t I?\u201d You have to \u201cwalk in the light\u201d of the vision that has been given to <em>you<\/em>. Don\u2019t compare yourself with others or judge them\u2014 that is between God and them.<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the \u201cheavenly vision,\u201d do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you\u2014 things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself\u2014 \u201c\u2026for one\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke+12:15\">Luke 12:15<\/a>).<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">If we don\u2019t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord\u2019s teaching.Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don\u2019t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">_____________________________________________________________<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>December 29 2014<\/p>\n<p>Journal Entry form Today-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Lord, sometimes I think Oswald Chambers was simply a spiritual \u201cdrill instructor\u201d, focused on guiding his students to a preparedness that would help them sustain their energy and hope in a difficult struggle. However, I often read his devotionals and think, \u201cHow could that have come from the Spirit?&#8221; \u00a0Now he is writing about how we regress if we do not follow the vision; that we \u201cback slide\u201d unless we demonstrate more focus and discipline. That sounds way too much like, \u201cGod\u2019s done His part now I must do my part\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0But You have been teaching us that there is only one part; Your part. \u00a0\u00a0Jesus has already done it all, we are simply to surrender and trust You. The discipline and focus may follow immediately, or not, but You are the answer to all of our questions. We have but to surrender to You and allow You to bring about our transformation and the discipline and focus that follow.<\/p>\n<p>You have been teaching us about how we regress if we rely on our own strength and discipline.\u00a0 How do I reconcile Your teaching on surrender and Chambers\u2019 focus on personal discipline and focus?<\/p>\n<p>And God says\u2026\u201d<em>Since time memoriam humans have taken My desire for a relationship and turned it into something else entirely. In the garden, Adam and Eve had their own ideas about our relationship. Abraham could not wait for the vision to materialize, and the wandering Israelites wanted rules. Peter wanted to build tents for Elijah, Moses and Jesus in the garden. It seems that \u201cGood Christians\u201d always want to \u201cdo something\u201d. And a great many spiritual leaders cannot wait for the transformation and actions of the Spirit to take place and as humans you continue to try and create caveats, rules, and quid pro quo circumstances. Recall that Jesus only gave you two commandments; love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cChambers just like many, many other \u201cspiritual leaders\u201d wants to help accelerate spiritual growth and discipline. However, when you first trust in the Lord and do not rely on your own understandings\u2026.and ways and means, including self-discipline and focus, I make your paths straight.\u00a0 Your discipline and focus will come not as the result of your efforts but as a result of your surrender to Me.\u00a0 And make no mistake, discipline and focus are key elements of your growth; however they must, and will, come from the Spirit as a result of your daily, hourly and minute by minute relationship and surrender to Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. \u2014John 6:66 When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must \u201cwalk in the light\u201d of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12134"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12134"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12141,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12134\/revisions\/12141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}