John 7:38<\/a>). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually\u2014 just as \u201cthe lilies of the field.\u201d<\/p>\nThe people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and \u201cthe lilies of the field\u201d\u2014 simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.<\/p>\n
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live\u2014 yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.<\/p>\n
_______________________________________________<\/p>\n
May 18, 2010<\/p>\n
Journal Entry for Today-JDV<\/p>\n
I know. Lord, living in your grace and will is a daily experience. I also know that this life is a life of daily expectations, patience and faith. Thank you for giving me the patience and faith to wait on you with enormous expectations. \u00a0And I pray Lord that you allow me to share the gospel today without the use of words. Help me live out my faith connected to You, reaching out to others.<\/p>\n
And God says\u2026\u201dThe Holy Spirit shows you the magnitude of My love as you stay connected to Me. Acknowledge Me in all you do and I will make your paths straight. Your love, faith and patience grow as you seek Me; stay connected to Me and reach out to others. I can bless you as you bless others. You are a conduit, not a vessel\u2026.except to be poured out as I was poured out for you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n5 18 11 \u00a0DJR<\/p>\n
Good morning, Lord<\/p>\n
Today we re-learn that relationship with you is not cerebrally accomplished. \u00a0 We just get it, more and more as we walk with you and focus on you and the Father.\u00a0 Kind of like you showed us in John 5 : 19\u00a0 \u00a0 My question is, \u201chow then does that relate to scripture study. \u00a0 You were a master of the scriptures.\u00a0 \u00a0 I have assumed that we should aspire to that as well.\u00a0 But the scripture experts in your day and today dont really impress me as \u201cKnowing You\u201d\u00a0 as some of the brother Andrew types who work in the streets and give you away every day. \u00a0 So what\u2019s the connection?<\/p>\n
You should study the scriptures as I did.\u00a0 Do it every day. \u00a0 Master them. \u00a0 But not to show off but to be ready to give an answer to those who ask. \u00a0 Also it helps you categorize and understand when you see me doing something.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Another picture I\u2019ve shared in the past is Your Mind Like an Auto Parts store \u2026. Where your conscious mind and place of interacting with the world is the front showroom.\u00a0 There you observe things and have initial feelings about them.\u00a0 \u00a0 The back warehouse is where all the real important parts are kept. \u00a0 Your mind is like the back warehouse \u2026 full of shelves to store all the wisdom of life that you\u2019ll ever need.\u00a0 \u00a0 But have you stocked the shelves? \u00a0 \u00a0 That\u2019s what you do when you prayerfully study the Word.\u00a0 \u00a0 Then when life brings you a tough challenge, you are not limited to your feelings of anger or compassion or any other. \u00a0 Instead you can go back to where the wisdom is stored and bring out something that will stand you in good stead.\u00a0 \u00a0 And amaze the ones who are limited to their feelings because they haven\u2019t paid the price to stock the warehouse of their minds with my Word.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May18, 2011 Look at the birds of the air . . . . Consider the lilies of the field . . . \u2014Matthew 6:26, 28 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin\u201d\u2014 they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon\u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644"}],"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=4644"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4654,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions\/4654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}