Am I Blessed Like This?

July 25th, 2011 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »
July 25, 2011
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
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July 25, 2011
Andrew said something during the sermon yesterday that reminded me of one of the lessons You have been teaching me Lord; namely that You will cause All things to work for my good regardless of how good I am. Like Andrew mentioned, I used to believe that your promise in Romans 8 was conditional: All things work for the good of those that love the Lord …. (As long as I am doing good things). But of course that is not a requirement. It is interesting how we intertwine things we think we must do in order to receive Your promises. My love and hope is all you need.
And God says…”My love grace and forgiveness are available to you regardless of who you are or what you do. My love, grace and forgiveness are available all day, every day. Many feel like as if they must perform and or conform to certain standards after they come to belief in order to justify or signify their actual conversion. It is a trap…do not go there. Your transformation is my responsibility, your responsibility is to believe, surrender and receive your transformed life. And when you cannot grasp the meaning in a difficult circumstance that calls Romans 8:28 to mind-let the Holy Spirit minister the meaning to you. Simply accept my love, hope and promise.”
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July 25 Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
I wish I didn’t blow it so much. Where are you, where am I, Where are we … when I say something that was so carnal and “unlike me?” … and I suspect is really at the core of me … Stuff that I wish I could pull back….
Well we were temporarily disconnected. Peter was that way when he denied me. Obviously I didn’t move. My love didn’t change. So let me put the question back to you … Where did you go?
I see that when my schedule gets compressed that my stress seems to go up and as my peace gets squeezed out, so does my Christlikeness. It doesn’t have to, but it does.
You’re right, it doesn’t have to. In fact that’s a mark of maturity and character … when you can experience stressors and still keep your peace. Dont beat yourself up. That’s just helping Satan. I’ll keep arranging circumstances for you to practice this skill. You’ll never get it 100% till you get here. Just keep walking. Just keep coming.
There are several areas, many areas where I can see a gap between where I am and Christlikeness. It seems overwhelming to work on all of them at the same time.
It is. So Holy Spirit will make it clear which are for you to focus on right now and at any particular time.
There are some things that I know aren’t the best but I dont seem to have any energy or willpower to fight them ….
You will never win long term with will power alone anyway. Those issues are not on the docket right now. Dont worry, I see them. We’ll get to them in due time. I’ll let you know when it’s time to work on those. Right now you have your plate full. So let’s go to work.
Good, thanks for letting me know … that you’ve got it under control, and I dont have to worry about it, just work on the stuff that you set before me.
Yes. Actually trying to do more than I have planned will aid the enemy as you will fail and have guilt and that’s his specialty. You can do the title of these writings … My Utmost For His Highest. Just know that when you get past my plans and into your own will power … you are exactly that … beyond my plans … outside of my perfect will for sure … and maybe outside of my blessing. Look at history. All the people who started out to please me and went beyond or took a wrong turn. Denominational rivalry, Aparthied, Crusades … Yuck! That wasn’t me. Once again, we are back where we started and always end… To stay the course, to stay on track, —-STAY CONNECTED.
Yes, it’s getting clearer and clearer. As we have less to look at … and more to see. Less of the world and Satan and his lies and more of you and your agenda. Thanks, I love you.
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