Paul was not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural can be turned into the spiritual only through sacrifice. Without this a person will lead a divided life. Why did God demand that the natural must be sacrificed? God did not demand it. It is not God’s perfect will, but His permissive will. God’s perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience. Sin is what made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed.Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac (see Genesis 21:8-14). Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). Sanctification means more than being freed from sin. It means the deliberate commitment of myself to the God of my salvation, and being willing to pay whatever it may cost.If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will resist and defy the life of the Son of God in us and will produce continual turmoil. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves physically, morally, or mentally. We excuse ourselves by saying, “Well, I wasn’t taught to be disciplined when I was a child.” Then discipline yourself now! If you don’t, you will ruin your entire personal life for God.

God is not actively involved with our natural life as long as we continue to pamper and gratify it. But once we are willing to put it out in the desert and are determined to keep it under control, God will be with it. He will then provide wells and oases and fulfill all His promises for the natural (see Genesis 21:15-19).

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December 10, 2014

Journal for Today-JDV

Lord at first this seems like another one of Chambers devotionals about how we must pull ourselves up by our bootstraps (I know that does not work very well), then I read the last paragraph.  He then says God does fulfill all His promises to the natural once we surrender.  I read this to mean that once we are connected to Jesus, God is free then to respond supernaturally to our natural wants and needs.

And God says…”When you seek Me first, acknowledge Me in all your ways, give up on your own ways and means and understanding, and surrender your needs to Me I am able to do more that you could ever hope or dream.  I cannot provide blessings to the natural, only to the supernatural, to the Holy Spirit living and reigning inside of you. When you ask Me to bless your ideas, your thoughts and ways and means I cannot. But I can bless the ideas thoughts and ways and means when you have surrendered them to Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will give you everything else you may need or require; including your transformation. Be connected to Jesus and you will not be who you were. His love, mercy and grace will cover you. When you are unable to surrender to Jesus, His grace and mercy will fill in the gaps. The sacrifice and love of Jesus is that great.  When you are in the middle of trying times you can remember and believe that I go before you and I make all things work for your good. Trust in Me to make all things work for your good, do not look to the outcomes.”

 

The natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.

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December 9 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, when I first read this devotional it seemed like one more of Chambers’ devotionals about personal discipline, rejecting the “wrong” things and denying self; one more lesson about what I should do, (I get so weary of the “shoulds”). And then I read this from the devotional….  The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. Then it all made sense in light of what You have been teaching us: That when I choose Jesus and deny my own ideas and understanding, I am choosing the best for my own life and it really is no sacrifice. How can it be a sacrifice to choose the best over the good?

And God says…”You often get caught up in the “blessings” of life or the mountain tops; convinced that I am with you when circumstances are working to your advantage in this life. And you assume in your natural way that if things are not going your way that somehow I have abandoned you. What I want you to understand is that I am always with you…always. And when you trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own ways and means, you know this and feel the peace and joy that passes all understanding. To deny yourself means that you are connected to Jesus, and know that all things work for your good. You do not have to strive or work harder to feel the peace and joy; in fact you do not have to work at all. You simply need to create a pattern of living whereby you trust all your ways (all actions and decisions, not just the ones that seem “religious”) to Me, and let Me make your paths straight. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and allow Me to provide all else you need. When you sacrifice your own notions of what you are to do, how you are to live and trust Me wholly, you give me the latitude to bless you immeasurably. When you wait upon the Lord, you give Me room to give you the wings of eagles, to give you strength and power. When you delight yourself in Me, you give me the opportunity to give you the desires of your heart.”  

We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “…Christ Jesus…became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect. No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted.

All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.” God’s response, through Peter, is, “… there is no other name…by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood…” (Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.________________________________________________________________

 

December 8 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Good morning Lord and thank you for this devotional. It is a reminder for me that Jesus is all we need….  He became our wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. This devotional is a reminder that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that whatever we need in every area of our lives comes from our connection to Jesus.

And God says…”Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and do not depend on your own senses or understanding and I will make your paths straight. When you depend on Jesus for your daily walk for all things: spiritual, material and physical, you will notice how your life is transformed. I will give you peace and answers to your questions and concerns about how you are to live. Just wait on Me, and you will rise up with wings of eagles. You will know when you are connected to Me , not by the circumstances of your life, but by the joy and peace that are a part of your living, regardless of the circumstances.”

I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

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December 5 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, this feels like one of those devotions or sermons that tell me that while Jesus has paid the price and “it is finished”; we are still responsible for working out our salvation. I am still responsible for doing the “right thing” that I must discipline myself and bring my thoughts and actions….and body under subjection. Where does the sacrifice of Jesus end and my part begin? Did Jesus save me then leave me to my own devices to live it out?

And God says…”Greater is He living inside of you than he that is living in this world.  When you accept Jesus, all things are made new, all things; your past, present and future. You live out your salvation and demonstrate your discipline in only one way, you surrender to Jesus and let the Spirit of God live through you. I will do the changing; I will do the “working out”. I will transform you over time.  Your part of “working out your salvation” is in fact learning to “do nothing” but trust Me completely. All you are to do is to be connected to Me. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own strength, power and discipline and I will make your paths straight. Be in relationship with Me.”

If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.

Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification.

God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

December 3 2014

Good morning God and thank You for this devotional and music reminding me once again that evidence of being connected to You is the way You changed and are changing my heart. I no longer feel compelled to “do something for God”.  You are teaching me that I am not to ever feel compelled to “do something for God” I am simply to be in relationship with You. Everything else will flow from that; how or if to be Your hands and feet, how and if to reflect You when I reach out to others and or simply resting in You, waiting on Your confirmation and direction.

And God says…”In the Garden Peter and John wanted to build three tents; one for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John want to “do something” for God, for Jesus. And Jesus just wanted to be in connection; there was no reason to be about doing anything except resting in the power of God and experience the transformation (transfiguration) of Jesus. That is how you miss our relationship. You seem to want to be ”doing something” for Me instead of just being “in relationship” with Me. Abide in Me and allow me to abide in you. Acknowledge Me in all our way and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided; including the positive and direct communication from Me about how and when you are to put your faith into action.”

The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.______________________________________________________December 1, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, thank you for reminding me that our relationship has nothing to do with how well I keep to the rules or color inside the lines. Of course I am unable to keep to the rules all the time. I do not do the right thing all the time, nor am I able to keep the faith, or stay the course like I would like. But then You remind me that not only do I color outside the lines; everyone does, because it is impossible to keep or follow all the rules all the time. And then You remind me (and  You have changed my mind about this over the last few years)…..that I should not even try to color inside the lines, I should not even try to keep to the rules. I should just be connected to You and Your love, and let You take care of transforming me. You will use me to color my life any way You choose. Thank You for that freedom.

And God says…”I am pleased that you have continued to seek Me and a connection with Me at the highest level; an intimate daily (even hourly) relationship. I am pleased to have you surrender your ways to My ways. I came to give you life and life more abundantly; to walk with you daily. It is the relationship I have desired with man since the beginning of time. But man has sought to transform freedom into bondage, abundance into scarcity, and joy into anxiety. Do not worry about anything, pray about everything. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will give you everything else you need. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

“You cannot walk on eggshells worrying about your past, present or future. You cannot worry about what you will eat, drink, wear, or how you will act, react, or behave relative to doctrine or disciplines. Leave all of that to Me.  Simply acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Nothing can separate you from my love, nothing.  Not even (or especially) You, or anything you say or do, can separate you from Me. Just be connected to Me, enjoy time together, let us love each other together, and observe how you are transformed and made free.”

The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).

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Journal Entry for Today

November 28 2014

Lord, thank You, and Oswald Chambers for reminding me that I can do nothing without You. And as long as I think I am sufficient, in any area, You are unable to act on my behalf…in that area.  I once heard that You are a true gentleman Lord; that You will not interrupt my own efforts and self-sufficiency with your intercession. That You will not interrupt my own efforts and self-sufficiency with You supernatural effort and power. Like Chambers says, “I must be destitute”; unable either by circumstance or decision, to do anything on my own behalf. I must first surrender to You.

And God says…”Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. The operative word for this lesson is the word “all”.  Acknowledge Me means to be connected to Me. Historically You have taken the “bull by the horns” when you believed you had the experience, knowledge, personal power and resources to act.  In the past you showed Me that….. If you could do it, or believed you could do it without Me, then you would take action. You called on Me when you were faced with circumstances and difficulties you could not overcome on your own, or after your attempts and effort proved insufficient. When that occurred, you would look to Me. However, the word in the scripture is “ALL”…acknowledge Me in ALL your ways and do not rely on your own ways and means, or your own understanding, and I will make your paths straight.”

“Do not wait for success or failure before looking to Me. Know that I am God and I love you beyond your ability to understand. I came to give you life and life more abundantly, and every good thing. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. And when it seems that I have not shown up or you feel anxious and believe you must “take action” remember the scripture: they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16).We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?”

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

November 27 2014

Lord, thank you for the devotional and song that reinforces these recent lessons: that being connected to You is more than just being close to You, it is allowing You to not only transform my heart and mind but to also transform my circumstances and to keep me focused on Your issues. And Lord I ask You to help me understand the difference between my issues, the world’s issues, church issues and Your issues. Help me to be connected and engaged in Your issues.

And God says…”Acknowledge Me in all your ways and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. I came to give you abundant life, and when you are connected to Me, focused on My will and directions for your life is when you will feel the most happiness, the most fulfilled and complete. Be thankful for your connection to Jesus and the spirit of God that directs you and provides the capacity and opportunity to walk in My will this day.  And remember to take up My cross daily, seek your manna daily. You cannot store up this connection; I meet you at the point of your need and happiness every day. Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.”