Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4


Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.

Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “. . . as though God were pleading through us . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.

“And I, if I am lifted up. . . , will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Am I to worry about doing too good a job and garnering praise for myself? It seems that the opposite of that would be to throttle back my (God given) abilities and do less than my best. Doesn’t seem right. ???

I want you to do your best and be the best blessing that you can. Who you’re connected to and what you’re focused on will make the difference. Some people will worship you inappropriately. Hero worship is big in your culture. But your connection to me will keep you from falling for that trap. Stay connected with me and I’ll show you how to handle those situations and glorify God … sometimes with words, usually without.

. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14

Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.

I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “. . . you are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, This selection leaves me with two feelings … I am not as devoted as Paul (or Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot or other heroes of our faith) … And at the same time I see that this motivation to be broken bread and poured out wine is in me to some extent. How do I increase it? How do I become more like Paul or Mother Theresa? Or is comparison a bad idea?

Comparison for the sake of ranking is a bad idea. Looking at other lives for inspiration, that’s a good thing. But the best is just to connect with me and follow me. I will lead you into your best. It will be customized for you. You will not become Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot. It’s not my plan for you. But you can still be the best Kingdom Servant and Warrior that you can be. It won’t happen by check lists or religious calisthenics. The only thing you need to do is tighten up your connection with me. Learn to hear my voice and see what Father wants and then just live out of that.

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Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, I am not all that certain that we should feel “indebted” and allow the sense of indebtedness to become a motivating factor for our service and commitment to others. Trying to repay Jesus for His sacrifice seems like a task without end, and the wrong emotion.  Trying to do good things or touch others so that I can try and repay Jesus seems to me to devalue the sacrifice of Jesus. What if I simply get connected to Jesus and allow Him to live through me? What if love is the motivating factor instead of a sense of obligation?

And God says…”If you reached all the non believers in the world out of obligation it would not have the same value for you as reaching out to one out of love. You could do all things for others, however, if you did not do them out of love, they would have no value at all.  All things work for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. The church has done a good job of leveraging obligation, guilt and responsibility to generate the “right” behavior and for “sin management”. But this is simply one more human attempt to codify the relationship I want with you, and it will keep you in bondage. Clearly I want you to reach out to others, but out of love not obligation and responsibility.  Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus and everything else you need will be added. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Anything done apart from love and faith is not worthy of the Jesus that works within you. And you find the faith and love by connecting with Jesus, not by following some sense of obligation or indebtedness. When you find that you do not possess the faith and love essential for reaching others, simply trust Me to provide them to you through Jesus.  I know you do believe, but let Me help you in your unbelief.”

I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also —Matthew 5:39

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . —Hebrews 10:24-25

We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.

“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “. . . to stir you up by reminding you . . .” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren . . .” (Matthew 28:10).

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord
I look at the visions and dreams that I have and I can see that they are not good or bad, sacred or secular – in themselves. But any of them can be either … depending on how I am holding them and how I am connected and obedient to you in their execution.

Yes, beyond the basics of robbing, killing, lying etc, most activities can be carried out with or without kingdom benefits. It all depends on your connection and what you do with it.

Some days I start off so well connected, (at least it seems so) and later in the day it all seems to fall apart and I seem so normally carnal. What do I do about that?

Get up, repent, and go again. Know that you are like a fish swimming upstream. You can never stop or you will slide back … back slide. I’m glad you are concerned about these questions. Keep pressing in. You are getting better. You can bring Heaven to Earth but only to a certain extent. Heaven and perfection will still be waiting for you and it will exceed your imagination of what it will be like. Dont get too anxious. I still have work for you to do there.

The time is getting shorter every day. I want to spend less time missing the target and more time hitting.

Good. You are on the right path. Connection, expectation, curiosity, quick obedience, 2 way communication, quick repentance …. Just do these and we will meet you along the road of life. Rarely will I show you what you need for next month or next year. Except you will always need those things I just mentioned. Just do them and leave the rest to us.

Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ —Joshua 24:19

. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . —Joshua 24:15

A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.

“. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.

Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves . . .” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord,
Distractions. Too many committments. What’s to be done? I want to follow you but it seems so easy to run amuck.

It really isn’t that difficult. I put the stories in the book to show you the way to live. Like Mary and Martha. Martha was like the modern American multi tasker. She had a list and wanted it all to get done. She had it planned out, including the delegation and in her mind all the parts would come together and the party was going to go smoothly. But then life happened and stress invaded her calendar and the original objective of bringing Heaven to Earth was lost in anger, strife, and resentment. Mary on the other hand was clear on one objective and kept it foremost in her mind. So today you get to choose, Just like Joshua, and just like Mary and just like Martha. Who will you serve? Who will you follow?

But Lord, dont the meals have to be prepared and the projects of life have to be completed?

Many dont. I’m not in them. I’m not blessing them. They are human efforts for human glory. So first of all try to discern those and just say “No, thank you” It’s true, the meals need to be prepared and many things do need to be done. Rest assured that if I have called you to prepare the meal, that I will provide the labor and materials and plan to get it done. That may include you and your resources. And maybe a lot of others. Your job is to stay connected with me and keep focused on bringing my Kingdom to Earth. Focus on bringing Heaven to Earth in the one thing you are doing right now.

I was curious if Mary ever was in charge of preparing the meal and how things would have been different.

You can walk with me wherever you go. A crowded street or a lonely road. Or a busy kitchen. What Mary had mastered was the ability to keep that window into Heaven open and see what was important. On that day, I was there and being with me was the most important. Keep looking expectantly and looking for ways to be a blessing and to bring my Kingdom into your world. I am looking for those who will live that way. When I find them, I show them wonderful things. They hear and obey and then I show them more.

Enter by the narrow gate . . . . Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life . . . —Matthew 7:13-14

Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips . . . —Isaiah 6:5

When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.

This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ’Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.

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Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, how do I deal with sin?  How do I battle against it? Like the apostle Paul said, “I want to do right but then I do what is wrong.” I recognize it, but how do I battle against it?

And God says…” You battle against sin the very same way you find the love for forgiveness, hope and grace. You reach out and up to Me for daily connection.  The battle you wage against sin also seeking love, grace and hope is the battle already fought and won by Jesus. And I cannot take the reins of your life if you hold them so tightly in your own hands. Quit trying so hard to live a more “pristine life.” Let Jesus live through you. All you must do is surrender….Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided.”