If you had known . . . in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes —Luke 19:42

Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there-the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god-not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.

“If you had known . . . .” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord
The beginning and middle of this message caused me to feel bad … guilty that I had missed all those opportunities while catering to “another god” But then, as he usually does, Oswald Chambers, the author, brings redemption at the end. He brings the concept of “good guilt” … that is can bring “a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.” It seems to me, however, that most of the guilt that I feel is all negative. What’s the difference and what’s the lesson?

I’m glad you asked, because I’ve noticed you carrying more of that than is healthy for my kids. You are not designed to carry guilt, sadness at what might have been, or sorrow. It has its value in the spectrum of human emotions but dont dwell there. It is recorded how I wept over Jerusalem, over Lazarus, and other issues. But I didn’t live in those places long term. I wept because I was seeing the Father’s heart. I was “moved by compassion.” You are designed the same way. Look at this verse. It has the the framework you can use to evaluate your emotions.

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

It all depends on what you choose to focus on. Lines 1&3 or lines 2&4. If you are living in lines 1&3 (anger and weeping) for more than a day or two, you can suspect that it’s not me. My desire is that you learn whatever is to be learned and move ahead, empowered with lines 2&4 (favor and joy)

. . . the Lord Jesus . . . has sent me that you may receive your sight . . . —Acts 9:17

When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.

The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).

Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.

……… “Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus, I’ve lost sight of all beside, So enchained my spirit’s vision, Gazing on the Crucified.”

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, There are so many things that I’m interested in. All of which are going to burn. I dont try to be interested in them … it just happens. Energy Efficient Inventions, World Events, Peak Oil, my businesses, Real Estate, hobbies, farming, permaculture, computers, cars, tractors, all kinds of things … there are not enough hours in the day. After I’ve been thinking about those things for a while, I feel guilty that I haven’t been conscious of you all these last hours. Wrenching my mind into prayer mode seems like a good idea for a good Christian … but it doesn’t work very well for me. My thoughts just wander back to the “secular” thing I was thinking about. It seems I’m stuck in unspiritual mode. At least compared to Paul, Lord, You made me. A little help here please.

You are right, I made you. And I made all my kids … all different. You I made to not only have ideas but to bring some of them to life and be a blessing in the world. The secular – sacred divide causes problems. Forget that. Invite me into all your thinking. I’m the source of it all anyway. Just invite me in. I like working together with you. And dont you think partnering with the creator of the universe could have some benefits. Remember, there’s nothing new under the sun … but I know all those ideas before they enter your mind. Ask me and I will send you more.

Yes, You just did earlier today. I can see it will be a blessing in Haiti. But I’m already overloaded with good ideas.

Ask me and I’ll help you focus and prioritize. I know you can’t do every good idea. I only give you 24 hours, like everyone else. In my own ministry, with its earthly constraints, I had these same challenges. I looked to Father and got my daily priorities and just did those. You can too. Come to me daily and I will help you focus your efforts and your thinking. If I’m in it, even the most mundane and secular seeming things will be sacred. If it’s not on My list for you for now …… it doesn’t need to get done. Let some things go. I’ll show you what to pick up and what to let go.

It is Christ . . . who also makes intercession for us. . . . the Spirit . . . makes intercession for the saints . . . —Romans 8:34, 27

Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors-that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.

Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.

Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?

______________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, To that last question, the answer is, Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. The first thing that came to mind was a case from yesterday where I felt a nudge to go see a friend who needs some encouragement … and I was “too busy” and dismissed it. Actually I said, “I’ll do it later,” I felt bad at the time and today’s reading amplified that. Then I remembered being an encouragement to four other friends in another venue last night … and felt better. So yesterday, some targets I hit, some I missed. I suppose it will always be like that??? Depending on how tight I am walking with you and hearing and seeing what Father wants (John 5:19)

It is true that you will “hit your targets” as you say, more and more as you walk closer and closer with me, more and more continuously during your days. It is also true that as that happens, you will see more and more things that you are missing. But guilt won’t weigh you down because you will get clearer and clearer that I love you and have ransomed you from all your misses and running amuck. Adventure with me. Let’s go adventuring into town today. You have a lunch scheduled … Let’s go there together and have an adventure. You have other appointments. Don’t let them be stressors. Let them be adventures. I really do like you and you are the only one that can reach into some of those places that I send you.

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death —1 John 5:16

Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place . . . —Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.

Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God —Matthew 5:8

Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart ” who “see God.”

God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord.
I’m nervous when I hear prescriptions like, our inner and outer MUST be kept right with God and in perfect harmony or my vision will cloud.…. Of course I fall short. Maybe the good news is that you know I fall short and have made provision for my shortfall. Thanks for that. I get it that when I’m running amuck or acting like the Prodigal, that my vision is clouded. What would you have to say about regaining clarity? Is it just repenting and “getting back on the horse?” Is there a time lag from repentance to full clarity of vision?

Repentance is a gift. Pray for it and seek it. Once the prodigal son got clear on what to do and did the work of repentance, he was fully accepted and fully clear on Father’s love for him. Once you have repented your vision of me and feeling of my love and acceptance will return immediately. That’s why it’s such a precious gift. From there you can go to the next level of clarity — seeing the world as I see it. It is your vision of other people and circumstances that will improve over time as you live pure and walking with me. Practice looking at other people, striving to see them as I see them. Pray for this and of course I will help you.

. . . the friend of the bridegroom . . . —John 3:29

Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.

To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.

(When searching for today’s music, I found the lyrics in the Lecrae’s “Boasting” compelling and in line with today’s message. See if you agree) … Dave

Journal DJR
Good morning, Lord
Today my brother and I see that we can do many things well. Too many things to get done well in the 24 hours each day that we are allotted. So getting excited about a lot of things and starting too many projects can lead to burnout and mediocrity. I need your help in focusing my energy and passion. The metaphor that helps me explain this to myself is the rifle shot vs the shotgun blast. This problem would be solved if I were hearing your voice and seeing the way you did and expressed in John 5:19 Here is The Message version…
19-20 So Jesus explained himself at length. “I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing.

It seems pretty clear that if I just focus on getting to know you better and learning to see and hear what you are doing … that I will do well and not stress out. But I find it so easy to get distracted … mainly by too many “good ideas and good things” Robbing banks and shooting heroin is not my temptation.

You are right. I am the answer. Look to me and we will look together to what Father is doing. It is exciting when you know that you have chosen the better choice. I was like you when I walked the earth. There were many good things that I could have done. But I continually chose the only the best. And many seemingly good things went undone. I told Martha that Mary had chosen the better and most essential part. I have the best course in mind for you. It doesn’t mean its the best for everyone else. The best course is customized for each individual. But I am the source for everyone. So keep coming to me and we’ll keep getting you better and better at seeing what Father and I are doing and you will waste less and less time chasing second and third priority visions. Go for number one. It’s the best way to live. And you find it as we walk together.

He must increase, but I must decrease —John 3:30

He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.

Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.

The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God. . .” (Romans 4:3).

____________________________________________________________

March 19, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, once again, You have reached out in the morning to remind me to simply trust You.  It is difficult to live life unsure, unsafe, but unafraid. Then I realize that it is the only way to live trusting You.  Today I will strive to live being ok with the uncertainty; unafraid, curious and expectant.

And God says…”The only truly happy and abundant life possible is a life connected to the Son of God.  When you are connected to Jesus, you know deep down in a very real way that I love you beyond all that is imaginable. And because of that love, I would never withhold any good thing from you. I may not give you the all things you desire, but I will not withhold any good thing.  When you live trusting Me, you can live unsure, and unsafe, but unafraid.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own ways and means and He will make your paths straight.”

. . . perfecting holiness in the fear of God —2 Corinthians 7:1

Therefore, having these promises. . . .” I claim God’s promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not “confer with flesh and blood,” but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.

I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived-a level of perfect submission to His Father’s will— where I pay no attention to anything else. Am I perfecting this kind of holiness in the fear of God? Is God having His way with me, and are people beginning to see God in my life more and more?

Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone. Literally put God first in your life.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Some of this sounds like Sin Management … which I do so poorly at. In fact I always fail. It seems that in life there are invitations to join into this race, game or however we look at it. And we (I) want to do well and be approved … so I step right up and sign up for the checklists and accountability groups and holiness measurement mechanisms. And always fall flat. Kind of like Paul said in Romans 7.

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.c For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful natured a slave to the law of sin.

Now I’m seeing that it’s best to choose not to play that game. And to choose another game. Checklists seem to lead measurement and therefore failure, because you could always have done better … and someone else probably has. Checklists of righteousness seem to lead down the same road the Pharisees were on. And Jesus wasn’t impressed. Called it “filthy rags, whitewashed tombs full of dead mens bones etc” So a better game is in the last line of today’s devotional:

Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone.

If we do that we can follow in Jesus footsteps and “do only what he saw the Father doing and say only what he heard the Father saying. John 5:19

Because the urge to make checklists and schedules is so strong, we’ve found it helpful to have a few words that help us keep the main thing the main thing.

Staying Curious … about what you are doing and what you’re going to do next Listening and Watching.
Attitude of Gratitude … Being thankful for all the good things you send
Expectation … Expecting that you have good plans for us and those you send us. Jeremiah 29:11
Ready to quickly obey …

When we live in these attitudes, we dont need checklists to confirm our holiness.

Prayer: Lord, help us this day, To live Curious, Grateful, Expecting and ready to obey.