She has done a good work for Me —Mark 14:6

If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.

Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “. . . but perfect love casts out fear . . .” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for the reminder that it is the little things that we get to practice surrendering everyday. Then when a big Surrender opportunity comes along, we will more likely be ready.

Matthew 25:21 (NIV) “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Arise, let us go from here —John 14:31

If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, “Come aside by yourselves . . .” then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.

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February 20, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I truly believe that when I hear Your voice, I will act.  When I know it is You speaking to me and not my own voice,  or messages I am bombarded with daily from other sources, I have taken action. My concern is not doing what You ask of me, of avoiding daydreaming, but knowing with absolute certainty that it is You speaking to me, providing the directions. How can I be certain that it is You talking to me Lord?

And God says…”My sheep know My voice. Seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Include Me in every part of your life for I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. When you and I are connected and in an intimate ongoing day to day relationship, you have no problem hearing my voice. Your faith and your familiarity let you know it is Me speaking. It is only when you have been “out of practice”, and disconnected that you have difficulty discerning My voice from your own voice and the cacophony of voices and messages all around you.”

Arise, shine . . . —Isaiah 60:1

When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us— He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue— a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing. If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed.

Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery— washing fishermen’s feet. He then says to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer’s body has become “the temple of the Holy Spirit”

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, Thank you for this day and the workshop that you showed up for us in last weekend. I haven’t liked “drudgery” type of activities … But I can see that if I allow it and look for it, that you can be in all things, no matter how small and mundane seeming and when I recognize it, you will transform those things into something greater, more exciting … even an adventure.
If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek me with a whole heart… life can indeed become an adventure. And you wont categorize things as drudgery or mundane. But rather just like following the breadcrumbs in an adventure … staying curious to see where I lead.

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark. . .”— pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, “How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!” And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart— a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.

Samuel answered, ’Speak, for Your servant hears’ —1 Samuel 3:10

The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?

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February 13, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, “what hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things…” please help me focus on my connection with Jesus and not be deterred by the details and distractions of today.

And God says…” My child, your connection is a byproduct of simply paying attention. When you look for Me you will find Me. My sheep know My voice. Seek Me and you will find Me. You do not hear Me simply because you are not listening. Listen and you will hear, seek and you will find. Several times today simply listen for Me  and notice the conversations we are having.”

They said to Moses, ’You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’ `—Exodus 20:19

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.

“You speak with us, . . . but let not God speak with us . . . .” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”

Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
I relate to the humiliation that comes from realizing the times I have wasted … chasing after my own things rather than your things. The only way I can survive the weight of realizing all my shortcomings is to realize your infinite love and willingness to forgive. I am so glad you put the story of the prodigal son in the book. Without your grace, I would be hopeless and helpless.
Yes, all my children, even the best performers, fall short of the standard. So I’ve made a way for you that doesn’t rely on your meeting the standard, but rather just simply accepting that Jesus has met it for you and paid your entrance fee.
Why then am I so sad when I realize my failures?
Realize that it is only the entrance fee that has been paid 100% by Jesus and you can do nothing to add to it. After you have entered into new life (now) … it is up to you what you do with it. You still need my power to live the abundant life I want for you. And it is available to all my children. It comes thru connection with me. So dont struggle to get better. If you want to struggle … struggle to tighten your connection with me.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose imagination is stayed on Thee.” —   Isaiah 26:3

I am already being poured out as a drink offering . . . —2 Timothy 4:6

Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents-burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose-the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice . . . to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?

Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.

Journal DJR
Good morning Lord, This lesson today brought up a question for me. If the battle of sacrifice is at the level of our will … how is that different from just struggling along using our will power to try to get better? We all know that doesn’t work and can actually lead away from the path to Christlikeness.

The love of Christ compels us . . . —2 Corinthians 5:14

When we are born again by the Spirit of God, our testimony is based solely on what God has done for us, and rightly so. But that will change and be removed forever once you “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8). Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus meant when He went on to say, “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . . .” Not witnesses to what Jesus can do— that is basic and understood— but “witnesses to Me . . . .” We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward. No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally compelled by the majesty of His power. It is the only thing that matters, and yet it is strange that it’s the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive him as mad or sane-he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for— to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of “the love of Christ.” This total surrender to “the love of Christ” is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.

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February 4, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord this devotional reminded me that Your love changes everything. I was struck by the notion that everything else, ever other issue or detail I believe important should not even matter or count…and yet I still find myself caught up in the mundane, the temporal. Please help me experience your love so deeply that it takes my eyes off the mundane and fixes them on You.

And God says…” That is the result of connection. When you keep your eyes on Jesus, on His love, grace and sacrifice, you are transformed and realize He is the only thing that matters. As you stay connected to Him, you are transformed. You realize that the details of this earthly life count little, and you suddenly know that you are mine; confident of your position with Me through Jesus. You then also become confident that nothing can harm you; no weapon can be raise against you that will stand. You begin to understand that I have plans and a future for you.”

. . . separated to the gospel of God. . . —Romans 1:1

Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell— it is redemption. The need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that redemption is the only reality. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, not the cause of it. If we place our faith in human goodness we will go under when testing comes.

Paul did not say that he separated himself, but “when it pleased God, who separated me . . .” (Galatians 1:15). Paul was not overly interested in his own character. And as long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. “Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes.” To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3).

Journal DJR

Good Morning Lord,
Once again I see that “trying to be better” is not the way to go … at least not the thing to try. Getting better and being more Christlike comes as a result of seeking and knowing you, like a by product. Why is this so hard to implement? In my life and the church in general? Is it because it’s easier to throw ourselves into a program or efforts of some kind?
From the beginning temptation has been there to do your own thing. That was Satan’s ploy with Eve … do your own thing, do it your way, Never mind what God said. Wanting to do your own thing is actually part of the way you were created … to be creative, like Me. But it can (will) lead you astray if you are not connected to Me. So stay connected and be as creative as you can. Through our connection, my creativity can flow and when you are doing your own thing, it will really be my thing … our thing. Stay connected. Come to me. Get to know me. It’s really that simple. There is no other cookbook by which you can cook up holiness.