… strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men —Acts 24:16

God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.

Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).

God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . .” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.

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May 13, 2013

Lord, when I read a devotional like this I am reminded that my conscience is constantly telling me that I am following my own path, chasing my own needs and desires; provision, safety,  health,  and my own sense of happiness. How can I train myself to trust You for these things?

And God says…”You cannot train yourself, you can however, surrender yourself and your wants and needs to Me…this and every morning. Trust in Me with all your heart. Do not trust your own instincts or inclinations. And remember that you become like Christ by faith through grace.  May your personal failures today, guide you to the grace of God that will also reinforce your faith as you grasp My perfect plan for my imperfect children. Delight yourself in the Lord,  your LifeSong will sing, and you will be blessed, this and every day.”

. . . add to your faith virtue . . . —2 Peter 1:5

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.

Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . . —Proverbs 29:18

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]. . . .” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

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May 9, 2013

Lord, I am convicted by the devotional, knowing I am not always seeking You and Your path…I often strike out on my own and seek my own way….and ways and means.  Help me find You and Your ways and means this day. Show me how to stay connected to You as my day unfolds and tries to overwhelm me.

And God says…”You live in this world, but you do not have to be overwhelmed or caught up in it. Take each step of your day, knowing I am here, with you in all you say and do. I will prepare the day before you, I will strengthen you, and I will rescue you when and if you need rescuing. I know the plan I have for you, a plan for good. Trust in Me, acknowledge Me, and know your paths are laid out and prepared by Me. Delight yourself in the Lord, and receive the desires of your heart, this and every day. Give me your burdens, trust and believe in Me and just like a little child, go through your day without a care in the world, knowing that I love you immeasurably and have your world and life in the palm of my hand”

Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10

Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.

God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.

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May 8, 2013

Lord, thank you for the devotional and music; it is a very good way to start my day; proclaiming that whatever comes my way, I will trust You. Reminders like this in the morning are great ways to start my day, being reminded that whenever I am intimately connected to you, I need not be shaken, and I will not be moved. Thank you for the reminder Lord.

And God says…”Recall the days and weeks when you thought you could not go on, but you did. Recall the times when you had no idea which way to turn, so you turned to Me.  Recall your fear and anxiety that turned to overwhelming joy when you observed what I can and will do in your life.  Trust in Me, and know that I will only allow the fire to touch you enough to strengthen and purify you. I am the refiner of your life. And recall this…if I loved you enough to give my life why would I not give you every good thing that is good for your life now?  Celebrate your circumstances, recall my love and trust in Me. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28

Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).

The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.

All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.

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May 7, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I would like to “Live like that”: Be totally focused on You. But I find I am so easily distracted by my desires, trials and circumstances. And even if I find myself “in the good fight” taking the high road (which I do not always take) I find myself often wounded and off track…simply focused on righting myself or getting treatment for my wounds.  How can I stay focused on You all the time and learn some of these lessons once and for all?

And God says…”You think it is a race and you are running out of time as you get older. You think and feel like you should have learned a number of lessons years ago.  But that is not how it works. You cannot learn to be less human, or less worldly, you can only surrender. You cannot save yourself, or improve yourself, or even learn lesson after lesson to become a stronger and more mature believer. You can only surrender, and let Jesus live through you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own devices, and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need will be provided. Now go out into your day, focused on Jesus, trusting that He will open doors, heal your wounds and make a way when it appears there is no way. Be happy and know that I came to give you life and life more abundantly.”

. . . it has not yet been revealed what we shall be . . . —1 John 3:2

Be ready in season and out of season —2 Timothy 4:2

Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to “be ready” only “out of season.” The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” In other words, we should “be ready” whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.

One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.

We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9

Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.

But the opposite case is equally true–once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing–to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.

We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . .” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord.
I love the idea of ultimate freedom and no more boundaries. The place where I have stumbled in the past is wanting to walk in that level of freedom before I walk in that level of surrender. If the natural desires aren’t crucified first … ultimate freedom and no boundaries can be a recipe for disaster. How do I know when I’m surrendered enough to have the “freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone.”

If you have to ask the question, you aren’t there yet. You always have freedom. I made you that way. But until you are totally surrendered and continually plugged in to me, you will feel the boundaries and guilt and doubt that you have lived with. You can try to break those boundaries, and deny the guilt and doubt, but those will just be replaced by others. Only surrender and focus on me and our relationship will make you truly free. So come to me and connect … all the time. Commune with me and do what I did in John 5:19 “only do what I see the Father doing…” I was totally free to do whatever I wanted to do including lay my life down, and you can walk in that same freedom. Surrender and connection and obedience lead to complete freedom. It doesn’t make sense to the world. Dont worry … I have overcome the world and show you a better way.

We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18

A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “. . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.

Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— “. . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Exodus 34:29).

We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.

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April 22, 2013

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, is amazing how you speak to me with your promises, not just in your word, but in songs, and the words of friends and even the songs on the radio. Perhaps it is because I am listening for You that I can hear Your voice? Both thoughts are accurate…if I believe I can hear you I can , and if I believe I cannot…..well then…I cannot. I believe Lord, help me in my unbelief.

And God says…”I am the great I Am. Trust in me with all your heart, do not rely on your own devices…and I will make your paths and heart straight. You cannot come to me out of more discipline, more Bible studies, or by gritting your teeth and trying harder to be a man after My own heart. You come to me with a tiny sliver of trust and hope knowing you cannot do any good thing. Give Me your trying, effort and sliver of hope and I will be the light of your life. You can do all things through Christ Jesus. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.  

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment . . . and plunged into the sea —John 21:7

Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.

Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.

If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.

Journal DJR

Good Morning Lord. The song says that “you ruined my life” but made a miracle. It’s the kind of ruining that I need. But it seems like if I try to schedule it … it doesn’t work, doesn’t really happen. Initially this devo was depressing and guilting me… But the last thought redeems it all… “let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.” It gives me something “to do” that seems in the realm of possibility to me. Concentrating on maintaining our intimate relationship. But as I think about it, I even need your help with that. Bottom line: I just need you. Left to my own devices, I run amuck. Thank you for loving me and not kicking me out, and providing everything that I need. Along with Paul, I say “Thanks.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.