Jesus said to His disciples, ’If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .’ —Matthew 16:24

The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-will. We hinder our spiritual growth more than any other way by continually asserting our individuality. If you say, “I can’t believe,” it is because your individuality is blocking the way; individuality can never believe. But our spirit cannot help believing. Watch yourself closely when the Spirit of God is at work in you. He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either to say, “I will not surrender,” or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing (see Matthew 5:23-24). It is your individuality that refuses to “be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:24). God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. “. . . let him deny himself . . .”— deny his independent right to himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is allowed the opportunity to grow.

_________________________________________________

December 11, 2012

Lord, it seems lately that I have been consumed by my own issues and opportunities and frankly Lord, I needed this devotional. I needed to be reminded that it is not just population…me.  I needed this reminder that life is not my  movie around which everyone else plays a supporting role to my lead character.  Lord, help me see myself not  as an individual but as part of Your kingdom.

And God says…” The enemy would like you to feel like an individual, isolated, and alone even in your victories; and especially in your pain. But you are not alone, ever. I hold you in my hands and arms as I do everyone. And I loved them all even before they loved Me.  Seek Me in all you do…stay connected to Me and you will feel and act on your connection to others. When you are connected to Me, you will be connected to others as I live through you, reaching out and connecting all the time. One way to determine if we are truly connected is your connection with others. When you are reaching out naturally, it is an extension of you and I being connected. When you feel isolated, check
your connection with Me. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus ……..”

It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman —Galatians 4:22
]’?

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).

I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth —Genesis 9:13

Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22).

When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.

. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40

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.”

______________________________________________

December 5, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, lessons like this one stop me cold. Because I know I could and should treat my body as if it is yours and not mine. I know that I should take much better care of myself; work out more frequently, eat the right foods, think better thoughts, and in general demonstrate that I understand that my body belongs to You and is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  This lesson convicts me Lord. What can I do to become more disciplined about my body? How can I bring it under control?

And Gods says…”It is the very same lesson you have been learning for many years. You cannot, as Paul wrote, do the right things, but Jesus living inside of you can and does. Let go of your idea that you need to be a better man with more discipline. It does not work. Grinding your teeth and promising to do “the right thing” will only frustrate you, as you fail time after time after time.  Surrender your entire person to Jesus every day, every hour and every minute. Keep Jesus in your sight and let Him live through you. There is no reason to keep fighting a fight that has  already been won. Trust in the Lord with all your might and do not rely on your own methods and  discipline and He will make your paths straight. I will finish the good work I began in you; simply stay connected to Jesus and observe…. as the Spirit of the living God remakes you in His image.”

To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7

Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.

Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.

And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.

________________________________________________________________________

December 4, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I am not really certain what Chambers was trying to say here, but the thread of a lesson has been working its way into my mind over the last few days; that struggles and trials are essential for spiritual maturity.  There was a time when I believed that life was supposed to be day to day living without pain, fear, anxiety or trials. And that if there was hardship then there must be something amiss. I must be doing something wrong, and perhaps You even abandoned me.

And God says…”It is a very important lesson to learn. It is like a demonstration of courage.  Courage is not acting as if you have no fear; courage is doing the right thing, taking the right action even in the midst of fear. Abundant living is not living without trouble, trials, fears or pain. Abundant living is the act (s) of living in Jesus and His abundant life even in the midst of trials, doubt and uncertainty.  You may still have difficult circumstances, and be pressed upon all around, but when you surrender it all to Jesus, you still can live an abundant life. And as you look back you will notice that those difficult times were the very sandpaper and whetstones that shaped you into the person I knew you to be. Do not try and get out of your trials too soon. Let them have their perfect result. You must feel the hurts, pain and trials for them to have their very positive result in you. And never fear; I am with you always and will allow nothing to touch you that has not first passed through My hands.”

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4

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.

_______________________________________________________________

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

December 3, 2012

Lord, what takes You so long? Why do you wait, and wait, and then wait some more when I am in pain, hurt or doubting? Why must I go through the pain, doubt and uncertainty? Lord, I know You love me; I know that You want  the very best for me. Then why do You leave me alone and adrift sometimes wondering if you are there at all? Why don’t You respond to my cries for help immediately? Why must I be left alone inside my own pain, hurt or doubts for  what seems to be a long, long time before you show up?

And God says…” My ways are not your ways, and I do know what is the very best for you. I also know how you will learn, grow and become purified over time.  Trust in Me and even when you do not see or hear Me just know that I am letting the trial, doubt or uncertainty have the perfect result in your life. Know that I love more than you can ever imagine and the evidence of that is the sacrifice of Jesus. Look for Me to love You and because I love you, know that very often immediate rescue is not the answer. Look for me inside all that surrounds you, not just the rescue. Look for Me in all that touches you and know that I am God, and I will allow nothing to touch you that has not first passed through My hands. Know that many things that shape and mold you are Jesus in disguise.”

He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14

The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.

The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!

Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.

. . . being justified freely by His grace . . . —Romans 3:24

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).

____________________________________________________________________

November 28, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, whatever it takes to make me understand that I need Jesus more than anything else in this world is what seems to come my way lately. This lesson is the constant and ongoing lesson. I find myself right at the foot of the cross every day Lord; in need, in pain or simply acutely aware of my hopeless condition without Jesus. You bring me right back to the same place, the place of surrender. Thank you God.

And God says…”All things work for the good of those that love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose. When you delight yourself in the Lord, acknowledge Me in all your ways and seek first the Kingdom of God which is Jesus, all things are become new and possible. All hurts and pain become bearable, and you engage the day with the positive and enlightened view of the Holy Spirit. Seek Me in all you see, do and think and notice the change.”

. . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world —Galatians 6:14

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 (seeJohn 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?”