When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that human ears have ever heard. “. . . seek first the kingdom of God . . . .” Even the most spiritually-minded of us argue the exact opposite, saying, “But I must live; I must make a certain amount of money; I must be clothed; I must be fed.” The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God but how we are going to take care of ourselves to live. Jesus reversed the order by telling us to get the right relationship with God first, maintaining it as the primary concern of our lives, and never to place our concern on taking care of the other things of life.

“. . . do not worry about your life. . .” (Matthew 6:25). Our Lord pointed out that from His standpoint it is absolutely unreasonable for us to be anxious, worrying about how we will live. Jesus did not say that the person who takes no thought for anything in his life is blessed— no, that person is a fool. But Jesus did teach that His disciple must make his relationship with God the dominating focus of his life, and to be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison to that. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Don’t make food and drink the controlling factor of your life, but be focused absolutely on God.” Some people are careless about what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless about what they wear, having no business looking the way they do; they are careless with their earthly matters, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second.

It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.

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May 21, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

When I take my eyes and heart off of you…..that is when I am anxious, and fearful. I know now it must be lived, not read or heard. I must live surrounded by trials and tribulations still experiencing the peace that passes all understanding.

And God says…”Life and life more abundantly must be lived and experienced inside all the demands of your earthly life. How would you know that I meet all your needs if there were not needs? How would you know the peace that passes all understanding if there were not challenges to your peace? I promised to meet all your needs, and taught you to ask Me for your daily bread. This is where I meet you and demonstrate My love for you. This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it”

God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, “I will be with him in trouble . . .” (Psalm 91:15). It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; nothing can ever separate him from his relationship to God. “In all these things we are more than conquerors . . .” (Romans 8:37). Paul was not referring here to imaginary things, but to things that are dangerously real. And he said we are “super-victors” in the midst of them, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of our courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes were not there.

“Shall tribulation . . . ?” Tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be— whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness— it is not able to “separate us from the love of Christ.” Never allow tribulations or the “cares of this world” to separate you from remembering that God loves you (Matthew 13:22).

“Shall . . . distress . . . ?” Can God’s love continue to hold fast, even when everyone and everything around us seems to be saying that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

“Shall . . . famine . . . ?” Can we not only believe in the love of God but also be “more than conquerors,” even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, having deceived even Paul, or else some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him. Only one thing can account for it— the love of God in Christ Jesus. “Out of the wreck I rise” every time.

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May 19, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, when I am connected to You in an intimate relationship, praying without ceasing, that is an ongoing dialog, all is well. Regardless of circumstance or issue, I know that when I am in relationship with You all is right in my world. Thank you for teaching me this.

And God says…”I may never remove the trials or burdens in your life, but I will give you the strength, courage and hope to live victoriously within them.  When you pray for hope, faith and help in a situation please remember that the very best help may be to leave you inside your circumstance so that you develop the character of Christ. So do not try to escape from your trials too early. Let them have their perfect result in you.  You can move from the pain of the trials as you stay connected to Me and experience the love, faith and hope available in Me.”

5 19 11 DJR Journal

Good morning, Lord.

Today’s message was timely as I’ve been diagnosed with Lyme’s … even found a tick on me … bagged it and took it in to the doc.     I’ve learned more than I ever wanted to know about the politics and science and pseudo science of Lyme’s disease.    At the bottom of it all is a rock solid conviction that You and I are going to overcome this thing.   I know that some of it will be me getting more healthy habits going.   I tend to get so focused on “the fight” that I tend to forget to consult the greatest Healer, You, who I have in my corner.    Please forgive me for that.

I do.  And you are right, you are excited to be fighting.  You are wired to fight.   To be for or against something.   For is better.    You are better off being “for health and a strong immune system” than against Lymes.   The difference may be subtle but when you are against something you run more risk of activating negativity that isn’t good for you.  Why not just turn it over and fight for the inverse?

OK,  you know there are more “therapies” and “cures” and treatments out there than a person could even do in their lifetime.    I think I have found a good wise leading MD who is holistic and plan to just pretty much follow his protocol … unless you have better ideas or want  me to do some of the weird stuff….?

I’ll let you know on the weird stuff.   The basic protocols are just good sense for the way I designed the body.    The weird food and lack of excercize you Americans practice causes more than half of your problems and causes you to have such poor final years.   So do the protocol and thrive.

I almost think I can do this thing by myself and You.   Since I’ve found a way to get prescription drugs without prescriptions and most of the rest of what I need is just food selection and supplements from the health food store or internet.     But I’ll find a Lyme Doc for extra help.    I really like the guy who wrote the book (Singleton) and he’s just across the river in Maryland.   He’s not taking new patients.   Should I push to become a patient?

It’s who I made you.   Go ahead and push.   You’ll enjoy the adventure.   Stay tight with me and I’ll lead you….   Out of the ashes you’ll rise……

OK  I love you.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin”— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as “the lilies of the field.”

The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.

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May 18, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I know. Lord, living in your grace and will is a daily experience. I also know that this life is a life of daily expectations, patience and faith. Thank you for giving me the patience and faith to wait on you with enormous expectations.  And I pray Lord that you allow me to share the gospel today without the use of words. Help me live out my faith connected to You, reaching out to others.

And God says…”The Holy Spirit shows you the magnitude of My love as you stay connected to Me. Acknowledge Me in all you do and I will make your paths straight. Your love, faith and patience grow as you seek Me; stay connected to Me and reach out to others. I can bless you as you bless others. You are a conduit, not a vessel….except to be poured out as I was poured out for you.”

5 18 11  DJR

Good morning, Lord

Today we re-learn that relationship with you is not cerebrally accomplished.   We just get it, more and more as we walk with you and focus on you and the Father.  Kind of like you showed us in John 5 : 19    My question is, “how then does that relate to scripture study.   You were a master of the scriptures.    I have assumed that we should aspire to that as well.  But the scripture experts in your day and today dont really impress me as “Knowing You”  as some of the brother Andrew types who work in the streets and give you away every day.   So what’s the connection?

You should study the scriptures as I did.  Do it every day.   Master them.   But not to show off but to be ready to give an answer to those who ask.   Also it helps you categorize and understand when you see me doing something.      Another picture I’ve shared in the past is Your Mind Like an Auto Parts store …. Where your conscious mind and place of interacting with the world is the front showroom.  There you observe things and have initial feelings about them.    The back warehouse is where all the real important parts are kept.   Your mind is like the back warehouse … full of shelves to store all the wisdom of life that you’ll ever need.    But have you stocked the shelves?     That’s what you do when you prayerfully study the Word.    Then when life brings you a tough challenge, you are not limited to your feelings of anger or compassion or any other.   Instead you can go back to where the wisdom is stored and bring out something that will stand you in good stead.    And amaze the ones who are limited to their feelings because they haven’t paid the price to stock the warehouse of their minds with my Word.

We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward— Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection— everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.

The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.

The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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May 17, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it is hard to imagine the love that You have for us…except as I try to grasp your sacrifice.  Sometimes I wonder why the cross as the vehicle? And then it strikes me that this symbol is uniquely  powerful. Thank You for Your sacrifice, and for the love that You demonstrated on that day and the days that followed. It is a lot to take in and I can only comprehend it through the Spirit.

And God says…”I gave My life freely. I ask you to give your life freely. I came to My sacrifice through great pain, and often you come to your life sacrifice out of great pain as well. However you also come to know Me through the love that envelopes you as you contemplate My origin, humanity, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. I came to serve, and so it is with you.”

We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.

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May 16, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, it is a lesson I would like to learn all at once….and for all. But once again right in the middle of my circumstance…whatever it is….You show me that you have provided for my every need. And just as I set boundaries for where and how I believe You will show up…just as I begin to put you in my box of expectations…You deliver me from myself and all my notions of what you will and will not do for me.

And God says…”  I am able to do more than you can ever think or imagine, as long as you allow Me to work in your life. And you make a way for Me as you turn loose of your control; letting go of your boundaries for Me and allowing Me to be God in your life. My work in your life is beyond all you can think or imagine, as you follow Me and let go of your notions about how and when and where I will work in your life. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.”

Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians 2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.

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.

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May 10, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I don’t know about this lesson. I have encountered failure after failure trying to take the initiative in my life.  Every time I grit my teeth and commit myself to do a thing you have lain on my heart, I fail miserably. For years I thought that everyone else was managing to take the initiative and make changes in their lives …except me. And here I go again with one more lesson about how I am supposed to be able to take the initiative and add things my life. And I know from experience, I will fail.

And God says…”The line between initiative and surrender can be confusing.  However there is no confusion when you ask Me to take over your life. There is no confusion when you acknowledge your shortcomings in prayer and ask for forgiveness…… and for Me to change you from the inside out. There is no confusion when you acknowledge that you need Me in every area of your life. The part that is you is surrender……and surrender does take initiative. Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight.”