It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.

What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.

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March 4, 2011

It seems that You are teaching me a lesson about trusting You to be very clear regarding Your will and direction for my life. I am not to choose my direction and ask You to bless my choice, I am to wait, and wait and wait (if necessary) on your direction….. trusting Your will and timing.

And God says…”Too often you, like many others, assume you know what I want you to do in a situation or circumstance;  you offer up a prayer and …”away you go” asking Me to bless the road or choice you ”thought” I wanted you to follow. But that is not the way to live in My will. I am not the author of chaos or uncertainty. For you the issue is one of waiting. Wait, be patient, let patience have her time. You will ALWAYS know exactly what I want you do, where to go, how to go there. Ask, and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened, Those that wait upon the Lord grow strong, and certain.”

This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).

Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ’Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.

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March 3, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, I have a very important meeting today. Can You and will You help me with it?

And God says…”Of course I can and will help You. However, you should always understand that that I have the very best in mind for you. Your notion of what is good for you and My notion of what is the very best for you may be different.  Today you believe your future will be better if the outcome of your meeting goes a particular way. However, what if you went into your meeting knowing that I have already secured the very best future for you and all you need do is to rest and trust in Me?  You can go into your meeting free and unencumbered by expectations. You can go into your meeting trusting Me and have all your facilities available to You for honest and open communication. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own devices and I will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 40:31 (New International Version, ©2011)

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ’Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things . . . .” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.

Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.

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March 2, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Right up until the time that I lose my temper, or my thought regulator, I begin to feel smug and safe in my role and growth as a believer. And then out of nowhere, I lose my way.

And God says…”When you feel safe, are you still vigilant? Where do you think the enemy goes to steal, and cause havoc?  He goes to the source of light. He and his are drawn to those that are making a difference as believers. Plan for your next temptation, plan for your next attack…..know in advance what you will do before he attacks you. ….Be prepared as you are for many other dangers in this world. I have given you the tools and directions, simply obey and claim victory.”

James 4:7 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Ephesians 6:11-18 (New International Version, ©2011)

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful . . . , piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . .”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.

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March 1, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord I know I love you and want to be obedient and transformed into your likeness. And for a while I can and will look back and notice not only your provision; day by day, but the transformation that I see  taking place day by day…and then…..I fail miserably.  My pride or lust or fear gets in the way and I think or do something that makes me wonder if I have been transformed at all.

And God says…” There is no perfection in you….yet. There are trials, struggles and persecutions that can and do help shape you. They will continue until you are perfected …here in heaven. You will notice every scar; wound and piercing that we, you and I, have endured also serve to make us who we were and are to become.  Your wounds, scars and piercings are testimony to your love and obedience, and many are developed as your walk is corrected. You demonstrate your love for Me when you live in Me AND when you return to Me after your failures…….If you love Me you will live in Me and after your failures return to Me….until your day of perfection”.

1 John 1:9 (The Message)

^8-10If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Now we believe. . . .” But Jesus asks, “Do you . . . ? Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you . . . will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light asHe is in the light. . .” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation-just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.

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February 28, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I am standing still seeking you and waiting for vision, direction, courage and hope…and the faith that seems to be growing even as I wait. Funny, I thought that the faith I was praying for would arrive all at once in a blinding flash of RIGHT NOW! But no, it seems to be growing a bit at a time. Perhaps that is the way the vision and direction will come…a bit at a time as I wait on you.

And God says…”Strength will rise as you wait on the Lord.  And you will find all you need right when you need it as you look to Me. Instead of looking for your circumstances to change, delight yourself in Me and then look back and notice how I met all your needs as you were not even paying attention to them. I even supplied the faith. I will provide the vision as well a day at a time. Acknowledge Me in all your ways, and I will make your paths straight. As you wait you will grow up with wings of eagles, run and not be weary as you take hold of My promises.”

Once “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren . . .” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.

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February 24, 2011

The memorial services for Mike were held yesterday.  It was clear that God had His hand on and in the services.  Even though the services were not integrated, only the immediate family could  tell the difference Lord. But why was it necessary to have two services Lord? Why was there such turmoil and chaos surrounding Mike’s passing?

And God Says…”It was all organized, planned and executed for the good of those that love Me, and those that will love Me. It was for My honor and glory.  There was turmoil, strong emotions, passionate people, and there was Jesus. Against such a backdrop, more people could see Jesus as He was manifest in you and others.  Trust in Me and do not rely on your own understanding. Mike’s passing continues to serve Me, as I continue to touch others as a result.”

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.

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February 21, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

It is a wonder. I never imagined that these repetitive trials would create a stronger bond and connection to my God. Many years ago, when the going got tough I started going…away.  Today the trials are much greater, or at least seem much more severe and yet they are bringing me closer and closer to You Lord.

And God says…”This refining fire can have both results. The fire can heat the silver so that when the impurities are skimmed off the top, the refiner’s reflection can be  clearly seen. If the silver is not heated hot enough, the impurities cannot be eliminated. If it is heated too hot, the ore will be ruined. The fire must be just hot enough, and long enough so that My reflection can be seen. ….

Inside the trials continue to remember that all things work for the good of those that love Me and are called to My purpose. Remember that nothing can touch you that has not first passed through my hands. Be patient in your trials allowing them to have their perfect result.

The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive—only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things-things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

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February 17, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I have never known a world without my brother in it. It all looks the same but there is a space in my heart that is his space. He was not around a great deal but there was a space in my heart nonetheless, and he filled that space whether he was close by or gallivanting around the desert.  I wonder what to do with that space?

And God says…”Fill his space with Me. Fill every space in your heart with Me. Fill the space for your father, brother and friends with Me. Not just the spaces held by memories- fill the space in your heart and mind for all those you love. Fill the spaces in your heart with Me.  When you give them love or water and warmth, you are giving it to Me. When you extend the love, hope and courage that I give you, you honor Me, and the space that you thought was empty is filled to overflowing.”

Journal  2 17 11 DJR

Good Morning Lord,  The bottom line today seems to be that when we obey … things get better … even if the circumstances dont change.   The missing link sometimes is not hearing the voice to obey.    And then we are back to connection.   And all that can prevent it, like busyness, self focus, etc and all that can promote it, like devotion, worship, meditation and an expectation to hear and obey.     What have I most been missing?  I dont really do that much flat out disobedience, but I dont feel like I’ve been hearing as well as we would like.    I’m sure I just run right by opportunities for hearing and obeying every day…..

You have that right and the first step is seeing and acknowledging it … so congratulations…   Start today.   Go expecting to hear.   And listen.   And I will speak.

OK,  I choose to trust you.   I love you.