Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.

“. . . you . . . will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God.Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental

“. . . be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

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April 4, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Father God, it seems like obstacles are lined up against me….all around me and I cannot seem to get an answer to my prayers. And then this devotional shows up teaching me that You will allow me to stay inside my circumstances and obstacles long enough to understand that blessings and rescue are not the issues nor do they provide the answers to my life questions. Our relationship is the issue. …OK I get it, but why does this feel like just one more time of blessings and or promises being delayed so I can go through more pain?

And God says…” Your life with Me and our relationship must be about more than just blessings and rescue if you are to truly live in abundant life. If I was your “cosmic genie” at your beck and call, would you live a life of faith and commitment to Me or would you simply show me you list of wants and needs and wait for Me to deliver?  Do you notice that when you are surrounded by difficult circumstances you are more attuned to my voice, more acutely aware of Me in your life? You are less distracted by the routine of your life and more focused on Me. Have I not always delivered you at the precise moment and time of your need? Trust in Me and rest in me, regardless of your circumstances or feelings. Delight yourself in the Lord….and He will give you the desires of your heart. When have I NOT shown up to answer your prayers? Perhaps NOT when you first called or cried out in fear, but at the precise time when my response would have the most impact. “

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it ” (John 2:5).

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March 28, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I thought I understood the way I was being led, and then….whoa, it all changed. I thought I had it all under control as I began to get comfortable in my discomfort. The changes you brought about began to seem regular and normal as I adjusted my expectations– I took a breath and began to “settle in” for some rest and then you changed it all up again.

And God says…”When you set your expectations of Me you inadvertently set the boundaries of your faith. When you expect Me to do things in certain ways you limit My ability to operate in your life. You have heard it said that some people make Me too small, and this is how it is done…by setting their expectations inside preconceived notions. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Seek first the kingdom of God..and release your limits of Me and let Me be God in your life.”

The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.

Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.

If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.

What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it-it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.

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March 23, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

One more lesson to remind me that I am not the one to change me, God, you will do that. I am to keep my eyes on You. I am to bring my failures to you along with my confession and repentance and trust You to make me into the image of Jesus.  Lord you know I have tried, and tried and failed time after time.  But I have changed, as I look back I can see the changes…and they could only have occurred supernaturally. Thank you.

And God says…”Remember that I want a relationship with you, just like the relationship I sought with Adam. His disobedience and yours would not let that occur without Jesus. As you look to Me and the sacrifice of Jesus, your disobedience and failures become fewer and fewer, and when I look at you I can only see Jesus.  Acknowledge Me in all your ways and I will make your paths straight…. (All the time….. in My time). Remember that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to My purpose…even your failures. Stay close to Me- do not hide from Me when you fail….(notice I did not say IF you fail). Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart…..as you delight yourself in Me you and your desires are transformed. ,,, Enjoy this life while you are here, live in delight.”

Journal DJR 3 23 11

Good morning Lord,   I think you showed me something the other day after the church group was discussing sex and what to tell teenagers.   And those who are falling short of the highest moral ground.    … When we come to a point where our best attempts at living out our best intentions are falling short … we are at a crossroads.   We can rationalize and lower the standard … or we can appropriate Grace, acknowledge the shortcoming (sin) and be thankful for the forgiveness as we continue (let you continue) the work in us.   It seemed a clear revelation to me at the time, after we had left.   Dont mess with the OrthoDoxy when the Ortho Praxis isn’t measuring up.  Find the Grace and live in the tension….   When I’ve tried to share the concept with a few folks since then, it didn’t seem so awesome to them.  To one it seemed trite and basic.  The other didn’t “get it”

That’s the way revelation is.   It’s for you and for now.   And a different revelation is for them and for then … and you may not get it that time.    It’s OK and it’s all truth if it’s from me.   My truth and my Ways are higher… so accept it and ride the wave.

I am continuing to love what my mentor Dave Peck said about the commandments,  He preferred to look at them as the 10 Suggestions.   That a loving father would have for his children that he loved and wanted the best for them.   But in the self limited context of free will and consequences, he could only suggest what would work out best for them.    As you know, that got me kicked out once.   But I think it’s brilliant.     These current folks didn’t kick me out … but they didn’t think it’s as brilliant and so much of an answer as I do.

Once again, it is revelation that is for you for now.   All my children will get what they need in my time as they work together with me.   Trust me.

I do.   I find it easy to trust you for them.    But for me.  There I sometimes stumble.  Like this appointment today.   Is it a waste of time?  Are you in it?  Where is this going?   I wish I were more sure.

Some things benefit from the maxim,   Dont doubt in the dark what you’ve seen in the light.    You saw this in the light.  Now it’s not so clear.   Dont doubt.  Dont even think about it until there is a reason to.   I will give you more light when you are ready for it.

OK, sounds good.

We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.

We cannot kindle when we will The fire which in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides; But tasks in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.

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March 22, 2011

I think I am learning a lesson in a series of lessons about staying connected to you Lord, even though I may have sinned and or fallen short of your laws and my expectations. It is a lesson about embracing you even when I feel unworthy of your love, mercy and grace.

And God says…”You will fail Me, others and yourself. Trying not to fail is like walking on rocks in a river, teetering every time there is a wind or wave and you lose your balance. I came to give you life and life more abundantly, to set you free from the bondage of sin…not that you would sin no more, but that you would stay connected to Me through Jesus Christ. And through the connection let me change you from the inside out. Whatever happens in your life know that I will not leave you. Nothing can separate you from My love…nothing.

Romans 8:38-39 (New International Version, ©2011)

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.