Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.
If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.
It is with a measure of awareness that see a glimpse of my future; a very certain future. When I grasp the concept that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord…and I consider that God engineers all my circumstances, then there is no anxiety or fear, only surrender. When there is surrender, there is faith, love, peace, hope, joy and an eager anticipation. If I know this is true, and I do know this…. then Lord how is it that I am often consumed by difficult circumstances instead of being at peace living in eager anticipation of what will occur next?
And God says, “Whenever you take your eyes off of Me and look around at the waves, or the storms around you; or the potential for waves and storms….you get drawn into them. When you are totally surrendered to Me and at peace, full of joy you know it NOT because your circumstances are always perfect. You are at peace because you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the God of the universe loves you and cares for you. You know that the God that would give His only Son for you, would not withhold any other good thing from you. Trust in Me, look for Me in all you say and do and seek to be a messenger of my blessings today. “
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “. . . seek, and you will find . . . .” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . .”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . .” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“. . . knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God . . .” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands . . .” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “. . . purify your hearts . . .” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament . . . ” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves . . . ” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “. . . to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
Lord thank You for providing all that I need in You. Sometimes I take my eyes off of You and look at my circumstances or I look at what I think will be solutions to my life’s issues and opportunities. Still other times, when I think about it, I feel unworthy. And then your Spirit and word speak to me softly reminding me that because of what You have done, I can come boldly to you with my life and my needs. You remind me that I am yours. Because of who You are.
And God says…”When you let go of all that you think you must hang onto for support, you will find that I will never, ever let you fall. But you must first let go. Whom or what shall you fear, when you clearly realize that you are Mine? If I am for you, and My sacrifice is testimony to that fact, then who can stand against you? You are mine and I will withhold no good thing from you. Trust in Me and let go of what you think is your safety net…and I will make your paths straight.”
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . ” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives . . . .” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom . . . .” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
I wonder how you see my needs and pleadings. Do I wear You out with my cries for forgiveness, help and direction? Then I talk to one of my children and then I understand. Our cries to You are indeed better than a halleluiah.
And God says…” You cannot begin to understand the depths of My love for you. I love you more than you can ever hope or imagine and I want to demonstrate my love in every possible way. And just like a parent I understand what is the very best for you. Just like a parent, I want you grasp the tough gifts of discipline, commitment and responsibility, while you also demonstrate love, hope, loving-kindness, and forgiveness. I showed you immeasurable love in the person and sacrifice of Jesus. You must know that I would not withhold any good thing from you.”
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . .” (John 7:17).
Thank you for the lessons Lord. I am learning that Your will is not determined by the outcome as interpreted by my eyes and my filters. It is not an easy lesson. I have always interpreted Your will by the doors that open to provision, safety …a good or more secure outcome for me and mine. I have interpreted my next steps by how they might add to the safety, security, and provision for my family and me. It is not an easy lesson to learn that I am to no longer use those elements as my yardstick to determine Your will, my next steps or actions. The song says blessed be your name in all things…and I understand that I can sing that song as long as I am obedient to your will and often Your will is not necessarily found in my perceptions. You are the provision, safety, and security…and I am to follow You-not the elements that might signal safety, security and provision.
And God says…”It is a great deception. You often interpret My will by the worldly success or outcome or opportunity. You think it was a success if 1000 showed up at church, or if 25 came forward, or if the investment paid off and or he or she were healed. And while it is My will that people are healed and you be blessed, my perfect will is for you to become conformed to the likeness of Christ Jesus. Jesus only acted in My will and you know the outcome of His physical life. And yet it was the most victorious life ever lived. The victory came out of what appeared (to human eyes and perceptions) to be utter defeat. The eternal victory came after and through the physical and worldly failure. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; praise the name of Jesus in all things. Operate in My will because You know it is My will, not because you think it has the most successful worldly outcome. My ways are not your ways.
Romans 12
Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . —John 14:13
Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.
However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me . . . “— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . .” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.
I used to wonder about Your many names Lord. Jehovah – Jireh, The Lord will provide, or Jehovah – Shalom, The Lord of Peace, and Jehovah – Maccaddeshem, The Lord sanctifier, and the eleven others listed in the Bible. Why were You given so many names? And then as the song played I considered the names of Jesus; Healer, Savior, Provider, Sanctifier, Deliverer……and I could go on and on and on. And I begin to realize that it is simply one more way to trust You in every area of my life.
And God says …”Many trust Me for salvation, sanctification, and provision. Many trust Me for peace and healing, while many others trust Me and have faith that I will protect them and their families. But at the heart of the intense belief in every area is need. You find the faith and trust because you need salvation, sanctification, provision, peace, healing or protection. And yet many, many times you cry out for Me to remove your needs. It is a small but important distinction that I meet your needs…I do not remove them. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely or trust in your own ways, and He will make your paths straight. I will meet all your needs according to My riches in glory. Call Me by the name that meets your needs: Healer, Provider, Savior, Protector, Deliverer, and of course call Me all these names as you call the names of Jesus.”
. . . work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you . . . —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “. . . for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
Lord, I need you in so many areas of my life, and I wonder if I am worthy enough to receive your love, grace and hope. I wonder if I matter enough or if I am good enough to receive your care and provision. And then I remember the sacrifice of Jesus.
When I recall the magnitude of your sacrifice I grasp a bit of the truth…and then the Holy Spirit speaks to me quietly reminding me that I am yours….not because of anything I have or have not done, but because of Jesus.
And God says…”You will have doubts and concerns in this life, but they can serve as reminders to stay connected to Me. You may stray and defy Me and My word and direction … that too can serve to drive you back to Me. You come to learn that because You are mine, I will never let you go…ever. All things work together for good for those that love Me and are called according to My purpose. Trust Me and rest, you are spoken for.”
Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, “No, by nothing,” but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.
If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.
“He himself shall dwell in prosperity . . .” (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to “dwell in prosperity,” keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. “God is our refuge . . .” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.
Obsessed is a word that brings some negative connotations to my mind. One primary definition of obsessed is: preoccupied with concern. And when You are the first and last thing on my mind and in my heart, I really do not feel any concern at all, Lord. Chambers was right about forgetting worry and fears. I have learned that when you occupy my heart, mind and thoughts, even though my circumstances may be challenging, I can face life in eager anticipation. It is not a question of bringing you my prayers and petitions, or my worries and concerns. When I simply bring myself and seek You…every worry, concern and challenge pales in comparison and I am at peace. Thank you Lord.
And God says…”You will face challenges and trials in this life, I have told you this over and over. But these challenges and trials can work to your advantage when you let Me navigate your life. Remember, nothing can touch you that has not first touched my hands, and I love you more than you can imagine or even understand. …Philippians 4 (Message)6-7Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3
Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.
“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . .” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.
Just as I think I have graduated from immature Christian to mature believer, or have been promoted from Private Christian to corporal or sergeant…perhaps even Colonel Christian, I go and do something really off the way…..
Then as I am chiding and condemning myself, asking for your grace and forgiveness, You send me a lesson and song like this, reminding me that You love me anyway. You remind me that your grace is an ocean and I can drown in it if I choose. I may not be able to choose to always be obedient and faithful even as I try my very hardest. But I can choose Your grace.
And God says…”Whenever, whatever, however you find yourself, you can always choose Me. There is no need to be separated from Me, even when you “do something really off the way”. You can be immediately restored. When you are immediately restored through confession and repentance, and are connected to Me you allow Me to once again (and again, and again, and again….) to live and love through you, changing you from the inside out. If you confess your sins, I am faithful and just and will forgive you… and purify you. There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.
Trust in Me and recall Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans…Romans 7:22-28 -It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . .for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25
Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.
Put God’s Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).
A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need— our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God’s “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God’s “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.
Put God’s Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5).
God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.
Lord, I know you have been reaching out to me in a number of ways lately, preparing me for a “next step”. I do not know what that “next step” is, but you have been reminding me that I am to put my trust in you, seek your will and to put Jesus first. You have placed me in positions where I must “get out of the boat and walk” and live the faith and trust you have provided. It feels like the rehearsals have been accelerated and it is almost time for the curtain to be raised on the very next step.
.” And God says…”All things work for the good of those that trust the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Those that wait upon the Lord will run and not be weary and will rise up as if they had wings of eagles. Trust, rest in Me, and let Jesus live through you…..and have life and life more abundantly.”
May 31 2011 DJR
Good morning, Lord
I have been wondering about vision. Vision from you …. Vision that is of my own making? What’s the difference? Finding your vision for me and jumping on that instead of asking you to bless my vision. These are things that I’ve thought about over the years. Last nite Tony was sharing his vision for a career in Green. Is it from you? Or just something nice. Can we use the assumed close? And start marching and be guided by closed doors – open doors?
All of that is secondary. The main thing that will keep you on track is keeping tight with me. Then we can update and modify your vision and your passion in good time. Even if you are on an impure, or second rate or carnal vision … if you stay tight with me, it will become clear. I am always there to guide you … if you slow down and spend the time with me you will know the vision and the passion will follow.
Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.
By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
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May 30, 2011
Journal Entry for Today-JDV
Lord, over the past few days You have been speaking to me through lessons, sermons, songs and that still small voice. You also sent a lesson about hearing your voice clearly so I would not miss this leading. You have been reminding me that Your sheep hear Your voice. I am beginning to learn how “to know” it is You leading.
Knowing You intimately and knowing Your voice is a critical element if I am to walk in Your will as I face the day to day issues and decisions.
And I know it takes practice, listening for You in all I do… over and over until my immediate response is always obedience….because I just know it is Your voice and Your leading. I have used my natural filters in the past to determine if it is really your voice…my common sense, analytic skills and natural mind. Not so much (or as much) anymore…..thank you for that gift. Thank You for leading me to a place where I know it is You leading. I know it is You because You also provide that awareness as well. I know now that You are always communicating with Me, I just need to listen with my spiritual ears.
And God says…”As you pray and ask for discernment…listen, and you will hear My voice. I speak to you in many, many ways….My word, sermons, songs, other believers, and that still small voice, just to name a few ways. The test for My voice and discerning My will for your life is not found in common sense, or your resources or abilities. The test is found in My word and in our intimate relationship built on prayer and day by day, hour by hour communications. You come to know my voice and learn to trust and obey immediately. Seek Me first through Christ Jesus, and everything else will follow. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Acknowledge the Lord in all you do and do not rely on your own devices (or resources) and He will make your paths straight.
Journal DJR
May 30, 2011
Good Morning, Lord
As I was beginning to read today’s devotional, I realized that my mind is “SWAYABLE” (spell check says that’s a new word) … Able to be swayed by the stressors, chaos, & pressure of the current context. Probably we all are capable of being swayed by the influences around us. This could be in a good way … emulating a selfless hero, but usually in a not so good way … Germany in the 1930’s etc. So I’m thinking about this “swayability” I probably cant totally eliminate it … this side of heaven. But minimizing it seems to be a good project. The reason, of course is to not be swayed away from You and your best plan for me.
Yes, this is a good project to think about and work on. Remember I said a few things about it. Let your yes be yes, etc and remember how even my disciples tried to sway me away from my mission, but my face was “set like a flint” toward Jerusalem and my destiny. Some of my men & women have had that type of determination. Most dont. But you can. It is an exciting way to live.
I see people having great determination and focus in athletics and business and politics … and I’ve had some of that at times. It has some value but pales in significance compared to focusing that intensity on following You.
Remember that to follow me to the max, you must know me and see me and hear me. Of course you can basically follow me by just following the commandments. But the more exciting ride comes when you know me and hear me and see me. Then we can walk together in the details that go beyond just following the instruction book. Then you will get customized visions that are for you and you alone. Sometimes they will seem foolish to those around you. Remember:
Dont Doubt In The Dark, What I’ve Shown You In The Light!
I’m seeing that certain times are more likely to have swaying influences and it helps to precondition my mind toward unswayability … like when preparing to attend a time share sales pitch. Or when going in to any marketing situation. Of course we are surrounded by marketing, everything is marketing and Satan is the Master Marketer of all time. … So I will push my mind toward You and the dreams and mission that you give me … especially at times of vulnerability.
This CO2- (Church Of 2) is where two guys meet each day to tighten up our Connections with Jesus. We start by placing the daily “My Utmost For His Highest” in this WordPress blog. Then we prayerfully select some matching worship music and usually pick out a few lyrics that fit especially well. Then we just start praying and editing and Bolding and adding comments and see where the Spirit takes us.
It’s been a blessing for both of us.
If you’d like to start a CO2, we’d be glad to help you and your partner get started. Also click the link below to see how others are doing CO2.Odds Monkey
Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus To A Secular Audience
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