. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.

Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.

We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2).

They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”

Be entirely His!

He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16

He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38

Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.

When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “. . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “. . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?

“He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?

___________________________________________________________________

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, Today you showed us (we think) that all the blessings and answers we need are already “deployed” and heading our way. The thing that sometimes happens is that we miss them by stressing out and trying to control things. Rather than staying curious and letting your blessings and answers come in your time and your way. When we stress out and strive in our own power and intellect, we usually come up with a mess – and miss out on your best. We’re coming to the conclusion that the lynchpin – cornerstone – benchmark … the only thing worth striving for, is maintaining our connection with you and staying in peace, remaining curious & expectant, seeing what you have for us and just living out of that. Simple. A simple road map for the Blessed Life. But so easy to wander off the path. So many enticements to take control and find a “better way” Help us stay on track. On track to You.

No problem. That’s what I sent Holy Spirit for. And the Stories. They are there for you to learn from history and the successes and mistakes of others. As you say, it is simple. Your challenge is more about unlearning than learning. Just like the Scribes and Pharisees. They had learned so much. So much that wasn’t so. And only a few could unlearn enough of it to see and receive the simple blessing that I was (am) offering.

Keep it simple. Be a blessing … and be blessed. Or be blessed and be a blessing. It works both ways if you’re connected with me.

Genesis 12:1-20
The Call of Abram … Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

You see, Abram was connected. He heard my voice and was obedient to it. And it worked out well for him. He received the blessing that had already been deployed toward him. And you, and all my kids, are still being blessed because he was connected enough to hear and obedient enough to receive and become the blessing that I deployed when I promised. Don’t misunderstand. There were bumps and detours in his path … just like there are in yours. Don’t beat yourself up when you miss a turn on the path, just come back (quickly) to Me and we’ll get you back on the path. Like the prodigal son. There are many lessons that you can learn from that story. But the relevant one is to minimize the time you stay “off the trail” Come back to me quickly and I will love you and re-deploy you toward being blessed and being a blessing.

. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

_________________________________________________________

DJR Journal
Good Morning Lord,
I would have written this differently. Chambers says your only goal is to produce holiness in us. I would say that you have many goals but if it were narrowed down to one … that it would be to have a love relationship with us. That in turn would produce holiness. Perhaps it’s semantics or the chicken and egg, but it seems important which is comes first and which is the side effect or consequence. I have found that striving for Holiness doesn’t work so well in me. I can do it for a while but backsliding and failure followed by guilt mark that path. When I strive to merely tighten up the relationship, spend more time with you, learning to hear your voice and feel your heart … then Holiness kind of falls in place. And to the extent that it doesn’t … I receive your grace and know that Jesus’ sacrifice is making up the difference. Because of the relationship, I dont want to abuse that grace, but I dont feel driven by guilt to “get better” or more holy. Am I on the right track here?

Yes. Keep on coming to me. You will receive more than you expected, and part of what you receive will be the power to be Holy. Some unholiness will just fall away. In some cases there will be a decision point. But the decision will be empowered by my Love, not your will power. It will be a lot easier.

. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1

Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask, and you will receive . . .” (John 16:24). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, “. . . unless you . . . become as little children . . .” (Matthew 18:3). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.

___________________________________________________

Journal DJR

Good morning Lord,
I think Oswald Chambers is emphasizing his point … that prayer changes me, more than things. But isn’t it true that prayer can change both … me, and the circumstances.

Yes, of course. But each of those aspects work differently. On prayer changing you… It works every time. And in a predictable way. It will lead you to Peace and Christlikeness. All my kids should do it more.

On prayer changing your circumstances… Only if you are dialed in and seeing thru my eyes and praying as I would pray will you have great success in seeing the circumstances change. Otherwise you will get focused on the outcome that you have in your mind and pray for that, instead of the way I taught you to pray, …Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, etc…

Also other things are going on and the Laws of the Universe that I created are in place. Like gravity. I can override that or any Law, but it’s not my usual M.O. Also sin and brokenness and death are in the world for a while longer.

You’ve learned to stay curious to see what I’ll do in various circumstances. Be curious about how I am making intercession, and when you see it and hear it… Join me in those prayers. Then you will see great things. Those prayers will change you AND the circumstances.

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . —John 12:35

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you . . . —John 14:27

There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “. . . My peace I give to you. . .”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.

Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.

With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27).

I have called you friends . . . —John 15:15

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3

The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This literally means, “Blessed are the paupers.” Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s strength of will or the beauty of his character— things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, “Make a decision for Jesus Christ,” places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, “Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom.” I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness— I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.

The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord. “He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.

Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for the clarity that we can use defensiveness as a “dashboard indicator” that we are disconnected from you. We never saw you being defensive. When we are defensive … from someone wanting to control us or put us down … we can look to our connection with you … And we will find peace. Even in the storm and even if the people attacking us dont change. That is the other dashboard indicator … the Peace Meter. If our Peace Meter is at 100%, we can be assured that, as the song says, “it is well with my soul” These are really helpful indicators. But knowing about them and walking in peace all the time without any defensiveness are two different things. How do we implement … turn this knowledge into wisdom?

Dont get too analytical. Analysis of peace will chase the peace away. Rather, keep these dashboard indicators in the background. Dont look at them all the time. that is not peace. Just like in your car, look at them occasionally and know the ones that need immediate attention. Those will flash or even buzz. Like the low fuel gage. or the seatbelt alarm. Stress and defensiveness are like those. The solution is to step back, come to me, remind yourself that I am with you, and stay curious, knowing that you and I can have peace, even when another person is fighting their own demons. Let the peace sneak up on you. Notice it happily and move on with what’s next. That’s the best kind.