. . . tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high —Luke 24:49


The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The statement in John 7:39 — “. . . for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”— does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified— our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.

The Holy Spirit’s influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.

It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ— it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity— it is one amazing glorious now. “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.

(Rockin’ Music Alternative)

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for the lesson of yesterday and today. These two correlate with a song that got my attention in church Sunday. It was written by St Francis of Assisi in 1225. That in itself signaled me that perhaps you are putting things together to add up to “a message for me” That seems to be one of the ways that I hear your voice…. When several inputs all say the same thing. or at least related. The reference to brother sun, sister moon, Mother Earth, sister water, brother fire, etc was encouraging. Encouraging to see that for at least 900 years there has been at least a portion of your family that choose to see you in ALL of your creation and not relegate you to just the spiritual unseen realm. I’m happy to be counted with St Francis in looking at your Creation and expecting to find you in it. And I expect that you will show me how you see those who discover the systems of your creation… without necessarily finding “you” in the process and how I am to relate to that whole concept. Worshipping the Creation and missing the Creator.

That is a legitimate concern and I have plans for all. … But realize that “missing the Creator” can happen in any arena. Including Sunday Mornings. You can get wrapped up and stressed out in any environment and miss the most important part. Like Martha did when Mary zeroed in and focused. For now that is what I will leave you with … zero in and focus on me. You can’t go wrong with that. As the devo ended today….

it is one amazing glorious now. “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.

Here’s the whole text to the St Francis song from 1225 AD.

1 All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O brother sun with golden beam,
O sister moon with silver gleam,
sing praises! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 O brother wind with clouds and rain,
you nurture gifts of fruit and grain.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O sister water, flowing clear,
make music for your Lord to hear.
Sing praises! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 O brother fire, so warm and bright,
chase off the shadows of the night.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Dear mother earth, who day by day
unfolds such blessings on our way,
sing praises! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
4 All who for love of God forgive,
all who in pain or sorrow grieve,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ bears your burdens and your fears;
so, even in the midst of tears,
sing praises! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
5 And you, most gentle sister death,
waiting to hush our final breath:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Since Christ our light has pierced your gloom,
fair is the night that leads us home.
Sing praises! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
6 O sisters, brothers, take your part,
and worship God with humble heart.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
All creatures, bless the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, Three in One!
Sing praises! Alleluia!

Pray without ceasing . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you —Matthew 6:33

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

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

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

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Journal DJR
Good morning Lord.
It doesn’t seem to us like you set up your kingdom to according to a quid pro quo or vending machine metaphor …. if we do x, then you give y. But this verse kind of sounds that way.

What is my kingdom and how is it accessed? My kingdom is me. I am all in all. Access is thru Jesus. Total immersion in Him is total immersion in my kingdom. So it’s not quid quo pro, but those benefits do just happen when you seek me and my kingdom first. You are entering a different world and must come with a different mindset when you enter my kingdom. If you are still standing on the outside, looking in, evaluating, trying to understand and decide…… then it will indeed look like quid quo pro. But once you jump in. Then you will understand. So jump. I promise. It will be good.

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By your patience possess your souls —Luke 21:19

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? —Romans 8:35

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

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

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

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

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

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
These words focus today’s lesson for me.

some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him.

That “extraordinary thing” which happens seems to be when we begin to see with your eyes, Like you did in John 5:19 … “only did what you saw the Father doing…. And think with your thoughts, which are higher and different … in a whole different category with different rules of logic.

Isaiah 55:8-9
New Living Translation (NLT)
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Lord, I want to peek into your world and see over your shoulder and walk in these ways more regularly. And can I get there “sooner” … sooner than after having exhausted all my human rationality and will power options.

It’s a good goal. There will always be some things reserved for when you get completely here. But I want to share much more of my life and power and love with you than you have been receiving. My Love is the connection that transforms your stressed out thinking to living on that higher plane where you really do “count it all joy” You have the tools. They will work if you pick them up and use them Acceptance, (without complaint) Curiosity, Expectation, and a firm Connection as we walk together.

Yes, Lord. I believe all that …. Now help me in my unbelief.

OK I will. You just keep coming and I’ll keep delivering my part.

Thanks, I love you.

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. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18

Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.

May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.

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May 15, 2014

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, thank you for the lesson about roadblocks and trials again. It seems that You bring this lesson to me over and over and over again. Perhaps I do not need everything to go smoothly and without difficulty in order to find peace and happiness. Today we learned that staying curious inside the trial, curious about how and what You will do to allow us to live the abundant life can be a good place to reside….even if the trial remains.

And God says…”Trust in Me in all your ways and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight.  Do not interpret your circumstances and occasional difficulties as indicators of being abandoned by Me. Your difficulties in this life can be life lessons, processes that strengthen your heart, mind and soul. Trust in Me, seek first the kingdom of God, and allow Me to provide everything else you need. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. When you see difficulties, roadblocks, and challenges do not think first about how to avoid them and or have them removed; rather think ….”I wonder how God will use this circumstance for His glory and my growth as He provides all that I will ever need. Remember that I love you so much, I gave you my Son.  With this example you must realize I will not withhold any other good thing from you”.

. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10

We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.

You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.

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Journal DJR
Good morning Lord. I’m glad Mr Chambers put in the part about not choosing adversity but rather being in a state ready to go thru anything by keeping our connection clear and your life flowing and empowering us.

And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

Chambers said no debating. It seems like David did some debating and complaining in the Psalms and a lot of your guys did some complaining……..

True. They were human and I allowed the whole thing to be recorded. So you can learn from their experiences without having to make all the mistakes yourself. You will notice that the complaining didn’t help them. It usually made things worse. The debating can be a part of a good relationship. We get to know each other that way. Just remember that I’m God and you’re not. And that I love you and want the best for you. This will lead to some good skills. Like surrendering quickly. Go ahead and make your case. I’ll make mine and you’ll see my wisdom and love …… Then we can go on to the next subject.

. . . strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men —Acts 24:16

God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.

Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).

God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . .” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
If we, as Mr Chambers suggests, “attach to the highest standard I know, and then continually strive toward what that standard demands that I do”…. It seems there is plenty of room to run amuck. Witness Christians fighting other Christians, Crusades, Manifest Destiny and a host of other things that the people thought were your standards, and the highest standards….. but they were mistaken. What are we to do?

It’s time to “keep it simple” Remember my two primary commandments. Require that all your other options grow out of and support those two … Love God, Love Neighbor. Obviously the examples you mentioned didn’t fit in either one or both of those two.

That makes it clear (er) Now just to implement it. Help me this day to run all the options and all my thinking thru that filter of Love God, Love Neighbor

Would it be fair to say that those people did the best they could with what they had? Or that they did what they thought was right and Godly? Even as they were sometimes missing your two Great Commandments?

Yes, in most cases people felt they were doing the right and highest thing. Either that or they didn’t think about it at all in those terms. So a regular review of your position relative to those two is a good idea. So is a willingness to be wrong and change direction. Cultivate your hearing and also your quick obedience … and your hearing will get better and better.

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If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful . . . —2 Peter 1:8

Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10