Today I woke with the words of a song, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”  The sky was so clear with moon and stars and so awesome. Our whole trip home last night was one of beauty as the moon looked like a ball of fire.

Devotions from Jan Johnson’s book, Invitation to the Jesus Life

People often view eternal life as an existence that starts when we die but in reality it begins now.  Eternal life not only refers to the length of life but the quality of life in which we experience wholeness and union with God.

It is daily tasting the love of God, experiencing joy, peace, etc. “It is nothing else than the life of God himself in you.”
John 17:3 says” Now this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God.” And know here means an intimate fellowship, and interactive relationship with Him.
God invites us into a transforming, soul-friend relationship with Him
Rather than a life  of self-centeredness, self-preoccupation and self-interest, we now know it is not about “Me” but Him and His kingdom.
We become people who bless the difficult people in our lives, care for others, go the extra mile, live with purpose, let go of pride, let go of grudges….you get the picture.

It’s not just about outward behavior but a transformation of our hearts. The inner life of our soul must be transformed if good things will flow out of us naturally. Trying to be good won’t work but we need to connect with Jesus Himself.

“God doesn’t love us because we are good, but because God loves us, God makes us good.”

Devotions from Gary Moon’s book Apprenticeship with Jesus

We were made for Him!

To become more like Him it takes vision, intention and means. ( VIM)

1. Vision is “ the ability to see ourselves radically transformed and authentically living life a whole new way in God’s Kingdom on earth—head-over-heels in love with both the Creator and his creation.”  God offers us more than just a “get out of hell free card,” he wants us with Him and like Him.
2. Intention is to live in the kingdom of God by willing to obey the example and teaching of Jesus.  We must intend to pick up our cross and follow Christ with resolve and continue no matter what obstacles may block our path.  In other words to will to have no other will than the will of God.
3. Means is the path to change.  The means for transformation include openness to the presence and power of Christ, study of his life and teachings, inspiration from seekers and saints, and practice of the spiritual disciplines.

Are we determined to become like Him and to be open and receptive for this purpose in our lives?
May it be our intention to learn from Him and live each moment of our day by his side as His apprentice.

Then we can wake up each morning with the primary purpose of being with Him while learning to be like Him.

Devotions from Gary Moon’s book, Apprenticeship with Jesus

Today our author talks about being well balanced in our approach to spiritual formation and uses 6 different groups. If we zero in on only one we end up having a “spiritual eating disorder”, so we need to partake of each of them.

1. Contemplative: Spending time with God in prayer and meditation each day.  Tell Him of your love for Him and take time to listen to Him
2. Holiness: Having pure thoughts, words, and actions, and overcoming temptation.  Col. 3:1-17 is a beautiful listing of rules for holy living.
3. Charismatic:  Welcoming the Holy Spirit while nurturing and exercising our spiritual gifts.
4. Social justice:  Helping others less fortunate than ourselves.
5. Evangelical:  Sharing the gospel of Jesus and reading the scriptures.
6. Incarnational:  Unifying the sacred and secular areas of our lives while showing forth God’s presence.

Today may we offer everything we do as an act of love to Him and work With Him and For Him. 

Jesus is the source of each of these traditions of spirituality and let us be healthy and be nourished by each one of these expressions.

Devotions from Gary Moon’s book, Apprenticeship With Jesus for 11-2

Hurry is an expression of anxiety and the sign of a deeper problem.

Dallas Willard said, “One of the greatest enemies to service to Jesus is service to Jesus.  If you are not experiencing your yoke as easy and your burden as light, then you are bearing some other burden, but not the burden of Christ-it is a problem with your heart.”

The author recognized his problem as not feeling confident of his worth to God and others…that he was truly loved by God. Projects gave him a sense of accomplishment and the busier he got it only perpetuated the circle of anxiety and hurry.

Jesus was never in a hurry and he knew who He was .

We all need to be reminded to slow down and be fully available to the present moment.
It helps if we recall our truest being as His child and mediate on the power and presence of God.

Devotions from Gary Moon’s book Apprenticeship with Jesus

John Calvin said, “For as the surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves,, so the only haven of safety is to have no other will, no other wisdom, than to follow the Lord wherever He leads. Let this, then, be the first step, to abandon ourselves, and devote the whole energy of our minds to the service of God.”

We must imitate Christ’s life if we are to be free from the darkness of our own hearts. When we experience pain –be it rejection, loneliness, grief, depression or fear- we can celebrate these cracks and pray it through. Because of them, God’s light can come pouring in. And when it does, we become freer from the illusion that it is possible to thrive separate from the power of God. 
As His apprentices, we learn to work in and with the light that comes pouring through the brokenness of our lives.

If we experience pain, we shouldn’t deny it, but envision it as an opening in our soul that allows the love of God to flow into our hearts and back out to others.

“Live as children of light ( for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”

Devotions from Gray Moon’s book Apprenticeship with Jesus

Sometimes life gives us lots of painful shocks and we try to deaden the pain.  The painkillers may take the form of certain patterns of behavior—like perfectionism, overachievement, approval seeking, avoidance, people pleasing, co-dependence, always being in control etc.  Regardless of the form, these God-substitutes are idols . 

But the way through the rough spots  resembles the steps of AA: confession of my addiction to self-sufficiency, admission of my helplessness to live a meaningful life on my own terms, and a request to return to living life by God’s side who always welcome us back to his embrace.

We may also go through the dryness of the “dark night of the soul” when we feel separated from God and we can’t figure out what is going on or what we are doing wrong. But HE has moved us farther down the road and during this dark night we are to seek Him and go to Him again. When we do we realize we aren’t the same person. We have moved and we are now closer to home. 
But what does it matter if our rough spot is due to us moving toward idols or God moving us on the path to greater maturity, our job is the same. We say, Here I am, Lord, helpless without you.”

Devotions for 10-29   from Gary Moon’s book Apprenticeship with Jesus

Joshua Kang said, “Abraham had to empty his heart….And when he did so he made room for God’s abundant blessing. He became a friend of God through surrender.”

The ways of the kingdom of God are often at odds with those of the world.  If we are going to be like Jesus, we’re often going to look different in an oddly loving, peaceful, joyful way.
Jesus was in the business of getting people to be odd. He didn’t want his followers to fit into the world but to be at home in the kingdom.

To the extent that we become empty of self, He is revealed through us.
May we ask Him  what we may need to put on the altar so that we can be emptied in order to be filled with Him.

Devotions from Gary Moon’s book Apprenticeship with Jesus

Jesus chose to invest his life in “lowbows” and “discards in the eyes of the world. Think of unlearned fisherman Peter, or the despised tax collector, Matthew etc.
Have you ever thought that you are not good enough and that He might pick someone else but not you?! 

 We cannot earn His love and acceptance but be open to receive His love and a willingness to be His apprentice.
Becoming His apprentice requires more than being with Jesus. It requires us to allow Him to live His life through us.  And that requires a personal cross, a place where all pretence of self-sufficiency must die.

The author suggests spending some time writing down every reason you can think of for being unworthy to be in His apprenticeship program. Just be honest. Then ask Him if he’s sure you are fit for the program. Listen carefully to His response.  I think I know what it will be!!