Tag: Surrender

Every Element of Self-Reliance Must Be Slain at the Cross

1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

For each of us that have been washed clean of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, the keys to the kingdom of God will be given. Our sins will have been judged and forgiven in advance by Our Savior. Our sins will no longer stain us in the eyes of Almighty God. We will appear in the likeness of Jesus Christ before Our Father in heaven. We will be worthy to become heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God for all eternity.

Yet our just and Holy Father requires that all sin must be punished. So those of us that have received the grace of salvation will experience rebuking for our sins in this lifetime. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the past and current sins in our lives. We will be required to ask forgiveness for our sins and turn away from them. Until we completely surrender to Jesus, we will suffer trials and tribulations in accordance with our iniquities. Our suffering will serve as both the measured punishment required for our sins and the enlightenment needed to facilitate our reliance on Our Savior. Our suffering will continue until every element of our self reliance is slain at the Cross.

For every man and every woman that does not accept the offer of salvation, their time of judgement will also come. It will be at the Throne of God. Sadly, they will have no defense for their sins. They will be deemed unacceptable to enter in to the eternal home of Almighty God. There will be no comfort for those that come before the Lord on their final day still covered in the filth of their sins. They will face endless torment.

Let us rejoice in the knowledge that our salvation separates us from our sins and their required eternal damnation. Let us completely surrender ourselves to the sanctification process that the Lord has set aside for us on this earth. Let us prepare ourselves to hear the sweet words “well done good and faithful servant” when we stand before Our Heavenly Father at His Throne.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace in our lives. We thank You for opening our eyes so that we may see the sin in our lives that separates us from You. We thank You for preparing our hearts so that we could receive Your Son, Jesus, as Our Savior. We pray that You mold our hearts, Lord, so that we fully surrender to Your Son each and every day of our lives. Prepare us, Lord, to stand before You in the image of Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The Freedom of Serving Without Concern for Outcome

1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

The first day on any job is generally very exciting and also somewhat stressful. Immediately, we are naturally concerned about the results that we are going to be able to produce in our new job. Consider how liberating it would be if the first thing our new boss told us was, “Just follow my instruction and do not worry about the results. I will be responsible for the results. You will be richly rewarded for following my instruction no matter what happens.”

If the boss we choose to serve is Our Father in heaven, then we have found the liberating boss that we have always longed for. More importantly, this is where God wants us. He wants us to serve Him without any concern about the outcome other than to have the faith that He will fulfill what He asks us to do for Him. He simply wants us to be instruments of His work, living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.

It may be entirely possible that we are taking on work for which no man is sufficient. Yet in submission to the Father, we are only asked to be diligent and faithful in carrying out our calling. We are certain to find that we have a co-laborer in Christ. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, will look over us, direct us and strengthen us as we do our part in bringing in His harvest.

Let us humbly sit at the feet of Our Master, Jesus Christ. Let us join Him in the work that He does for His Father in heaven. Let us rejoice in the service that we are called to do.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to join You in Your work. We rejoice in knowing that You receive great honor and glory when Your children surrender to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in their lives. Open our eyes so that we may see what You are calling us to do in Your kingdom. Release in us all the power and authority that is ours through Jesus Christ. Shield us from taking on destructive personal pride as we see success when doing Your work. We ask all these things in the name of the One who saved us and called us to join Him in serving His Father in heaven, Jesus Christ.

Standing Our Ground As the World Tries to Change Us

John 16:32
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

The apostles and disciples of Jesus scattered as He began His journey to the Cross. They returned to their homes and their old jobs. Their faith was real, but without the Holy Spirit they were not strong enough to stand against those that were persecuting their Master. They left Jesus to stand alone. Fortunately for us, Jesus did not stand alone as the Father remained with Him and provided Him with all He needed to accept His place on the Cross.

Jesus calls us from different times and places in our lives, just as the apostles were called. At some point in time, we will all be called to stand up for our faith. In today’s anti-Christian environment, this challenge is more real than any of us could have ever imagined that it could be. Will we scatter to our old lives when the trials of persecution, the trials of trouble or perhaps the trials of political correctness challenge us? Or will we surrender all to Our Savior?

The answer lies in Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with our own strength, capability nor merit. We must recognize our weakness. If we think we can stand against the world, especially against the enemy, we will certainly fall. We must recognize how weak we are and take our brokenness – all our wounds, all our frailties, all our fears – to Our Savior. We must allow His goodness, His love, His mercy and His kindness to become the essence of our lives. If we accept His free gift of love and life and surrender to Him, we will never stand alone against what the world tosses our way.

Let us stand our ground as the world tries to get us to accept changes that are directly against the Word of God. Let us call on the Holy Spirit to provide the strength that we need. Let us rejoice for we never stand alone.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we have been called to follow Your Son. We exalt the name of Jesus who gained victory over all sin and all evil on our behalf. We praise His precious name as He stands forever by our sides. We pray, Father, that we may have the wisdom and the strength to recognize and face our brokenness. We ask that the Holy Spirit guide us in surrendering everything to Jesus. As we are challenged by the darkness of the world, my we call on the name of Jesus to stand up for our beliefs. We beseech You, Lord, to complete Your work in us so that we have the courage and the faith to choose Your Kingdom and defend it against the world. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Jesus Christ.

The Benefits of Standing in Continuous Communion with Almighty God

Psalm 91:1
He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In this world, to live in someone’s shadow is generally thought to be an undesirable place. It is regarded as a place where you cannot live up to the standards of the one who preceded you. In the kingdom of God, quite the opposite is true. Living in the shadow of Almighty God enables us to be more than we could believe to be possible.

Loving faith in Almighty God on our part will always be met by faithful love, protection and provision on God’s part. His covering of us is much greater than we can imagine. If we are abiding in Him, there is no limit to His shadow that is over us. He protects us at all times from natural and supernatural enemies. He makes our homes secure. He is our refuge in every storm.

But it does not stop there for those that seek to live in His shadow. He invites us to enjoy so much more. There is a special nuance in this passage that must not be overlooked. The blessings spoken of in today’s passage can be greater for those believers who live in ongoing, close fellowship with God. The delightful fullness of these most high blessings are for those who habitually abide in the shadow of Almighty God. Those who stand in continuous communion with God set themselves up to become possessors of rare and special benefits.

Let us seek the grace to be constant refugees in the fortress of Almighty God. Let us enjoy the fullness of His shadow.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the shadow of protection and provision that You place over us when we surrender our lives to You. We bless the name of Jesus who has made it possible for us to come to Your mercy seat. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us and strengthen us as we seek to abide under Your shadow. May our hearts be prepared to seek that secret place of constant communion where we can access the fullness of Your most high blessings. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies never end, Jesus Christ.

Shedding What the Lord Deems Unworthy

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

When we accept Jesus into our lives, we are sure to find that we are in bondage to one or more things that are of the world and not entirely pleasing to God. Once we receive the Holy Spirit, we will be lead into a process of shedding those things that the Lord deems unworthy. We will discover that we will not be able to change all things in our lives instantly, nor completely. Through faith, however, we will be able to confidently begin the process of shedding our fleshly bonds one at a time as the Holy Spirit convicts and strengthens us.

We can be certain that the work of sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is wholly the work of the Holy Spirit and not a work that we will pursue on our own. We can be just as certain that for the Holy Spirit to work in us that we will need to surrender to the perfecting process. It will be particularly important that we position ourselves through prayer and the study of God’s Holy Word onto a path of faith that allows us to live soberly, righteously and holy until the end of our days.

If we are steadfast in pursuing and surrendering to a path of sanctification, we will be benefactors of the strength of Jesus Christ and the assistance of His Holy Spirit. We will be enabled to perform acts of holiness and religious duty in fear of God. It will not be because of a fear of hell and damnation, but will be because of a reverential love and affection for Our Heavenly Father and a deep and complete trust in Him.

Let us bring holiness to completion in our lives. Let us surrender to the work of sanctification that only the Holy Spirit can provide. Let us rejoice in knowing that this is all made possible through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Your wisdom so that we may understand Your ways and learn to live in awesome reverence of who You are. We pray that You will open our eyes so that we can see all the ways in our lives that displease You. Convict us of our sinful nature. Prepare a path for us to walk in the process of sanctification aided by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, may we learn to lean on the Holy Spirit so that we may live soberly, righteously and holy. By Your grace, Father, and by the strength of Christ and the assistance of the Holy Spirit may we be delivered from our sinful lives. May the world know us by the fullness of Jesus Christ within us. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases You, Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Goodness Upon Goodness, Joy Upon Joy and Abundance Upon Abundance

John 1:16
And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

There is nothing more complete, more sufficient or more perfect than the fullness of Jesus Christ. To borrow from the teachings of Charles Spurgeon, the fullness of Christ is reflected in His Diety, His manhood, the atoning power of His Blood, His righteousness, His power over death and His endless grace to pardon, to regenerate, to sanctify, to preserve and to perfect.

The fullness of what we have received from God can be summed up in one word grace. It is the great gift that we receive through His Son, Jesus, that we do not deserve and could never earn. It is the unmerited good will of God directed toward us. It is the gift that cannot be received by unrepentant sinners. It can only be received by those that have been washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. It is all that has been perfectly and completely prepared for all men by Our Savior.

And finally, a perhaps most importantly, God’s grace through Jesus Christ is cumulative and never ending. When we live in the fullness of Savior, we receive goodness upon goodness, joy upon joy and abundance upon abundance. It is the good will of God towards us and the work of God in us.

Let us humble ourselves before Our Savior. Let us surrender to His presence in our lives. Let us prepare ourselves to receive the fullness of His amazing grace.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unmerited favor that You bestow on us through Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Our Savior for making it possible for us to receive Your unlimited flow of grace in our lives. We pray, Father, that You will open our hearts to receive the fullness of Your Son, Jesus. We ask that You show us how to tap into the inexhaustible treasure that He holds in His hands for us. We ask all these things in the name of the source of all grace, Jesus Christ.

When We Finally See the Wounds

John 20:28
Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

The unbelief of Thomas is well documented in the Bible. He was a skeptic, a true doubter, looking for proof that the Lord was who He said He was.

Thomas’ story is the perfect illustration of the struggle of every believer who is wavering in deciding his or her relationship with Jesus Christ. What sets Thomas apart from those that never fully surrender their lives to Jesus was his sincerity in seeking the Lord. While Thomas was weak in his convictions, he was sincere in seeking the truth. Jesus was gracious in His response to Thomas just as He will be for all that are sincere in seeking Him.

Like Thomas, we are all called to come to the the place where we finally see and believe the total redemptive work of Jesus and fully submit to Him as Our Lord and Savior. Thomas, once seeing the wounds of Jesus, proclaimed both his complete belief and complete submission to his Master when he spoke the words, “My Lord and My God.” All in one burst, Thomas asserts his interest in Jesus as his Lord, espouses his affection for Him and denotes his submission to Him. This is exactly what Jesus Christ is looking for from each of us.

Even though we may have been slow and weak in our commitment to Christ, Our Lord waits on our sincere entreaty. He will respond to each of us just as He responded to Thomas. He will overpower us with His presence so that we may with the same exuberance as Thomas proclaim, “My Lord and my God.”

Let us move at once to surrender everything to Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us submit to His lordship over our lives. Let us proclaim that He is who He says He is. Let us rejoice in knowing that His promises will be fulfilled exactly as He said they would be.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You extend to us in our slowness and our weakness in surrendering everything to Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we can see, fully believe in and seek the precious gift that is available to us in a relationship with Your Son. Father, we ask that You take us to a place where we are overpowered by the presence of Jesus just like Thomas was. May Your Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us so that there will be nothing left in us that doubts the fullness of the new life in Christ that awaits us. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our God, Jesus Christ.

Head Knowledge Alone Will Not Develop Our Intimacy with God the Father

John 8:19
Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

During the time of Jesus, the collaboration of one or more witnesses was required to establish the truth in any matter. The Pharisees were taunting Jesus, insinuating that He had no witness to the truth that He was the Son of God. They were blindly calling for a testimony in the flesh to confirm a divine truth.

With pity and patience, Jesus convicted them of their own shortcoming. He pointed out to them that He was all the proof that they needed that He was the Son of God. He emphasized that if they could not see that He was who He said He was, they would never know His Father. This was a claim that enraged the self-righteous Pharisees.

If we try to have head knowledge of who God is and define our relationship with Him without a relationship with His Son, we will end up in the same place as the Pharisees. If we try to use our own logic and the testimony of what the world offers to determine our relationship with Almighty God, we will miss out entirely on having an intimate relationship with Our Creator.

Fortunately, Our Creator is completely aware of our weakness. Through His grace, His loving kindness and His mercy, He provides the Holy Spirit to leads us into an intimate relationship with His Son, Our Savior. If we follow the supernatural guidance and urgings of the Holy Spirit and surrender completely to a relationship with Jesus Christ, we will experience the unimaginable peace and joy of an eternal relationship with the Father and the Son.

Let us quit trying to define God by our own logic. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us dig deeply into our relationship with Our Creator. Let us truly discover who God is by developing an intimate relationship with His Son.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to know You through Your Son, Jesus. May we learn to reject the need to define You and our relationship with You by the world’s standards. We pray that our minds will be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we will come to know you intimately through our relationship with Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the brightness of Your glory, Jesus Christ.

Supernatural Life Unique to Christians Alone

John 20:22
And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

It was the evening of the first day of the week. The disciples, fearing the Jews after the crucifixion of their Master, were meeting behind locked doors. With the appearance of Jesus, they were at once at peace. But then a greater thing happened, Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit. All that had been gathered in the room in fear suddenly began a supernatural life which is unique to Christians alone. They were sent forth to continue the work that Jesus had been sent to do by His Father.

As the New Year begins, how many of us are sheltering ourselves away from the world? How many of us are letting our fears hold us back from doing the work that Jesus was sent to do? Do we not recognize that the same power that was given to the early disciples is also given to us?

Let us begin our new year under the guidance of Our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. He has been given to us to instruct us and empower us to do the work of the Father. He has been sent to supernaturally strengthen us. He comes along side of us to provide the power and protection that we need to overcome the enemy, the world around us and even our own flesh, all of which are trying to bring us down.

We can be sure that we will encounter some failure. In all likelihood, our failures will come from the fact that we have turned once again to rely on our own strength. We must be continously aware that our own strength will never be enough to meet the demands and challenges of this world. Our strength must come from the Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that He gives us.

Let us take hold of what has been promised to us. Let us surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us commit to joining Our Precious Savior in doing the work of the Father in the new year.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Holy Spirit to come along side of us to be our counselor. We praise the name of Jesus who defeated all evil when He died on the Cross so that we could defeat the evil that comes against us. We pray that you will teach us to accept our utter failure without Christ. Help us to realize our best will never be good enough until we are cleansed by the blood of Our Savior and receive His Holy Spirit into our lives. Help us Father to build our lives on the Rock that is Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embolden and strengthen us to do the work of the Son. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

A Holy Spirit Led Life Leads to Spiritual Maturity

John 12:26
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

How is it possible that Almighty God would honor His lowly creations from dust? As unimaginable as it seems to us, it is settled in the kingdom of God. The process for such an honor is locked into place for all eternity. The steps are clearly defined. Become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Serve Him wherever and whenever He calls. Be honored by the Father.

Simple enough, right? At least it would seem so. But for most of us, we have some social hurdles to overcome. We were raised to be fiercely independent. That trait, while desirable in the carnal world, can have a negative impact on how we are able to build intimacy with God. The true intimacy of a Holy Spirit lead lifestyle is not possible until we are able to completely surrender our lives to Jesus.

Anything short of full surrender to Jesus will lead to a life on the fence – half devoted to being a disciple of Jesus Christ and half devoted to the callings of the world. When we are in that vacillating position, we are spiritually immature. That is not the real life that God has planned for us. God wants a spiritually mature life for us and from us. He wants us to reach a place where we make every decision in life with discernment of the Holy Spirit. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be fully committed disciples of His Son, conscious of our dependence on Him without regard to the trappings of our world.

Let us take full advantage of our salvation. Let us become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice as we receive the honor that Almighty God bestows on those that become bond servants of His Son.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, so that we can stay in constant communion with Him and receive grace from Him. We rejoice in knowing that we receive honor from You when we follow Your Son and accept the gift of salvation that He offers. We ask forgiveness, Lord, for all the times that we make decisions based on the world’s standards and not Yours. We pray, Father, that You will provide the grace that we need to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit only. We ask for the strength and the wisdom to lay aside the trifling concerns of this life. May we learn to exercise love, humility, patience, self-denial and resignation to Your will in the same manner as Our Savior did when He walked this earth. May the eternal glory be Yours. We ask all these things in the name of Our Refiner and Purifier, Jesus Christ.