Category: Surrender

The Rescue

“GOD rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the Kingdom of the Son He Loves so much, the SON Who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.” Colossians 1:13‭-‬14 MSG

I don’t know about anyone else, but this verse resonates deeply with me. I’ve been in those dead-end alleys, the dark dungeons, the black pits. That’s what happens when we do what we decide is right.

No matter how deep you are in trouble, or how much you despair of ever seeing the light, I promise you this. Lift up your head and your hand, and Jesus will be there. It doesn’t take much, just make the effort. It’s all that He’s waiting for, and He will lift you out of the trouble, and carry you until you can walk again.

No worries. No doubts. He will never, ever leave you. Never. Ever. Always by your side. Forever and ever and a day. Just call out His Name and the devil will run!

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind
Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve
Because Thy promise I believe
O Lamb of God, I come, I come

AMEN!

Is It Time?

“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” John 12:25‭-‬26 NIV

There’s a lot of selfish love today. Selfies dominate photos being taken. Our culture promotes an attitude of entitlement. Keeping up with the “popular” people. Being accepted by everyone. It’s exhausting. When we stand for Jesus and what is right, we won’t make the “Best Loved” list. We’ll probably make the “Most Hated” list!

I don’t particularly care about what the world thinks about me. Politically, I’m very conservative. I say what I think, and I’m not always very tactful when I say it. Socially, I mix with a wide range of socioeconomic, political, and diverse group. Personally, I pray that people see a tiny bit of Jesus in me, and if someone doesn’t like me or what I say…… that’s their problem. Jesus said “Whoever serves Me must follow Me….”

I’m trying, LORD. Thank You for loving me just the way I am!

Pray About Everything

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 NASB

Every time I read this verse, it strikes me.

“Anxious for nothing.”

“In everything…. let your requests be made known to God.”

“….. prayer …. supplication …. thanksgiving ….”

I’m not supposed to worry about anything. Anything. Geeze Louise, how does that work??? Not worry when the money runs out in the middle of the month? Not worry when the kids are sick, or I’m sick? Not worry about the person traveling in the snow and ice? Not worry when the boss says “You’re fired”, and you are the sole income? Not worry about that family member who is addicted to drugs or alcohol? How does that work?

“…. in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Prayer (noun): a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.

Supplication (noun): the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly. “He fell to his knees in supplication”

Solemnly, seriously, on our knees – whether literally or figuratively – ask God for help while thanking Him for the situation. The Serenity Prayer (used by many 12 Step programs) by Reinhold Niebuhr is a good place to start.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

LORD  I’m Yours To Count On

Am I?

Are you?

Faith, diligence, discipline, self control, moral excellence, virtue – do I practice these things?

“To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” 2 Peter 1:1‭-‬7 NASB

Verses 1-4 outline the riches we receive in Christ; for those who have received FAITH …. {in} Jesus Christ – receiving, believing, trusting; these are all gifts from God. Everything follows faith.

To apply “all diligence” (one writer said “true Faith sweats”), it takes discipline to pursue Christ and our spiritual growth. There is no time to be idle in our pursuit of Christ. We should be – must be – earnest, and give it intense effort. Philippians 2:12-16 we are to “work out [y]our salvation…”; not work to be saved but to work with the LORD to do His Will. In your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge – these qualities require hard work, and maximum effort on our part. “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Colossians 1:29 NASB

What is moral excellence? The effort to clean our life; to gets rid of the “rocks” and “weeds”, the trash and detritus of a sinful life. We do this through knowledge – it’s how we grow, it is essential to a healthy spiritual life, by learning and knowing God; and it must be applied and lived out in our lives. We gain knowledge through Bible studies, meeting with small groups of fellow believers, by reading and studying God’s Word with a daily quiet time. All of these things sustain us, both in good times and in times of conflict. Through moral excellence and knowledge, we gain self control: we learn to rein in passion and desire, and controlling ourselves rather than being controlled by outside sources. Proverbs 16 is a great chapter on self control. No one and no thing should control me other than the Master. “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.” Proverbs 24:16 NASB

Can you say “LORD, I’m Yours to count on” ….. ?

Focus

“….. for through Him [Jesus God] God [Father God] created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 NLT


Why did Jesus leave heaven and come to earth? After all, the Universe was created by Him and for Him, and He was on His throne where He could observe everything and everywhere and everyone. Why leave the glories of a perfect place for this flawed planet, full of flawed beings? What was His focus once here? We go to the book of Hebrews and the words of Jesus Himself for the answers.

“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He [JESUS] says, “Sacrifice and offering You [FATHER GOD] have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the Scroll of the Book it is written of Me) To do Your Will, O God.’ ” After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your Will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:5‭-‬10 NASB

Jesus came for the sole purpose to do His Father’s Will, and in doing so fulfill Prophesy: feeding on the promises God has made, verse 7 “In the Scroll of the Book it is written of Me.” God’s prophesies start in Genesis (3:15, 12:2); Isaiah 7:14, 11; 2 Samuel 7:16; through Micah and Hosea, books full of prophecies, and throughout Scriptures. Jesus is the “fulfillment of the laws and prophets”. Out of a thousand prophesies in the Bible, 500 have been fulfilled; 409 of them by Jesus! He is following the Father: in verses 7-9, He is speaking to God the Father, ready to do His Father’s Will. Jesus is defined by following God’s Will. In

John 5:30, He says “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.“ And again in John 6:38, He says  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”


Our focus as Christians, as followers of the Christ, needs to be like Him: Obey regardless of the cost; be patient, honest, and steadfast. Our duty is not to find our freedom but to find our Master, otherwise we are enslaved by sin. Everything is ashes if we are not following the will of God. Remember His Mercy and His Grace! AMEN.

Testify!

Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:28‭-‬29 NASB

When I was 5 years old, I knelt with my daddy and prayed for Jesus to come into my heart. Yes, I was rather a precocious child. Strong willed. Over the years and into my teens, we had numerous missionaries in our home and church, teaching and preaching and discipling. Active in all aspects of church life, going to camp in the summer and lots of activities revolving around Jesus, it was easy for me to believe. As a teen, I knew I was called to serve God as a missionary. At 18, I left home to attend college, determined to follow my LORD. I attended a Christian college where I would be surrounded by by my peers, and I would be supported on my journey.

Life; the world, intervened. Let me assure you, Satan is alive and well at Christian colleges, looking for any cracks and openings in our shields of faith. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

He found my weakness, and I fell to his tempations. I strayed from my Lord and stayed away, running from God, for many years. Like Moses, I spent 40 years in the wilderness, only mine was a wilderness of sin. God gave me many opportunities to see His Mercy and His Grace. I mostly ignored Him, and chose to blame Him for my circumstances. I even fell back on that Mercy when I found myself in dire circumstances, but I wasn’t ready to let go of my worldly ways, so I would plunge back into that life.

I have compared my lost years to the Israelites 40 years of wandering in the dessert. I started out trusting God, then I slipped away from Him. The Israelites received His Mercy many times throughout their journey – manna and quail when they were hungry and had no food; water where there was none; deliverance from the Egyptians. His Mercy fed and clothed me at times, and He delivered me from certain death more than once. God didn’t destroy the Israelites because of the prayers of the righteous, and He didn’t destroy me – or allow the enemy to destroy me – because of the prayers of my family.

Some of us have to hit our “bottom” before we can see Jesus. We don’t take anyone’s word that He is real, He loves us, and He wants to forgive us. Sometimes we are like Thomas, Doubting Thomas, and we think we have to “put {our} fingers into His wounds” before we believe.

“One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the LORD!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in His Hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” He said. Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My Hands. Put your hand into the wound in My side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My LORD and my GOD!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE WITHOUT SEEING ME.” John 20:24‭-‬29 NLT

I’m so far from perfect, it can’t be measured, but the LORD GOD of the Universe thinks I’m worthy of His pursuit. What a humbling thought! I continue to sin and to stumble. I have doubts and I worry. But…..

I am so grateful that He doesn’t give up on us; on me!

He Promises

“….. seeing that His [Jesus; Jesus as GOD] Divine Power has granted [past, present, and future] to us EVERYTHING [all inclusive, everything we need] pertaining to life and godliness [to live a godly life, a Christ-like life, for us to become like JESUS], through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own Glory and Excellence. For by these He has granted to us His Precious and Magnificent Promises [made throughout the Scriptures] so that by them you [every person who accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour] may become partakers of the Divine Nature [looking more like Christ; living a life in His Image], having escaped the corruption [the rottenness, the stench of decomposition] that is in the world by lust [lust = evil desires of the human heart] – becoming less and less like the world.”

2 Peter 1:3‭-‬4 NASB

Rescued!

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22 NASB

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Colossians 1:13‭-‬18 NASB

Jesus came as the Son of GOD, to save us and to forgive our sin: “For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son , Today I have begotten You ”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”? Hebrews 1:5 NASB

Why? Why would GOD sacrifice Himself to die for us? Because even though the Old Testament Law was important, it was insufficient to completely cover our sin. Sin came into the world through man, so Jesus was conceived without man to keep His human body pure. The preacher Adrian Rogers said that Jesus is all God and all man; man to be able to die, God to pay the ultimate price for our sin. Jesus died ONCE for ALL.

” ….. then He [JESUS] said, “Behold, I have come to do Your Will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:9‭-‬10 NASB

He died for me, and He died for you, so we don’t have to! ALL we have to do is to profess Him as LORD. AMEN.

Greater Good

“But the greatest among you shall be your servant.” Matthew 23:11 NASB

As I skim through social media, it occurs to me that the “greatest” among us today are about as far from being servants as we could imagine. Spoiled, cosseted, and overpaid celebrities from Hollywood, sport venues, and certain financial and political arenas are being toasted and held up for worship as the experts on life. It’s as if they are the gods we should look up to, and that we should follow without question. Many of them certainly act like they are above all human laws and morals. It’s all about lust. Lust for control, for sex, for the almighty dollar; it’s all about power. As Christians, our guide, our Law Book, is the Bible. It is very clear on idolatry, lust, and temptation.

“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” Exodus 20:3‭-‬4, Deuteronomy 5:6-7 NASB

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15‭-‬17 NASB

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” James 1:13‭-‬14‭, ‬16 NASB

So, Greater Good. Servanthood. It’s different for every person. How does it look for you; on you? It’s not for everyone to wash the feet of others (figuratively at least, if not actually), although I believe that unless you’ve done it, you’ll never understand true servanthood.