Tag: Surrender

Faith Needs to be Fueled by a Grateful Heart

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The only truly lasting motivation for Christ-follower to continue following Christ is because we want to please Jesus Christ out of a deep heart of gratitude for all He has done for you.

Fear of hell is not a lasting motivator. People who choose to “follow” Christ because they don’t want to go to hell are usually not very good at actually following Him in obedience, surrender, humility, etc. Only those with deeply felt gratitude consistently will lay down their agendas, opinions, etc to follow Christ wherever He leads them.

Now, I don’t deserve to be saved, much less be in ministry. All that God does in us and for us and through us is by grace through faith. So out of a deep, abiding, heartfelt gratitude for the fact that I have a personal relationship with Christ, I want to actually give my life to Jesus Christ, and I want to serve Him in any way possible. Surrender is made easier when there is deeply felt gratitude.

I know that your heart is like my heart, and my life goal is to one day stand before Jesus Christ and have Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” At that point He says that it will be worth it all. You won’t be in heaven five seconds and you’ll say, “Why didn’t I serve more? Why didn’t I give more? Why didn’t I love more? Why didn’t I obey more?”

Hebrews 11 is the classic chapter on faith. Verse 6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”  If I’m not walking in faith, I’m not pleasing God. The Bible is even more specific when it says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” If I’m not walking in faith, I am walking in sin. That’s strong stuff!

Faith is visualizing the future in advance. It is seeing the future in the present. Every great achievement began when somebody saw it in advance. We didn’t put a man on the moon until one day JFK stood up and said, “Let’s put a man on the moon.” When he said that, the technology had not even been invented.

Faith is believing when I don’t see it. Some things have to be believed before they can be seen. The world says, “Seeing is believing.” God says, “Believing is seeing.” You have to see it in advance.

Faith is obeying when you don’t understand it. Abraham is a classic example of obeying when he didn’t understand. He was about 75 years old, and God asked him to give up all his security. God said, I want you to leave. Pick up everything and get ready for the greatest adventure of your life.

The scary part of it is God gave Abraham no details. Abraham says, “Where are we going?” God says, You’ve never heard of it. “How long is it going to take?” You’ll find out. “How will I know when I get there?” I’ll let you know.

Sometimes God will tell you to do something and you’ll think, “There’s no way this is going to work!” Yet, God says, Do it! And guess what? It works!

Are You a Modern Day Obadiah?

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One of the little known characters in Scripture is Obadiah. Obadiah was in charge of King Ahab’ palace. He was a devout follower of God. He even risked his life by hiding one hundred of the Lord’s prophets from Jezebel as she scoured the land for prophets to kill.

Coming out of a three year drought that was caused by God and prophesied by Elijah, 1 Kings 18:1-19 tells the story of Elijah asking Obadiah to connect him with King Ahab. Even though he believed in God, and knew Elijah to be a true prophet of God, Obadiah’s response was “What have I done wrong that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death?”

In this article I will use this story to reveal six characteristics of today’s modern “Obadiahs”.

1. Modern day Obadiahs love Christ, but do not want to take a strong stand (v.3,7-12). Many people want to claim Christ, but not to be identified with Christ. They want to lay low or fly under the radar instead of being a clear ambassador of Christ.

2. Modern day Obadiahs try to straddle the fence of lordship (v.7-9). You have heard it said that “Jesus is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all”. In reality it is impossible to straddle the lordship fence because straddling the lordship fence actually is not accepting the Lordship of Christ. Jesus said it this way, “You are either for me or you are against me.” Straddling the lordship fence makes one willing to debate with God.

3. Modern day Obadiahs want to be secret about their commitment (v.7-19). Secret Christians have destroyed the mission of the church for generations. Christianity was never meant to be a candle hidden under a basket, but rather it was meant to set up on a hill to provide light to the world.

4. Modern day Obadiahs consider the cost versus the personal benefits before choosing to obey (v.7-19). Jesus would say “Those who love me, obey me”. Obedience is always an issue of love and trust. Before committing they want a guarantee that all will work out comfortably.

5. Modern day Obadiahs are struggling to survive (v.7-19). Survival is the natural mindset of people who do not completely trust God with their future. They also want to remind you about the times in the past when them did something risky (v.13) as if that is a free pass to not obey God today.

6. Modern day Obadiahs are inconsistent in their commitment to God (v.7-19). Wishy-washy obedience is not true Christ-following. Competing mindsets and priorities lead to inconsistencies and create inner conflict (v.7-19).

The moral of the story: Don’t be an Obadiah. Choose to proudly follow Christ wherever He leads.

Five Foundational Truths of Surrender: Truth #5

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There are five foundational truths of surrender;

  1. God is good.
  2. God is in control.
  3. God knows more than we know.
  4. God can do more with what we have that we can.
  5. Everybody surrenders to something. Even the most independent, rebellious people in the world surrenders to something….why not make it God? Everything God does is to provide for you and protect you.

Five Foundational Truths of Surrender: Truth #4

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There are five foundational truths of surrender;

  1. God is good.
  2. God is in control.
  3. God knows more than we know.
  4. God can do more with what we have that we can. God doesn’t need your stuff, He wants you. He wants all of you, and He realizes that many times our stuff come between Him and us. We have a tendency to seek our stuff first….but as we seek God first He will manage all of our details (Matt 6:33).

 

Five Foundational Truths of Surrender: Truth #3

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There are five foundational truths of surrender;

  1. God is good.
  2. God is in control.
  3. God knows more than we know. Don’t feel bad…..He is God for heaven sakes! The wisest, most highly educated person has a limit to their knowledge. But God’s wisdom and understanding are without measure or limitation.

…to be continued

Five Foundational Truths of Surrender: Truth #2

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There are five foundational truths of surrender;

  1. God is good. God is always good. Sure bad things happen. Life is tough. Some days even seem impossible to survive. Yet God promises to never leave us or forsake us. He doesn’t promise there will not be those impossible days, but He does promise to walk through them with us.
  2. God is in control. Life happens. When it is bad we want to blame God. But God loved you so much He gave us the ability to choose. We can choose disobedience, etc…and reap the consequences of our choices. Sometimes things that are completely out of our control happen….but don’t be confused, God was not caught by surprise. God is in your tomorrow already.

…to be continued

 

 

 

 

Five Foundational Truths of Surrender: Truth #1

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Though surrender may not be a very popular topic, when it comes to Christ-following it is an absolute necessity. Jesus is the perfect example of surrender. In Philippians 2:5-8 Paul challenged us to make our “attitudes the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death….even death on a cross.”

The phrase that stands out to me is “did not see equality with God as something to be grasped”. That pretty much sums up surrender. Willful disobedience is our way of saying that we have a right to disagree, debate, and disobey God. Surrender is how we rightly align our heart, mind, attitudes, and behaviors with God. Even the most compliant of us have a tendency to struggle with complete surrender to God. Though surrender is never easy, it does become easier once we understand some basic principles of surrender.

There are five foundational truths of surrender;

  1. God is good. God is always good. Sure bad things happen. Life is tough. Some days even seem impossible to survive. Yet God promises to never leave us or forsake us. He doesn’t promise there will not be those impossible days, but He does promise to walk through them with us.

…to be continued

Religious, Spiritual, or a Follower of Christ?

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I had a person say to me, “I’m spiritual, but not religious”. I think they thought I’d argue with them about that statement, but I agreed with them, “Yep, me too.” They looked at me so funny. They meant, “I don’t attend church, am frustrated with church, etc”. I meant, “Jesus hated structured religion that was empty of spiritual power, and so do I.”

It’s not about being religious or spiritual; it’s about actually following Christ. Being deeply religious or deeply spiritual without the life transforming work of the Holy Spirit in your life will give you the same results. Hell will be full of deeply religious and deeply spiritual people. Satan himself is spiritual and believes in God. He has just made a decision to not surrender to God. Many religious or spiritual people are in the exact same boat today; they believe, but are not willing to surrender.

Surrender is the single biggest issue we face as followers of Christ. If we can get the surrender issue resolved, everything else falls into place. Jesus revealed the primary way we prove our love in John 14 when He “If you love me, you will obey me”. But I would say that our biggest issue with consistent obedience is surrender.

So, obedience is the primary way we prove our love for Jesus to Jesus. If Jesus was with you right now (and He is in the person of the Holy Spirit) and He asked you, “Do you love me?” Now, before we are too quick to say a resounding “YES!” let me ask you another question. Is there something He is asking you to do or to not do that you have not surrendered to yet?

If God is asking you to respond to Him in some area of obedience, your dialogue with Him would be much like that Peter had with Him in John 21 when He said, “Peter, do you truly love me?” After Peter said “Yes, you know I do Lord”. Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.” In other words, do what I am asking you to do…prove your love for me through your willingness to obey me.

If Jesus asked me, “Tim, do you love me?” Of course I would say “Yes!”, but I must also be prepared for Him to say, “Then obey me in this specific area of your life”. That is the moment when we really find out whether I truly love Jesus or not. Any answer other than, “Absolutely” only proves that I love myself more than I love Christ.

I am convinced that many folks who claim to love Christ may truly want to love Him, but when it comes down to proving their love through their obedience they fail to make a compelling case. What about you? Does your level of surrender and obedience give evidence of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in your life or not?

God’s One Glaring Problem

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God has one glaring problem; He thinks He is God! And of course, He is God, which even makes it worst because as usual He is right… again. In Exodus 20:3 God makes His intention crystal clear, ”You shall have no other gods before me.”

Christ-following, at is most basic level, is simply coming to grips with God truly being “God”, with Jesus truly being “Lord”, and with the Holy Spirit truly being the controlling influence of your life.

Even Jesus had to make a choice to surrender to God’s will and purpose for His life. In Philippians 2:5-6 the Bible says that “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped……” What a phrase!!! Even though Jesus was in His very nature “God”, “He did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped”.

Yet as people, who in our very nature are a long, long way from being God, we somehow believe that it is our right and duty to “consider equality with God as something to be grasped”. How? What would you call knowingly, willful disobedience for example? Each time God asks something of us and we choose to not surrender to His will and purpose are we not in fact making our opinion, and our will equal to His?

As people, we have learned to blame such disobedient behavior on things such as fear, our comfort zone, procrastination, just being human, we will never be perfect after all, etc. But the reality is that we really do not want anyone telling us what to do, including God.

Folks, this deal is pretty simple. God is “God”, and we are not. His ways are not our ways, His deeds are not our deeds, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is God!!! He is so far beyond our imagination that we will never truly grasp His majesty and glory. And after all, would you even want a God that you could dissect and fully grasp? In some ways God has made Himself fully known and understandable, yet in other ways God is an amazing mystery.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3-11 & 2:8-10 that God knew you and chose you before the world was created, that He created you then prepared in advance a list of good works for you to accomplish in your lifetime, and that as time reaches fulfillment He will make the mystery of His will known to you.

Our job? Love God with ALL of our heart and with ALL of our soul, and with ALL of our mind. Seek first God and will take care of the details and make the mystery of His will known to you at the proper time. Embrace Him as God. Surrender to Him and His purposes for you. Surrender your right to debate with Him or to see equality with His as something to be grasped. Surrender your plans and your dreams for the future to Him. Choose, as an act of your will, to have no other gods before Him. And don’t forget to thank Him for the next breath you take because He is the one who gives it to you.

God’s One Glaring Problem

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God has one glaring problem; He thinks He is God! And of course, He is God, which even makes it worst because as usual He is right… again. In Exodus 20:3 God makes His intention crystal clear, ”You shall have no other gods before me.”

Christ-following, at is most basic level, is simply coming to grips with God truly being “God”, with Jesus truly being “Lord”, and with the Holy Spirit truly being the controlling influence of your life.

Even Jesus had to make a choice to surrender to God’s will and purpose for His life. In Philippians 2:5-6 the Bible says that “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped……” What a phrase!!! Even though Jesus was in His very nature “God”, “He did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped”.

Yet as people, who in our very nature are a long, long way from being God, we somehow believe that it is our right and duty to “consider equality with God as something to be grasped”. How? What would you call knowingly, willful disobedience for example? Each time God asks something of us and we choose to not surrender to His will and purpose are we not in fact making our opinion, and our will equal to His?

As people, we have learned to blame such disobedient behavior on things such as fear, our comfort zone, procrastination, just being human, we will never be perfect after all, etc. But the reality is that we really do not want anyone telling us what to do, including God.

Folks, this deal is pretty simple. God is “God”, and we are not. His ways are not our ways, His deeds are not our deeds, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is God!!! He is so far beyond our imagination that we will never truly grasp His majesty and glory. And after all, would you even want a God that you could dissect and fully grasp? In some ways God has made Himself fully known and understandable, yet in other ways God is an amazing mystery.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3-11 & 2:8-10 that God knew you and chose you before the world was created, that He created you then prepared in advance a list of good works for you to accomplish in your lifetime, and that as time reaches fulfillment He will make the mystery of His will known to you.

Our job? Love God with ALL of our heart and with ALL of our soul, and with ALL of our mind. Seek first God and will take care of the details and make the mystery of His will known to you at the proper time. Embrace Him as God.

Surrender to Him and His purposes for you. Surrender your right to debate with Him or to see equality with His as something to be grasped. Surrender your plans and your dreams for the future to Him.

Choose, as an act of your will, to have no other gods before Him. And don’t forget to thank Him for the next breath you take because He is the one who gives it to you.