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Touching lives with the truth of God's Word.

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Location: Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

SURRENDERING ALL

Seeking God’s direction and acknowledging His authority takes surrender and obedience. Surrendering our goals to God allows His plan for our lives to flourish. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The disciples surrendered to Jesus’ call while they were working and going about their daily lives (Matt. 4:18-22; Luke 5:27-28). Jesus’ example of submitting to the will of the Father is shown in His willingness to die on the cross for our sins. The Bible says in Matt. 26:39; Going a little farther, He (Jesus) fell with His face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Surrendering our personal goals to the will of God is essential for spiritual growth. We need to obey the Lord, even when the situation is not anticipated, expected, or fully understood. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going [Heb. 11:8]. Take note! We obey because we are free, we do not obey to be free. Obedience is the result of our freedom in Christ, not the other way around.
Obedience to God’s will strengthens us and builds our faith. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” [John 14:15]. The question is, do you love the Lord? Do you have a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ? The Bible says, “we love God because He first loved us.” Dear friend, our motivation for obedience is love for the Lord. Are you constrained by His love? The Christian life is not doing stuff, but abiding in Christ. If we abide in Him, love and obedience is the natural outworking of that relationship. Tell the Lord how much you love Him, and ask Him to give you the grace to abide in Christ. He will answer that prayer, for He has commanded us to abide in Him.
Humility is the hallmark of a Christ centered life; A life surrendered to God’s will. The truth is, God is Sovereign and owes us nothing; but we owe Him everything. You think about that. May God bless.