surrender

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Christ is Enough

Learning about your “Identity in Christ” is probably the single greatest discovery of a true follower of Christ. That’s because many believers wander through the Christian life like the children of Israel wandered through the wilderness.

They instinctively know that God has a plan for their life but they just can’t seem to put that puzzle together. Questions like, “What does the normal Christian life look like?” Or, “What am I supposed to do for God?” dominate their thinking.

I think most Christians believe that if they could just discover what God wants them to do, then they would have the key to the Christian life. After all, isn’t that what the Christian life is all about, doing things for God?

The Christian life is not about what we can do for God, but allowing Christ to live His life through us. He is the giver of divine life and we are the receiver of that life. Our journey is not one long test trying to measure up, but it’s all about rest – resting in Christ as enough.

God never meant for us to try to measure up to some imaginary standard of performance. His intention is to place a divine nature within us that becomes our very life. That divine life is Christ’s life. We become one with Him (John 17)

The moment we are saved we take on a new nature (2 Cor. 5:17). We become someone we have never been before. We are a new creation. Our righteousness is not something we obtain by good works, but it is imputed or given to us by God. So we could never do enough good works to earn God’s favor.

Therefore, God does not want us to “figure out what He wants us to do”, but rather He wants us to focus on the person of Christ, and in doing so allow Christ’s life to flow out through us.

God has provided everything we need to serve Him and bear spiritual fruit. (Col. 2) As we rest in Christ, and abide in Him, the will of God will automatically be done in our life. You can do more for God by resting in Him as enough, than you could ever do in a lifetime of striving to measure up to some religious standard.

The normal Christian life is acknowledging that “apart from Him I can do nothing” (John 15:5). It is totally and completely depending on Him to show you what, when and where. You don’t have to “help God out”.

Place your trust in the living Christ within you. Turn every area of your life over to Him and allow Him to lead you every step of the way. Be patient and wait on God. He has not forgotten you, forsaken you, nor is He neglecting you. He is always on time. When God speaks, you will know it, and so will those around you.

This reminds me of a song I that I use to sing as a child. I bet you know the song also.

Since I started for the Kingdom,
Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus,
The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows.

The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows.
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows.

 

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Who is Jesus to you?

When I was a child we lived just outside the Naval Air Station, so I had contact with lots of sailors in our community. One thing I remember is thinking that part of being a sailor was having a tattoo. I didn’t realize until I was a teenager that tattoos were not standard Government Issue for sailors.

To me the most fascinating tattoos were the religious ones because most of them told a story or revealed a particular belief system about God. Today is no different. Many of the tattoos you see today reflect a religious belief and sometimes may also reveal a person’s concept of Jesus.

Regardless of what you think of tattoos every person has a belief system about Jesus that is reflected in their behavior. For instance, take the person who has never given any indication that they know or serve God. They suffer a tragedy and then blame God for allowing the tragedy to happen. It’s rather obvious that their view of God is “don’t bother me and I won’t bother you, but if I get in trouble I expect your help.”

Unfortunately, there are many concepts of Jesus that are outside of the biblical view of Him as God. In a recent article by Lee Grady he gives several examples of unscriptural concepts of Jesus.

1. The Rolex Jesus – This Jesus promises health, wealth, mansions and luxury cars.

2. The Santa Clause Jesus – He lives far away and visits rarely. He keeps a list and if you aren’t too naughty He gives you what you ask for.

3. The Rabbit Foot Jesus – Some people treat Jesus like a magic charm. They don’t know how to seek to know Him personally, but they figure if they show up for a church service a few times a year, or hang a picture of Him on their wall, they’ll be lucky when bad things happen.

4. The movie star Jesus – He is adaptable to your spiritual preferences. He lets you define your own morality. He’ll mix all religions.

5. The Rock Star Jesus – He doesn’t care how you live your life during the week. Words such as “sin” or “holiness” are off-limits because they are just not cool.

I think you get the picture. There are many false concepts of Jesus. But it’s not who we think Jesus is that’s important, but who does the Scripture say Jesus is?

Throughout Scripture the names of Jesus are revealed. But Revelation 19 best describes His name- “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. This is His true identity but this title also reveals our intended relationship to Him. He is our “King and our Lord”. When we understand who He is we will better understand our role and our relationship to Him.

He is King of Kings
That means that He is sovereign and there is no one in the universe that He is subservient to. We are His subjects and He demands our loyalty, our obedience and our submission.

He is Lord of Lords
This is one of the most radical realities of Christianity. This describes Him as the Supreme Ruler over the universe. Proclaiming Jesus as Lord means we obey what He commands us to do.

What does it mean to recognize and acknowledge Jesus as ‘Lord and King’?
Simply put it means that Jesus is your master. He is the one that you obey and you willingly give Him power over all your life. Your overriding goal in life is to obey Him and do His will. His will and plan is preeminent in your life, nothing else should take precedent.

I would never judge anyone’s motive for a religious tattoo no more than I would judge anyone who wears a Christian tee shirt. But Jesus is more than a cool tattoo or a stylish tee shirt. He is Lord and King of the universe and desires to be Lord and King of our life. Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul reflects God’s intention for those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and King.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him; having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude…For in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.” (Colossians 2)

The Scripture says that “the mystery of Godliness is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1: 26-27) True godliness and biblical spirituality is wrapped up in the person of Christ. God thought the supremacy of Christ to be so important to the Spiritual health of the believer that He sent Jesus to not only die for our sin but to indwell and impart His very life to us.

God’s ultimate plan for mankind has always been for Christ to be preeminent in our life. He becomes preeminent when we acknowledge and receive that He not only died for us but as us. That picture is painted for us in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”

This judicial act was important in order that we might die to sin and no longer be slaves to sin. Allowing Christ life to reign in us allows us to experience continual victory over sin. (Romans 6:6-8)

Bottom line: Rest, victory, godliness, and holiness are not a result of what you do but are a by-product of who you are in Christ. By laying down your self-effort to “do things for God” and allowing Christ to live His life through you, the by-product will be rest and godliness. By resting in Christ and allowing Him to live His life through you, you will accomplish more for the kingdom than you ever thought possible.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (Col. 2:6)

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Stewardship of the Mind

During most of my Christian life nearly every sermon or lesson I heard on the subject of stewardship had to do with money. So to me, spiritual stewardship was about our relationship to money. It wasn’t till years later that I realized that our relationship to money was only a part of spiritual stewardship. Biblical stewardship relates to every area of our life.

Giving money, reading your Bible and regularly meeting with believers is just part of our spiritual stewardship. I have met numerous believers who were tithers and faithful church members but their lives were a mess. I think part of the reason is they neglected the necessity of being a good steward in all areas of their life.

One of the major areas of neglect is in the area of setting our mind. Our mind is a wonderful gift from God. Our mind has the ability to create, reason, compute and to dream great things. When we become a follower of Christ our life changes and we have a brand new nature (2 Cor. 5:17), but our mind needs to be developed to think consistent with our new nature. Theologically, that’s called the act of sanctification. It is up to us to be a good steward of our mind and learn to think with the mind of Christ ( 1 Cor. 2;16). If we don’t intentionally set our mind upon truth, then our mind will naturally go the way of the flesh and the culture. The Scripture admonishes us to set our mind on things above in Colossians 3.

In this devotional I want to address four hindrances to good stewardship of our mind.

Worry – Worry begins with little things, things that seem insignificant. But if those little worries are left unchecked a pattern of worry will develop, and soon worry becomes a way of life. As a follower of Jesus, there are many reasons for us to avoid falling into the worry trap. First of all, if God takes care of the flowers and the birds, He will take care of us. (Matthew 6:25-34) Also, the Scripture tells us to be “anxious for nothing” in Philippians 4. Worry is our acknowledgement that we don’t believe what God says applies to us. We must learn to bring everything to God in prayer and trust Him to give us wisdom and strength to face every issue of life. Bottom line, you can choose to worry or you can choose to trust God.

Indifference – This is a slippery slope and a very serious place to be as a committed follower of Christ. Indifference is tied to the principle of fence sitting. For some it is a safe place to be, but the decision to be indifferent is really based on fear. The Bible speaks about indifference in the book of Revelation when it refers to the church of Laodicea. Jesus said, “Because you are neither cold nor hot I will spit you out of my mouth. “ (Rev. 3) The Scripture teaches anything less than radical trust in God is lukewarm. When we are indifferent in our commitment to Christ it affects every other area of our life. We become indifferent about our relationships, about opportunity, our job, and about hard decisions we need to make. Indifference is a choice of the mind. If you are a fence sitter, get off the fence and get back in the game.

Indecision – Motivational speaker Jim Rohne said, “Indecision is the thief of opportunity.” I can’t tell you how many times that indecision has caused me to miss an opportunity to share my faith or give comfort and care to someone who needed an encouraging word. It has also cost me to miss out on a business opportunity or two. Indecision sometimes causes us to over-think a situation and causes us to not trust the voice of God. Is your indecision based on fear or a lack of wisdom?

Doubt – Doubt is tied to indecision and fear. We ought to be cautious and careful to weight our decisions with logic, but you can’t let doubt take over your life. Once doubt sets in you doubt the past, the present, and then the future. This is where setting your mind on truth is essential. When you surrender your rights and expectations to the Lord and begin to rest in Christ’s love, your legitimate doubts will become a red flag and your unfounded doubts will flee. The Scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Proper stewardship of the mind begins by giving our worry to God, trading in our indifference for positive faith, then casting our indecision and doubt aside by putting our trust in God.

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Some things I’ve learned from Reflection

Now that I am a senior saint I find myself reflecting on the past more often than before. Like most people I have few regrets. There are some things that I would do differently and a few things I would not do at all. I keep telling myself that I am older, seasoned and have more wisdom, so I should make better decisions. That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

Through this self-reflection process I have learned a few things about my older self. Maybe you can identify with some of the things that I have learned.

1. Too much reflection causes me to center on my failures and stupid decisions. I have found that too much reflection causes me to delve into the world of “what if’s”. When we ponder all the “what if’s” of life we begin to second guess many of our past decisions. The result is always an unhealthy picture of us as failures. Then we have the danger of becoming fixated on the past. We have a tendency to focus on the negative and miss the great things God has done for and through us. I must remember that God does not dwell in the world of “What If”.

2. The greatest moments of my life were when I was “all in”. I am an “all in or nothing” guy. Whatever I am doing I am laser focused, and fully commit myself to the task. I have found that there is a connection between my level of commitment and my overall spiritual condition. When I make a deliberate decision to wholly consecrate my life to Christ’s complete control, I am able to approach any opportunity that God brings my way with passion and zeal. As I submit my every thought to the Spirit’s control, my guidance comes. I have found that I must stay hungry for God’s touch on all that I do, whether it’s a ministry project or a business opportunity. I find if I am not consciously hungry for God, I am full of myself, which usually means I am dead in the water and pretty much useless. For me, my passion to begin and sustain any new project is directly related to my present level of consecration. I have to keep in mind that I can’t separate my spiritual life from my secular life. As a committed follower of Christ every area of our life has a spiritual connection.

3. Surrender and abandonment must not just be something that we’ve learned in the past. Just because I have personally experienced surrender and abandonment in the past does not mean I am experiencing it today. Surrender and abandonment should be a daily awareness. A lack of surrender almost never occurs suddenly. It’s usually a gradual thing that occurs when we begin to take back control of our self-centered life. We forget that God can do more in one moment than we can do in a lifetime of operating out of our own strength. For me, I learned that I must have a daily consciousness of my need to surrender everything and person to His control.

4. The older I get the more I need Him. The longer I walk with God the more inadequate I feel and the more dependent I am on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. For me, daily fellowship with God is the key to keeping the fire of God burning in my soul. For many years my daily devotional time was driven by a need to feel accepted by God. I felt as if I had to do my daily ritual because I wanted God to be pleased with me. Then one day I discovered that God loved and accepted me because I was in Christ, not because I was a good performer. There was nothing I could do that would make Him love me more or accept me more. Now my daily fellowship with God is not just a mechanical event that occurs in the morning, but an all-day acknowledgment of God’s presence and acceptance. That creates a deep longing in me to bask in God’s love and fellowship and to enjoy Him as He enjoys me. Regular, deliberate fellowship with God is one of my essentials to maintaining an ongoing love relationship with my heavenly Father.

What’s the bottom line? I think the lyrics to this old gospel song best reflects what I am trying to convey.

“I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice like thine can peace afford. I need thee oh I need thee, every hour I need thee, Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to thee.”
(I Need Thee Every Hour by Hawks and Lowry)

“There is no more miserable human being than the one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.” — William James

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Preparing for the Pass-Through

After the disciples left their professions and began following Jesus, they were convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that He had come to deliver them from Roman tyranny. They believed that Jesus had come to setup his kingdom on earth. The more miracles He did the more they were convinced that Jesus was God and that the new kingdom on earth would soon be a reality.

But the disciples missed the point of why Jesus came to earth. He came to die that they might be delivered from the power and the penalty of sin. “For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own son…as an offering for sin.” (Romans 8:3).

to accomplish God’s purpose of redemption. Jesus had to go to the cross. So near the time of his crucifixion Jesus sat down with the disciples and had a very frank and direct conversation. We read about this event in John 12-14.
It was the last Passover in the upper room. Jesus was once again foretelling his death. Just before He washed the disciples feet they were arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom (Luke 22:24). They were self-focused, discouraged and confused. Then Jesus said to them;

“Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going. Thomas said to Him, “Lord we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said, “ I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:1-6)

In this one statement Jesus revealed three eternal truths to the disciples that day.

1. I must go so I can pay your sin debt.
2. I am going to prepare a place for you because this is not your home. You are a pilgrim and a stranger just passing through this world temporarily.
3. In order to pass through this world you must first pass through me.

Notice the emphasis to “passing through” in the above statements. As a committed follower of Jesus, our whole life is about passing through. We first pass through Jesus for our salvation. We then take the position of passing through this life because we recognize that we are “other worldly”. This world is not our home because we are now strangers and pilgrims.

I recently read a summary of the book by Ron Pettey entitled “Heaven is Real”. It is the story about Ron dying on the operating table during brain surgery, and his visit to heaven and back. I don’t normally read books like this but I was intrigued by his story and it seemed believable to me.

In his visit to Heaven the angel refused his full entry because it wasn’t his time to die, he had to go back into his body and finish his time on earth. Before he left heaven he encountered several events including seeing the Lord Jesus. Here is his account of Jesus welcoming the saints into heaven.

“As the young man came near Jesus, the lad glanced at me and smiled. Then he disappeared, engulfed in the flowing sleeve of Jesus’ glowing garment. Suddenly, I realized the boy had literally passed through Jesus into Heaven.
The truth of John 14:6 suddenly became clear. “No one comes to the Father but through me.” Could it be that the scriptural reference to Jesus being the door and the gate into Heaven were not figurative as I had thought? My mind could scarcely contain what I had witnessed.” (Heaven is Real, http://www.rgministries.org)

Life is not about accumulating stuff, it’s about living our life surrendered to the one who is preparing a place for us. Heaven is the superior of everything good. It’s where we are meant to live, and experience all the best that Jesus has prepared for us.

As you reflect on the meaning of Christmas this year, remember that Christmas is not only about the birth of the Christ child, but it is also about celebrating the indwelling Christ, the One who we will ultimately pass through, and dwell with forever.

” To be “in the will of God” is not a matter of intellectual discernment, but a state of heart… It’s motto is –” My Father can do what he likes with me, He may bless me to death, or give me a bitter cup; I delight to do His will.”
– Oswald Chambers

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Yielding

 

My wife and I enjoy watching true-to-life movies about English kings and queens. The royalty down through the centuries are prime examples of abuse of power, self-indulgence, pride and ultimate vanity. It proves that man, when left to his own resources, will self-destruct.

One of the words that come to my mind when I think of the various kingdoms of the world is the word “Yield”.  Even with absolute power there must be a degree of yielding. The kings of the past who had the most peaceful and prosperous rule displayed an attitude of service and humility.  

It was the custom and the law of the kingdom for the subjects to yield to the authority of the king. To refuse to yield is sure death. But to properly yield to the king turns away his wrath.  Properly yielding brings prosperity and peaceful living in the kingdom. 

Just as properly yielding in an earthly kingdom is important, learning the importance of yielding in the heavenly kingdom is just as important. Having continual inward peace is goal of every believer.  Being at rest during every situation is the ideal of every committed follower of Jesus.

Yielding to our heavenly Father is not a set of religious rules and regulations but more of a Biblical principal which includes learning to rest, surrender and abandon. Matter of fact, most struggles in the Christian life occurs when we lack these spiritual virtues.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden come to me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.”(Matthew 11:28-29)

One of the key components of yielding is learning to rest.  It’s the idea of casting your burdens and cares upon Jesus so your soul (your mind, will and emotions) can rest.  We can rest when things are falling apart because Jesus the sovereign God is in control. I heard someone say one time, “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever occurred to God?”  That means God is never taken by surprise at the events of our life. He is fully aware of every detail.

Another element of yielding is surrender and abandonment.  As a follower of Christ, we can never be at peace with God or ourselves unless we learn the act of surrender and abandonment.

In my immaturity and naivety as a new believer, I thought the sum total of the Christian life was being born again. That is a first step, but I soon learned that being a committed follower of Jesus sets in motion a war in the heavens for my allegiance.  Since the enemy lost his grip on my soul he began a campaign to gain back the affection and allegiance he lost when I was born again.

So the battle in the Christian life becomes the struggle of surrender and abandonment.  I think that is the reason we have so many struggles in life. We are not willing to abandon and surrender every area of our life to the supremacy of Christ.

I know that is paradoxal but weakness is strength, and surrender is victory. The more of our life we surrender to His control the greater our rest.

The Scripture teaches us that abandonment and surrender is normal to the Christian life.”… do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed (metamorpheo) by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:1-2)

Why is surrender and abandonment such an issue with God?  Fenelon says, “God’s desire is to seek out and destroy the roots of self-love. You, on your own, could never find those hidden roots. God can see the entire path of self-love with your heart. Let him attack self-love at it strongest point.”

Yielding to the King of Glory is all about being suited for Kingdom Life so that He can live His life through us. It is not about performance but about relationship. It’s about laying down the self-life and exchanging our life for His life.

God desires an ongoing love relationship with us. Will you join me in allowing the Holy Spirit to examine our life in order to reveal our self-love so that we may fully yield to the King?