Tag: complete surrender

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Surrender to Win

“ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.”

Philippians 3:7

One of the biggest challenges new followers of Jesus have is letting go of everything they’ve spent their life building. Oh, I don’t mean letting go as in throw it all away. I mean letting go as in surrendering ownership of everything to Jesus, every dream, every success, every plan. We must let him have all the plans we’ve committed our lives towards, so that He may either confirm or change our plans. To belong to Christ, we must let Him have complete control. How do find the power to let go and let God – resurrection!

Jesus had to let go of everything He’d known for 33 years in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had to trust His Father. And, as He did, He gained everything back and so much more in His resurrection to eternal life as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. At the very heart of the Christian experience is found the greatest paradox. If we give up everything…we gain everything.

I think many people struggle with such letting go because they haven’t learned to trust anyone but themselves. However, if there is anyone we can trust it’s our creator – Jesus Christ. In giving up everything, that is counting all as loss for Christ, we actually gain more than we can ever imagine. In Christ, we gain assurance that every need we ever have will always be met.

There will never come a time when Jesus will let us down, or forget to meet a need. We don’t even have to remind Him. One of my old supervisors in ministry used to always say, “Jesus has never let me down…He’s scared me to death a few times, but He’s never let me down.”

Jesus has a plan for our lives, and He always has. Yes, it can be scary at times. We have to learn to trust. We can hear His promise of assurance in the Lord’s words to his covenant people through Isaiah the prophet: “ For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11) Yet, even that was not a blanket promise without a contingency. If we read on we discover that God’s plans are realized when we seek Him with “all our heart”. (Vs 13)

Remember, if you want to win in this life, you have to surrender. And, on the other side of our surrender is resurrection power. Have you found it yet?

Remember, Christ is risen…and so are you!

Grace & Peace,

+Pastor Brad

Prayer

Gracious Lord, you give generously to all who truly seek you. Help me to surrender ALL to you today, that you may raise me up in the power of the resurrection to the life You want me to live. Amen. Alleluia!

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The Spirit-filled Life: It’s More Than Just Beleiving

Click here to read today’s scripture from Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2

fruits-of-the-spirit-love

When it comes to faith, we often ask the question, “How much do I need to get by?”. Many people often want to know how to live the Christian life just enough to get us into Heaven and escape Hell. If that sounds familiar to you, may I suggest that you’ve missed the whole point of the Christian faith?

Christianity isn’t about escaping something, it’s about entering something; that something is life in Spirit. Today’s verses from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians tell us what a spirit filled life looks like. Spirit filled lives area filled with love, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control – but not always all at the same time (At least not for me). St. Paul tells us these characteristics are the “fruit” of the Spirit. In other words they are the noticeable byproducts of a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus.

What’s He Really Saying?

However, if we fail to carefully and deliberately read ALL the great Apostle is saying, we may be left with the misguided thought that a life committed to Jesus automatically grows this incredible fruit. Well, you don’t have to live as a Christian long before you realize you often live below these fruitful characteristics. You may even doubt your faith since you have such struggles with living out this ‘fruit of the Spirit’. But, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.

Living ‘by the Spirit’ is not enough. What? That’s right. St. Paul knew as Christians we receive the Holy Spirit when we believe, after all, it is only by the power of the Spirit that we can turn from sin and repent in faith. So, in that sense we can be said to ‘live by the Spirit’. However, Paul says if we live by the Spirit, we must also “keep in step with the Spirit”. Keeping in step implies so much more than just a position of belief; it means we live under the complete control of the Holy Spirit. We live and move and have our very being in what He would have us do and say (Acts 17:28).

The Key to Bearing Fruit

If we want to live the fruit-filled life of the Spirit, we must come to a place of complete surrender of our will to God’s will. God has a will for each of us, but he won’t force it upon our lives. When our hearts recognize the true depth of love God gives to us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus, and through the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit, then surrender to His will and His way, becomes the pathway to transformation. In His power, walking step by step in His guidance, we are transformed into loving, joyful, peaceful, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled people. The transformation doesn’t happen in an instant, but the surrender of our will does. Then, as we walk in His power, He lights our way through experiences that transform us, step by step, into His likeness.

This Week

As you prepare your hearts for worship on the Lord’s day tomorrow, won’t you spend some time thinking about your level of surrender to Jesus Christ? Are you living in faith because you’ve accepted Jesus as savior? If so, great, you’re partially surrendered. Or, are you still trying to figure out life on your own, making decisions in your own power and wisdom without knowing or considering what God’s will is. If so, won’t you consider surrendering everything to Jesus; every fear your still holding on to, every doubt you have about what the future will bring, yes even the unknown things of the future? To surrender completely to Jesus Christ and His will for your life brings the fruit of the Spirit. You can have peace in knowing the Lord of Life is Lord of ALL – including you.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

Image credit:  http://www.thinwithin.org/living-the-fruit-of-the-spirit/