TIME TO SURRENDER

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

He must become greater; I must become less. – John 3:30 (NIV)

I had the blessing last night of sharing a little of what GOD has done in my life with a Celebrate Recovery group.  One of the great things that I believe Celebrate Recovery does is just that.  They celebrate.  I even had the wonderful experience of seeing one of my friends receive his 1 year “chip” marking a year of constant and consistent sobriety. 

That is worth celebrating!

The leaders of this particular group CELEBRATE 64 years of combined and continuous sobriety.  That is worth a little rejoicing don't you think?

The tenor of the time together was celebratory, something that we really should be doing in and with GOD each day every day!

Philippians 4:4 (MSG)

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

So I truly appreciated the heart of this group.  There was hope and a genuine spirit of joy and possibility in the room. 

And as with sessions like this there was lots of time for fellowship following.  And one of my dearest friends, a member and leader of the hosting church, was one who paused to chat before heading home.  He was sharing that he was into a book by David Platt that presses the point of that passage I opened today’s thought with; John 3:30.

In order for GOD to INCREASE in our lives WE must DECREASE.  In other words we need to surrender our agendas today in favor of His.  In other words His objectives, His directives, His mandates and motivations need to supersede ours, period. 

He commented he is learning again that he (and we) must “surrender all”.

My buddy shared what a tall order that was for him.  It is a tall order for me and I am going to go out on a limb and say it is for you too.  Daily surrendering our “wants, needs and plans” for GOD’S sovereign will is as my friend said “a challenge”. 

And yet, this same author provides the motivation that even though challenging, dying to “self”; becoming less, or decreasing comes with wonderful rewards.

“There is indescribable joy to be found, deep satisfaction to be felt, and an eternal purpose to be fulfilled in dying to ourselves and living for him.”  ― David Platt

So the challenge or the encouragement for today is fairly obvious. 

Will we put down our plans, agendas and most notably “ourselves” in favor of GOD?

Will we lessen our influence over today’s activities and mindsets in favor of those inspired by our FATHER?

Remember we are called to:

…present our bodies as a living sacrifice – Romans 12:1

Can we?

Will we?

“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. ” ― A.W. Tozer

Time to surrender!

I love you all!

Be blessed!

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)

NEW MODEL

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.

To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ― R. Buckminster Fuller

The beautiful part about CHOOSING Christ is that HE does just that!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

The tough part is REMEMBERING that.

Often after accepting CHRIST and this NEWNESS of life we slide back into the old grooves as Peterson says.

Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” – 1 Peter 1:15-16 (MSG)

Our “new model” needs to be one SHAPED by GOD’S life, obedient to His promptings, His guidance, His boundaries, and His direction.  Our new life has the amazing potential to be one of blazing ENERGY, HOPE and POSSIBILITY!  

Remember…

It IS what God is doing…he is creating something totally new, a free life! – Galatians 6:15 (MSG)

And a FREE life EMBRACES the NEW LIFE!

There is a young man I know, a former atheist, who truly embodies and grasps his newness like no one else I have worked with in the past.  When he accepted Christ after a life of rejecting Him, he accepted with a completeness and fullness that I almost covet.  Even current consequences resulting from past mistakes are attributed to the “old him” and he will not let them deter the NEW HIM from what GOD has promised.

He daily walks and operates in his newness.

It is quite remarkable!

The question my Christ following friends is "do we?"

Or do we allow old thoughts and patterns to dictate our present?

Do we allow old perceptions and old issues with our esteem derail our perspectives today?

Let’s embrace our NEW MODEL!

…if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ,

ACT LIKE IT.

Pursue the things over which Christ presides.

Don’t shuffle along… be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. – Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG)

“The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make BRAND-NEW CREATION. Not to make people with better morals but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love.

This, my friend, is what it really means to be a Christian.”

― Brennan Manning

NEW!

I love you all!

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)

PAINT THE PICTURE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Joshua asked a pointed question.

You must choose for yourselves today. 

Today you must decide who you will serve…You must choose for yourselves. 

(from Joshua 24:14-15 ERV)

That verse continues to what many of us have posted in our homes or have on our desks…

…as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

But I wanted to focus on the “choose for yourselves” part of the verse.  Yesterday we were reminded that the slate had been cleared for today; that today is a clean canvas waiting to be painted with the decisions and activities of the day.  GOD has handed us the brush and given us the full palette of colors to pick from.  The question is will today be colored for Christ or not.

Joshua makes it clear.

Who we will serve, "how we will paint" if you will is UP TO US.  GOD doesn’t set the canvas with any paint by numbers He doesn’t dictate the art or artist.  Yes He hopes that what is painted will reflect His heart and His Spirit, but He leaves it to us to decide.

Sometimes I find that a little remarkable and disconcerting.

I know I am predisposed to SERVE me, not GOD.  I am predisposed to color today the way I want to color it.  I don’t inherently pause to consider how GOD might paint, it takes intentionality and thought for me to take that approach and sometimes I just wish GOD would leave some paint-by-numbers lines and shapes and direct the action.  I even would like Him to sometimes take over the painting and let me spectate.

But He doesn’t.

He wants our whole-hearted service today.

He wants our service to be OUR choice and not His.

He wants us to demonstrate our love and appreciate for Him without provocation or coercion.

For:

“…God, to know you is life. To SERVE You is freedom. To praise you is the soul's joy and delight. Guard me with the power of Your grace here and in all places. Now and at all times, forever. Amen.” ― Augustine of Hippo

Augustine gives us the true motivation for CHOOSING THIS DAY to SERVE the LORD. 

When we do we experience FREEDOM! 

When we do we don’t subject ourselves to the consequence of poor decisions, we don’t open ourselves to the shame and condemnation of the enemy. 

When we SERVE GOD our heart align with His, our choices align with His, our spirits become enriched and fulfilled.

So who will you serve?

…since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice (and SERVICE) to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to worship. Romans 12:1 (ICB)

All Christians are but God’s stewards. Everything we have is on loan from the Lord, entrusted to us for a while TO USE IN SERVING HIM. – John MacArthur

…it is by serving God and others that we store up heavenly treasures. Everyone gains; no one loses. – Randy Alcorn

And that paints a lovely picture. 

Have a blessed day of serving Him today!

I love you all!

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)