for thought and meditation Sunday Edition

[Markopolo]

its Sunday again... whew, where did this week go???


After Surrender— Then What?
By Oswald Chambers

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

have a blessed Sonday...

[USMC87]

Amen, I surrender all!

[Wayne Smith]

After surrender comes the rest of my life in Christ.

[Blackwater]

Surrender is NOT something that comes naturally nor easily to us willful and recalcitrant mortals. We want what we want, and we generally want it right now. THAT is what comes easily to us. Real surrender is generally a pretty slow-paced activity, that comes only with valiant effort over a period of time. Nevertheless, surrender to the Lord of ALL our more "natural" impulses, is the ONLY way we can ever truly commune with the Lord, and reap the very real benefits of doing the same.

We are not naturally drawn to the Lord. It's a choice, and one we must make consciously and freely, and of our own accord. But when we do that, a whole new world opens up to us, and true and deep satisfaction will become ours. Without it, satisfaction can never truly come. Some people SAY they are "satisfied" without the Lord, but they know not of what they speak. Redefining words doesn't change their true nature.