Surrender

Seek God First

“The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” – 1 Kings 3:4 Now that it’s December 26, I find myself thinking again about the fact that another year is nearly over. Even more importantly, I am beginning to contemplate the one that lies ahead as I seek to prepare my mind and heart for the new challenges and adventures that await. For inspiration, I find myself looking to the example of King Solomon. At the time he took the throne, this young ruler, who was the son of the legendary King David, had major problems. His brothers were jealous of his reign, the tribal rulers of Israel didn’t like him, he had some big bad enemies at the border, and he had no idea how to lead the people. Knowing that the

December 26, 2022 No Comments

The Cost of Non-Discipleship

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ ” – Luke 9:23 Another term that was coined by Dallas Willard is non-discipleship. There is a trend in our society toward not taking responsibility for choices and actions. Even sadder is the fact that this appears to be happening in the Church as well. In many congregations today, you can be a Christian without walking the narrow road, paying the price, sacrificing for your neighbor, and serving people. What is often taught is that as long as you pray and ask Jesus into your heart, everything’s fine and you never have to sacrifice again. Although the prayer of salvation is very important, there is also a call to be responsible and moral. This is much more costly in the long run. Becoming a Christian doesn’t

October 4, 2022 No Comments

Revolution Starts in the Heart

“‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ ‘ Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’ ” – Matthew 27:22,23 When I look at the story of the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, one of the things that strikes me the most is how once the people discovered that He was not the political revolutionary they thought He was, they turned on Him. The crowds that just a while earlier had been shouting, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” were now screaming “Crucify Him and give us Barabbas!” Why did they want Barabbas? Because he was a rebel who had already led a fight against the Romans. They knew what they were looking for and Jesus was not it. Unfortunately, they missed the

June 12, 2022 No Comments

Surrender to Him

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” – Psalm 118:8 Have you ever been backed into a corner? Maybe you were unjustly accused or forced to take responsibility for something that wasn’t your fault. Perhaps you are facing a great obstacle in your life, such as a serious illness or the threat of losing your home or business. Even if you are staring death in the face, I want to encourage you today that God can turn your situation around for good. The key to experiencing His blessing and power is to relinquish your desire to take control. In other words, you must surrender. In the Kingdom of God, what He invites us to is often the opposite of what feels right or seems natural. Instead of being closed-fisted, or holding onto our “right” to be angry, He says to hold it loosely,

June 5, 2022 No Comments

Great Faith is a Great Responsibility

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” – Luke 12:47,48 As we have been learning about dying to our flesh, we now know that we have to crucify our need for adoration, for glory, for safety, and for satisfaction. Why? Because there’s only One who can satisfy, One who can keep us safe, and One deserving of glory and adoration — His Name is Jesus. When you crucify your selfishness for His Name’s sake, you don’t become a weakling or a doormat, you become a rock! Now,

March 21, 2022 2 Comments

Surrendering Passions and Desires

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” – Galatians 5:24 As we get down to the nitty gritty of what it looks like to crucify the flesh, I want to assert that it’s entirely a matter of the heart. This is why it’s so important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and stay in tune with His voice, like we talked about yesterday. In my experience, the church has often played games when it comes to the issue of dying to self, with one, two, or three things defining what it looks like. This is because it’s natural for us as human beings to want to set rules and regulations that are easy to understand and that everyone can adhere to. When we do this, we feel more in control. Perhaps this is the reason there have been entire denominations of

March 18, 2022 No Comments

Death to Self

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?’” – Luke 9:23-25 Over the past few days, we’ve learned a lot about agape love, so today, I want to talk more about the flip side of that wonderful gift, which is death to self. No good thing in this life comes without sacrifice, and the most divine and precious gifts of God can only be experienced as we make a choice to deny ourselves. In fact, this theme is echoed over and over again in the New Testament, both in the teachings of Jesus and in

March 15, 2022 1 Comment

Fear Not

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.’” – Acts 18:9 Fear Not! Do Not Be Afraid! These commonly used Biblical commands always precede God doing something really great in a person’s life. For instance, every time an angel appears to one of the Lord’s chosen, whether Mary before becoming pregnant with Jesus or the Apostle Paul before surviving a shipwreck, He tells that person to not be afraid. Naturally, the presence of an angelic being, full of power and celestial glory, would be enough to make anyone tremble in fear, at least in the moment, but after the call of God is given, there is an even greater opportunity for worry to set in. The world is full of obstacles and there are more opportunities for angst and anxiety than ever before. When Jesus calls us

February 5, 2022 No Comments

God is Sufficient in Your Finances

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19 Yesterday we talked about living in a culture of fear that causes our world to shrink instead of expand. Today, I want to share with you a specific example of how society encourages fear in our finances. When I was in college, I got my first credit card. My mom thought it would be a good idea for me to have this card in case of any emergencies. She didn’t want me to not have money to pay for a hamburger or to fill my gas tank, so she instructed me to use it as needed. Ah yes, I remember the day I got that shiny new Discover card in the mail — it felt like I had just won the lottery! It was a live card and I

February 3, 2022 No Comments

Carried by His Currents

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8 We talked about how the winters in our lives provide us with force and strength the other day. Today, I want to remind you that a winter storm is always blown away by the wind, ushering in a new season. You can feel the Holy Spirit blowing through you as you grow in your connection with Jesus, just like the grass moves with the power of fresh breeze. As you become closer to Him, you’ll be able to hear His voice more clearly and understand where He’s taking you, but with the knowledge that He’ll be the one driving you. If you find yourself lying awake at night wondering what you should have done or

January 9, 2022 1 Comment

Seek God First

The Cost of Non-Discipleship

Revolution Starts in the Heart

Surrender to Him

Great Faith is a Great Responsibility

Surrendering Passions and Desires

Death to Self

Fear Not

God is Sufficient in Your Finances

Carried by His Currents

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