…fellow laborer in the gospel
of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2
{CHAMBERS} “[…] As long as you maintain your own personal interests
and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s
interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal
plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His
purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be
surrendered, because they [your ways in your new life in Christ] are now the
ways of the Lord. I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not
me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me
is that I trust Him. […] When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely
work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do
anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and
His goodness.”
{ELGIN} (Psalm 37:4) “Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” God will make His ways-your ways, His desires-your
desires, His purposes-your purposes. He
will conform you into the image of His Son. (Romans 8:29) “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers and sisters.” The shaping
process requires surrender .. of everything … not just some things. One of my favorite praise songs “Knowing You”
says
All
I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres and wars to own, All
I once thought gain I have counted loss, Spent and worthless now compared to
this, Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You, There is no greater thing
Now
my heart's desire is to know You more, To be found in You and known as Yours, To
possess by faith what I could not earn, All surpassing gift of righteousness, Oh
to know the power of Your risen life, And to know You in Your sufferings, To
become like You in Your death, my Lord, So with You to live and never die, Knowing
You, Jesus, knowing You, There is no greater thing
Is there something in your
life that you still cling to, still trust in - something you treat like a greater thing than your devotion to God?
Perhaps you want to preserve your life style. Perhaps you want to keep your circle of
friends which causes you to compromise your faith for them. Maybe something else, but it is
something. We all struggle with it. Listen, the ways of the world will remain
embedded in your heart if you don’t surrender all to God by faith. It’s time to be honest with yourself. God already knows the truth. He examines the heart. You can’t hide anything from Him. You may fool the people at church when you
put on your happy – I love Jesus yes I do – face on Sunday. But even then, your heart is hardened toward
God, resisting what He wants to do in your life, because you love your old life
and don’t want to give it up. Am I being
more blunt that you would prefer? My job
is to speak – or write – the Truth in love.
My purpose is not to condemn you, but to encourage you to choose God.
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