A Life Fully Surrendered

“...Father, into your hands I commit my spirit...”   

Luke 23:46

My spirit is my connection to God.

My soul is my mind, my will and my emotions.

My body is my entire physical structure that is comprised of 5 senses that are designed to enable me to live with great pleasure and joy.

Now that we have established that let me ask a question.

Body, soul or spirit, which one is dominant in your life?

Trouble answering that question?

Let me rephrase it a bit -

Which one calls the shots?

Is your body brought into subjection to you spirit or does it rule the roost?

Maybe it’s’ your reasoning or emotions that gets top billing.

The mature believer has allowed his spirit to grow.

He has learned what it means to use his soul and his body for the glory of God.

Jesus demonstrated that perfectly in His surrender at the cross.

It was His body hanging on the tree, His will surrendered to the Father and His spirit committed into the Fathers’ hands.

That is a life fully surrendered.

Health Check

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

My laptop computer came equipped with health check software.  Every few weeks the software automatically performs a scan of the hardware components in my computer and suggests recommended actions to improve performance.  It even performs a checkup if my system is running slowly and searches for corrupted files and attempts to repair them.

The Holy Spirit has a similar role in our spiritual life.  He will often search our hearts for things that keep us from drawing closer to God and then He works to remove those hindrances.

He will show us things in our life we need to walk away from because they are corrupting our hearts and causing us to operate at a spiritual level far below what God intended.

As important as my health check software is, it often slows down my computer while it’s scanning my system.  That can be very annoying, especially when I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to wait for the scan to finish (which is often).

  In those situations, I will often stop the scanning process with the good intention to turn it back on later when I’m not busy.  Well, as you can imagine, that time never comes.

Do you feel the Lord’s spotlight shining on an area of your life?  Is He trying to slow you down so He can gently begin to work on an area of your life?

Don’t abort the process by ignoring Him.  Instead, stop, listen, and yield to the Potter’s hand.  He has one goal in mind – to fashion you into the beautiful image of His son.

When a computer system is left unchecked, the small problems will grow into big problems and eventually lead to hardware failure.  When we resist the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, we cripple our spiritual growth and set us on a path of destruction and unfulfilled expectations.

God Your Rescuer

“Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.”  

Psalm 25:20

Training wheels, a learner’s permit, a job coach – all of these examples and more are ways we are given to learn new skills.

We are “broken in” and introduced to these new skills with the assistance of some ‘parameters’ that are later removed when we master the skill.

As we read the first chapter of Jeremiah, it seems that he is given no ‘breaking in’ period.

His very first word to the Nation of Judah is recorded and would be received by most anyone as a harsh word of judgment.

Yet God told Jeremiah that he knew him in his mother’s womb.

All of Jeremiah’s life had prepared him for the call of God on him.

This, by no means, implies it was easy.

As a matter of fact God reassures Jeremiah that He will rescue him.

Most people don’t need to be rescued from easy situations.

People in a ‘pinch’ or in dangerous situations need to be rescued.

Do you find yourself in need of rescue today?

Do you feel like the training wheel season skipped past you?

God will rescue you.

Step into the calling He has for you and move forward with the

Understanding that God will be your rescuer!

Carnivore Christians

“I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.”  

I Corinthians 3:2a

Jealousy, quarrels, divisions and worldliness are all signs of an immature church.

Paul elaborates on this in I Corinthians 3:1-4.

When many in the church at Corinth should have been “...eating meat...” they were still on milk.

The Apostle was both direct and honest with the church when they could not or would not be honest with themselves.

All local church bodies need oversight that will be direct and honest with them.

Self-examination is a good thing but we can often overlook our own weaknesses and blind spots.

We need those who will, as necessary, point out where we are missing the mark.

Is your shepherd lovingly caring for you and sometimes dealing with those things you would rather ignore?

Don’t let the words he is speaking or the counsel he is bringing create offense or bitterness in you.

Rather let them cause you to recognize and grow in the way that you need to.

Maybe it’s time to be fed some meat!

Cliché

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is the Messiah, the Lord.”  

Luke 2:10-11

Yep, I know you’ve heard it!

But I’m gonna say it anyway –

“He’s the Reason for the Season.”

But let me turn that clichés meaning around just a bit.

How about we make sure to make His reasons impact our season.

Take Him out of the manger and bring Him to work with you.

He’s with you already so why not acknowledge it.

I know, I know, it’s not politically correct to mention Him at work.

But the Holy Spirit can be very creative in His ways to direct our conversations when we let Him.

Ask the Holy Spirit today to help you introduce Jesus to others.

You might just be surprised how He opens those doors of opportunity.

I once had a co-worker tell me his son wanted to dress up as the ‘Holy Ghost’ for Halloween.

That started a conversation with him about spiritual things, causing him to think about more than just what his son was wearing on October 21^st.

So, here’s the challenge:

Will you let His reasons impact your season?   

Painting a Picture For Us

“these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?

In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

I Corinthians 2:10-13

The artist paints a picture.

It is very abstract.

It is more like a Picasso than a DaVinci.

We stare at it trying to understand what the artist was conveying.

But full understanding is with the artist that painted it because it was his imagination that put pant to canvas and he alone is best able to interpret what he saw.

Only as he reveals do we begin to understand.

Only as he reveals do we begin to gain insight into the artist’s full meaning.

So it is with us and the Spirit of God.

Only as He reveals to our spirit do we gain understanding into the things of God, or for that matter, into our purpose in life.

The abstract becomes clear because He has put His Spirit in us and brings our spirit understanding, revelation, light and life.

Paul spoke of this in I Corinthians 2:10-13.

God we thank you for revelation!

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:12)

Over the last year or so, I have been visiting a dear friend who suffers from a debilitating disease that has crippled his body.  It is very difficult for him to perform even the most basic bodily functions, like walking, talking, and feeding himself.  Things that we take for granted every day.

I visit to encourage him, but I’m the one that always leaves encouraged.  Encouraged because he shows me that it’s possible to love God passionately even when the world around you is upside down and you are going through incredible hardship.

Even in the midst of great hardship, my friend has not lost his love for God.  He expresses the same love and passion for his King that he had when I knew him years ago before the sickness ravished his body.

There is a fragrance about him, the fragrance of someone who is no longer held prisoner by the physical attachments to the things of this world.  Like a bird released from its cage, his spirit has been released to worship God in a way many of us will never experience.

He still prays for physical healing, along with so many people that love him, but in reality, he is already healed.  Healed from the emotional attachments to this world.

Some day he is going to leave his body.  It will no longer hold him back.  The shackles will be taken off.  But as I write this, I realize he isn’t shackled at all.  He is freer than most people who don’t have any physical limitations.

As A. W. Tozer wrote about in the Pursuit of God, my friend has learned the “blessedness of possessing nothing.”