Too many today are like the children of Israel standing before the mountain all aglow with the presence of God and hearing His voice said to Moses, why don’t you talk with God and come to us and tell us what He says. (Exodus 19 and Deut. 18:16 says,” Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire anymore, lest I die.”).
Many people it appears are saying if not with their lips , with their lives, we don’t want to hear from God directly, you tell us what He says and we will do it. There are some errors in this thinking:
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It has been over a week since I posted any devotionals. In fact, I haven't any check to see when I last posted until today. I have had one who asked me about why he was not getting any devotionals and that is why I checked it out. I have been preaching through the book of Romans this year and after five months we have managed to get through chapter three. So I began praying about what to do this Summer and as I was reading Isaiah 43, I realized to my amazement how awesome God really is. So I am taking a break from Romans this Summer and and starting a series called "Be Amazed." Be amazed of who God is. Be amazed of what God has done. And be amazed of what God is going to do.
You can surrender or re-surrender , your life by humbly telling God in your own words that you desire to yield control of your life to Him in repentance and faith. Or, if yo wish , you can pray a prayer like this:
" Lord Jesus, I need you in my life right now more than I ever have. I have very little joy, peace, and passion in my life. I confess that I have been trying to have the best of both worlds, that I have been double minded, and I have been seeking the God I have wanted and not the God who is. I am sorry, and I repent. Please forgive me. Thank you for loving me so much that You would die for all my sins so that I can have eternal life. By faith I receive( or renew) my salvation and I surrender my life to You. Take control of my life. Make me into the kind of person you want me to be. I pray this in Your name, Lord Jesus, and for your glory.- Amen! From the book " How God Makes Men" by Patrick Morely
" Adrian Rogers once went on a mission trip to Romania. Over the course of two weeks, he bonded with his interpreter but hadn't learned much about his thoughts. So toward the end of the trip he asked," Tell me, what do you think of American Christians?" "I don't want to talk about it," came the strange reply. This, of course, only made Rogers more curious, so he began to press him for an answer." Finally the interpreter capitulated," Well, okay then but you're not going to like my answer. I don't think you Americans understand what Christianity is all about. Back in the 1960s you started to use the word 'commitment' to describe your relationship with Christ. However, any time a word comes into usage, another word goes into disuse." He continued," Until the 1960s, you Americans talked about 'surrender' to Christ. Surrender means giving up control, turning over all to the Master, Jesus. By changing to the word 'commitment', your relationship with Christ has become something you do; therefore you are able to keep control. Surrender means giving up all rights to oneself . You Americans don't like to do that, so instead you make a commitment." I was shock to read this and of course I lived in and through this. I see it now. Are we going to get back to calling for people to surrender to Christ? " "When He[Holy Spirit] comes , He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment..."( John 16:8)
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, of righteousness and of the judgment. I wonder how many people really believe we are going to stand before a Holy God and give an account of our actions? Really, do we believe in a judgment? It is written all through the Bible . " Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.... And the dead were judged by what was written in the books" There are two judgments. One for the dead, those who rejected Jesus and then one for the living those who accepted Christ as their Savior. There is a judgment. But most live like there will not be one.The philosophy of this world as Isaiah 22:13 declares," Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." Yes, we will all die but after that the judgment. |
What we Learned on Sunday? Insights, ideas and InspirationWritten by Pastor Chris Hudson Archives
May 2024
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