Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the word surrender and what it means in our relationship with Jesus. To surrender is defined as declaring yourself defeated; giving up possession of something; or voluntarily giving something to another. As we think about surrendering our lives to Jesus we see that all three of these definitions come into play. We recognize that we are defeated by sin and cannot overcome it on our own. We give possession of our lives, hopes, dreams and ambitions to Jesus. And in response to His love, we voluntarily give all that we know about ourselves to all of Jesus that we understand.

As good and rational as all of that sounds the problem is that to surrender to anyone or anything, even to Jesus, isn’t an easy thing to do; it goes totally against our human nature. It goes against our exaggerated sense of individuality and the mistaken belief that we can manage and control our own lives.

However, once we come to recognize how much Jesus loves us, once we recognize how just and fair He is, and once we recognize that Jesus has a plan and purpose for our lives, all of our objections to surrendering our lives to Him are broken. Instead of viewing the surrender of our lives to Jesus as something that is onerous and should be avoided at all cost, as we view most other times of surrender, we see that surrendering to Jesus is the best choice we could ever make. 

Surrendering to Jesus is where our relationship with Him truly begins and living in an attitude of surrender to Him helps us to get out of the way so that Jesus is free to work in our lives. With surrender we can receive all that Jesus has planned for us, but without surrender we can never abide in Him.

Total surrender to Jesus is giving to Him all that we know about ourselves to all of Him that we know. Take some time this week to:

1. Invite Jesus to reveal to you any area of your life that you need to surrender to Him.

2. Invite Jesus to reveal more of Himself to you as you spend time with Him in Bible study and prayer.

Then watch and listen with expectation to see what Jesus wants to do in you.

                                                 In Him,

                                                      Mark

In 1972 singer/song writer Jim Croce came out with a hit song entitled “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” The chorus went:

    “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape

      You don’t spit into the wind

      You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger

      And you don’t mess around with Jim”

After a recent experience I would add one more thing you don’t do; “you don’t spray window cleaner on a window with a vent underneath it while the furnace fan is running.” I know it’s not quite as catchy as Croce’s lyrics, but it’s just as true and the window cleaner blown back into my eyes is the proof.

In the days we live in a lot of things that were once considered truths to live by are no long accepted as truth. It seems like most everything is open to interpretation and the person or group with the most persistent and loudest argument gets to define truth for all. This makes for a society and culture that is built on ever shifting sand.

That got me to thinking, what is truth? That is the same question Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38, when Jesus appeared before him during His trial. Although Jesus didn’t answer Pilate’s question at that time, He had answered it a few hours earlier as he met with His disciples as we read in John 14:6, where He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The Greek word that is translated truth in both Pilate’s question and Jesus’ statement is defined as “the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter.” While human debate may continue to redefine what we think we know to be true, Jesus will never change and we can trust that as we know Jesus we know truth. Which also means that the better we know Jesus the better we understand what is true.

As we base our lives, choices and decisions on Jesus the truth, we don’t have to worry about the winds of question, doubt and redefinition that swirl around us and in our culture. Instead, we can firmly place our feet on the Rock of Truth where we never slip and can never be shaken.

This is a process and a life-long journey for sure, but if we live committed to Jesus and continue growing in our knowledge of Him and in our relationship with Him, we can live in the truth that sets and keeps us free (John 8:32).

God’s Grace and Peace,

Mark

For the last couple of years I’ve been interested in trying out a pair of Skechers Shape-ups; the shoes with the sole that is rounded in the middle and are promised to give you a work out while you wear them. Since I’m always looking for new ways to include more exercise into my day I thought those shoes might be worth trying, but at the prices I was finding I wasn’t sure they would be worth that much.

I recently found a pair at a really good price so I finally bought a pair. The information that came with the shoes said that the effect of their rounded sole design makes it like you are walking on dry sand and warned that you shouldn’t wear them all day right away, but begin by wearing them for short periods to get your muscles used to the additional effort required to walk in them.

We all know how taxing walking in dry sand can be and amazingly enough, these shoes really do give you that effect. As you walk they cause you to use muscles in your legs that normal shoes would never work and they activate your core muscles with every step. Another thing I noticed about the shoes is that they change the way I walk. They force me to walk more carefully because, with their round soles, I want to be sure that my foot lands exactly where it should and they force me to shorten my stride, which actually causes me to walk more efficiently.

This experience got me to thinking about the many verses in the Bible that speak to walking with God and walking according to the path that he sets for us. One example that comes to mind is Psalm 89:15, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.”

It takes time to learn how to walk in God’s ways and to live a life that brings Him glory and acclaim. It takes time in God’s word and time in relationship with Him each day. But regardless of the time and the effort it takes to learn to walk in God’s ways, the benefits vastly outweigh any effort we make.

Every day, may the cry of our heart echo the words that Moses spoke to God in Exodus 33:13, “…teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”

Learning to Walk, 

Mark

In January I started having some pain and problems with my right knee. At first I tried to deny that it was hurting and kept pressing on. When that didn’t work I tried to ignore it, hoping that it would get better. But when it continued to hurt nonstop and began locking up and buckling at the most inopportune times I decided it was time to go to the doctor.

I was hoping that all I needed was a cleanout surgery to remove any debris floating in the joint. No such luck and needless to say, hearing the diagnosis that my knee was the poster child for knee replacement surgery did not excite me at all. There are some short-term helps, injections, which may provide some relief, but the doctor assured me that my only long-term solution was replacement surgery.  Not ready to do the replacement thing yet, I had an injection and hope to put off the inevitable surgery for as long as I can.

I want to thank everyone who has prayed for my knee. The injection I received has helped far more than anyone would have anticipated and I know that it is due to your prayers.

This experience got me to thinking about the human spiritual condition. Humankind has a long-term problem with sin, and it’s a long-term problem that requires a long-term solution. But too often it’s easier to try to deny the problem and then try to ignore both our sin, and what God says about it, rather than pursue God’s long-term solution. And when denying and ignoring don’t work, we often then try to redefine our sin in an effort to make it seem acceptable to God, thinking that will ease our guilt.

If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that none of our short-term solutions will work for very long and that’s because freedom, peace and joy only come when we apply God’s long-term solution to our long-term problem; the cleansing blood of Jesus that is applied to our hearts as we confess and repent of our sin and turn to Jesus to receive His forgiveness and cleansing from our sin, guilt and shame.

This is what the message of Easter, Resurrection Sunday, is all about. While we were trapped in sin with no way to be forgiven and released, Jesus died for us, but He also rose from the dead, defeating the power of sin and death in the lives of everyone who puts their faith in Him and follows Him.

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we no longer need to deny our sin, ignore our sin, redefine our sin or chase short-term solutions that leave us trapped in our sin. Instead, through the work of Jesus we may experience the forgiveness, cleansing, victory and freedom that Jesus offers to all who come to Him.

Thankful to be Forgiven and Free,

Mark