THE MEANING OF FULL SURRENDER [DEVOTION] - 10 April 2009

#1 · April 20, 2009, 11:04 am

Quote from Forum Archives on April 20, 2009, 11:04 am
Posted by: feedtheflock_admin <feedtheflock_admin@...>
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THE MEANING OF FULL SURRENDER

What does it mean to fully surrender to Christ? To fully surrender to Christ doesn't mean to become a recluse, but a reformer; not a monk, but a manager; not a loner but a leader. A Biblical surrender is a thinking surrender, carefully carved by thoughtful self-examination and submission to Christ.

To surrender is to be so completely preoccupied with Christ that you hunger for your life to reflect His life as though in a mirror. No one, of course, will achieve a true full surrender in this life, but that in no way negates His call on us to be perfect. Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48.

The goal of surrender, simply stated, is to be conformed to the likeness (or image) of Christ (See Romans 8:29), not as an exercise which leads to bondage, but to apprehend the true freedom that only Jesus offers. The irony of surrender is a paradox; it is a seeming contradiction that on further investigation is actually no contradiction at all.

Surrender means not only that we surrender to something, but also that we surrender from some things. For that reason we should spend time not only on the vector our lives should take, but also on how to escape the worldly life we must learn to leave behind.

To surrender is to abandon the comfortable orbit - the life of the cultural Christian. It is not to drop out; it is not an excuse for mediocrity. To fully surrender means to be so completely
dependant upon Christ that obedience brands your behavior.

Why do most miss out on this surrendered life? Human nature works on every one of us to find the "comfortable orbit". When we first trust Christ, we draw close to the Light to feel His warmth, but soon we notice the brilliant beams of light pulsate like powerful strobes that expose every minute blemish in our character. It's hard to take the heat, so we often make a retreat.

To retreat too far from the Light, though, leaves us chilly - it's cold out there. So we explore until we find a nice, warm zone to comfortably orbit around the Light, not too close, not too far
away. Not cold, but not on fire either. And you hate it, you are miserable. You want to be on fire for Christ, to trust Him completely, to obey, to live out of the overflow of an abundant life, filled with purpose and meaning.

If you are ready to recklessly abandon the comfortable orbit, if you are ready to negotiate the terms of a full surrender with the Lord you can expect to experience spiritual growth.

From "Devotions for the Man In The Mirror by Patrick Morley

QUOTES:

The dying Jesus is the evidence of God's anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is the proof of God's love and forgiveness. -- Lorenz Eifert

God magnifies HIS name when we are weak. We don't have to be eloquent or strong or handsome. We don't have to be beautiful or brilliant or have all the answers to be blessed of God. He honors our faith. All He asks is that we trust Him, that we stand before Him in integrity and faith, and He'll win the battle. -- Charles Swindoll

There are three things that only God knows: the beginning of things, the cause of things and the end of things. -- Welsh Proverb

For more visit http://www.surrender.nl/scom and www.freewebs.com/scoministry

For comments or issues concerning your Christian Life. Email to: feedtheflock_owner@welovegod.org

Help spread God&#8217s word, please forward the devotion to as many friends and relatives as possible and encourage them to subscribe free of charge. If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by sending a blank email to the following address:

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Posted by: feedtheflock_admin <feedtheflock_admin@...>

Join the forum, introduce a topic that affects your spiritual life and freely discuss with members on: http://www.freewebs.com/scoministry/apps/forums/

Previous devotions can be accessed at https://welovegod.org/groups/feedtheflock/

THE MEANING OF FULL SURRENDER

What does it mean to fully surrender to Christ? To fully surrender to Christ doesn't mean to become a recluse, but a reformer; not a monk, but a manager; not a loner but a leader. A Biblical surrender is a thinking surrender, carefully carved by thoughtful self-examination and submission to Christ.

To surrender is to be so completely preoccupied with Christ that you hunger for your life to reflect His life as though in a mirror. No one, of course, will achieve a true full surrender in this life, but that in no way negates His call on us to be perfect. Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48.

The goal of surrender, simply stated, is to be conformed to the likeness (or image) of Christ (See Romans 8:29), not as an exercise which leads to bondage, but to apprehend the true freedom that only Jesus offers. The irony of surrender is a paradox; it is a seeming contradiction that on further investigation is actually no contradiction at all.

Surrender means not only that we surrender to something, but also that we surrender from some things. For that reason we should spend time not only on the vector our lives should take, but also on how to escape the worldly life we must learn to leave behind.

To surrender is to abandon the comfortable orbit - the life of the cultural Christian. It is not to drop out; it is not an excuse for mediocrity. To fully surrender means to be so completely
dependant upon Christ that obedience brands your behavior.

Why do most miss out on this surrendered life? Human nature works on every one of us to find the "comfortable orbit". When we first trust Christ, we draw close to the Light to feel His warmth, but soon we notice the brilliant beams of light pulsate like powerful strobes that expose every minute blemish in our character. It's hard to take the heat, so we often make a retreat.

To retreat too far from the Light, though, leaves us chilly - it's cold out there. So we explore until we find a nice, warm zone to comfortably orbit around the Light, not too close, not too far
away. Not cold, but not on fire either. And you hate it, you are miserable. You want to be on fire for Christ, to trust Him completely, to obey, to live out of the overflow of an abundant life, filled with purpose and meaning.

If you are ready to recklessly abandon the comfortable orbit, if you are ready to negotiate the terms of a full surrender with the Lord you can expect to experience spiritual growth.

From "Devotions for the Man In The Mirror by Patrick Morley

QUOTES:

The dying Jesus is the evidence of God's anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is the proof of God's love and forgiveness. -- Lorenz Eifert

God magnifies HIS name when we are weak. We don't have to be eloquent or strong or handsome. We don't have to be beautiful or brilliant or have all the answers to be blessed of God. He honors our faith. All He asks is that we trust Him, that we stand before Him in integrity and faith, and He'll win the battle. -- Charles Swindoll

There are three things that only God knows: the beginning of things, the cause of things and the end of things. -- Welsh Proverb

For more visit http://www.surrender.nl/scom and http://www.freewebs.com/scoministry

For comments or issues concerning your Christian Life. Email to: feedtheflock_owner@welovegod.org

Help spread God&#8217s word, please forward the devotion to as many friends and relatives as possible and encourage them to subscribe free of charge. If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by sending a blank email to the following address:

feedtheflock-subscribe@welovegod.org

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------  To unsubscribe, e-mail: feedtheflock-unsubscribe@welovegod.org  For additional commands, e-mail: feedtheflock-help@welovegod.org