I have been asked, “How did you find God?” To that I simply reply, “You have to seek Him like your life depends on it, because it does!”

People often say, “Why can’t I find Him like you?” And “I wish my faith was stronger.” They say these things like they have no choice in the matter.

We choose every day what to seek after and where to place our faith. The problem isn’t our lot in life or our circumstances. It’s our willingness to give up control of our lives and seek after God with our WHOLE heart.

When we trust in Him, God takes us on a journey of building our faith and it only deepens the more we seek to know Him.

The problem isn’t external, you simply need to surrender and seek Him more to experience real relationship and faith.

What does that look like in ‘real life?’

1.) Get a good Study Bible that helps you unpack and understand God’s Word.

2.) Carve time out every day to feast in His word. Dig deep. Look for answers.

3.) Take time with God in prayer throughout the day. Take a walk and talk to Him, talk to Him in a quiet place, or on the ride to work.

4.) Attend a Bible-teaching church. Bring a pen and notebook and take notes.

5.) Apply what you are learning daily and at church to your life.

6.) Spend time with your church family around God’s word.

7.) Keep a journal of How you’re seeing God work and what He is teaching you.

8.) Tell others about what you are learning

9.) Keep seeking until you find what you’re looking for. Don’t give up!

#MPWarrior

#RealFaith

#SeekHimWithYourWholeHeart

He is the very God whose words spoke all into being-from the vastness of the universe to the complexity of the human eye.

He is the One who knit me in my mother’s womb, crafting every hair in my head and He remembers each one.

He is the One who passionately pursued me when my heart desired the many pleasures of this world.

He was the One who gave His Son who emptied Himself at the cross paying the price for my sin with His precious blood.

And yet my flesh wants what it wants. Even in the midst of His many blessings, it seeks to bend Him to my will instead of bending me to His as I pray.

For we need Him to continuously remind us of His great love and teach us to surrender completely to Him. For when we commit our way to Him, and trust Him, He will do it. Our relationship with Our Heavenly Father is not about us launching requests for Him to project manage and solve. It is about us drawing close to Him, committing all of ourselves to Him and seeing the beauty of His work in and through us for His glory.

If we truly want to see powerful prayer, we must surrender completely to His will and way.

Reflection

In what ways have you been going on your way with life without surrendering completely to God?

Repent and ask for forgiveness for these and commit your way to the Lord’s mission (Matt. 28:16-20)

Delight yourself in His ways and plan!

Prayer

Father you are our LORD and Our Trust. Help us completely surrender to You and Your mission. Help us to see Your power. Bend and comfort Our will to Yours that we may draw close to You and live in Your powerful presence. Let us not hurl requests at you according to our will, but instead in alignment with You pray in accordance to Your will and see the abundance of Your answers in Jesus, Amen!

His Love

This week we celebrated our culture’s version of love with candy, cards and flowers, but our God’s demonstration of His love stands as the most powerful example in all of history. For He has given everything to us through Christ; withholding nothing. No candy, nothing flashy, just pure unadulterated love and sacrifice that we may have the opportunity to live forever with Him.

His Surrender

We cannot fully comprehend the mockery, scorn, and physical breaking of our Savior’s body: let alone the asphyxiation that squeezed out His life on the cross. There is no way to tally the value of the blood that was spilled to cover the multitude of sins of all the world; past, present, and future. Remember, that was our sin that held Him there also. He willingly surrendered His life to the will of His Father though everything in His flesh wanted a different ending, He surrendered it all on that cross for His Father and for us.

Our Love

Our Father in turn has simply asked us to love Him and others as He has loved us. This is no small task! Our flesh too will stand in opposition to such a lifestyle. We must be completely grounded in the knowledge and power of our Savior’s love to share in His victory. This Love is not to be squandered but instead be freely given to those God puts in your path daily that it may glorify Him and draw many into His fold.

Our Surrender

To truly live our life for God, we too must surrender. Every thought, every dream, and every ambition must be laid down. We must not be convinced that this is a one time event. For our flesh will try to convince us that we can now live however we want. That is a lie that many of us have fallen to at times. Instead, let us rise and purpose in our hearts to surrender daily to the One who surrendered all; that we may walk in His righteousness and love as He loves!

Reflection

Are you seeing the way God loves reflected in the way you love Him and others?

Take time today to surrender everything to Him. All your hopes, dreams, and desires. Let Him be your hope, Dream, and desire.

Prayer

Father, Your Love is beyond words! Teach us LORD to surrender to Your will and live as You have designed us. Lead us on level ground as we learn to love as You have loved and may Your name be proclaimed in and through us to all the nations in Christ we pray, Amen!

This worked well until I was introduced to God’s standard. Suddenly, I was no longer a superstar. Instead, I couldn’t measure up, as hard as I tried. It all came to a head as I listened to the gospel being shared when I was 15yrs old. My world crashed and I realized clearly that I needed Christ so I surrendered my life to Him. 

If our standard goes no further than ourselves, we will falsely think we are good.  We can see a clear picture of our heart,who we are, and our need of Jesus, only when we view ourselves in light of God’s law.  It’s part of His plan for us to see that we come up empty. We must see our need for His wonderful Savior.  Only then can we receive Christ who does measure up and meet every standard.  For His heart is pure and His righteousness is excellent!

Reflection

Who/what standard do you compare yourself to?

If the answer is self or others, your standard isn’t high enough.  God has given us the standard of His law in His word.  

In what ways have you or are you currently trying to measure up to His standard in your own strength?

Can you see that you are left lacking?  Do you see your need for a Savior?

Rejoice out loud for what Christ has done!

Prayer

Father, Your standard is Holy and righteous; perfection at its finest. For though we cannot achieve it, Jesus perfectly satisfied every part by His finished work at the cross.  We rejoice that You have made a way for us to enter into relationship with You!  Moreover, you have made us Your sons and daughters!  We have the Holy Spirit living in us testifying to our adoption!  Our lips will never cease praising You in the name of Christ, Amen!

Here Jesus is explaining that to be His disciple it requires complete surrender.  He’s asking for us to divorce our flesh and all it’s desires.  In our customer-centric consumer society, we have come to believe that the world is designed to feed us our every need.  We are like the sun with an al a carte of needs orbiting for our enjoyment.  Christ must be the center, not us. 

It is impossible to keep this mentality and deny ourselves. We must throw away the old model in exchange for a new one.  What’s the new model?  It’s simple. All our needs find their complete fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus. Christ.  We don’t need 17 different flavors or sizes.  We can be completely content in Him in His perfection. 

Not only are we to deny ourselves, but we are also to follow.  Generally speaking, our world raises up leaders and looks down at followers.   The truth is we all follow someone. I’m not just talking about twitter or Facebook.  We all pattern our life after those we admire. It began when we were just infants.  We must be willing to follow Jesus at all costs.  

This kind of denial and following is likened to losing your life.  You turn over every thought, word, and action.  You were bought for the price of His body and blood.  In light of that truth, the denial and following seems like such a small offering. 

Reflection

WARNING: You may be convicted if you read on

What evidence is there in your life that you have denied yourself and followed Him?

What do you need to deny that’s currently standing in the way of total surrender?

What is keeping you back from completly following Him?

Prayer

Father, you are mighty in power and love. You have snatched us from the pit of despair and set us on the rock of Jesus Christ.  Conquer any pride that remains in us that seeks to control our surrender to You.  Let Your truth overcome our flesh, that we may plunge into the depths of faith in Your arms.  May Your name be glorified and our lives be a living sacrifice for You, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

The whisper of God reminds me that I must be all in; not just on the surface, but every square inch and even the deepest parts of my soul must surrender.  If I’m not willing to leave it all behind and follow, I’m not really following Him. Instead, my affections are divided, somehow believing I can bargain with God.  

Following requires complete abandonment of goals, dreams, and desires of everything this side of life. We must lose our life to keep it. Again the dark voice returns to my ear, “that’s a little extreme don’t you think?”  The answer is “Yes!”   

If we want to talk extreme how about we look at what Jesus surrendered for the sake of the Father…for you. 

‭‭He left behind His deity and surrendered everything, including  His connection to the Father.  One my say that kind of love is extreme.  That kind of obedience is extreme.  The cross was extreme.  

Reflection

Compared to the cross what are you really giving up?

What do you gain when you give your life completely over to God?

Is not being in the wonderful presence of God for all eternity worth any sacrifice?

Father

Open our eyes to see the full measure of our gift in Christ that we may loose all ties to all things in this life and cling to Him.  Let us rightly lose our life that we may keep it in Him, Amen!

I have caught myself too many times over the years justifying sinful thoughts and actions because “I’m human” or because “God’s grace is sufficient”.  When we do that, our relationship is not being built on love but instead selfishness.  Salvation is less about what we get and more about what was given and why. 
The gospel by its very nature reveals to us the depravity and wickedness in our hearts, demonstrates how we have estranged ourselves from our Heavenly Father, and provides a means of making it right through surrendering all that we are. 

The core in all of it is love. God’s love for us and our response of love back.  This is not a “How do I get to heaven” thing.  It’s a “I have sinned against my holy and perfect creator; I surrender and want to be shaped by Him” kind of thing.  Do you get the subtle difference?   My salvation isn’t motivated by my desire to get to heaven, but instead it’s driven by my desire to love and obey God because o who He is and what He has done. 

Reflection

Are you still moved by the great gift of love that was given to you at the cross or have you forgotten your desperate need? Be honest and check your heart and mind.  Do you really want God in charge of every aspect of your life…total surrender?   Remember there is no fooling God.  Let this truth pierce your heart and bring you to a place of worship and surrender. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we confess that our flesh is weak and it seeks our own gain. Help us to let go of choosing strength in our flesh and depend completely on you. For You are our Rock and our Refuge. You are our Salvation. Apart from You there is no hope. Thank you for rescuing us from ourselves. You are all we need!  Let our hearts be pure and filled with love for You in Jesus’ name, Amen!

 God’s plan for you is victory; however, It must be accomplished His way and He requires your surrender. It begins with your motivation. Is your motivation born out of a love for Him and for His glory? Or perhaps is it for you to not have to feel the guilt and shame any longer? 

Reflection

Read Galatians 5:1-14 and take an honest look at yourself today. Adjust your motivation.. Spend time in His word today. Let Him reveal to you the depths of what He has done….Love Him for His glory and you will be on the path to victory…
Prayer

Father, teach us to long for and love you. Help us to see your love for us and let that stir our desire to glorify you.  We know that victory follows surrender.  Remove any pride in us and let us live in Your victory, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

#truthtalk4life