October 2006

By Anonymous -

Hola! Welcome to the October issue – again, sorry it is so delayed. How goes your reading adventure through the Bible? I confess to have let some dust accumulate on mine from time to time! Lame, but true. I’d like to share this month with you about surrender.

One definition of this verb, surrender is; to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another (according to Merriam-Webster). I’ve chosen this subject because I seem to have a really difficult time with this one. I think the life of a believer in Christ could be summed up simply in this one theme. Not my will, but thy will be done. Jesus prayed that in the garden of Gethsemane as he was seeking God’s face before facing the Cross. I’d like to pray that more often!

When God reveals something to me through his word, I am so ecstatic. That is until I realize what it usually will require of me. The actuality of surrendering my heart, my emotions, my plans, my hurts, my rights is often overwhelming. The bottom line is this, what is it about me that makes this so difficult? I can only surmise that it has to with the grudges in my heart against others – amongst other things. Oh, and how about that fact that I fail to spend time healing my heart everyday in God’s word.

“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.” (Psalm 119:10-12) Lord, help me to seek you with a whole heart so that I might not stray! Dear friends, I hope this is your prayer today/tonight too! As we draw near to God, he promises to draw near to us – isn’t that so amazing? (James 4:8)

Here is a portion of a hymn I really like, and as I type the words they seem even more profound word by word. “All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.” (Jud­son W. Van De­Vent­er)

As a Mother I have a clear view of how my walk with the Lord affects others. Really, everyone we come into contact with is affected in some way by our relationship with God and the state of that relationship. Writing this newsletter/journal is great because it is like my own “confessional”, God speaks to me often at this keyboard…

In Christ,

Elizabeth

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting:

Popular posts from this blog

Bitterness & Forgiveness Bible Study 2010

By Anonymous -
Bitterness & Forgiveness Bible Study What you will need to do this study: A willing heart to be open to how God will change your heart through this study A Bible or online Bible Notebook and a pen, or you can save to your desktop via word doc. A trusted friend. This can be someone you can actually talk to face to face, via the phone, through letters, or via online chat. This person can help you with memory verses, be there to discuss what you are going through as you do this study. This person does not have to do the study, but must be someone you trust to share the intimate details of your life with. If you are new to an area and do not have someone to fit this description...consider finding a women at your church who serves in a ministry role whom you could form this relationship with. Lessons one - four will focus on Bitterness…We will spend four weeks reading, listening, learning, praying and discussing while confronting bitterness. Bitterness may be something y...
Read more

Is It Possible To Be Truly Kind?

By Anonymous -
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV) I cannot recall how many times I've been told how "nice" I am. Or when I was younger, "you're too sweet." I know that I've heard it enough that I believed it and it grew into pride. Thinking of it now seems a bit ridiculous, but seriously - I really have an issue with it. I work with much ambition to be seen as nice and kind. I work at being nice and kind. Imagine my shock to heart that some of my kindness is fake! Many years ago a woman from Calvary Fellowship Seattle gave me this small booklet with a yellow jacket. The title was, "How To Be Free From Bitterness." Truly it was a work God was doing even then, though I scoffed at the title and tucked it away on my bookshelf. It is also safe to say that I don't know ...
Read more
By -
Luke 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." I have been thinking on these words of Mary often this Christmas. Mary describes herself as the servant of the Lord….servant of the Lord. How did that play out in Mary’s life? She was probably ostracized for most of her pregnancy for being “supernaturally pregnant.” Scripture doesn’t say exactly what she endured, but it does record that God sent an angel to Joseph to explain to him that Mary’s story was real. So, obviously it was a big enough deal to require a heavenly messenger. We see in the Gospel of Luke that Mary had the joy of going on a trip during the later part of her pregnancy, birthing a baby in a stable, laying him in an animal trough, and being greeted by shepherds after giving birth. Wow, not exactly what I would have expected the mother of our Lord to have endured in order to welcome Him into this world. Not exactly what I like to think of when I...
Read more