Tag: total surrender to God

Categories
Preparing the Bride of Jesus Christ

Expressing More of who GOD is: the Heart of Worship

Hands in sky

Recently, I heard this simple, simple song… and it totally touched my heart, prompting me to write this post.

I will Bless Thee, O LORD

Recognition

Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me.”

Wow! That is powerful in its simplicity. We call — He delivers – We glorify Him. There is a connection between our need and our praise, if only we can recognise it and live it, rather than wait for calamity and rescue before we worship fully!

Freedom in Worship

We can live without any religion in our worship, knowing how the Father delights in us when we worship…. as a child walks and his father is delighted, so is our Father, when we live, worship, breathe holy lives. A child does not try to delight his father, he’s just trying to walk. So may our worship be free, knowing it delights the LORD.

Heart of our Worship

Worship really is “all about You!” (re Heart of Worship, Matt Redman) but when the music fades…. it is still about Him.

Who is GOD that we might worship Him?

Let’s go right back to the beginning….

“In the beginning…” Genesis – creativity is a delight for GOD. And then He made man in His image… and then it was not good that man was alone (just as GOD was without man, He didn’t want man to be alone. Such a compassionate, selfless GOD.)

How many times does scripture discuss all the creation that the LORD has done? Too many times to count. Let us not take any of it for granted: not our lives, not this earth, not His creation. If we let ourselves contemplate His awesome power and incredible love just for an instant, we might find deeper expression in our worship.

Stilted or Abandoned Worship?

In my experience, Believers tend not to give their all in their worship. I seldom do. What holds us back — is that keeping GOD from His pure and total delight in us?

Are we holding back? What are we thinking about as we worship? Do we have concerns about letting GOD down? Does an infant have concerns about whether his father is delighted? Or does he just try to walk?

Transform our Worship

Let’s bless Him rather than consider that He is blessing us.

Let’s abandon the rules, and have no formula. In order to draw close to Him let us simply engage, express, enjoy!

In fact, let us run to Him through our worship.

Ps 107 starts, “O give thanks to the LORD…” He is good. He does marvellous things. Some don’t get it, but we do. Let’s express it wholeheartedly, to bring delight to Him.

Whatever our circumstances

We always a choice as to how we respond to any situation. I have a tip that is not so very original: we need to keep our eyes on Jesus not the storm, no matter what the storm is, no matter how rough the situation seems to be. In fact, the tougher our situation, the better it is to ignore it and to put our trust and our focus on the Lord Jesus.

And when the storm ends: then His purpose is fulfilled, and we will come forth and shine like gold. (Job 23:10)

“It’s all about You, Jesus…”

As the song says, “And all this is for You, for Your glory and Your fame… it’s not about me!”

Worship is not about the music or the singers, the instruments or the amplification. It is not about whether we like the songs or the singer. Not at all. It is not about any stuff and it is not about us. Worship is only and totally about Him, and when we live that, there is such a difference in our worship. It is not even about how lovely we are experiencing worship, but rather about how GOD is so good and so wonderful and what an excellent and exciting privilege it is to worship Him.

In Psalm 100 the psalmist encourages us to “enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts w praise.” And do we?

When we do, when we all do, with energy and commitment and purpose and conviction, what do you suppose will happen?

There is so much warfare in worship! There is a battle for this earth and as we elevate the LORD in worship, we take the earth!

Oh let us live in victory

Let us hold back no longer. Let us focus completely on Our Lord and King.

The HEART OF WORSHIP DELIGHTS THE LORD. And so let us allow ourselves to delight in Him.

Categories
Examining Biblical Scripture

Psalms and Total Surrender: beginning to explore Hebraic Roots

As you read Psalms you’ll see over and over again the phrase,

“Oh, how I love your law” (Psalm 119:97) or a derivative of it. “Teach me your statutes”, “I seek your precepts”, “I made haste and did not delay to keep your commandments,” fill Psalm 119 and appear elsewhere too.

But we who know and follow Jesus are saved by grace and are not under law, except the law of love. So David and the other psalmists are out-dated, correct?

Jesus came to fulfil the law (Matthew 5:17). It infuriated the Pharisees when he claimed this. And yet, we need to look closely at the life of Jesus and his words to be sure we live in the freedom salvation gives us without license and  without denying the character and intention of God in our lives.

Last week I asked readers which of five topics they most wanted me to explore:

1. Marriage

2. Total Surrender

3. Preparation for God’s Call

4. Preparation of the Bride of Christ

5. Politics and Christianity

A resounding message came back: “Share about Total Surrender”, “I want to be totally surrendered to God but I’m not there yet; it’s hard”.

And so I’m going to develop this theme newsletter by newsletter. First, may I take this opportunity to thank publicly those who responded to my request for feedback. Bless you all!

Psalms is part of the Hebrew Bible from the Old Covenant or what we typically call the Old Testament. But although Jesus’ witness and walk begins on earth in Matthew, the beginning of the New Covenant, we would no more ignore or throw away Psalms than we would Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, would we? Jesus is everywhere in the Bible, because he is the Word of God made flesh. (John 1) He was from the beginning and will be forever. And so, Psalms is as much a part of the Word of God as is John or Galatians or Hebrews.

And in Psalms David and other psalmists speak to us of God’s blessed law.

“I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.” (Psalm 119:45)

And so salvation comes through Jesus, and freedom – also known as liberty – comes through seeking God’s law, according to the Psalms.

Recently, I was reading Leviticus.

I rarely look at Leviticus, but it came to me as I opened the Bible one day so I decided to read it. I read chapters 1 to 5 and then stopped.

It wasn’t easy reading, because it was full of blood and pain and loss.

In ancient times in Israel, animals lived with their owners. Sheep lived with the shepherd and whilst having pets wasn’t a part of the culture, I suppose these animals were well known to the families. When a lamb was born, wouldn’t it be as adorable to a child then as it would be to a child today?

In order to be forgiven of an unintentional sin, an animal sacrifice had to be made. The one who sinned was to put his hand on the head of the animal as it was being killed. There was much blood, pain and loss on behalf of the sinner. And there would be regret, repentance from the sinner as he surrendered the animal in exchange for his human mistake.

All this has been done away with now and Jesus has taken the place of the animal sacrifice.  But let us not despise the beginnings of God’s law. His ways are perfect and though the sacrifice has been fulfilled once and for all, let’s look a the beauty of the Law and why God devised it.

At the heart of the matter is God’s love for us. He created us to be in fellowship with Him.

Eventually, He created law which reveals sin and enables people a way to “get right” with God. But from God’s perspective, what does He make of His law? Is it punishment for sin, prevention against sickness, or beauty that He delights in? I think it is all of these things. And so, even as Jesus fulfils the law, it doesn’t change the fact that it is God’s law, which is a beautiful thing that He created.

In Psalms it is written, “I love your law”.

Today, we are called to keep the Law of Love, within which is all of God’s law.

Although we do not have to keep the law of God in order to be saved, why would we not consider valuing it as something God created and something He loves? And therefore why would we not consider practicing it?

Paul makes it abundantly clear in his letter to the Galatians that we are not under the Law and gentiles do not have to convert to Judaism in order to receive the salvation of Jesus. He even goes on to suggest that if we keep a part of the law we are obliged to keep all of it. But leaving aside the motive to practice law because we must, what about celebrating the law because it’s something beautiful that our Father created and which He loves? There are feasts and festivals and foods which are beneficial.

What about loving the Father, not based upon what we are supposed to do, but based on our relationship with Him and in what He would delight in our doing?

We will, thankfully, never go back to animal sacrifices. But there is so much more to God’s law that offers joy and delight.

I believe in order for us to truly surrender to our Father, we need to allow ourselves to love Him entirely.

We love Jesus, and in that loving salvation, God’s law is fulfilled. But also, to love the Father, we can love the law and study, learn and discover it, not for our salvation, not as religion, but as an act of love toward the Father, and as a  means to love All of God.

Over recent years, I’ve been convicted and keen to learn the Hebraic roots of Jesus and of the Gospel. Piece by piece, I am discovering more of the character of God and yearn to have a deeper relationship with Him, one that is truly intimate, truly unconditional and fully reciprocal. I’m nowhere near to attaining this, but I am happy to sense that I am now embracing my faith, not only for what I can receive but for what I can give, not because I have to, but because I want to.

Perhaps we’ve all heard the debate about tithing. It goes like this: we’re called to tithe (or some say that’s the law and so we’re not forced to) but of the 10% of our income we’re meant to give back, is that net or gross? Really! If we’re quibbling about that, aren’t we missing the point about tithing, which is to give back to the LORD some of what He’s given us, often in order to sustain ministries who need practical, financial support.

Well, I am currently considering, isn’t keeping the law of God the same? If we love Him, don’t we do it out of love for Him, to please and delight Him, rather than to save ourselves?

I have far more questions than I do have answers. But what I do know is that as I’ve asked the LORD to help me surrender fully to Him, I’m discovering He’s taking me to the end of myself, beyond my own understanding, and I’m learning a lot more about love and devotion in the process.

Total surrender? What’s that look like?

We don’t know. But we do know that we have a tremendously wonderful Father who will take us on the journey if we allow Him to.

Shalom: God’s Peace, until next time….

Categories
Reflections and Poetry

TOTAL SURRENDER into the NEW: an A-B-C reflection

Young couple: man and woman run together on a sunset on lake coast. Silhouette.

I’m Finishing What I Started:

As we move into November, we are nearing the end of the calendar year. I for one am not stopping long to take stock, because I’m moving toward the finish line and, like-it-or-not, time is running past to accomplish all that I’m called to do this year.

I have found building Larus Press a challenge, sometimes beyond me. I have persevered because the LORD has told me to write. And I love it. But I have also found my weaknesses have been exposed and have flourished: I am scatty, lacking in focus and controlling, and that blocks productivity, growth and creativity.

But though I may sound anxious, I am anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6)

The new Logo sets the stage for change; oh, it’s still me and it’s still the gull, because nothing quite fits me like a gull: scavenger, survivor, free to fly with the will and the way to do it, not

necessarily beautifully or gracefully, or silently, but steadfastly. That’s me in the flesh.

In the Spirit, I’m a dove: gentle and thoughtful, committed and loyal, free yet bound to serve.

Either way, I have a clear view.

And the work of Our God: Yaweh, Adonai, Yehovah within me guarantees transformation in me and I hope through me to you, too.

As I approach this new chapter, still in the old year, I’m seeking to:

Avoid mental overload, starting each day full of His direction

Be open, full of freshness to the One who inspires me

Committed to focusing on the one task I have at a time, because Jesus kept others waiting until God gave him the time to move; letting go of control!

Don’t stall or procrastinate: this is a tough one, but is am eager to follow, and obey

Each day I will hope to fulfil my commission for that day

Forgetting what lies behind, I reach for what is ahead (Philippians 3:13)

My Challenge:

As I work in a quiet and focused way, methodically and patiently like never before, I avoid distraction and the mental overload that too many opportunities causes. Yes, there is too much to learn, too much to do “to keep on top”, and so I won’t. Instead, I throw all that “rushing” away (each day, if necessary) to keep a clear mind and an open spirit to how the LORD GOD chooses – or does not choose – to use me. For me, patience is as key as letting go of control.

This seems like a New Year’s Resolution. Well, it isn’t, though it has only just past the new year in the Hebrew Calendar….No, this is personal revelation in action.

To myself and to all of us, shall I remind:

Let us Stay within our Revelation. Our God, in His grace and mercy, has given us gifts to use, hands to create, minds to contemplate His wonder, His love, His creation and His commission.

So, let us Be subject unto God: James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

And as we surrender, we experience true freedom. As we let go of control, though the road may be scary or difficult, we remember like Job, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Amen and Amen.