~This, My Love, is to seek first the Kingdom of God. (Matt. 6:33) When you seek Me, to request that My will be done, you are acknowledging that I have full knowledge of the situation and what I desire to be accomplished through it. ~For when you seek first My Kingdom, seek My will, My wisdom, My desire; for it is I Who see the end from the beginning and the way to get there.
~My Love, when I walked the earth, I sought The Father's will in all situations for I did not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:30b)
~I tell you the truth, there are times when you have asked amiss so that you could spend it on your own pleasures. (James 4:3) Yet truly I say to you that "if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Mark 8:34b)
~It is in losing your life, My dear one, that you will truly know what it is to live and move and have your being in Me. (Acts 17:28)
~To worship Me is to adore Me. To adore Me is to love Me. To love Me is to keep/obey My commandments. To obey is to hear with compliant submission.
~My Love, think not that I do not understand, for I was tempted in all ways as you, but yet was without sin. I shall give you My power through the Holy Spirit to go through all to which I've called you, as I was enabled to endure the Cross for your sake; for pleasing and glorifying the Father for your salvation was the joy set before Me. (Hebrews 12:2)
"O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matt. 26:39)
I SURRENDER ALL
v. 1 "All to Jesus, I surrender, All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, In His Presence daily live.
v. 2 All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow.
Worldy pleasures all forsaken, Take me Jesus, take me now.
v. 3 All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.
v. 4 All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.
I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all."
Winfield S. Weeden
I'm not exactly sure when this revelation hit me, but when the Lord brought this "home", His revelation hit me between the running lights! ~It was during my divorce that I allowed myself to be involved with another man. I was living in sin, and I knew it. Had I died, I know I would've gone to hell. I was weak in my flesh, and the enemy took full advantage, and I entertained his enticement. On Sundays, I would be singing up front in church with the Praise Team. I was living a lie. But God's heart was to deliver me. After four years of walking in rebellion, on one particular Sunday, our pastor preached a message straight from the heart of God. I was overcome with conviction. I knew I had to make a change and not wait. I confessed my sin to my pastor. And then I needed to walk it out with the Lord. In the meantime, God brought to light that which had been hidden in darkness regarding this man. I was ashamed and broken beyond broken. The Lord gently assured me, "Crista, my grace is sufficient for you." In the process, I began a faith walk like I had never before allowed the Lord to lead me. ~What the Lord showed me was that as in Isaiah 29:13, I too, had honored and praised the Lord with my lips, but my heart was far from Him. That truly, to honor, praise and worship Him, involved my total heart and obedience (surrender) in all matters. I could not stand in church and praise Him, and then live a life of disobedience to Him and His Word. ~I surrendered all. "Lord, do whatever it takes, to take me wherever You want to take me." That was the summer, I was "homeless".....more on that later.....
Dear Reader,
ReplyDeleteI would like to clarify that I personally do not believe "once saved, always saved". Yes, in my sin, I believe I would've gone to hell, had the Lord not extended His mercy to me and given me time to repent.
I Samuel 15:23 says that "rebellion is as the sin of wickedness and stubborness is as idolotry...". I was certainly not living my life in obedience to the Lord and His Word, but in direct rebellion, and I knew it.
The scriptures which I believe support this position are: James 1:13-16, Gal. 5:19-21, Gal. 6:8a, Rev. 21:8, Eph. 5:3-6, and 1Cor. 6:9, 13, 18. It was Eph. 5:3-6 which both convicted and scared me. I needed to repent and get right with the Lord! I knew I needed to begin living a holy and sanctified life, and I needed to submit to the Lord so the Holy Spirit could do what I was unable to accomplish in my flesh.