I needed this chapter

I needed this chapter four "The Whole of Our Lives: A Living Sacrifice". We are leaving Saturday to go to Mexico City to help do a Vacation Bible School with Chuck & Karla Topp's church next week. I have to be honest. There's a good bit of dread - just like getting ready to go through labor and delivery after your first one. On your next baby's labor & delivery you know what you're facing. And I'm just self-centered enough to not look forward to getting a night's sleep for an entire week and working long, hard hours everyday on concrete floors. Trying to function without the language, being so embarrassed because my Spanish is basically gone, but all the while catching some of what I'm hearing and getting a headache from trying to make sense of it. Poor Bonnie!! Then, I look at this chapter and read about sacrifices pleasing to God, and when she said on p. 99 "That's when I need to take a trip to Calvary and look into the eyes of a bleeding God who gave everything to reconcile me to Himself. That is why the apostle paul says, 'I urge you ... in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices ... this is your reasonable act of worship.' Romans 12:1 That living sacrifice is to be spent in loving and serving others, being the hands and feet of Jesus in this dark world, carrying His light, shining like a city on a hill. On p. 98 I have underlined "All rights are His - to direct my living so that He can most clearly reveal Himself through me." I must remember that language is no barrier for Him. Time and space are no barrier for Him. My feeble feet and weak back put no limitation on Him. He is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance and faith in His Son Jesus Christ. I am to go and be a living sacrifice, abiding in Him as the True Vine, the Source of all things, the Blessed Controller of all things, the Great Provider of all things. I am ashamed to be so weak, but the apostle Paul said "for when I am weak, then I am strong" HOW IS THAT?? Back up a verse before this in II Corinthians 12:9,10 "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distress, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake" He wants my surrender so He can show Himself faithful and do through His strength in me what I could never do in myself. Then, He will be shown off for Who He is!
I needed this!
In His love so amazing!

Just now on chapter three

I'm just now on chapter three and I think I'm a week behind what we had set forth to accomplish. Maybe I'm not the only one who got behind. But, anyway, this chapter is one that makes me take a fresh look. I had heard this taught about the pierced ear referred to in Exodus 21; but, I had never had anyone point out that Scripture or ancient historical records do not record a single instance in which a servant made this choice. Yet, the Lord Jesus chose to become a bondservant. He did this to deliver me and you who were in bondage to sin. Now we can freely choose to surrender to Him Who gave Himself so freely for us even though the price He paid was so huge. I love how she simply stated in her bullet-points on p. 80 the difficult things that have come her way because of her surrender to Christ. She honestly shared them, not in self-glorification, but in an authentic openness. She also shared her privileges as the bondslave of the Lord. What an eternal perspective! I want that!
I had never thought about the difference in "commitment" and "surrender" but she is so right. Ownership is the issue as opposed to the concept of employment. If I'm an employee, what I do on my "off-time" is my business. But if I'm an owned slave, my master has every right to know and make demands of my perceived "off-time". The beauty of surrender to Christ is that He is a Master who is perfect love, perfect justice, perfect holiness and perfect power. He loves me as I am, but He loves me too much to leave me that way. He is the potter who is fashioning a useful piece of pottery out of this lump of clay. He puts firm pressure and works the shape of what he is perfecting. The time it takes is irrelevant to Him. He, the all-knowing God, sees a finished product while all I see is the sometimes painful process of learning to yield to the potter. I must trust Him. This verse comes to me: "For I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6
Thanks for letting me blog out my thoughts on this chapter.
Bonnie

Waving the White Flag

I loved this chapter. I love her illustrations. At first, on page 54, when she states, " the person who has never acknowledged Christ's right to rule over his life has no basis for assurance of salvation", I was concerned. I, like many, prayed that prayer at a young age of 9. I had no idea the depth of full commitment. It was many many years down the road that God brought people into my life that would open my eyes to see the abundant life and opportunities that could be mine if I'd see Him as Lord of my life, not just a way to avoid Hell. I had a flash and mental picture of the Family Circle cartoon. Where the little boy walks in the door and is headed to his room. It should have only taken several steps, but by following the dotted tracks in the cartoon, he must have traveled half a mile with all the detours and sidetracking. I have realized I am easily distracted and tend to get off track. But by staying in His Word, focused on His Will, conscious of His ever presence life is more direct. As I continued to read, Nancy states that as our faith matures, we have a fresh affirmation and expression of that initial surrender. The first bullet point of page 57 hit me square in the eyes. I wish I could say I did better this past week. I didn't....blew it on Sunday. But...as Bonnie said in her comment, because of being in His Word, expressing the desire to walk closer to Him, I can feel my hand firmly planted in His so that when He needs to gently TUG me in the right direction, I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and feel the urge to hold on tighter. I have a prayer from Chuck Swindoll that Roger Wisdom shared with us several years ago. A prayer for you to pray daily, committing yourself and all that happens that day to God. I'm excited about spending time with God and writing my own daily prayer of commitment and surrender.

chapter two - let's just comment

Instead of me writing out all of the discussion questions for this chapter, let's just comment on points that hit us.
This chapter two, like chapter one is very straightforward. That's something I like about Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She even includes the illustration of the dieter! (p. 58) And then she says, "That fundamental acknowledgment of His sovereign right to reign and rule over us will serve us well as our allegiance to the King is tested on a daily basis."
Girls, I have found over the years that my eagerness to walk in full surrender to our Lord and King is directly related to how much I am in His Word. When I'm focusing on Him, being fed by the teaching of His Word and looking into the truths concerning Him - then I am filled with awareness of who He is, of His infinite trustworthiness, of His amazing love and limitless power and wisdom. That focus makes surrender so simple. He is so worthy!!

Catching up

Surrender...when I think of that word, I picture one falling prostrate at Christ's feet...daily. Surrendering is definitely a daily thing for me. About 20 years ago, God showed me a verse that has continued to be my desire, in an area that I struggle in surrendering to Him. Luke 2:19 says; "but Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Since that time, I have struggled with the "pondering" part. This is where I should be surrendering to Him. I tend to want to be my husband's Holy Spirit and conscience. Like Nancy says on page 34, "This surrender did not strip the creation of dignity or freedom; to the contrary, surrender was - and still is - the source and means of true freedom and fullness." If I'd only surrender this area of my life, I am fully confident that freedom would abound. I make the situation worse by trying to state what's right, or who's right, knowing it only makes matter's worse. What I should be doing is turning it over to God and keeping quiet. Pondering, praying that God would reveal His ways and His plans. And I'm sure He can do it without my input. Only then can I receive His blessing, fullness and peace. Now that I have shared...I have now become accountable. To you and to God.
Dear Lord, I pray for Bonnie, Meredith, Carla, Rachel, Jennifer, Amy and myself right now. Lord, may You reveal to us what it is that You would have us surrender to you. May we commit to pray for each other. Build a desire in us to seek Your will and know Your way. Amen.

so this chapter is pretty intense. it seems so complex, but yet so simple at the same time. i have a tendency to try to do basically everything by myself and with my own power... which obviously isnt much. and all the while i'm convincing myself that i can do it without the help of the creator of the universe and failing miserably, it amazes me to see how creation completely gives up all control and is perfectly taken care of. stress and control seem to have become natural parts of life in our world. it's seems such a radical idea that someone could live without them, but that's exactly what God wants from us. one thing in particular that stuck out to me from this chapter was the comment: "you will always be submitting to someone or something." having this perspective makes the decision to surrender to God more serious and real. the reality that if i'm not giving control to Him, i'm giving it to someone or something else makes it pretty much impossible to ignore. it isn't just one of those things you can hear in church and quickly dismiss... it's an inescapable reality. in regards to the end of the chapter... where she asks what an example of the battle for control is in our lives... well i bet i could choose from about a million of my own... but i thought of one that was fairly recent. our trip to John Brown for early registration was a really great trip. my parents and i went into it with open hearts and prayed that it would be an encouraging and smooth-going experience. the beginning of the weekend went very well and i was very excited about everything... however, as everything began to become extremely overwhelming and exhausting i began to cave in. i stressed, freaked, and panicked to the point that i just wanted to get in the car and go home. but then God just seemed to say, " this is pointless, you know that right? i could totally handle alllll of this for you if you would just let it go." you know, its so easy to say "well of course i would just give it all to God" when you're not in the situation. but when you're in the middle of one of those control relenting moments, its alot harder than it seems otherwise. trusting God with the rest of the weekend was hard to do. but i realized that i just had to give up everything. every little step i took. i prayed for God to provide even the smallest things like meeting someone to walk from place to place with. and you know what? he did. every time. and it was just as sweet as He promises. once i realized that i couldnt go anywhere or do anything without talking to Him first and letting Him be in control, the weekend was infinitely sweeter and much more relaxed. not to say that He said yes to my every request, but when i gave it up to Him he worked out the situation in the best way it needed to be. it's so fun to understand considering it pure joy to be faced with trials and situations that demand total dependence. it's so ironic that some of the very things our natures tell us to avoid are the things that He uses to keep our eyes on Him.

Dancing

Marcy, Meredith, Amy, Jennifer & I heard Lisa Huddleston speak at the Ladies' Retreat in March and she talked about doing the dance of the Christian life with Christ in the lead. She showed us how she rests her hand on His shoulder, other hand in His and steps only as He steps - joining in His direction. When we do this there is no "stress, struggle or strain" as she says on p. 35. It is satisfying and beautiful to be in harmony with Him. But, have you ever tried to be in the lead with someone like your older sister or little brother who thinks THEY should be in the lead? The dance you set out to attempt becomes a painful foot stomping and maybe even sprawl on the floor if you get tripped up. It's not beautiful or satisying - it's a frustrating mess! SOMEONE has to yield and someone has to lead. In the arms of our Savior and Lord we have a powerful,competent leader. I must fall into step with Him, yielding to His nudges, hanging on tight when the steps are difficult... "perfect submission, perfect delight".
So, how then do I find myself bucking Him like I do? Foolishly I let down my guard and I'm influenced by the three enemies of my soul: (1) the world (2) Satan (3) my dumb flesh. These lie and deceive - send false messages - entice and lure to ensnare me. My heart is shark bait. I need the control of God over it. The fruit of the Spirit must be the result of yielding to the life of the Vine - abiding in Him in surrender and trust. "I need Thee every hour" as the old hymn goes. I need this study and focus on surrender!!
Bonnie

Chapter 1

Sorry its taken me so long to join in the discussion! I just read the first chapter and must admit that I do struggle greatly with the battle of control and surrender, but I know that I'm certainly not alone in this struggle. During this past year, Jared and I have fought a battle larger than either of us anticipated or were prepared for. However, it was at the moment of surrender to our Father that deliverance began coming out of the woodworks. It has been and will continue to be a very long and hard-fought battle, but was are in the fox hole together, seeking God's direction as He lead us out of the muck and the mire.

She drove home the idea of surrendering to God as a response to His love and sacrifice. While I know those things are true, they are difficult principles to live by on a daily basis. So many times, I fall into the idea of obedience originating from a "have to" attitude as I did when my mom would tell me to clean my room. I certainly didn't do it because I loved her! Quite the contrary, in fact! I struggle mightily in so many areas of my life to let go and let God do His work in His time. I become frustrated, bogged down, and complacent. Here's to a new day of surrendering control in a response to God's great love for me!

Chapter One discussion

From the discussion guide: [please read Bonnie's personal note at the bottom of this]

Has anyone had a friend or relative who has ever served in combat? Tell us what you have heard about being in battle. What did it take to wage and win a battle?

GOING DEEPER
1. What evidences do you see of nature being "surrendered" to God's control? Why do you think God gives human beings the freedom to submit to or resist His control? What limiations has He placed on that freedom, both here and now, as well as ultimately?
2. Did you relate to any of the fictitious scenarios at the beginning of this chapter (pp. 31-33)?
What is one example of a recurring battle you have experienced in your Christian life? How could that struggle actually be a battle for control?
3. "Count on it - the very points on which you refuse to surrender will become 'enemies' that rule over you" (p. 42).
What are some practical examples of how this principle could take place in someone's life?
4. What is one area of your life that has ended up ruling you as a "tyrant" (either in the past or in the present) because of a lack of surrender to God?
5. Lynda's testimony (pp. 40-44) illustrates the truth of Romans 6:16 - "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"
Share one particular area of your life where you have experienced (or currently experience) a sense of being enslaved to sin or ungodly desires. How could surrender to God set you free from that slavery?
6. Take time to pray for each other in relation to any specific battles for control or surrender issues that have been shared.

FOR NEXT TIME
With regard to any "unsurrendered" areas you have identified in your life, reflect on the effects of being enslaved to these areas. List the bad fruits of being submitted to these desires, so you can see more clearly the cost of your lack of surrender.

GRACE NOTE
Surrender brings peace and a foretaste of the "paradise restored" that every believer will enjoy one day in heaven. You can begin to enjoy those benefits now by saying yes to God. As the familiar song says, "There's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Ladies,
You can comment on any of the questions above or just say what you have to say without it being in direct answer to one of these questions from the discussion guide. It's just a guide.

This may be way too personal to where you live to really open up and share. But, it would be good to just know who is reading the book with us each week. If you could get on and blog to let us know that, it would be appreciated.

My struggle with surrender

I feel like I need to tell you some about my struggle with surrender. When Mark & I were dating, I had a very keen sense that God had put Mark into my life. But, I had been arguing about how me being a Methodist was okay and him being a Baptist was okay. But deep in my heart I knew that my struggle wasn't really about that. I knew that I didn't really know the Lord like Mark did. I surrendered to the Lord's tug on my heart one night after a date with him. Through the verse - "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1) - God spoke to my heart that night through this truth that God's peace only comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I gave up my self-efforts and placed my trust in Christ as the only One who could make me right with God. Immediately, I began to crave the scriptures and longed to know more and more of His purpose and plan. I asked Mark tons of questions and listened intently to Bro. Hardy's (Papa's) sermons. I was soaking it up!!
Later on, after we were newly married, I realized that I needed to be baptized. Well, the old struggle with why my sprinkling wasn't good enough came up. [Isn't that so dumb?!? It wasn't even dawning on me that I wasn't even saved when I was sprinkled. It was just a ritual.] Instead of blasting me, Papa & Meemaw loved me and were patiently praying for me. One evening before Sunday night service, I just had a wave of peace wash over me that the Lord used to show me that I needed to be immersed and it was all about following Him. Papa baptized me that night. It was a joyful event in my young life! I was learning that surrender to the Lord is sweet. Colossians became my book about that time and I owned those verses about not being taken captive by philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men...rather than according to Christ. It helps me to be 'taken back' to that time when I first received the Lord and He began the work of transforming my life.
Another time, I'll tell you about other struggles I had later on with surrender. Looking back it seems so silly why I held on to certain things - sometimes I could see it - sometimes I couldn't. Doesn't the scripture say that 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak'?? God is the strength of my life.
Thanks for reading all of this.

Surrendering

okay so I have to be honest here, this study scares me a bit. I mean I'm a bit of a selfish person and even though I know God has my BEST interest at heart I'm still a little skittish of letting go completely and handing my life over to Him. But I do promise you wonderful ladies that I will surrender my time and my heart to this book and open myself up to whatever God has for me. I am so blessed to have family members that love the Lord enough to do be able to do something like this. I look forward to going through this journey with y'all and growing closer by surrendering to His will.


LOVE,
ams

surrender study

Hi! Thank you for doing the surrender study with us! I am the one with the discussion guide, so I will give you some of the comments from Nancy Leigh DeMoss before we get into discussing the introduction of our book:

under "As You Begin"

The whole idea of surrendering to someone else's control runs counter to the prevailing mind-set of our culture - we don't want anyone telling us what to do - we want to be in control of our own lives! But, paradoxically, we are never truly free until we have fully surrendered ourselves to the Word and will of God.

The thought of delving into this topic may cause some apprehension in your heart, but as you engage in this study, you will encounter a wise, loving, merciful Lord who can be trusted.

The more you fully relinquish yourself to Him, the more you will discover that He has your best interests at heart and that His will truly is "good, acceptable, and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

May your deepest heart's desire become that of the Savior who lifted His eyes heavenward, even as He faced the cross, and said, "I delight to do Your will, my God."

under "Tips for Group Leaders":

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through the Word, to help you be real with one another, and to bring about any needed change in each heart.

Some of the questions in this discussion guide call for a level of transparency and openness that many people are not accustomed to. Encourage the members of your group to respect each other's privacy by not discussing contributions outside the group. [I think this is very important for us.]

Let's remember that God is patient and gracious with us as He conforms us to the image of His Son, and that we need to extend the same patience and grace toward each other.

The goal is to grow together in our understanding of God and His ways and to experience individually and as a group the reality of the message of this book.

Encourage each member to read the chapter and to complete the "Making It Personal" section found at the end of most chapters.

First, read through these discussion points for the introduction:

1. The introduction distinguishes between our initial surrender to Christ as our Lord and Savior (or conversion), and a lifetime of surrender (or consecration), as we learn to live out the implications of that initial surrender. Briefly describe the setting and circumstances of your conversion - your initial surrender to Christ.

2. "The fully surrendered life is intended to be - and can be - the norm for every one of God's children" (p. 25). Do you agree with this statement? From your perspective, is the "fully surrendered life" the "norm" for most of the believers you know?

3. Review and discuss the four reasons suggested in this introduction why professing Christians may have areas of their life that are "unsurrendered" to God (pp. 22-24). Which of those four scenarios do you think are most common among "believers" whom you have observed? Could you share an illustration out of your own life of one of those scenarios?

4. Do you fear what a lifestyle of full surrender might cost you?" (p. 25). What fears might people have about fully surrendering every aspect of their lives to God? What fears have you experienced at one point or another in relation to full surrender?

5. "The truth is that resistance is far more costly than surrender" (p. 26). Share out of your personal experience either the cost of resisting God on some particular point or the blessing you have experienced through relinquishing control of some area of your life to the Lord.

6. What do you know about the heart and ways of God that should make it easier to trust Him and relinquish control to Him?

[Hang in there, ya'll. Don't be scared off by how many discussion points there are! What I want you to do is pick at least two to comment on. If you have time to comment on more - or all six of them - feel free to.]

~ a little more from Nancy Leigh ~

"A Word of Encouragement"

Don't try to talk yourself out of (or let anyone else talk you out of!) any conviction that God may be bringing to your heart. You may have made a profession of faith; others may think of you as a "good Christian". But you if you have never "waved the white flag" and surrendered your life to Christ, seek out your pastor or a mature Christian for care and counsel.

In the life of a believer, the Holy Spirit brings conviction, not condemnation. Conviction is sweet because it is accompanied by the promise of grace to change. Condemnation brings guilt (usually heaped on by the Enemy) that we will never measure up to God's demands. Without being born again and trusting God's power to change us, that would be true. Don't let condemnation rob you of the joy of this journey toward change!"

Remember: "Our God abounds in mercy and grace; He is willing to offer a full and complete pardon to those who lay down their weapons" (p. 26).

[Okay . . . keep in mind that we are all on "this journey toward change"! Let's dive into this blog discussion. Pick at least two discussion points and share what's on your mind and heart. Let's take from now until Saturday June 16th to do this. Then, the week of June 17 - 23rd we'll blog-discuss chapter one. We'll do one chapter a week from then on until we finish the book. I'm excited, ya'll !!!!!]