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.