Surrendering in order to Cling to God only

I have the privilege of sending a weekly devotion back to the Youth Ministry Leaders Team back in my home church in Singapore while I'm pursuing theological education in Louisville, USA. One of the recent email concerns the place of Joy and Suffering in the life of a Christian. I included some thoughts from Ajith Fernando's book "The Call to Joy and Pain" which I am currently reading devotionally through. I've written an excerpt from my devotion below.


Continuing in the reading of Ajith Fernando's book "The Call to Joy and Pain", let us see what else he says.

Fernando in his book says,

Because God knows our tendency to cling to things in an unhealthy way, he often calls us to surrender some of these idols so we can be freed from their hold on us. The New Testament presents this principle in different ways. Consider the following texts:

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24 ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom 12:1 ESV)

I die every day! (1 Cor 15:31b ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20a ESV)

Each of these texts implies that Christians constantly give up things that they like to keep in order to experience the freedom God intends them to have. The most important thing that we surrender is our own self - our desire to control our lives. Of course, we don't surrender and go into a vacuum. We surrender something in order to cling to God only. Surrender is the means to enjoying more fully the most beautiful thing in out lives - our joyous love relationship with God.


This lesson of surrendering I learn, is a daily decision. It has been a daily surrender and trusting of God. Seminary is not what some people think of as a paradise on earth. All of us in the Southern Seminary community, still face the same temptations, challenges and difficulties. I think this lesson of daily surrender to the Lordship of Jesus as I start each day in prayer and scripture, though simple, is the most valuable lesson I learned so far. Though I'm still not consistent as yet but I have been progressing.

I hope that you too will choose this day, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15b ESV).

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Grace and Peace
Ollie
Apr 2009

Don't Waste Your Life

Don't Waste Your Life
by LeCrae

Don't waste your life man

I know a lot of people out there scared they gone die
Couple of em thinking they'll be livin in the sky
But while I'm here livin man I gotta ask why, what am here fo I gotta figure out
Waste my life
No I gotta make it count
If Christ is real then what am I gone do about
Everything in Luke 12:15 down to 21
You really oughta go and check it out
Paul said if Christ ain't resurrect then we wasted our lives
Well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive
Everyday I'm living tryin show the world why
Christ is more than everything you'll ever try
Better than pretty women and sinning and living to get a minute of any women and men that you admire
Ain't no lie

We created for Him
Outta the dust he made us for Him
Elects us and he saves us for Him
Jesus comes and raises for Him
Magnify the Father why bother with something lesser
He made us so we could bless Him and to the world we confess him
Resurrects him
So I know I got life
Matter fact better man I know I got Christ
If you don't see His ways in my days and nights
You can hit my brakes you can stop my lights
Man I lost my rights
I lost my life
Forget the money cars and toss that ice
The cost is Christ
And they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price.

Don't wanna waste my life....

Suffer
Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life
If you making lota money hope you doing it right because the money is Gods you better steward it right
Stay focused if you ain't got no ride
Your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive
The clothes you wear the job you work
The color your skin naw we Christian first
People living life for a job
Make a lil money start living for a car
Get em a house a wife kids and a dog
When they retire they living high on the hog
But guess what they didn't ever really live at all
To live is Christ yeah that's Paul I recall
To die is gain so for Christ we give it all
He's the treasure you'll never find in the mall
Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
That's why it's Christ in my rhymes
That's why it's Christ all the time
My whole world is built around him He's the life in my lines
I refused to waste my life
He's too true ta chase
That ice
Heres my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
If he's truly raised to life
Then this news should change your life
And by his grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights.

Don't wanna waste my life....

The Call to Joy and Pain

I've started reading Ajith Fernando's book "The Call to Joy and Pain"; I realized that contemporary Singaporean Christians (me included) often do not have a well formed biblical concept of suffering. Journey with me the next few weeks as I read and reflect on the role of pain and suffering in the Life of a Christian.


Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. - Colossians 1:24-29 (ESV)


Fernando reflecting on how joy and suffering come together says,

One of the interesting things about the New Testament record is that suffering is hardly ever mentioned without also a mention of the blessings of suffering. And often the blessing mentioned is joy. I was able to locate eighteen different places in the New Testament where suffering and joy are found together. The texts I found making this connection between suffering and joy were in the Gospels, the book of Acts, and the epistles. We also know that through Revelation may not mention this connection explicitly, it is implied there.

So according to the Bible, joy and pain can coexist. Christians don't talk about suffering unless they also talk about the joy of suffering. It is the joy that makes the cross worthwhile, for it gives us the strength to bear it. As Nehemiah said, "The Joy of the LORD is your strength" (Neh. 8:10).

I once heard David Sittion, the founder of To Every Tribe Mission, tell how when he was a teenager a ninety-year-old Missionary spoke at the youth fellowship of his church. He had been a missionary for seventy-two years. At the start of his talk he kept saying the same thing over and over again. It was something like, "I want you to remember this. You can forget everything I say, but don't forget this." He kept saying something like this for about five minutes, and the young people were getting impatient, wishing he would go ahead and say it. Finally he said what he wanted to say: "The Joy of the Lord is your strength. when the joy goes, the strength goes." Having said that, he sat down!

That is the basic affirmation of this book. Joy and suffering are necessary aspects of Christianity. And they can and must exist together. - Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy and Pain

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Grace and Peace
Ollie
Apr 2009

That's My King - Do you Know Him?

The Law and Gospel Distinguished - Isaac Watts

The Law commands and makes us know
What duties to our God we owe;
But 'tis the Gospel must reveal
Where lies our strength to go His will.

The Law discovers guilt and sin,
And shows how vile our hearts have been;
Only the Gospel can express
Forgiving love and cleansing grace.

What curses doth the Law denounce
Against the man that fails but once!
But in the Gospel Christ appears
Pard'ning the guilt of num'rous years.

My soul, no more attempt to draw
Thy life and comfort from the Law;
Fly to the hope the Gospel gives;
The man that trusts the promise lives.

- The Law and Gospel Distinguished by Isaac Watts

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Grace and Peace
Ollie
Apr 2009

Active Obedience - C H Spurgeon

Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs posted a weekly dose of Spurgeon on his blog. In this excerpt, Spurgeon spoke about Justification and Glory and the active obedience of Christ. The excerpt is available here.

One paragraph from Spurgeon reminded me again of the beauty and truth of the Gospel. Spurgeon said,

This justification then comes to sinners as an act of pure grace, the foundation of it being Christ's righteousness. The practical way of its application is by faith. The sinner believeth God, and believeth that Christ is sent of God, and takes Christ Jesus to he his only confidence and trust, and in that act he becomes a justified soul.


HT: Phil Johnson

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Grace and Peace,
Ollie
Apr 2009