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I Surrender All

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by John Doyle"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present (Surrender) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this this World, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."Romans 12: 1 - 2 Let's start the devotional by singing a verse from the hymn *I Surrender All*All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give;I will ever Love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.I Surrender all, I Surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Saviour, I Surrender allMany of us over the years have heartily sung these words, but living in their reality may be very different. The word Surrender may be understood as a sign of weakness, and yet there’s no more secure place to live than in daily surrender to the Lord Jesus who is utterly faithful, unchanging and steadfast and Who surrendered His own life for us all.The meaning of the word surrender includes ‘To yield to the power, control or possession of another; to agree to forego in favour of another; to give up one’s rights.' If we’ve learned to be in control of our own lives, surrender may be difficult for us, because we fear being out of control.I have heard some say "that surrender is the opposite to control. The Devil controls, but God never will" But we know as believers that God is in control of all things and graciously He gives us each the opportunity to surrender to His Ways and His Will for our lives. Surrender to Him draws us to the heart of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and intimacy with Him. In surrender we’re saying, Lord Jesus, I take You into every part of my life. I will hold nothing back. I make a free will choice to surrender all I am to You, and to uncompromisingly obey you.A great start to Surrender is allowing the Lord and His Word to search our lives and help us expose those things that we are reluctant to Surrender as they have become a constant habit in our lives. I am not referring here to sinful things which we do need to turn from. The reference here is to those habits in our lives that keep us from a closer walk with God. When we seek the Lord He will never fail us, so let's encourage one another in these difficult days of Lockdown to allow the Lord to search our hearts and lives and reveal those things to us that we have yet to surrender to God.Another Hymn for us to sing together as we think on this important truth:Search me, O God, and know my heart todayTry me, O Saviour, know my thoughts, I praySee if there be some wicked way in meCleanse me from every sin, and set…

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The Next Step

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by Graham MolI'm currently reading through a series of novels by one of my favourite authors and the following quote from the one book  has stuck with me:“The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step, Dalinar.”― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer The most important step a person can take is always the next one.  I love the wisdom contained in this statement. No matter where you are on your journey, whether it began days or years ago, whether it has been going well or not, whether you have been successful or made mistakes, the next step still remains the most important one. We find in this concept the Biblically extolled virtue of perseverance.We see the importance of perseverance spoken of in Scripture. Jesus (and Paul) said that we should be persistent in prayer (Luke 18:1-8; Romans 12:12), our Lord told us to keep seeking, asking and knocking (Matthew 7:7-8). We are encouraged by the author of Hebrews to run this race of life with perseverance/endurance (Hebrews 12:1). We should not grow weary in doing good for we will reap the harvest in the end (Galatians 6:9), and those who endure to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Those who remain steadfast under trial will receive the crown of life (James 1:12).There is joy and challenge in seeing the next step as the most important one. The joy of knowing that no matter what has come before or befallen us, we always have a "next step". The challenge is for us not to stop where we are, to not give up or in, and step out once again, in faith, in our journey with the Lord.Finally I wish to share a portion of Proverbs that captures the essence of the importance of the next step. May these words of wisdom resonate with you as you head into the rest of this week.25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;    fix your gaze directly before you.26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet    and be steadfast in all your ways.(Proverbs 4:25-26)God BlessGraham

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As I Have Loved You

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by Calven CelliersAs I sat basking in the morning sunshine, trying to thaw, and enjoying the time I was spending withGod, I found myself asking Him, “Now what? What’s the next step for me? Break my heart for what breaks Yours.” And then these words came to me –People willing to make our mess their messare people with whom we naturally want to be involved. What was God saying to me? I opened up my Bible and started reading the apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome. Paul’s letter to the Christians in Roman is filled with theology. In the early part of the book Paul spends time expanding on who God is and what He’s done for us. Then he wrestles with the impact that should have upon us as God’s people living out our lives in this fallen world. He gives many commands as he explores how God’s love should affect the way we live and relate to those around us: be joyful, patient, faithful, generous, hospitable. Bless. Mourn. Rejoice.One thing that is very apparent is that our God is a relational God, and He wants us to experience the blessing of being connected. For me personally, this has been the greatest struggle in the whole Covid pandemic. Even though I clearly understand the absolute necessity of all these restrictions, protocols and necessary periods of isolation in order to overcome the spread of the virus, it has also highlighted for me the importance of fellowship, interaction, and gathering together. I miss you, my Church family and dear friends. We were not meant to be self-sufficient, isolated, and independent of one another. Life is meant to be shared. God intends for us to experience life together.You are called to belong, not just believe … the Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship.(Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life)The danger, of course, is the tendency for churches to become holy huddles that are so inward focused, that we neglect the very reason God doesn’t just save us and then immediately take us up to heaven to fellowship with each other and praise His holy name for ever and ever. And I suspect this is what God was trying to tell me. When this horrible season in world history is over and we can  resume some normality of life, the Church must be different. As followers of Christ, we must remember that our relationship with God must affect not only our relationship with each other, but the world in which we live out our faith as well. There are so many hurting, broken, battered and bruised people out there, and God wants us to be open to them too. We must reach out to them in love; into the mess of peoples lives and show them the love of Jesus. No mess is too messy for Jesus.In Romans 12 the apostle Paul calls us as God’s ambassadors in this fallen…

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Food for the Journey: Tithing

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The following blog post is an extract taken from our Food for the Journey booklet which covers seven disciplines for Christian living. If you would like to download a digital copy of the booklet and work through the daily devotions please click here: FOOD FOR THE JOURNEYDISCIPLINE 7THE DISCIPLINE OF TITHINGLEARNING TO TRUSTThroughout the Old Testament the concept of the tithe was predominant. The word tithe means “the tenth”, therefore tithing is defined as the giving of a tenth of one’s income.While Jesus in His teachings in the New Testament never mentions the tithe, He continually challenges our attitude towards our possessions and what is most important to us. (Matthew 6:24) Jesus was not looking for dutiful ‘grit my teeth giving’ but for a genuine desire within the heart to support faithfully the body of Christ through a willing giving of a generous portion of one’s finances. He asks that we give “freely” (Matt. 10.8). Jesus never condemned the careful stewardship reflected in tithing – nowhere in the New Testament does it suggest that we give less than a tenth (Matt. 5:17), but He is looking for that voluntary giving!Our giving must flow from an understanding of what God has done for us. We give out of hearts full of thanksgiving and love. Love compels us to soar to new heights in giving, going beyond the requirements of law.Christian giving, then, finds its motives, objectives and dimensions in one’s personal relationship to Christ.Our purpose in giving should be to:1.Glorify God.2.To serve man.3.To discipline ourselves.As disciples of Jesus we are under His Lordship, therefore everything we have is His. We also, as His disciples, are made aware of the needs of others as we grow in Him we will find within ourselves a longing to help others in a sensitive and meaningful way. We will also find that we really care about the maintaining and functioning of His Body, the Church, and will want to fulfil our responsibility in this area.Our key motive for giving should always be to express love and gratitude. When we choose to give our first and best to God, we really honour Him by our faith and trust in Him and our desire to glorify Him. If we were to just give Him a token offering, would that not express a token relationship with Him?The discipline of tithing is really about learning to trust God with the practical issues of our lives. If tithing is not a practice of yours, in your quiet times with the Lord, begin with where you are at. Allow the readings and questions in the notes to stretch you from your present level of trust to where He shows you He wants you to be. Then use “faith-sized” steps to translate what you know into what you do.Remember no one is going to judge you, these disciplines are simply to encourage and enable your growth as a disciple. Giving generously and faithfully to the Lord will be one of the most fulfilling experiences…

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