Are You Holding On ... Or Letting Go?
It's Time To Check Your Posture: Are Your Hands
In The Air? True Worship Requires Surrender.
Charisma, June 9, 2010 - Christians used to talk
a lot about surrender. They called it the consecrated
life, and they sang about it in hymns such as "I
Surrender All," "Have Thine Own Way" or "Wherever
He Leads, I'll Go." These songs fueled the missionary
movements of the past.
Today? Not so much.
In many American churches, "altars" are
a strange concept. They are referred to as "stages," and
they are used only for fog machines or music performances. "Altar
calls" no longer fit in the time constraints of
our trendy 80-minute services. Meanwhile, talk of surrender
has been replaced by messages about self-empowerment
and self-motivation.
The Good Life has replaced The God Life. The Path
to Prosperity has become more popular than The Calvary
Road. We are more interested in getting a breakthrough
than brokenness.
Yet God is calling us back to consecration. Genuine
worship, according to Romans 12:1, involves a wholehearted
abandonment of self. Paul wrote: "Therefore I
urge you, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which
is your spiritual service of worship" (NASB).
When priests were set apart for God's service in
the Old Covenant, they were "consecrated" in
a solemn ceremony. The word for consecration in Exodus
28:41 means "to fill the hand." The word
is a picture of an empty hand receiving God's blessings
and then giving them back to the Lord in unconditional
surrender.
My question to you: Are your hands open and raised
to God? Or are you making a fist? Have you given back
to the Lord what He has given you? Or are your hands
tightly clenched? It might be a good idea to examine
how you are holding every aspect of your life:
Your time. Does God have your life 24/7? Does He
have your weekends? Have you made room in your life
to spend time with Him? Or has prayer been crowded
out by your favorite TV shows, time with friends or
the demands of work?
Your talents. Are you using your natural and spiritual
gifts to reach others for Christ? Or did you hide your
talents, like the unwise steward in Jesus' parable?
Have you assumed that, because others seemed more gifted,
you should be a spectator while they serve?
Your money. The only way to know if you are truly
surrendered to God's will is if your wallet is open.
A lack of generosity toward God's work reveals a much
deeper problem.
Your future. Are you driving
your career plans—or have you allowed God to
take the steering wheel? Ambition can take you a long
way—but it must be yielded to His will or it
will lead to tragedy. You must agree with what Jesus
prayed at Gethsemane: "Not my will, but Yours
be done" (Luke 22:42).
Your relationships. Do you allow friends, or romantic
relationships, to lead you away from purity, integrity
and spiritual faithfulness? The Bible says friendship
with the world is hostility toward God (James 4:4).
As painful as it may be, true surrender will involve
cutting some ties.
Your sexuality. Many Christians believe they can
be faithful believers while practicing immorality.
Don't buy that lie. Living the consecrated life means
repenting of all known sin daily—and fleeing
from fornication, adultery, pornography and all forms
of lust.
Your children. While we have been commanded to
raise our kids for God, we also must entrust them to
His care. After all, they are really His children,
not ours. Once you've done your part, give them back
to Him.
This week my youngest daughter—our so-called "baby"—is
graduating from high school and headed to college in
Georgia. Meanwhile my third daughter is leaving this
week to minister on a foreign mission field for two
months—in a place where women are not exactly
safe or respected. I've had to consciously put my girls
on the altar whenever I've doubted that God will take
care of them.
It's one thing to give your own life to Christ.
It's another thing to surrender those you love to His
will and purpose. It requires a whole new level of
trust. But it is the path that Abraham, the father
of our faith, was required to walk when he put his
son Isaac on the altar.
True faith always involves gut-wrenching surrender.
I urge you to take the right posture: Get your hands
open, lift them up to heaven and say with all your
heart: "Lord, I'm all yours."
# # #
By J. Lee Grady - J. Lee Grady served as editor
of Charisma for 11 years and is now contributing editor.
You can find him on Twitter at leegrady.
His newest book is The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale.
Charisma Online and Strang Communications. Copyright
2010. All Rights Reserved.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Web site: www.charismamag.com
It's Time To Check Your Posture: Are Your Hands In The Air? True Worship Requires Surrender.
Charisma, June 9, 2010 - Christians used to talk a lot about surrender. They called it the consecrated life, and they sang about it in hymns such as "I Surrender All," "Have Thine Own Way" or "Wherever He Leads, I'll Go." These songs fueled the missionary movements of the past.
Today? Not so much.
In many American churches, "altars" are a strange concept. They are referred to as "stages," and they are used only for fog machines or music performances. "Altar calls" no longer fit in the time constraints of our trendy 80-minute services. Meanwhile, talk of surrender has been replaced by messages about self-empowerment and self-motivation.
The Good Life has replaced The God Life. The Path to Prosperity has become more popular than The Calvary Road. We are more interested in getting a breakthrough than brokenness.
Yet God is calling us back to consecration. Genuine worship, according to Romans 12:1, involves a wholehearted abandonment of self. Paul wrote: "Therefore I urge you, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (NASB).
When priests were set apart for God's service in the Old Covenant, they were "consecrated" in a solemn ceremony. The word for consecration in Exodus 28:41 means "to fill the hand." The word is a picture of an empty hand receiving God's blessings and then giving them back to the Lord in unconditional surrender.
My question to you: Are your hands open and raised to God? Or are you making a fist? Have you given back to the Lord what He has given you? Or are your hands tightly clenched? It might be a good idea to examine how you are holding every aspect of your life:
Your time. Does God have your life 24/7? Does He have your weekends? Have you made room in your life to spend time with Him? Or has prayer been crowded out by your favorite TV shows, time with friends or the demands of work?
Your talents. Are you using your natural and spiritual gifts to reach others for Christ? Or did you hide your talents, like the unwise steward in Jesus' parable? Have you assumed that, because others seemed more gifted, you should be a spectator while they serve?
Your money. The only way to know if you are truly surrendered to God's will is if your wallet is open. A lack of generosity toward God's work reveals a much deeper problem.
Your future. Are you driving your career plans—or have you allowed God to take the steering wheel? Ambition can take you a long way—but it must be yielded to His will or it will lead to tragedy. You must agree with what Jesus prayed at Gethsemane: "Not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).
Your relationships. Do you allow friends, or romantic relationships, to lead you away from purity, integrity and spiritual faithfulness? The Bible says friendship with the world is hostility toward God (James 4:4). As painful as it may be, true surrender will involve cutting some ties.
Your sexuality. Many Christians believe they can be faithful believers while practicing immorality. Don't buy that lie. Living the consecrated life means repenting of all known sin daily—and fleeing from fornication, adultery, pornography and all forms of lust.
Your children. While we have been commanded to raise our kids for God, we also must entrust them to His care. After all, they are really His children, not ours. Once you've done your part, give them back to Him.
This week my youngest daughter—our so-called "baby"—is graduating from high school and headed to college in Georgia. Meanwhile my third daughter is leaving this week to minister on a foreign mission field for two months—in a place where women are not exactly safe or respected. I've had to consciously put my girls on the altar whenever I've doubted that God will take care of them.
It's one thing to give your own life to Christ. It's another thing to surrender those you love to His will and purpose. It requires a whole new level of trust. But it is the path that Abraham, the father of our faith, was required to walk when he put his son Isaac on the altar.
True faith always involves gut-wrenching surrender. I urge you to take the right posture: Get your hands open, lift them up to heaven and say with all your heart: "Lord, I'm all yours."
# # #
By J. Lee Grady - J. Lee Grady served as editor
of Charisma for 11 years and is now contributing editor.
You can find him on Twitter at leegrady.
His newest book is The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale.
Charisma Online and Strang Communications. Copyright
2010. All Rights Reserved.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Web site: www.charismamag.com