City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 6:46-49

¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 3:11

³ I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
    he grazes among the lilies.

Song of Solomon 6:3

Reflection

Here is a picture of Admiral Chester Nimitz at the desk of surrender on board the USS Missouri battleship.  I chose this picture because the seat opposite the admiral is still empty.  The Japanese leader has not taken the seat yet.  Moments after this picture was taken, the largest war in the history of man kind will officially come to an end. 

For each of us, we are to face that chair every day.  God is offering each of us terms of surrender, so the ball is in our court.  Will we accept the terms?  By the way, what are the terms?  The answer to that question is simple.  God is looking for a total and unconditional surrender.  This surrender is not a negotiation.  It is a take it or leave it offer. 

When Jesus teaches that entering the kingdom of God for a rich person is more difficult than taking a camel through the eye of a needle, He is teaching that you must surrender everything you hold valuable.  You see, riches are like a monkey trap.  It is said that you can catch a monkey by putting food in a jar with a small neck.  The monkey will reach in to grab the food and won’t let go.  As a result, the monkey’s hand full of food is too big to fit through the neck of the jar and the jar becomes a weight for the monkey that prevents it from escaping.

For Jesus to be Lord of your life, you must surrender unshakably.  The unshakable surrender is the surrender that is all encompassing.  It is the one that leaves nothing on the table and holds nothing back.  And having surrendered all, you become free to follow and obey Jesus completely.  No longer do you have other masters, so the Lord’s instructions become clearer, and your obedience to Him becomes unshakable.

Application

If you find yourself at that empty chair, having tried to surrender before, don’t be surprised.  Total surrender doesn’t come naturally to us, nor does it come all at once.  We haven’t learned the values of God’s Kingdom yet.  But as we return to that chair of surrender, we get a better vision of life in God’s kingdom.  And as we see more clearly, we can see that, while God stands with fists of fury, ready to mead out punishment, He is also there as a father, ready to start you on your new and better life in His kingdom. Know that God teaches us about love because that is what He wants for us.

After signing the surrender, the Japanese country was rebuilt, the United States and Japan became powerful allies, and the Japanese economy became the strongest in Asia. For you, the days to come can be far greater than the days gone by.

Deniece Williams “I Surrender All”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-bARylS9Mw

Prayer

Oh, gazer of love so melt my pride,

That I may in your house but kneel,

And in my brokenness to cry,

Spring worship unto Thee.

Amen