Tag: surrender

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Surrender…The Heart of Worship

The Manna Chef

Worship is loving God for who He is, not just for what He does for us.  1 John 4:19 reminds us that “we love God because He first loved us.”  God loved us before we were even conceived!  He showed his love for us when He allowed Jesus to come to earth and experience life the way we do.  And then, God sacrificed His Son just for us!  Romans 5:8 says, “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  God loved us before we even accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.  Jesus didn’t wait for us to “get life right.”  He loved us so much that He became the most perfect sacrifice. 

How many of you know that love is an action word?  Our worship to our Heavenly Father should actually demonstrate love, and it should be active; at the heart of that worship is surrender.  Surrendering to the Lord’s will should be our response to His amazing love and mercy.

But what does it mean to surrender?  First of all, surrendering means admitting our limitations.  Romans 7:18a says, “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.”  We have to realize that without God we cannot do anything.  We have to relinquish that desire to always be in control.  As a matter of fact, the desire to control is the oldest temptation.  When the serpent deceived Eve, he appealed to her desire to be in control.

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Into Your Hands

The Manna Chef

By this time, it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.  The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.  Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”  And with those words he breathed his last.  Luke 23:44-46 (NLT)

This passage is commonly referred to as the seventh of the “Last Words of Jesus” during His Crucifixion.  Jesus suffered an agonizing death on the cross for you and me, and all of nature reacted to His suffering.  The Bible says that the light from the Sun was gone.  Darkness covered the entire land for about three hours in the middle of the day!  And all of a sudden, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.  Sisters, let me explain why that particular detail is significant.

The Temple was composed of three parts: 

  • The outer court for all the people;
  • The Holy Place, where only the priest could enter; and
  • The Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies, where the High priest alone could enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people.    

It was in the Holy of Holies that the Ark of the Covenant, and God’s Presence with it, rested. 

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Entrée

A Moment to Be Still

The Manna Chef

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2 NKJV)

I don’t know about you, but I value those moments when I can “lie down in green pastures” and actually rest.  We live in a world of constant motion.  It seems as if we are multitasking so much, and it comes so naturally, that we don’t even realize it most of the time. 

I recently made a conscious effort to slow down—to slow everything down.  First of all, let me just admit that it wasn’t easy.  I’d gotten used to the hectic pace that my life sometimes seems to dictate.  But I was determined.  I cut out a constant travel schedule for a two-month period.  I removed some extra activities from my schedule, even some that I enjoyed doing—all in an effort to simply be still.  It seemed odd initially, and I felt very restless.  I mean, do you know how many things I could have gotten done during that time?  I wrestled with those thoughts, too, for a little while.  And then I decided to simply surrender to God’s instruction to rest. 

Sisters, don’t miss the significance of taking time to rest.  If God rested, how can you possibly think that you can go on and on without any rest?  So, I shut it all down, and I’d like to share a few things that I experienced.

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