Tag: Submission

On Who Is Your King

John 19:12-15 MSG. “At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down: “If you pardon this man, you’re no friend of Caesar’s. Anyone setting himself up as ‘king’ defies Caesar.” When Pilate heard those words, he led Jesus outside. He sat down at the judgment seat in the area designated Stone Court (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). It was the preparation day for Passover. The hour was noon. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king.” They shouted back, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “I am to crucify your king?” The high priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.””

Observation

“Anyone setting himself up as ‘king’ defies Caesar.” So, for me, Caesar represents the world, it’s systems, and anything else of the world that “rules over” us. The kingdom of King Jesus does defy all that the world can offer or deliver. Choosing Jesus as Lord and Savior means surrendering the ownership of ourselves and our choosing to Him so we can pursue the fulfillment of His will and purpose with the gifting He gives.

Questions some might ask are, “Why should we do this? Why should we give up having absolute control of what choices we make about our current pursuits and our futures?” While “surrender” is a word our society, our world, associates with shame, loss, powerlessness, when applied to our relationship with Jesus, it represents forgiveness, grace, and security. I would ask how much real control we have over tomorrow when we are depending on our own devices. We can make plans but they are all subject to the next circumstance that arises, the next unexpected turn of events that occurs. We truly only have total control in the current moment of the decisions we make and the actions we take. The bottom line is we neither know what will happen next nor what we need to be prepared for it.

Impact On Me

“The high priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.” Did they not understand what they were saying? Was their position and power so important to them that they would abandon God to accomplish the murder of a troublesome itinerant teacher? I realize that I am viewing this in hindsight and as a follower of Jesus. However, it makes me even more aware of the necessity to stay surrendered to King Jesus when the Caesar’s of this world tempt me to follow them by crucifying Him again.

I did not know how the rough patches in my life would prepare me for the future, but they did because I kept looking for Jesus in the midst of them instead of focusing on my own pain. He helped me to see outside my grief and sorrow in the ICU waiting room to minister comfort to another mother agonizing over her child’s future. I found out that more comfort flowed into me as I gave His comfort away. I am grateful for doctors and hospitals, but I am more grateful that I serve a King Who is more able than them all.

Prayer

Lord God, Redeemer, Sustainer, Lover of my soul, I worship You as I rest secure in Your hands. Show me how to continue in true surrender to You when the Caesar’s of this world try to distract and displace me. Help me always to leave my comfort and care to You as I give You the freedom to reach out through me to others in need. I know You hold all my future and will be with me whatever comes. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On The Bottom Line

Romans 12:1-2 Phillips. 1 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. 2 Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Romans 12:1-2 MSG. 1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 

Observation

This chapter 12 of Romans could be titled, “The Universal Practical Guide to Worshipping God in Your Living.”  Paul has spent the previous 11 chapters explaining how only faith in Christ provides forgiveness of sin and redemption, and that faith is not based on or evidenced by the adherence to any Jewish religious rules, practices, or The Law.  Living by faith in Christ transcends culture and religious rites, rituals and rules; it is based on:

  • 24/7 worship,
  • our glad obedience/submission to God’s will, and
  • allowing Him the freedom to change us in order to fulfill His plan in and through us – “bring the best out…develop well-formed maturity”. 

This might require us to be as counter-cultural as Paul is asking the Jewish believers to be regarding new Gentile believers – by accepting that faith in Christ is not proven by works, but, rather, weighing all against the heart of God to redeem and restore relationship with all of His creation.  With this heart, we can embrace others in the Body of Christ in spite of differences in practice as long as Jesus is their Lord and only Savior.  Paul lays out the bottom line for all believers here in chapter 12:

  • submit (“give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him”),
  • be changed and matured by the Holy Spirit (“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within”)
  • serve with humility trusting in God’s plan/purpose for you (“Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it”), and
  • let your love be sincere, motivated by mercy, grace, and redemption  generously poured out to all (Romans 9-end).

Impact on Me

The book of Romans is cram-packed with teaching by Paul on what really happened on the Cross, Who Christ is, what His sacrifice really provides for all mankind, and how I should respond to/show my gratitude for this free gift of redemption. 

Here Paul is saying that I need to:

  • submit myself to God, giving the Holy Spirit freedom to search me, know me (without reserving any private areas),
  • allow the Holy Spirit to bring areas that need changing to my attention, and
  • give the Holy Spirit freedom to work the change in me that makes me ready and able to fulfill God’s will and purpose for me.

This requires me to have the courage to trust Him with my secret places of pride, shame, sorrow, guilt, stubbornness, fear, selfishness, criticism, and all the other ugliness I have hidden away in the locked closets of my soul. I am then shamefully faced with the question of how much I really do trust Him.  Would I really be willing to let Him be in charge of cleaning out those closets, truly putting my past, my present, my future under His scrutiny and in His hands regardless of the cost to me?  Am I willing for Him to reveal my deepest darkest secrets if it serves His purpose to heal and release me or others?  It all comes down to the bottom line – how much do I really trust Him?

Prayer

Lord, my desire is to trust You so unconditionally that I will have no secret places, no locked closets in my soul full of shame, guilt and unforgiveness.  I want to cooperate with You in the process – “be changed from the inside out”–so I “may prove in practice that the plan of God for you (me) is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”  Help me to hear the song You sing over me – that it may ring in my flesh, my heart, my spirit so I may worship You with my “everyday, ordinary life…and place it before God as an offering.”  I want to live in Heaven’s culture, having my actions determined by what You see with Your eyes and how You love with Your heart.  I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Make it so.