My Devotional Thoughts - Lent 2013 - 3

I was all over the place today during my time with the LORD … there were threads of a similar theme, though:

Thread 1: I found a quote from a book I read recently, Everything: What you give and what you gain to become like Jesus by Mary DeMuth (see also blog from 20 January 2013.)  The quote states:

“Growth happens in the soil of our lives where darkness and quiet and stillness reign.  Could it be that God calls us first to ponder and think through the implications of His actions on our behalf?”

The mention of darkness made me think of Matthew 10:27 from yesterday’s blog entry:

Matthew 10:27 (AMP)

²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

But the mention of soil made me think of something written by Francis Chan in his book, Crazy Love, in the chapter entitled “Profile of the Lukewarm” –

 “My caution to you is this: Do not assume you are good soil.”

Hmmm…

Thread 2: Still thinking about the many times I’m hearing songs about God’s being “everything” – for example, Matthew West’s You are Everything (lyrics in part, “Jesus, You Are… You are Everything.”)  Or Lifehouse’s  Everything (lyrics in part, “You’re all I want.  You’re all I need.  You’re Everything. Everything.”)  Or Yolanda Adams' "Yeah" (lyrics in part, "Will you just give up everthing,  follow Me?"  Can I truthfully, joyfully, consistently answer  "Yeah, yeah, yeah"?)

Hmmm ... I'm thinking that for Him to truly be everything in my life, I need to be nothing.

John 3:30 (KJV)
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Thread 3: I went to an Ash Wednesday church service the other day.  Fasting was mentioned as part of the Lenten observance, and the Pastor said something like, “Ask God what is necessary to be given up” during this time.  I don’t remember consciously doing that then, since I thought I already had decided from what I was going to be fasting, what other things  I was going to be doing (like this daily blog).  Near the end of the service, I thought of the hymn ”I Surrender All” while the choir was singing William McDowell’s “I Give Myself Away.”  Since then, in another place, at another time, I heard William McDowell singing these words:

I surrender all to you
Everything I give to you
Withholding nothing.

In Crazy Love, there was a Scripture reference that stood out to me in the chapter entitled “Serving Leftovers to A Holy God”:

Luke 14:33

³³ Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.

 

So now the question is, what does this “giving up everything” look like in my life?

Thread 4: Finally, today’s devotionals:

God Calling (www.twolisteners.org)

Men who will persistently turn the self out of their lives and let Divine Power work through them. ("But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." Job 32:8)

My Utmost for His Highest (www.utmost.org)

“You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “. . . lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Chapter 6 of Crazy Love is entitled “When You’re In Love” and begins with this quoted prayer, with which I’ll end this blog entry:

From Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire.  O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...