I sometimes lie in church.
I don't mean to, but words come out of my mouth that aren't true. I sing lyrics during worship like "I'm giving it all away..." and "We surrender all to you."
All?
Some days - most days - that's just not true. I want it to be. Really, I do. I want to relinquish all of my thoughts, worries, and decisions into the hands of the One who sees what I can't and knows what I don't.
But many days - most days - I don't. I hold tightly to what constitutes my life because I believe my grip equals my control. I don't give over my all, and sometimes I don't even give over my most.
Which parts of all are you not letting God have? Which parts of yourself are you giving to the enemy, either intentionally or not?
Don't skip over those questions, looking ahead for a solution. There is no solution without reflection. Read them again.
Which parts of all are you not letting God have? Which parts of yourself are you giving to the enemy, either intentionally or not?
Is it your physical health? Your marriage? Your dissatisfaction at work? Your money?
In all likelihood, your struggles reveal your stubbornness. Your stubbornness reveals strongholds, and strongholds are chains the enemy uses to bind you into ineffectiveness and wandering. A wandering believer will never accidentally stumble into her true identity, and then Satan's work is complete.
Here's the issue. As Pastor Mark said this Sunday, "It's impossible to deny your Creator and know your identity." When we don't know our identities, we don't - and can't - give Jesus our all. It's as simple as that. We can sing it on Sunday and never live it. We can proclaim it with words and never show it with actions. It is impossible to give your all when you don't know what your all consists of and to whom it belongs. When we aren't rooted in Christ and don't fully understand that we are His creations, we live in the midst of an identity crisis - one that keeps us gripping tightly to what was never really ours.
Don't miss this - you can deny your Creator while very loudly acknowledging Him with your mouth. Denial is not just evident in words; denial is evident in lifestyle.
John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Satan - the enemy - is out to steal your identity as the righteousness of God. He cannot take it for himself, but he wants to steal your assurance that you are a child of God who does not have to perform to please the Father. He wants to steal the peace that is available when God's children fully rest in knowing whose they are. When Satan succeeds in stealing our identities, he leaves us with confusion and a lack of power. He leaves us making no difference in the Kingdom of God.
The challenge I'm facing right now is to honestly answer the question, "What am I holding back from God?" Whatever we withhold from Him is whatever we don't trust Him with, and whatever we don't trust Him with reveals what we don't fully understand of His character. We must learn the character of the One whose identity has become our own. We must uncover what we're holding back before we can ever sing with conviction that we're surrendering all.
Don't skip over those questions, looking ahead for a solution. There is no solution without reflection. Read them again.
Which parts of all are you not letting God have? Which parts of yourself are you giving to the enemy, either intentionally or not?
Is it your physical health? Your marriage? Your dissatisfaction at work? Your money?
In all likelihood, your struggles reveal your stubbornness. Your stubbornness reveals strongholds, and strongholds are chains the enemy uses to bind you into ineffectiveness and wandering. A wandering believer will never accidentally stumble into her true identity, and then Satan's work is complete.
Here's the issue. As Pastor Mark said this Sunday, "It's impossible to deny your Creator and know your identity." When we don't know our identities, we don't - and can't - give Jesus our all. It's as simple as that. We can sing it on Sunday and never live it. We can proclaim it with words and never show it with actions. It is impossible to give your all when you don't know what your all consists of and to whom it belongs. When we aren't rooted in Christ and don't fully understand that we are His creations, we live in the midst of an identity crisis - one that keeps us gripping tightly to what was never really ours.
Don't miss this - you can deny your Creator while very loudly acknowledging Him with your mouth. Denial is not just evident in words; denial is evident in lifestyle.
John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Satan - the enemy - is out to steal your identity as the righteousness of God. He cannot take it for himself, but he wants to steal your assurance that you are a child of God who does not have to perform to please the Father. He wants to steal the peace that is available when God's children fully rest in knowing whose they are. When Satan succeeds in stealing our identities, he leaves us with confusion and a lack of power. He leaves us making no difference in the Kingdom of God.
The challenge I'm facing right now is to honestly answer the question, "What am I holding back from God?" Whatever we withhold from Him is whatever we don't trust Him with, and whatever we don't trust Him with reveals what we don't fully understand of His character. We must learn the character of the One whose identity has become our own. We must uncover what we're holding back before we can ever sing with conviction that we're surrendering all.
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