Friday Morning Prayer:). July 24, 2014

July 29, 2014 - 9 minutes read

“Take up thy cross and follow me,”

I heard my Master say;
“I gave my life to ransom thee,
Surrender your all today.”

CHORUS:
Wherever He leads I’ll go,
Wherever He leads I’ll go,
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so,
Wherever He leads I’ll go.

He drew me closer to His side,
I sought His will to know,
And in that will I now abide,
Wherever He leads I’ll go.

It may be through the shadows dim,
Or o’er the stormy sea,
I take my cross and follow Him,
Wherever He leadeth me.

Faithful In Christ,

Brothers are praying together! Worshiping our God together! Loving each other! YOU are invited to join brothers from different fellowships united at the CROSS.

We are meeting at Bethel Assembly: 1929 Arnold Way. Alpine. We meet at 0730. If you can’t make it, pray with us during this time as the Lord leads. We very much need your prayers for the Body of Christ represented here in Alpine and surrounding communities. Moreover, we pray pray pray for the lost, unsaved, condemned, blind, perishing…the many needing to be supernaturally rescued through our Lord Jesus! May God respond to our prayers by equipping and empowering us to be the vessels willing to reach out, love, encourage, invite to church, follow-up, give a cup of cold water, pray for, etc., to those we lift in prayer, especially within our sphere of influence.

Many times over I find myself in awe: that I can be in relationship with our God! Really! It is amazing to me that our sovereign God, all powerful Holy, Holy, Holy the Lord God Almighty pursued me and because of His Mercy, called me to the cross. Not just me, but many, and
YOU, the supernatural experience of surrender began at the cross. Now the journey begins! In relationship with our God, “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is FAITHFUL.” [!] YES! 1 Cor 1:8-9.

“I have been crucified with Christ…” Gal 2:20a You see I had nothing to surrender but sin, a drunken stupor that led to a broken body and an inevitable paralysis. Mercy! “O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.” Psalm 30: 2-3. As God orchestrated the events of my life, the cry for help was heard because of a contrite and repentant heart for my obvious wickedness. All I had to surrender was my sin and broken life. The part of my prayer back then that promised a “do better lifestyle” or “give me another chance to do better” wasn’t what moved our merciful and gracious God to transform my life. NO!

Paul goes on to say, “…and I no longer live, but Christ lives in
me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God , for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” v. 20b-21

That’s it! God exchanges our sin for righteousness through the cross! Any feeble attempts at “doing better” obeying commands, following holy standards, in order to be right with God is futile! In fact, it is a mockery of the cross! Only at the cross, where I present my sin, confess my need for forgiveness, and cry out for transformation will righteousness be given! Thank You Lord for demonstrating the ultimate surrender, Your life for my sin, that I might have abundant life In You, even eternal life! Praise You God Always!

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers [sisters] in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” Rom 12:1.

Gary Thomas, in his book Seeking the Face of God, makes this statement: “Christian health is not defined by how happy we are, how prosperous or healthy we are, or even by how many people we have led to the Lord in the past year. Christian health is ultimately defined by how sincerely we wave our flag of surrender.”

As we pray, I recognize how helpless I/we are to bring about transformed lives, unity among brothers, fired up Christians! Only Christ through me and IN US can we experience supernatural change in our churches, small groups, our relationships, then our communities, cities, and even nations! May we cry out for greater and deeper intimacy with our Lord! I think this means greater and deeper
surrender too! With tears, I know I haven’t surrendered completely, you probably haven’t either, so we pray for each other and encourage, love, carry my brother’s burden, step out of my comfort zone…through the power of God the Holy Spirit every day!

I was reading the Daily Bread. “Waving the White Flag” the writer correlated “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deut. 6:4-5 with Surrender. Our Merciful God calls us to Surrender completely our lives to Him. Moreover, “We don’t have enough words to tell God how much we love Him! So, let’s show Him our love by surrendering our hearts and lives to follow Him.”

“Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine; Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine. Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride; I now surrender, Lord–in me abide.”

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Persevere! Thank you for your prayers! Truly, our prayers matter! Our prayers are part of God’s sovereign plan and we trust Him! :). Continue to pray for Alpine Youth Center, Behold Ministries, Compassionate Ministries, our Churches and leadership presenting the gospel week after week!:). Pray for our brother Joseph and his precious family always. May we support one another prayerfully, practically, as we hunger and thirst for our God and overflow to many many others:).

Where He leads,

LoVe YOU much!

Randall:).

Reference: Our Daily Bread July 23, 2014.