To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.

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March 8, 2011

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

I wonder why God has not showed up. Where is He when I need Him the most? Has He left me on my own, or have I offended Him by letting my pride, selfishness and lust seep out of my sinful nature? He tells me that He will never leave me or forsake me and that nothing can separate me from His love. Why then do I feel so alone and abandoned in my circumstances right now?

And God says…”I have come to give you life and life more abundantly, not to give you everything you think you want or need.  My ways are not your ways, but consider this, if I loved you enough to give you My only Son, why then would I deny you any good thing? You must remember that the sacrifice of Jesus is so great that when I look at you I can only see Him, and His obedience. I cannot see your disobedience, I cannot look upon it. You cannot do anything to separate yourself from My love……You often feel alone and abandoned in your circumstances because you are looking at your failures and your circumstances instead of at Me.  Focus your eyes and the eyes of your heart on Me and see how your spiritual landscape changes.”