Fully Surrendered

By Alfred C. Snead / George C. Stebbins

Fully surrendered—Lord, I would be,

Fully surrendered, dear Lord, to Thee.

All on the altar laid,

Surrender fully made,

Thou hast my ransom paid;

I yield to Thee.

Fully surrendered—life, time, and all,

All Thou hast given me held at Thy call.

Speak but the word to me,

Gladly I'll follow Thee,

Now and eternally

Obey my Lord.

Fully surrendered—silver and gold,

His, who hath given me riches untold.

All, all belong to Thee,

For Thou didst purchase me,

Thine evermore to be,

Jesus, my Lord.

Fully surrendered—Lord, I am Thine;

Fully surrendered, Savior divine!

Live Thou Thy life in me;

All fullness dwells in Thee;

Not I, but Christ in me,

Christ all in all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkl6j_NMmLM

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If We Obey His Commandments

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:1-6 ESV)

It is critical to correct biblical interpretation always that we read Scriptures in their context. It is a good practice to read the whole context of a Bible book or a biblical passage in order to not take Scriptures out of context and to get a false impression of what they are teaching. So many lies are being taught as truth these days because they are teaching Scriptures out of context and they are twisting them to say what they do not say if taught in the correct context. So, let’s look together at what this is saying.

Who is this written to? It is written to the church, to those professing faith in Jesus Christ. And the author is God, via the apostle John. And the subject matter is that we may not sin. He wrote these things to those professing faith in the Lord Jesus that they may not sin. For that is the goal of our faith, that we should die with Christ to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands.

But even though it should be our goal that we no longer sin, we are still human beings who live in flesh bodies, who still have the propensity to sin, and who will be tempted to sin, and who may, at times, sin against the Lord, sometimes without forethought. But if our faith in Jesus Christ is God-gifted and God-persuaded faith, and we have died with Christ to sin, and we are walking in obedience to him, in practice, he is our advocate to God the Father. His sacrifice for our sins covers us so they are not held against us.

For Jesus Christ (God the Son, the Son of God) gave himself up for us on that cross so that when he died, our sins died with him, and when he was raised from the dead, he rose in victory over sin, death, Satan, and hell, on our behalf, so that we would now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, by his grace, and in his power and strength. So, by faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him now as slaves to God and to righteousness.

But what if all we do is make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but we don’t ever die with him to sin, and we don’t walk in obedience to his commands, in practice? Is Jesus Christ still our advocate? Not according to what comes next, and not according to what was taught in 1 John 1 and 1 John 3 and in the books penned by Paul and by the other apostles. And not according to what Jesus taught, either. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness and obedience to God, we don’t have salvation from sin.

For we read in 1 John 1:5-10 that if we say that we are in fellowship with God/Christ, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we lie and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light (truth, righteousness, godliness, Jesus Christ, the gospel), then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. And we read in 1 John 2:3-6 that if we claim to know God/Christ, but if obeying his commandments is not our practice, the truth is not in us, and we don’t really know God/Christ.

So, we cannot read 1 John 2:1-2 and stop there and assume that no matter how often we sin, even if sin is our practice, and if we do so deliberately and premeditatedly, without conscience, that Jesus is still our advocate. And this is why context is so critical, for many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are still living in deliberate and habitual sin while claiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny. But if sin is our practice, we are not in fellowship with God.

And if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments (New Covenant), in practice, we are liars. We don’t know God, and heaven is not our eternal destiny. For whoever practices righteousness is righteous in the eyes of the Lord, and whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil (1 John 3:4-10). So, we have to be people for whom sin is not our practice, but for whom obedience to our Lord is our practice, all by the grace of God and in his power, as we surrender our lives to do his will and purpose.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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Search Me, O God, and Try Me

Psalms 139:23-24

“Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting.” NIV

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! 

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me, 

and lead me in the way everlasting!” ESV

As followers of Jesus Christ we are to live holy lives pleasing to God, for this is why Jesus died on that cross, that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness; that we may live for him and no longer for ourselves. For when Jesus shed his blood for us on that cross it was to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession and so he would be our Master, and so we would honor him with our lives.

But we still live in flesh bodies, and so we are still subject to sin and to failure, and we still have the propensity to sin, and we are still tempted to sin. But Jesus, through his death on that cross, put our sin to death with him so that we might now live in freedom from slavery to sin. It doesn’t mean we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin should no longer be our master. We should no longer live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness.

There are many people today, though, who are professing faith in Jesus Christ who are still living like they did before they professed faith in Christ. Sin is still their master. They are still living as slaves to sin. Deliberately and habitually, and often premeditatedly, they give in to the sinful cravings of their flesh, they deny Jesus Christ, they refuse to obey him, and they do what ought not to be done and what hurts other people.

According to the Scriptures, those who make sin their practice, and who deny Christ as Lord (Master) of their lives, who deliberately and habitually live in (walk in) sin, and who do not live to obey the Lord or in righteousness and holiness, they are not saved from their sins, and heaven is not their eternal destiny unless they repent and they turn and they follow Jesus in obedience. So please know this (Matt 7:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10).

But what I talk about here in this video is addressed mainly to those who are walking in holiness in obedience to the Lord and who have forsaken their lives of sin, but because they still live on this earth and in flesh bodies they may, from time to time, sin, not usually deliberately, and definitely not habitually in the same way. Sin is not their practice. But they may say something with a wrong attitude or whatever it may be sometimes.

It is important that we regularly check our hearts. We need God to search us, not because he needs it, for he knows, but we need him to let us know if there is anything we are doing that is displeasing to him, or if we said something we shouldn’t have said, or if we had a bad attitude about something that we didn’t see at the moment that it happened but later, or perhaps not until he reveals it to us. We need this for our daily cleansing.

Search Me, O God

Video Talk

October 30, 2022

https://youtu.be/ji57tEUyfQU

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"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me..." Psalms 139:23-24 NLT

You Loved Me

When I was lonely and afflicted,

You were there to pick me up.

You took me in Your arms,

And You tenderly held me.

Your love embraced me.

Your grace sustained me.

When my heart cried out to You

In my despair,

You did not shun me, 

But You let me know that You loved me.

Your grace forgave me.

You did not shame me.

Then I answered the call, 

“Here Lord, send me.”

And so You sent me to where

You planned ahead of time to use me.

Your mercy held me.

You did not fail me.

And, when trials and tribulations

Came my way to test me,

You gave me everything I needed

So that I would not fail, but would survive.

Your kindness blessed me,

And You caressed me.

And, when I needed the body of Christ

To lift me up

And to encourage me so that my

Heart did not fail,

You gave me friendships,

Their presence cheered me.

And, even when I walked

Through the valley of the 

Shadow of death and tears

Overflowed from my eyes down my cheeks,

Your touch, it healed me.

For, I believed You.

And, even now when I think

About all the many ways

In which you have blessed me,

So many ways I cannot count them all,

My heart, it thanks You.

And, gladness fills me.

An Original Work / November 27, 2019

He Who Promised is Faithful

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV)

Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He was in the beginning with God, he is God, and all that was made (created) was created (made) by him. And God the Father sent him to the earth one day, as was promised for a long time, and he was born as a human baby to a human mother, but he was conceived of the Holy Spirit, so he was without sin. So when he lived on the earth 2000 years ago, he was fully God and fully human (God incarnate), and he never sinned.

Now God sent his Son Jesus Christ to the earth for a very specific purpose. While he lived on the earth he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons, performed many miracles, fed the hungry miraculously, comforted the sorrowful, and he preached repentance and obedience to him for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. And then he was put to death on a cross by those who hated him, because he lived the truth and he told them the truth that many did not want to hear.

But that was the ultimate purpose in God sending Jesus Christ to the earth, which was that he might be our sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. For when he died, our sins died with him, and when he rose from the dead, he was raised in victory over sin, death, hell, and Satan (the devil). And this is so that, by genuine faith in him, we will die to sin and now live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. For he died to deliver us from our addiction to sin so we’d serve him.

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 26:26-29; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]  

Therefore, because of who Jesus is, and because of what he did for us in dying for our sins and in being raised from the dead, victorious over sin, hell, death, and Satan, if we are those of genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Christ, we are to draw near to our Lord with true hearts and in full assurance of faith. No fakery allowed. No false professions of faith in Jesus Christ while we go on living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and while we do not obey his commandments, in daily practice.

For the faith that saves originates with God, it comes from God, it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. And so this faith aligns with God’s will and purpose for our lives. And Jesus died on that cross so that we will die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we will now serve and honor him with our lives in obedience to him.

So, when God persuades us (which is the meaning of faith), he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with him to sin and to now walk in obedience to his commands, in his power and strength, by the grace of God, in daily practice. For by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God in walks of obedience to his commands.

Thus, when we hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, this is not a false hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God based on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ alone. This is based on us denying self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, as our faith in Christ is being lived out in our daily lives. For, according to the Scriptures, faith is obedience, and disobedience is unbelief. And if we live in deliberate sin, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

So, it is important for us who profess faith in Jesus Christ to get together with one another daily (regularly) to encourage, exhort, urge, counsel, teach, instruct, and speak the truth in love to one another so that none of us are led astray by false gospels of men in their cunning and craftiness, and so none of us are led astray by the deceitfulness of sin, and so we encourage one another to serve the Lord in ministry in doing the works that God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Zeal for Your House

An Original Work / August 1, 2016

Based off Jn. 2:17; Ps. 69:9

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.

Lord, I love my times with You.

I love to worship You and sing Your praises.

Time in Your Word brings me closer to You,

List’ning to You speaking to me,

Gently guiding me in truth.

Lord, You are my life’s example,

Showing me how I should live.

I love to walk with You where’er You lead me.

No greater joy have I when serving You. 

Loving, giving, resting in Your strength, 

I’m yielding to Your will. 

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.

See the church turned upside down:

Marketing ventures taking place of worship,

Men of the gospel turning into clowns.

Gospel message made appealing,

So the world will feel at home.

Lord, we need a great revival.

Turn their hearts, Lord, back to You.

Open the blind eyes, turn them all from darkness,

Lord, to the light. May they return to You, 

Turn from their sin, forsake idols,

Be restored to God again.

https://vimeo.com/177433676

Love Forlorn

The numbers of people in this world of ours who are suffering because of spousal unfaithfulness and abuse are astounding. The sad reality of it all, though, is that these numbers are high even among those who call themselves Christians. Porn addiction, extramarital flirtations and affairs, and easy access to private chats via social media and the like have contributed greatly to the breakdown of marriages and families.

But, this does not have to be the end of the story. Although wounded, the forgotten and the betrayed can be healed, they can forgive those who wounded them, and they can give them the opportunity to have the marriage restored and healed. This is if the unfaithful are willing to change their sinful ways and to start over, and to do right by the wounded spouse. This is called grace, and it is the kind of grace God offers us, as well.

Love Forlorn

Lost and lonely, all forgotten,

Because you are treated rotten.

Love pursuing, now forsaken.

Wounded hearts right now are achin’.

Picture perfect not the story.

Fairy tales, they get no glory.

Faithfulness went out the window,

Leaving someone like a widow.

Tears and heartache, not much laughter.

Some folks asking, “What’s the matter?”

Not much light now through the window.

Looks so murky. Strange bedfellows.

Is there hope now? What’s the future?

Are there wounds now that need sutured?

Walking wounded still love seeking,

Second chances to them giving:

Sins forgiven; restart offered.

Take a minute this to ponder.

Chance of freedom, new beginning,

Change your patterns if you’re willing.

Turnabout is what is needed,

If restoring is what’s heeded.

Don’t miss out on what is precious

Because lust is all that matters.

Wake up! Grow up! Take the offer.

Begin again. Walk in freedom.

Love your husband. Love your wife now.

Love God, Jesus. Before Him bow.

An Original Work / August 1, 2018

They've Trampled Underfoot the Son of God

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26-31 ESV)

For the past week now, the Lord has been having me talk on the subject of abuse. That is unusual that he would have me cover that topic over the span of a week, so he must have a reason why he is having me emphasize it so much right now. But, granted, abuse of all kinds is really HUGE right now. And that is because so many people are living in sin, and not in holiness and in righteousness, and so they are doing all sorts of evil to other people, even to family, friends, neighbors, Christians, and to the weak and afflicted.

And abuse is not all physical, which leaves scars, either. For there is the abuse of power, the abuse of deception and manipulation of people’s minds and hearts, mental and emotional abuse, spiritual abuse, church abuse, and the like. All deception and the manipulation of people’s minds, hearts, and emotions falls under the category of the abuse of power. And there are many who abuse their positions of power over others – mothers, fathers, husbands, bosses, government heads, pastors, and elders, etc. 

And we are moving closer and closer to that time of the rule of “the beast,” which is a tyrannical global government which is presently forming and not that far away from taking hold in the world so that we all fall under one global form of government, which is when Christian persecution is going to really heat up (see Revelation 13:1-18). Our sovereign nations will, thus, be done away with in order to bring us into this “New World Order.” And we will be forced to take the “mark of the beast” or be martyred for our faith.

Therefore, those of us who are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, and who are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in walks of obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, are to hold fast to our faith, without wavering, and we are to keep following our Lord, no matter how much worse things get. And we are to be those who are stirring up one another (Christians) to (agape) love and to good works, and who are encouraging and exhorting one another in our walks of faith, especially as we see the Day drawing near (vv. 19-25).

Why? Because not everyone who says to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. But only the one DOING (obeying) the will of God. Many are going to stand before the Lord on the day of judgment, claiming him as their Lord and Savior, and claiming all the things they believed they did in his name. But he will say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for their “faith” was in profession (lip service) only, but they did not obey the Lord, but they continued in deliberate sin.

So, what does this have to do with abuse? Everything! For those who continue in deliberate and habitual sin end up sinning against others, even against those they profess to love. And many will do this deliberately and habitually, without conscience, and without remorse, because they are being convinced that if they “prayed the prayer” that now all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but regardless of how they live. But that is a big fat lie coming from others who abuse.

So, those who abuse lie and trick and manipulate others into believing their lies, and then many who believe the lies go on telling even more lies and abusing and tricking and manipulating others. And so many people today, thus, because they believed the lies of these abusers and manipulators, have continued in deliberate and habitual sin, without conscience, and they, too, have become liars and abusers. And so this is why we need to be those who are telling people the truth, and not the lies which make them feel good.

We need to be those who speak the truth in love to people, even if we are hated and mistreated and rejected, in return. And we need to be warning them that if they continue walking in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, that they will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, regardless of what professions of faith they have made in Christ Jesus. For the Lord is going to judge all of us according to our works (Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 6:7-8).

So, don’t be led astray by those who abuse, who manipulate, who trick and who tell lies. If you profess faith in Jesus Christ, know what the Scriptures teach (IN CONTEXT), for many of these liars teach the Scriptures out of context, and they twist them to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. And if you are one who is teaching the truth, and so you are being persecuted, don’t give up, even though things are going to get much worse. Keep telling the people the truth which will save their souls.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Down From His Glory

By William E. Booth-Clibborn, 1921

Down from His glory,

Ever living story,

My God and Savior came,

And Jesus was His Name;

Born in a manger,

To His own a stranger,

A Man of sorrows, tears and agony.

What condescension,

Bringing us redemption;

That in the dead of night,

Not one faint hope in sight,

God, gracious, tender,

Laid aside His splendor,

Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.

Without reluctance,

Flesh and blood His substance,

He took the form of man,

Revealed the hidden plan,

Oh, glorious myst’ry,

Sacrifice of Calv’ry,

And now I know Thou art the great “I Am.”

Oh, how I love Him! How I adore Him!

My breath, my sunshine, my all in all;

The great Creator became my Savior,

And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkKIVxaGY9k

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