Thoughts for Life: After Surrender, What?

Oswald Chambers: From DEVOTIONS for MORNING and EVENING

“The whole of life after surrender is an aspiration for unbroken communion with God.”

“I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.” (John 17:4)

“Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done.

There are very few crisis in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will.

God never crushes a man’s will into surrender, He never beseeches him, He waits until the man yields up his will to Him.

That battle never needs to be re-fought.

--It is after we have begun to experience what salvation means that we surrender our wills to Jesus for rest.

Whatever is perplexing heart or mind is a call to the will—“Come unto Me.” It is a voluntary coming.

--"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself."

The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, my self with His rest at the heart of it.

"If you would be My disciple, give up your right to yourself to Me." then the remainder of the life is nothing but the manifestation of this surrender.

When once the surrender has taken place we never need ‘suppose’ anything. We do not need to care what our circumstances are, Jesus is amply sufficient.

--Have you learned what it means to be bound for death?

Beware of a surrender which you make to God in an ecstasy; you are apt to take it back again.

It is a question of being united with Jesus in His death until nothing ever appeals to that did not appeal to Him.” (p. 530) Sept. 13
The following are also quotes taken from Chamber’s devotional:

“Watch when God shifts your circumstances, and see whether you are going with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh and the devil.

We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings round us. Never!

God engineers circumstances and whatever they may be like we have to see that we face them while abiding continually with Him in His temptations.

The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us.

Are we going with Jesus in the life we are living now?” (p. 542) Sept. 19

July 25 tells us: “The teaching of Jesus is out of all proportion to our natural way of looking at things and it comes with astonishing discomfort to begin with.

We have slowly to form our walk and conversation on the line of the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances.

The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations; it is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us.” (p. 426)

July 27 “The teaching of Jesus hits us where we live…When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don’t shirk it.

If you do, you will become a religious humbug.

Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually.

First go—at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you.” (p. 430)

[This was originally posted 10/13/11]

Prayer: Father, I aim to allow Your Holy Spirit to enable me to follow Jesus' teaching of the Sermon on the mount. I realize all too well, that I cannot accomplish what He asks by myself! In Jesus' name I pray for Your help. Amen.

Our Scripture for today:

(Prov. 3:5, 6) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart ,and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct your paths."

Today’s quote:

Mary Southerland - “Because God is a loving father who is more committed to our character than He is to our comfort, godly discipline must often come into play. Although God has the ability to directly give us understanding, His usual teaching method involves more of a ‘hands on’ approach. We gain wisdom as God teaches us His Word and then follows through with application in our daily lives.”