The heart of worship is surrender.
Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasnt images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to authorities.
In today's competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in -- so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. We would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship. It is the natural response to God's amazing love and mercy. We give ourselves to him, not out of fear or duty, but in love, "because he first loved us."
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You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be "in charge." The Bible says, "Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him." Instaed of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you're surrendered when yo udon't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don't edge others out, you don't demand your rights, and you aren't self-serving when you're surrendered.
- Rick Warren
what a weekend. went back home, spent some quality time with my sugar land homedawgs, and all in all, thoroughly enjoyed my 2-day stay. home is definitely where the heart is, and i must say, after that 1st night sleeping in my own room again, i once again felt right at home. went on my shopping spree friday night and saturday morning, got a haircut, and then it was time for the talent show. it turned out to be a great success, and to top things off, through sports for charity and the talent show, fbcc helped to raise $20,000 for charity! man, God is awesome!
attended my very 1st FOCUS service today, and to sum it up in a single word: awesomeness. it's amazing being able to see with my own eyes how God's working back at home. i accidentally left my sermon notes at home, but i remember one specific phrase from the message today: giving up our everything to God is the least we can do.
how true is that? in light of EVERYTHING the Big Guy has done for us, surrendering our lives to Him really is the very least we can do.
praise God for this weekend.
Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasnt images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to authorities.
In today's competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in -- so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. We would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship. It is the natural response to God's amazing love and mercy. We give ourselves to him, not out of fear or duty, but in love, "because he first loved us."
...
You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be "in charge." The Bible says, "Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him." Instaed of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you're surrendered when yo udon't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don't edge others out, you don't demand your rights, and you aren't self-serving when you're surrendered.
- Rick Warren
what a weekend. went back home, spent some quality time with my sugar land homedawgs, and all in all, thoroughly enjoyed my 2-day stay. home is definitely where the heart is, and i must say, after that 1st night sleeping in my own room again, i once again felt right at home. went on my shopping spree friday night and saturday morning, got a haircut, and then it was time for the talent show. it turned out to be a great success, and to top things off, through sports for charity and the talent show, fbcc helped to raise $20,000 for charity! man, God is awesome!
attended my very 1st FOCUS service today, and to sum it up in a single word: awesomeness. it's amazing being able to see with my own eyes how God's working back at home. i accidentally left my sermon notes at home, but i remember one specific phrase from the message today: giving up our everything to God is the least we can do.
how true is that? in light of EVERYTHING the Big Guy has done for us, surrendering our lives to Him really is the very least we can do.
praise God for this weekend.
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