GSM SOCCER DEVOTIONAL - May 1st, 2011
CREATED TO SURRENDER SO WE CAN DO THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY
Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you, brothers, 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.”
Surrendering can be a mind-boggling experience, because it goes against the very nature of living humanly, which is the opposite of spiritual living. We have to learn to give up a lot of garbage we’ve learned, know, enjoy, and find pleasurable at times. We have to see that such stuff is not useful to us in the scheme of living. It’s a sacrifice that we have to make. We have to change a lot about our present, knowing that the future both on the earth and in heaven will be rewarding, full of little and big blessings. Surrendering the garbage becomes a transformation of our thought processes, so our acts of service will be for Him and to please Him.
Romans 12:2 goes on to tell us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is” (good, pleasing and perfect will).
Were not to be images of this world and follow after its offerings. We’re to be transformed by the re-thinking and processing of what comes into our minds, not by the pressure of the world in which we reside, but by preordained empowering changes that are to happen to us through the very person of Jesus Christ working in our lives daily by His promises. This will come through our reliance on the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Allowed, this reliance will grow our passion to serve others with conviction and purpose, living out life on this earth to better do God-designed purposes for His Son’s benefit and not our own.
For a person who is committed to God, surrender is yielding, giving in (not giving up), dying to your own interest or the ‘me’ thing, which can include winning one more customer, seeing better revenues coming in for my business, hoping my church and family notice how good of a guy I am by my words, achieving a great success so you can get a better job, getting more recognition from the public, or whatever. What really matters is that we have to be committed to a complete surrender. Give your entire being to God and let Him control your life not you, others, or Satan. That is what it’s all about. You or others no longer control your steering wheel, but only hold on, listening for those special directions letting God empower you where He wants you to go. Whether you’re turning right or left, backing up, or going forward you learn to give Him control (your mind and body) completely. You don’t coast down the road like the rest of the world but you allow God to take your gear shift out of first into 5th and then overdrive takes over the pace of your race and the speed He wants for you. Speeding for Jesus is what life is about. But to win the race that’s set before us we must let Him be the driver and surrender the control of the wheel and gears and allow Him to set the pace.
God doesn’t want you to get caught up in your successes. He wants to get your attention and keep you unshakably committed to doing it all for His purpose, which, in the end, is for your benefit. Satan is alive and well, and will do anything he can to get you thinking and moving away from coaching for Jesus. He’s out there working overtime to mess you up, and he wants to block you from a continuous daily surrendering of your passions to your Father. God wants your undivided attention and 100 % of your effort. He’s not interested in coaches who need Him only for prayers to help us out of tight jams and then when we’re doing well we ignore Him. We cannot operate from biblical principles only occasionally. It’s all or nothing. Where are you positioning yourself in the game of life? No success comes from positioning ourselves in life without a full commitment to a daily friendship with Jesus.
He said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In this Christian walk of first surrendering and then serving, a partial commitment doesn’t cut it for impacting yourself and others for the Kingdom. You can’t do the planned life God has set before you on this old earth and serve God by your own plans. Give in and give up anything that is stopping you from surrendering to serve a living Savior. Remember the words you’ll hear from Him one day, “Well done faithful servant” and Your rewards for serving are waiting for you. Come on in.
All the best and Lord bless,
Paul Banta - President/Founder of GSM International
843.235.3762
