Absolute Surrender Blogs Blog

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Are You Afraid to Trust God’s Will?

By Adrian Rogers

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”  1 John 4:17-19
I read a young man’s poem about his commitment to Christ. He was devoted and steadfast in His words, ready to follow the Great Commission.
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Can You See Beyond Human Perspective?

By Adrian Rogers

“But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 2:15-16
Do you know a good prayer for when you begin to study the Word of God? It is Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” When you pray that prayer and are filled with the Holy Spirit, a part of you will know that “never knew before” and a part of you will see that “never saw before.”
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Who Do You Trust?

By Adrian Rogers

“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. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”  Proverbs 3:5-8

Why is it difficult for us to trust the Lord with all our hearts? It’s hard to trust someone you don’t know. I mean, if a perfect stranger were to walk up to you today and say, “Will you do something for me?” What’s your first question?
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How Does God Lead You?

By Adrian Rogers

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” 
Matthew 7:7-8
One night when I was down in Orlando, Florida, I tried to sleep, but I had a rock for a pillow. That is saying a lot because I am a sound sleeper.
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Are You Giving Your All to God?

By Adrian Rogers

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”  Luke 16:10
When I played football, I was always grateful if I had the ball and a man was down the field in front of me, throwing blocks and moving those obstacles. Do you know God does some downfield blocking for you?
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What Prayer Isn’t About

By Greg Laurie on Mar 16, 2024
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
—Matthew 6:33
Prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind. In many cases, prayer is about changing our minds.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10 NLT).
Not that we could, but why would we even try to talk God into something that is not His will? Prayer is getting God’s will on earth, not our will in Heaven. Prayer is not pulling God our way; it is pulling us His way.
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Let’s Tell the Truth

By Greg Laurie
“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.”
—Ephesians 4:25
In 1991, James Patterson and Peter Kim published a book called The Day America Told the Truth. In their book, they came to the following conclusion: “Americans lie. They lie more than we had ever thought possible. . . . But they told us the truth about how much they lie.”
The authors went on to point out that Americans lie to just about everyone, and the better we know someone, the more likely we are to have told them a serious lie.
Lying is widespread in our culture today. We don’t even admit it when we lie. In fact, when public figures tell bald-faced lies and get caught, they claim they misspoke. No one wants to come out and say what is true anymore.
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How Do You Pursue Knowing God?

By Adrian Rogers

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:13-14
A natural man is one who’s only had one birth. He is born into the natural world, and he is bound by the material world. He can never know the things of the Spirit of God until he has a second birth. Look at verse 14, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.”
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It’s Our Turn Now

By Rob Pue, Publisher – Wisconsin Christian News
 
Please take a minute and think with me: what is it in this world that you value most highly?  Many people might say it’s their husband or wife, their children or grandchildren…their loved ones.
Others might immediately come up with a different answer related to their possessions.  In my high school years, I had a friend who had a saying that he used to say often:  “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  He was referring to his love for snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles, cars, boats, trucks, things like that.
Still others have their “most prized possessions,” which might include family heirlooms, handed down from their ancestors.  I, myself, am grateful to have some of the tools my grandfather used in his business as an architect and builder, when he emigrated here from Ireland.  I also have some of his old hymnals, one of his Bibles, very worn and filled with underlined Scriptures and personal notes.  And, I have a clock he used to own, with a plaque on it stating that it was given to him by his co-workers, on the occasion of his wedding, September 21st, 1910.  These things are special to me, as are the precious photo albums we have of our children growing up and all the adventures we had as young parents.  These are irreplaceable items.
For most people, the most significant (and valuable) property one can own is their home, followed by their car.  These are our most costly investments.  Our home offers us a roof over our heads, a place that is “ours,” a place to come back to after a long day of work.  Our “castle.”  Our car allows us to travel and get from place to place safely — whether it be to work and back or to visit loved ones or take a vacation.
Many young people today place great value on their electronics — their cell phones, iPads, laptops and video games.  If they were forced to go without them for even a day, I dare say many would become highly anxious and agitated, to say the least.
Someone once asked the question, “what would you do if you woke up tomorrow with only those things left that you thanked God for today?”  Indeed, we have much to be thankful for in this nation.  Even in the midst of unprecedented tyranny, we still have things pretty good here…for now.  But what if everything you owned was suddenly gone?  Or worse yet — taken from you, violently?
I grew up on a farm.  We didn’t have cattle, but rather, we baled hay.  As a child, my summers were spent working around the land, working in the huge garden we had, mowing an expansive lawn, but mostly, baling hay.  Nearly every day in the summer, my parents, brothers and I were baling hay.  In case you’ve never done it, it’s very hard work.
We filled the hay mow all the way to the highest rafters, and then my Dad would sell the hay to dealers in the winter months.  It supplemented his income and kept our family going.  I didn’t appreciate it at the time, to say the least, but as a kid, I definitely learned to work hard.
My Dad was also a private pilot and had his own airplane on our property.  Usually on Sunday afternoons, if the weather was good, we would take an airplane ride.  The pastor of our church was also a pilot and he and his family would usually spend their Sunday afternoons at our house and we’d all fly together.  Other private pilots from the area knew of our airstrip and would sometimes surprise us with a visit on a weekday evening (if we weren’t baling hay!) or on one of those weekends.
Speaking of that airstrip, it certainly wasn’t a paved airstrip.  It had been carefully flattened and smoothed out and then planted with grass.  And it was my responsibility to mow it every week…a mile long and about 50’ wide.  I’m thankful I had a riding lawnmower to do it!
One thing you immediately notice when you’re up in an airplane is how small everything looks.  Houses become tiny.  Entire farms become tiny.  Cars and trucks become even tinier.  If you can see them, the people look like ants.  Now, sometimes I travel by air for my work, and those airports are in larger cities.  After going to the big city and encountering the tall buildings, the multi-lane expressways with very heavy traffic, and the vast expanse of the airport itself, we take off in the plane.  I always like to look out the window.
What I see are many peoples’ most prized possessions — their homes.  They all look so small, so insignificant.  Rows and rows of tiny homes, with tiny backyards, all laid out on a grid of streets.  And sometimes when I’m in warmer places, those tiny backyards also include luxurious swimming pools.  People put a lot of energy, money and work into their homes and yards.  They plant flowers and gardens, the wealthy ones maintain their pools (or have someone do it for them).  In their garages and driveways are their vehicles.  Some very expensive and fancy, some not so much.
You see, from an aerial point of view, everything seems so very small.  Like I said, so insignificant.  Sometimes we can lose sight of just how insignificant our possessions are, even those things we value most highly.  Imagine then, what God must see when He looks down from the heavens upon the people of the earth.  How tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
But we are not “small” or “insignificant” to God.  He has a personal interest in all His creation, and especially us, His image-bearers.  His Son, Jesus, was persecuted, suffered and died a cruel death on a Roman cross, nails driven through His hands and feet, blood dripping from His head from the crown of thorns His killers placed upon Him.  Their cruelty knew no bounds.  Even His Father, God, seemed to deny Him that awful day.  But He suffered willingly.  He died, was buried and rose again — to rescue us from our hopeless, sinful state — IF we will do the most significant thing in our lives, and turn to Him in humble repentance and faith.
No, we’re not small and insignificant to God.  We who are His, are His most prized possessions, indeed, His own children.  Of course, not everyone is God’s child.  There are those He calls “children of the devil.”  Until a person seeks Christ, repents, and places his faith and trust in the only Savior of the world, that person is hopelessly lost.  For them, this world is the only “heaven” they will ever know.  For those who are saved by the mercy and grace of God, this world is the only “hell” we will ever know.
Jesus said, “whoever desires to be the greatest in the kingdom of God must be the servant of all.”  He demonstrated that many times in His service to the lost and perishing.  Some found their salvation after He served them.  Others did not.  But at the Last Supper, He formally demonstrated what it means to be a servant, as He took on the role of the lowest of the low, washing the feet of His disciples.  And He told us all to do likewise.
There are many in the so-called “Christian” world today who have a very high opinion of themselves.  Many pastors rake in huge salaries and enjoy equally huge packages of “benefits.”  These are men (and women) who are able to draw large crowds with their charismatic speaking.  Yet, the majority of them have no idea what it means to be a servant.  Incidentally, the definition of “minister” is “servant.”  Look it up.  Shepherds are to lay down their lives for their sheep, they’re to protect, guide, serve and lead their sheep.  It saddens me that so many do not… and even worse, that they deliberately and knowingly mislead the sheep that have been entrusted to them, with soft words and outright lies, rather than speaking the truth in love, boldly.
It’s been said that most people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death.  Here are so-called “pastors” who are NOT afraid of public speaking, in fact, they’re very good at it.  Yet they ARE afraid of the opinions of men, afraid of speaking things that may upset someone, and so they do not speak the most essential truths.  The “wokeness” of our pop culture has long since invaded the pulpits of our nation, and our nation now suffers because of it.
Charles Finney warned us nearly two centuries ago: “If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the Church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.”
Indeed, the pastors of our nation — if truly called by God — have so much power, yet they refuse to use it and instead, leave the sheep wandering, lost and confused.  Instead of being salt and light in a dark and dying world, they’ve become sugar and cotton candy, because it’s just so much more popular.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there was never any Godly man in all of Scripture who was ever well liked and popular among the people, yet that’s what our pastors want most of all today — to be well-liked, popular and non-controversial.  In other words, lukewarm.
These pretend ministers are not ministers at all, but rather hirelings.  In Ezekiel 34, we read, “Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.’”
And John 10 tells us, “He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.”
Folks, we have a crisis in our land, and I believe it would not be so if not for the hirelings that lead most of our churches today.  Great deception has fallen on the people of our nation and the world, and the Christian churches remain mostly silent and irrelevant.  The world has abandoned God because there are so few courageous preachers willing to speak the whole counsel of God, warn the wicked and snatch the perishing from the flames.  Nothing turns my stomach more than a cowardly “pastor.”
It’s because of the lack of spiritual leadership that so many have turned to their possessions, their luxuries, and their toys for comfort.  Hear the words of Matthew 6, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Friends, I’m afraid the “professional” Christians, the pastors and religious leaders have become a lost cause now.  And thus, the point of this message.  It’s our turn now.  It’s time for the least of us, it’s time for God’s remnant people, His chosen ones, those who are true humble servants, saved by grace, to step up and take their position as courageous shepherds.  God uses the “little people.”  He uses the ones who are “insignificant” in this world, to turn the world upside down for His kingdom.  It’s time we stop “playing church,” rise up and BE the Church in this world that needs Godly leadership so desperately.  Your possessions, regardless of how dear and precious they are to you, will mean nothing at all in eternity.  God values your soul.  You should too.  “Only one life, ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
 
© 2024 Rob Pue
WISCONSIN CHRISTIAN NEWS
225780 Rib Mountain Dr. # 229 • Wausau, WI 54401
(715) 486-8066
Wisconsin Christian News
 
   Audio CDs and transcripts of this message are available when you call me at Wisconsin Christian News, (715) 486-8066. Or email Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com. Ask for message number 421.

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The Child Who Knew His Destiny (Luke 2:39-52)

By Donald Whitchard
Deuteronomy 6:1-10, Leviticus 20:9, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 2:38-52
 
Summary: The only glimpse we get into the childhood of the Lord Jesus was when He was twelve and went with His family to Jerusalem for Passover.  It was at this time when He knew that He was now to go about doing “His Father’s business.”
 
“So, when they had performed all things according to the Law of the LORD, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. The Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. Jospeh and His mother did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So, when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking Him.
Now, so it was, that after three days, they found Him in the Temple, sitting amid teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers So, when they saw Him, they were amazed, and His mother said to Him, ‘ Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father, and I have sought You anxiously.’ He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart, and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:39-52, NKJV).
In the Sovereign will of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote about an incident in the life of Jesus that dealt with His upbringing.  At the age of twelve, Jesus was fully aware of Who He was and what He had to accomplish in the coming years where He would be ministering and teaching to fulfill the mission of redemption for our sins, planned before the foundation of the world (Isaiah 53:1-12; Ephesians 1:3-12).  Luke makes it clear that Jesus was as much human as He was Divine.  He looked like any other Jewish child.  He lived a life like everyone else did, except without the curse of sin upon Him.  As He grew, He learned the skill of carpentry from Joseph, going with Him to job sites, working on a variety of projects.  He probably helped His mother with fixing meals for the family.  He played with His half-brothers and sisters, laughed at harmless pranks and jokes, played games with His friends, attended the local synagogue with His family every Sabbath, learned to read and write in His native language of Aramaic, and learned to speak Greek, Hebrew, and Latin for purposes of business and conversations as the occasion called for it.
He read and memorized Scripture, learned about the history of Israel from Joseph and the local rabbis, and at times encountered Roman soldiers patrolling the region.  He did not, however, possess the disdain for them that His peers had towards them, seeing them as the enemies of God and Israel.  Luke tells us that the grace of God was on Jesus as He grew up.  He developed a special, personal, and unique relationship with His heavenly Father during this time.  He merited favor with God and was under His Divine protection, all the while remaining obedient to His earthly parents Mary and Joseph.  This episode in the life of Jesus is singled out because of the significance of His age and the expected responsibilities that came with it.  Jesus had reached the age where He was to assume the duties of a “Son of the Law.”
He would be expected to have learned a trade, and when the time came for Him to have a family, He would also undertake the responsibility of teaching His children the laws of God written down by Moses in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:1-10).  In ancient times, the concept of being a “teenager” was unknown.  Responsibilities were placed upon boys who had reached the age of twelve and were seen as men under the Law of Moses.  It was not unusual for young men to be married by the time they reached eighteen, and for young women by the age of fourteen or older.  There were no excuses for immaturity, indecisiveness, or avoiding expected duties.  Laziness or any act of disobedience towards these societal expectations resulted in disciplinary action from the elders of the town (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Proverbs 20:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).  Once a year, all Jewish families went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, bringing with them a lamb for sacrifice, a symbol for the remission of their sins.
The Temple was the only place where these sacrifices could take place, and were under the supervision of the High Priest, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees.  Posted within the courts of the Temple were vendors who would exchange the regular currency of Greek drachmas or Roman denarii for the “acceptable” currency of shekels for the Temple offering.  If a family did not bring a lamb of their own for sacrifice, then those shekels could be used to purchase an animal from vendors for a “nominal fee” and to pay the required Temple tax for its upkeep (Matthew 17:24-28).  All of this was nothing more than a money-making corrupt racket that Jesus would grow to hate and condemn during the time of His ministry (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-22).
When the time came for the Passover celebration to end, Luke writes that Jesus stayed behind in the Temple while His parents thought that He was with the other young people in the caravan that was heading back to Nazareth, Mary and Joseph headed back to Jerusalem to look for their missing boy, whom they believed was lost and frightened among the crowds and dangerous streets.  After some time, it occurred to them that if Jesus was preparing for His initiation into manhood (what contemporary Judaism refers to as a “Bar Mitzvah”), then the obvious place to find Him would have been in the courts of the Temple.  They found Him sitting among the teachers of the Law and Prophets, listening to, and asking them questions, demonstrating His keen knowledge of the Scriptures, but also desiring to hear the interpretation of God’s Word from the elders as well.  Not only did Jesus know that He was being ushered into manhood and the responsibilities that came with it, but also aware of Who He was in terms of both His Divine and human nature.
He was aware of His mission that would begin at the appointed time.  He knew that God was His Father, but He also loved, respected, honored, and obeyed the parental authority of Mary and Joseph.  The time would come when His parents knew that He was not only their child who had been entrusted to them by the LORD, but that He would be their Lord and Savior as well.  From this time forward, Jesus continued to grow in Spirit and knowledge, earning favor with both God and humanity.  He would live a normal life as a carpenter in Nazareth until, in God’s perfect timing, His mission would commence when His cousin John undertook the role of the One crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the LORD as declared in the Scriptures.
 
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