Surrender: A devotional on desperation, humility, and giving over

 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! — Acts 28:31 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, These final words of Acts, spoken of the Apostle Paul, describe my goal. Lord, I desire to be a man who proclaims the kingdom of God. The word proclamation is derived from the Latin word meaning "shout out." Its definition is "a clear declaration of something." Proclaiming the kingdom of God really needs to take place outside the walls of the church for those who have never heard the Gospel. So Lord, open doors and lead me by your Spirit to proclaim the kingdom of God. Lord, I desire to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. With every message I preach, I pray that I can point to you. May I ensure each sermon clearly articulates who you are and the way to you and to follow you. I'm uninterested in teaching that tickles ears or majors in the minors. I want to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,...

 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ — Acts 22:16 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When Ananias met Paul, he prayed for him to receive his sight and then declared what Paul was called to do. Ananias said, "The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard." (v 14). And then Ananias said, "And now what are you waiting for?"  Once we know our calling and have that clarity, there is always an immediate next step. For Paul, it was to get up, be baptized and wash his sins away by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. There was no waiting around. He knew what he needed to do. For me, I have greater clarity today than ever before, yet at times I still allow myself to languish and wait around, as if there's going to be more clarity if I sit and wait. But if...

 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. — Acts 20:24 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Paul considered his life worth nothing to him. Not because he believed his life held no value, but because he knew the purpose of his life was to give it away for the Gospel. He wasn't holding onto something that wasn't his—his life belonged to you, Lord Jesus. His only aim was to finish the race set before him and complete the task you had given him—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. He knew his purpose, his call, and his goal. His focus was singular, specific, and significant. Lord, how often do I want to cling to this life and the comfort I seek rather than give it away for you? What would my life be like if I had this kind of clarity knowing my life's purpose? How would I navigate hardship, adversity, a...

 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” — Acts 18:9-10 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, What a relief this must have been to Paul. To hear directly from you, at night through a vision, your reassurance and exhortation to not be afraid, to keep on speaking, to not be silent, and that you are with him. Moreover, that no one is going to attack Paul because you have many people in this city. Lord, your presence is always enough to quell my fears. "For I am with you" is the truth I rely on when I am shaking in my boots wondering if I can obey the call you have placed on my life. "For I am with you" is the reminder I need when the Holy Spirit nudges me to speak but I can't find the words to break the silence. "For I am with you" is the stake in the ground when I face opposition and a...

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. — Acts 17:26 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In the Apostle Paul's message in the meeting of the Areopagus, he is proclaiming who God is. He has found an altar with the inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD and he is set on proclaiming who this God is. In the middle of his message, he makes this statement, " and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." All the nations that you have made have their appointed times in history. You have marked that out since the beginning. You know when a nation will rise. You know when a nation will fall. You know the boundaries you have set for them. How those boundaries will expand or how they will contract. And if you know this for a nation, I suspect you know the appointed times in history for each person within that nation. Th...

 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. — Acts 16:34 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I sometimes forget that introducing people to you for the first time isn't only about their eternal life, it's also about their abundant life here and now. This jailer was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God. His joy was immediate and it was full. What's also striking is how his whole household also had come to believe in God. One person's decision to follow you resulted in an entire household coming to faith. Lord, that's what I pray to see. One person's salvation leading to an entire household following you. I have seen this. I can think of several families in our congregation where that is their story. One man chooses to come back to God and his wife, his kids, his in-laws, and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law all come to faith...

 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. — Acts 14:21-22 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Acts 14:22 is a reminder that we are not promised a life of ease once we choose to follow you. Your words in John 16:33 say the same, "In this world  you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Hardships, trials, persecution, and adversity are all part of the discipleship process. We don't get to skip those. Following you is no guarantee of a painfree life void of discomfort and challenge. On the contrary, Paul and Barnabas preached that we must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. Many hardships. Not exactly the encouraging word I wanted today. I'd prefer something along the lines of, "Y...

 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. — Acts 7:4-5 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The Father made a promise to Abraham that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though Abraham had no child, had no inheritance, and didn't even own enough land to stand on. Lord, this is a reminder that when you start making promises to me, promises that don't make any sense, promises that I can't foresee how they could ever come about, you keep them and their impossibility really isn't an issue for you! There are promises you have made to me and though I have seen little to suggest they are coming to pass, though I really can't imagine how ...

 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. — Acts 6:7 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Years ago, when I first stepped into ministry, my pastor and mentor at the time said to me, "Build your team and you'll build your ministry." I've held onto that wisdom ever since. That's what the apostles were doing then they selected seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom. People who were being overlooked were now being ministered to. Ministry to neglected people flourished without any decline in the ministry of the Word and prayer. The result was the Word of God spread, the number of disciples increased rapidly, and a large number of priests—the religious elite who thought they had God figured out—they became obedient to the faith. Lord, I humbly ask for your wisdom and direction to see those who are full of the Spirit and wisdom and just waiting to be asked, to be...

 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” — Acts 5:18-20 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The apostles were persecuted, arrested, and jailed for preaching in the name of Jesus. But God was so committed to His purpose of seeing the good news of Jesus spread, that He sent an angel of the Lord to open the doors of the jail and bring the apostles out. This wouldn't be the only time this would happen! The angel directed the apostles to "Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people all about this new life." The obstacles and hindrances of man are no match for the Lord when He has a purpose He wants to fulfill. That is true for me. Gracious Lord, you have called me to tell the people of my community all about this new life that is available in you. Whatever obsta...

 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The rulers and elders in Jerusalem heard Peter's speech and made an observation and had a realization. Their observation was that Peter and John had courage. Here was a man who had been so afraid and fearful for his life that he denied knowing Jesus three times. Now, on multiple occasions, he is boldly confessing his faith in you and exhorting his listeners to find salvation in your name. They saw their courage. Their realization was that these were unschooled and ordinary men who had been with Jesus. Their courage and their boldness was a direct result of being with Jesus and being filled with his Spirit, despite being unschooled and quite ordinary. Ordinary people do extraordinary things when they've been with Jesus. Gracious Lord, I want to be one ...

 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? — Acts 3:11-12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Living a surrendered life and choosing to walk in humility each day means to never take credit for what God has done and it means to never take the blame for what God has not done. His power and godliness is what made this man walk. Verse 16 clearly states where the credit belongs. "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see." Gracious Lord, I am asking for miracles and believing by faith that you will do some tremendous things in my day. But I am going to choose well in ad...

 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” — Acts 1:4-5 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I wonder if there is any greater evidence that God exists than to see a person baptized with the Holy Spirit. When someone has a genuine encounter with the Spirit, is baptized and begins speaking in a spiritual language they do not understand, and sense your presence with them, their eyes widen and they know, "This is real." This isn't made up, pretend, or fantasy. There is a God, He is who He says He is, and He is inhabiting me right now! It is a stunning thing to witness. But as stunning as that moment is, what is even more compelling is the transformation that takes place within that person. Now, things that were confusing become clear. Fear that...