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

 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” — Mark 4:26-29 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In this Parable of the Growing Seed, I see myself twice. First, as the man scattering seed on the ground. What stands out to me is that the Kingdom of God is like scattering seed. Why isn't it like the gardening I do where I carefully plant seeds one by one in neat rows precisely one inch below the surface? It's scattering. Scattering sounds messy. Scattering seems to lack precision. Scattering doesn't appear effective. I think the answer lies in the next part. Because I also see myself in the soil. The soil has to be right to receive the...

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”  — Mark 2:21-22 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In your day, pouring new wine into old wineskins was commonly understood to be a big mistake. Liquids were stored in vessels from sewn together animal skins. When wine was poured in, the fermentation process would release gasses and cause the wineskin to expand. A new wineskin was pliable and able to expand with the wine. But as wineskins aged over time, often left out in the hot desert sun, they would become dry and brittle. Now, no longer able to contain new wine, they would burst under the pressure of new wine expanding within them. Leather tanners had a process of restoring old wineskins to make them new a...

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ — Matthew 25:1-6 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your parable of the ten virgins reminds me to stay awake, stay alert, and to "keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour" of the bridegroom's return (vs. 13). Five virgins were wise and kept their lamps full and their wicks trimmed. The five foolish virgins ran out of oil and as they went to buy more, they missed the bridegroom's arrival. What's interesting is that all of them became drowsy and fell asleep—both the wise and the foolish...

 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." — Matthew 23:13 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your stern rebuke to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees was stinging! They didn't merely make it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven, they actively kept people out. They were shutting the door in people's faces. And they themselves weren't even entering the door. They kept the door shut and kept hungry and hurting people shut out. Lord, how many in our community are trying the doors to your kingdom and finding them locked? Who is getting shut out of your kingdom because we didn't hold the door open behind us? It brings to mind the common courtesy of holding the door open for the person entering behind you. For many of us, we live life with a lack of consideration for the people following after...

  Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone — Matthew 14:22-23 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your cousin John had been beheaded. News of his horrific death reached you and when it did, you "withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place" (vs. 13). But the crowds found you and as your boat landed, you immediately began ministering to them. When evening approached, the disciples came encouraging you to send them away to get food. In short, the miraculous feeding of 5000 came next. And then finally, after putting the disciples into a boat and sending them to the other side of the lake, you were able to get alone to pray, to finally grieve, and to be with the Father. You must have been exhausted. Rarely do the needs of the flock take a backseat to our own grief and need...

 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” — Matthew 9:35-38 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When you saw the crowds in your community, you saw what I see today. You saw people who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. When I read verse 36 in multiple translations, I get a vivid and disturbing picture of these people. They are faint, scattered, distressed, dispirited, bewildered, dejected, troubled, tossed aside, miserable, harried, confused, cast away, worried, weary, worn-out, downcast, discouraged, aimless, abandoned, hurting, and heart-broken....

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” — Matthew 4:4 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your reply to the tempter is a significant reminder to me today. I am not sustained by just food for my body. I am sustained by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. These words were spoken by Moses to the nation of Israel reminding them that God had led them for forty years in the desert, humbling them and causing them to hunger. God fed them with manna—supernatural bread from Heaven—to teach them that "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deut. 8:3). When I am consistently reading, meditating upon, and journaling your Word, I am stronger, healthier, steadier, and satisfied. When I prioritize this time in the morning with you, I am confident my day will be incomparably better than if I had gone without. Time in your Word is essential ...