The Overwhelming Importance of Christians COMPLETELY Surrendering Their Will to God’s Divine Will!

18 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luke 22:42.        Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

One more Sunday morning amongst the many in our lives, my fellow believers, (smile) meaning that we should make the pilgrimage to the Lord’s sanctuary to worship, give praise and thanks and receive divine blessings to enable us to handle another week in this evil and ungodly world! Now, though  it’s a rather chilly Sunday, that should be offset by the bright rays of sunshine filtering through the cloud cover. 

And for today’s song of worship, we’ll sing an old favourite written around 1896 by the American Hymnwriter Judson W. Van De Venter (1855-1939), most aptly titled ‘All to Jesus I Surrender.’ And how did the song come about? According to Reynolds (Companion to the Baptist Hymnal), the author apparently stated it was written “in memory of the time when, after a long struggle, I had surrendered and dedicated my life to active Christian service.” And that’s what ALL believers are called to do! 

But more on that later. Right now, let’s raise our voices in sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartwarming, heartfelt, mid-tempo version of the song. Singing: ‘All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give; I will ever LOVE and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.) All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain: I surrender all..) All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. 

(Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy LOVE and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His name! (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all… All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…’ 

That was a great rendition friends! And isn’t surrendering our all to Jesus the most momentous moment of our lives? It most certainly is!  And I like what this commentary says about the hymn. ‘The song “I Surrender” is a beautiful reminder of the power of surrendering to God and trusting in Him. When we surrender to God, He will provide us with strength, courage, mercy, and grace. We can trust Him to take care of us and provide for us. May we all remember to surrender to God and trust in Him.’ And that’s exactly what the Christian faith and life are all about; surrendering ourselves to Jesus! 

Now, before we get into the heart of the matter, (smile) it might be best to define what it means to surrender in biblical terms. This commentary explains it thus: ‘Biblically, surrender means fully yielding your own will, plans, and desires to God’s will, submitting to His authority, and trusting His sovereignty, which is seen not as weakness but as a path to spiritual freedom, true purpose, and intimacy with Him, often involving obedience, humility, and letting go of self-centered control. It’s about putting a “white flag” up to God, trusting He can handle your anxieties and lead you better than you can yourself, aligning your life with His divine viewpoint.’ 

And that’s indeed a tough row to hoe in this turbulent and ungodly society, but it’s what our discipleship calls for. As Jesus so succinctly puts it: (smile) ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now that’s what we are called to do daily, not when we feel like it. And it’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when Jesus breaks it down thus: ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren (brothers), and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26-27) 

Oh, we know that Jesus doesn’t truly mean we should hate our families, but as the scholars point out: ‘In comparison to one’s devotion to Christ, one’s family ties must be secondary. This does not set aside Jesus’ other teachings to LOVE one’s enemies, to honour father and mother, and the like. It does highlight though that absolute loyalty to Christ is paramount, not the either-or that the verse sets up and so many societies adhere to.’ 

And the easiest way to begin living for Christ is by doing like Bruh Paul advocates to the Roman church: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) The first thing we must do is change our way of thinking from that of the world to that of Jesus. And we know that’s not easy either, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do it. 

And it won’t be right to close without a couple examples of biblical surrender. The first is when Jesus called the brothers Peter and Andrew, two fishermen in the process of casting their nets. He simply said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him’ (Matt. 4:18-20) Imagine that nuh! They left their livelihood just like that to follow an itinerant preacher. And it’s the same thing James and John did when He called them soon after. They were mending their nets with their father on their ship. The Bible tells us: ‘They immediately left the ship and their father and followed him’ (Matt. 4:21-22) 

Wow! Not many of us would do that on such short notice. But that’s exactly what discipleship calls for! And possibly the greatest surrender in human form might be Bruh Paul himself; an abuser and killer of the brethren when known as Saul, but after Jesus knocked him off his horse and blinded him on the way to Damascus to persecute more Christians, he became as docile as a lamb, and went quietly into Jesus’ service, with his name changed to Paul, to become one of the most hardworking and zealous apostles of them all. And you can find Bruh Paul’s story in Acts 9. 

And the best example of surrendering is obviously Jesus’ surrender to His Father’s will, to come to earth and die to save a bunch of ungrateful sinners. As He says in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion, when His soul was in much torment at the dreadful situation he faced: ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.’ (Luke 22:42) 

Now that’s how we all ought to be when the Lord calls on us. So please, let’s ponder our individual responses to Jesus today, and see where we can make improvements in our attitude of surrender. Much LOVE!

…there’s such amazing rest and peace…with no fear or anxiety…when we surrender our all to God… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 December 2021 Luke 14:27.

05 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luke 14:27.     And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Here we are together friends on another Sunday, just thrilled to be in each other’s company, whether physically in the Lord’s Sanctuary, or by technological means. The important thing is that we are together for worship, prayer and thanksgiving. And I recently read an interesting statement where a lady asked a pastor why we go to church, and he replied that we go to church because someone might need us there. That’s good. It’s also true. And the corollary to that is also true, we too might need someone there. 

Now if you have doubts about why we gather on the Lord’s day, then listen to these moving words from Hebrews, written to the displaced Christian Jews who were suffering serious persecution all over the Roman Empire. The author writes: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up) unto LOVE and unto good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10:23-25) 

And the scholars explain: ‘10:25. Not forsaking the assembling: This admonition involves far more than an erratic attendance. It involves the entire worship of Christ and is an outward indication of an inner condition. The assembling of God’s people provides opportunity for reciprocal encouragement, strengthening, and the stirring up that can be gained from one another (cf. Col. 3:12-16) It consists of participation in worship and fellowship. The church is a body interacting (1 Cor. 12:14-17); it is not merely a dispensary of spiritual food and medicine.’ 

Wow! Yes friends, we don’t go to church just to be spiritually revived, but also to give of ourselves and to interact with others in praise and thanksgiving to our wonderful God. And now that we have a better understanding of why the saints of Christ ought to assemble, let’s get to some good old fashioned hymn singing, offering up praises to our heavenly King and Father. No doubt some of you are surprised that we didn’t begin as usual with the singing, but I happened upon those verses of Hebrews, or was led to them, who knows, and thought it a good idea to refresh our minds on the subject. 

And today’s hymn is a great favourite, one written around 1896, by the American hymnwriter, Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) and most appropriately titled ‘All to Jesus I Surrender.’ So, in a soulful, harmonious, scintillating, mid-tempo riddim, let’s offer up our sacrifices of praise from deep in our sincere hearts. 

‘All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give; I will ever LOVE and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.) All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain: I surrender all..) All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. (Refrain: I surrender all…) 

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy LOVE and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His name! (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all… All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…’ 

Ah mih people, that was a wonderful rendition, but the problem now is how many of us are truly ALL surrendered to Jesus? We sing it like we mean it, but in actual life do we give Him our ALL, do we let every aspect of lives fall under His omnipotent dominion, or do we hold back some parts that we still feel the need to control? Remember Jesus sees our hearts and explores the real motives that lie hidden there, so it doesn’t make any sense to sing one thing and deep down inside do something else. We might fool our fellow believer, but we won’t fool Jesus. 

And remember Jesus said He requires all of us, or nothing at all. Please don’t forget what He told the rich young ruler who enquired about eternal life, about keeping the commandments. And when the ruler said he had been doing that all his life, ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt (want to) be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.’ (Matt. 19:21) 

Obviously, the man didn’t want to do that back then, and so do a lot of us today. We want to follow Jesus, but we don’t want to give up our earthly possessions to do it. However, Jesus requires us to sacrifice our will for His own. As Luke recounts of Jesus in his epistle. ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren (brothers), and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26-27) 

Those are certainly tough words my brethren. But they are surmountable ones. Hear how the scholars explain them. ‘14:26. In comparison to one’s devotion to Christ, one’s family ties must be secondary. This does not set aside Jesus’ other teachings to LOVE one’s enemies, to honour father and mother, and the like. It does highlight that absolute loyalty to Christ is paramount, even though in many societies, including the one in which Jesus taught, as well as many today, following Him, involves precisely the either-or that this verse sets up.’ 

Thankfully though, in our current society, most believers do not have to give up all their physical belongings to follow Christ, but He does need our spiritual wherewithal, which can call for different kinds of sacrifices on His behalf. And that’s the main point in being a follower of Christ…that we subordinate our will to His, and are willing to give up whatever it takes, to make whatever sacrifice that’s necessary to do His will. 

Now that’s something for us to ponder on today. Considering all that we’ve said, are we fully surrendered to Christ? Only the individual believer can truly answer that. But let’s hope that we can all answer truthfully the question with a resounding ‘YES! Much LOVE!

…surrendering all to Jesus…is small potatoes…compared to what He surrendered for us…His sinless life… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8