CURRENT RADIO SERIES Breaking Free   CURRENT TV SERIES Unchained

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. --Romans 8:14 There’s a principle you need to know if you want to find and live in the will of God. It’s the principle of surrender. You and I should be so overwhelmed and moved by what God has done for us, starting with Christ and the cross and the resurrection, that we are willing to surrender our lives to him. We should say to the Lord, “Here I am, I’ll do whatever you want, Lord.”  I was a teenager when I felt the Lord calling me to preach. I went to my minister and told him that I believed God was calling me to preach. I said, “I just want to know what God wants me to do. If he’s not calling me, he’d better tell me!” And that minister said, “Jack, you go home, you live your life at Eastern Hills High School, on your baseball team, and in your classroom. Live for Christ every day. Win your friends to Christ, so that when he does call you and shows you what he wants you to do, you’ll be ready.” That was good advice. And it’s the advice I’m giving you today. Surrender completely to him. Say this little prayer, “Lord, You have all of me. I want to do what you want me to do, not what I want to do.” Then follow wherever God leads you, and do what he says. This is how you live in the will of God.   WE SHOULD SAY TO THE LORD, “HERE I AM, I’LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, LORD.”

Godly Determination

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.”
2 Kings 13:18–19

Some years ago the Wall Street Journal ran this story in a humor column. A man sitting on his porch noticed his teenage son leaving the house carrying a guitar, a pick, and a shovel. Somewhat taken aback, he asked, “What are you doing, Son?” The young man replied, “My girlfriend asked me to come over and serenade her.” His father said, “That’s a nice thing to do. What are the pick and shovel for?” “Oh,” the teen said, “She wanted me to sing to her from underneath her window, and her family lives in the basement!”
When we want to do what is right, not as a convenience or a whim, but as a commitment, we do not worry about the obstacles. We don’t care if others refuse to join in. We don’t mind if the results are slow in coming. We just keep on until we have reached the goal and achieved what God has called us to do. Many people start out well, but only do part of the task before becoming discouraged or distracted.
The only way to accomplish great things for God is to stay at the work. No matter how long it takes or how hard it is, if we are doing what is right, we should remain faithful. Most great achievements are not the result of a few spectacular moments of public effort, but instead come from patient and diligent work that continued on and on in the face of obstacles and opposition.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

God is looking for people who are fully committed and will not quit until the job is done.