What if someone wants to give up themselves and give their life completely to Jesus?

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on February 21, 2015 at 6:51pm

Surrender is difficult, and it is lifelong, in my POV, and this would account for the varying degrees of faith among the born again, too, as some are surrendering more than others are in the process of progressive sanctification, too. The Parable of the Sower (or, the Four Soils) found in Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-8, fits in with what Spurgeon describes, and then we see that the enemy is really fighting very strongly against anyone coming to a saving faith. I'm no longer of the view that all people have saving faith but just choose to put it in other things instead of in God. Faith comes by hearing, but there are many obstacles that interfere with the hearing, and thus, it seems to be more and more apparent to me that the kind of faith needed to believe and receive Christ as Savior and Lord doesn't come to all hearers for various reasons. Then the question of intellect and the abilities to reason arise, and that's more of what I wanted to discuss in my discussion -- how far does the intellect and the ability to reason take us in this whole process, and how important are they, if they are important? Faith is a gift and gifts are not deserved or earned. Yet, one must be in the position to receive a gift from a giver. It's a lot to think about :)

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Permalink Reply by Carla on March 2, 2015 at 2:10pm

Amanda:

your comment really stood out for me:  "how far does the intellect and the ability to reason take us in this whole process, and how important are they, if they are important?"

When speaking with atheists, this is the thing that many of them use as an excuse for not believing.  They boast about their superior intellect and reasoning abilities.  In several verses of the bible we are told to love God 'with all our mind'

Matthew 22:37

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Mark 12:30

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Luke 10:27

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

I would confidently say that the intellect and the ability to reason are absolutely important.

It is with my intellect and reason that I decide such things like it is true that sin (the original separation from God) has caused all the problems in the world.  That's clear to me and it makes sense that because of original sin things like sickness, congenital deformities, pride, war, hatred, selfishness etc... exist.

It is also with my intellect that I see that animals, trees, flowers, insects etc...all create each it's own after their own kind.  A pear tree cannot grow a pineapple, and a rose bush will not grow a daisy.  A bear cannot give birth to a giraffe, and a fish will not lay eggs to birth a chick. 

When I get into discussions with people who do not know the Lord, I hold on to the things that I know are true...these things are reasonable and logical.  I remember the book of Romans 1:18-32.  I remember 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 

It makes sense to me, and personally causes me to take the bible seriously when I look at how the world is, and the bible says it completely accurately. 

CS Lewis says it so well here:

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

So since the bible tells us these things, and the world shows us these same things, it is reasonable to me that these things are true.  It may benefit some people to start here if they are questioning certain things.

After all, it's unreasonable to say that creation does not have a Creator.  It has to, just as a building has to have a builder.

Blessings, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on March 2, 2015 at 2:29pm

Not only that, but many believe that we are able to receive Jesus by volition -- "the act of willing or choosing; the act of forming a purpose; as, to choose on one's own volition" before we are born again.

http://biblehub.com/topical/v/volition.htm

Permalink Reply by Carla on March 2, 2015 at 2:52pm

At best, to me it's a mystery...the process of salvation.  I know it's true because once I was hateful towards God and the things of God, and now I am not. 

Permalink Reply by Amanda on March 5, 2015 at 9:42am

Ironically, while I know it's impossible to know everything there is to know about God and His ways, and, indeed, God has secrets known to no one as it states in Deuteronomy 29:29. Yet, the mystery surrounding God pulls me into only wanting to know God more and more.

Permalink Reply by Carla on March 5, 2015 at 10:39am

I understand the irony... While we will never know all of His secrets, things that are far too beyond us to understand, we still want to know Him...to trust in His goodness and His character no matter what comes our way.

Permalink Reply by Amanda on March 7, 2015 at 11:39am

What Charles Spurgeon writes here sort of goes along with what you've said.

Ye must be born again.
John 3:7

Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are born again, for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it-the being born again, is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been born again, your acknowledgment will be, O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, thou art my spiritual Parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day `dead in trespasses and sins.' My heavenly life is wholly derived from thee, to thee I ascribe it. `My life is hid with Christ in God.' It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me. May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope. Sent from the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon.

Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on December 3, 2014 at 6:13am

Janie, A few more things,

I believe John 3:16 is the most important verse in the Bible. It is God's life preserver being offered to a drowning world........a world drowning in its own sin. We all must grab that ring of life.....and hang on - as God pulls us to safety.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Alright, the key word here is "believe". How do we do this?

I shared the following illustration of this word on AAG some time back. For some it will be review. For others it's new. It's the best explanation God has given me.

Our neighbors have a swimming pool. We can look out our window and see the pool. We can "believe" that it's there. This is an " intellectual belief". There is no effort or action required on our part.

The demons have this kind of "belief" concerning Jesus in James 2:19, You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!"(NKJV) ........An "intellectual" belief......no commitment.

Now, if we go over to the pool, and jump in, and experience it for the purpose if was constructed........we can enjoy it, be refreshed, exercise, etc. ........because we are physically and mentally taking part in it. This is a "spiritual  belief".

Believe, ( Greek-pisteuo) which means to trust, to put one's faith and confidence in, and to live a life reflecting this belief.

Janie, that is your prescription.

Think of being on a passenger jet with a loved youngster. You all are told by the attendant that, if necessary, oxygen masks will drop down for emergency breathing. You trust in the availability  and life-giving breathing fact of O2. You are also told, to put your mask on BEFORE putting on the child's mask..........

What?? Because this is the best and safest way in an emergency situation. You are more mature and experienced.

Janie, there is an emergency going on right now in your setting. You are going to have to put on the life-giving gift of Jesus in your life before you can show, and help your loved ones.

Grace and Peace.

     

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Permalink Reply by Mary O on December 3, 2014 at 12:20pm

Hi Ribbon, God bless you!

I saw your blog too. Does each family member have their own Bible? When I give a Bible as a gift, I write a personal message inside the front cover or the first available page you can write on. Maybe include a bookmark and put it in a page you want them to see. Make a pretty mark beside the verse on the page you bookmarked. Ask them if they know how to break-in a Bible. (Break-in) That's all I could think of to describe it. Maybe you could come up with a better term. What you do is find the middle of the Bible. It's usually in Psalms. You turn each page one at a time and slowly (lovingly) press each page down. It's something you can do with the person who got the Bible. If a few years from now the Bible looks the same, you know they didn't do too much with it. If it looks a little worn, praise the Lord! That means they are reading and using it. A Bible seminar a while back, this youngster's Bible was coming apart. One of the seminar teachers noticed that. The next meeting, he gave her a new Bible. She was embarrassed, but he said she must have studied that Bible a lot.

I came to appreciate that because when I finished the first part of my classes, my Bible fell apart. I had a new Bible reserved anyway, I don't know why I was kicking myself. I had studied with it so much that it was in pieces. I remembered that seminar long ago.

You can reach someone and make an impression when you give them a Bible, and you don't want it to be dust-covered.

Love,

Mary

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on December 3, 2014 at 2:32pm

I want to ask God to give me a desire to follow Him but I think this sudden want to is because of bad things going on and a crushed heart and knowing that lives may be torn apart from each other.

While it is true that many only come to God in the midst of a storm to ask for God to get them out of the storm, and when He does they will put Him on the shelf (so to speak) until the next storm. Here is what I suggest based on what you wrote. Do not simply want to ask God to give you the desire ... go ahead and ask Him with the understanding that you will not be satisfied until He does (which it appears He is already at work because you are still seeking), you will not give up until you have the assurance of God that He is yours and you are His.

Will the Holy Spirit draw a person if He is asked?

I believe He is already doing that because you are still here and still seeking. If God was not at work none of this would matter. If God was not at work you would simply accept the religionist view of simply saying the prayer to be good to go, but you are not satisfied with that ... which is a good thing ... you want to know Him!

I know that repentance is something you do.

True, but you cannot repent unto salvation, until He shows us our error (sinfulness) and need for repenting, and assurance that he is willing to forgive and to save. Only His Word and Spirit woring in harmony can give that clarity and assurance.

What if you can never comprehend and receive spiritual biblical knowledge?

Depends on what one means by this. To some it is all about the intellectual journey, but the knowledge of God requires the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Many can read a verse and get the principle, but in the pages of Scripture we are seeking more than just the principle (though important) we are seeking the Living Savior. There is a hymn that says "Beyond the sacred page, Lord, I seek Thee."

Still praying for you.

LT

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on December 3, 2014 at 5:56pm

To some it is all about the intellectual journey, but the knowledge of God requires the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Many can read a verse and get the principle, but in the pages of Scripture we are seeking more than just the principle (though important) we are seeking the Living Savior. There is a hymn that says "Beyond the sacred page, Lord, I seek Thee."

I like this. The words "the illumination of the Holy Spirit" remind me of "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened."

Many frown upon the use of the intellect and upon emotions, as if those are bad things, yet, in my view, all of it is important -- the mind, the soul, the strength, and the heart, and it is about God taking us beyond these things (the emotions and the intellect) into what Ephesians 1:18 calls as "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" (ESV). 

In a devotional I was reading by Dr. Michael Youssef, he breaks it down this way:

In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus spoke about loving the Lord with all your mind: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." Why is the mind so important?

The mind is the seat of the intellect and determination. The mind is the seat of the will and commitment. The mind is the battlefield. When you win the battle in the mind, you have won the hardest part of the battle.

If you want to grow in intimacy with Jesus, it has to be a continuous, decisive act of the mind and will. If you leave loving Jesus up to your feelings, moods, or circumstances, which change and fluctuate, your love will waver. It has to be the priority of your thinking, your decision making, and of all of your dreams and longings. It must be the priority of your time, your energy, and even your money.

When Jesus is the axle around whom all the spokes of your priorities revolve, when He is the very center of your life, all other priorities will fall into place as everything begins to revolve around Him. When Jesus is at the center of the priority wheel, we will give Him the first fruit of the day—not the rotten, leftover fruit of our time and energy. We will make decisions with His will in mind rather than our own.

What do your thoughts revolve around? The center of your thinking—whether Christ, self, or something else—is the object of your worship. Only as you prioritize His desires over your own will you truly begin to love Jesus with all your mind.

As you become more dependent on Christ, the process of submitting your thoughts to Him will become more and more natural and joy-filled. As you partake in this act of worship, aligning your thoughts with His, He will be able to take you to new depths of intimacy with Him.

Prayer: Lord, as I seek to love You more with my mind, help me to rely on Your strength rather than my own. Only You can renew my mind. May my thoughts and decisions be centered around You. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

http://www.ltw.org/web/guest/read/my-devotional/-/blogs/with-all-yo...

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Permalink Reply by thewatchman on December 5, 2014 at 11:18am

"I want to ask God to give me a desire to follow Him but I think this sudden want to is because of bad things going on and a crushed heart and knowing that lives may be torn apart from each other.  I then feel guilty because of thinking this may be the only reason  want to seek the Lord."

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Luke 15.  

Psalm 51: 17 - The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

This is long, but I pray that it fill you with encouragement in your desire to follow God.  

https://bible.org/seriespage/49-when-god-brings-you-your-knees-gene...

I love you and am praying for you and your family.  You have no idea how much reading this post has filled my heart with joy & excitement for you.  :)

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