GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD
Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life
Issue # 249 September 03, 2001
An Oxymoron

Good morning. I’m writing this morning from atop a small box in the basement of the new place. The movers come tomorrow but the phones have already been switched to the new place.

Thanks to those of you who wrote and shared testimonies of how prayer towards adversaries impacted your life in response to yesterday’s Gleanings. It is always encouraging to hear how God is at work in your lives.

For those who aren’t aware, Gleanings has a prayer team. We pray for anyone who shares their concerns and joys with us. All concerns are kept strictly confidential, even the team only receives enough information to prepare them to pray on your behalf. I don’t share your full identity with anyone.

On to this morning’s Gleanings.

Is Jesus the Lord of your life?

If you are a Christian, you probably answered this question with a yes. But .... are you obedient to the things He has called you to do?

To say “No Lord” is an oxymoron. If He is truly Lord, then we must say yes. To decline is to deny His lordship and place yourself ahead of Him as Lord and God.

I’m not saying that we should become totally legalistic and sell ourselves into bondage to a religious spirit. Christ is a God of grace and we are forgiven.

However, for our relationship with Him to grow deeper, we need to spend time with Him and we need to be faithful to what we are called to do.

Some will say “I don’t know what God wants me to do with my life. How can I obey His call?”

If we obey what He has already revealed in His Word, we will find ourselves drawn closer and hear His specific will more clearly.

His general will for our lives can be summed up in the words of Jesus.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 NIV

How are you doing on this one?

Let me ask again, is Jesus your Lord?

Until next time, may the answer be a resounding YES. May you truly be able to say the words of a contemporary praise chorus “I say Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes, Lord. Amen.”

God bless.