JUNE 15

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Ps 84:5-7

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,  whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,  they make it a spring;

The rain also covers it with pools.  they go from strength to strength;

Each one appears before God in Zion.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Psalm 4:5

“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.”

Psalm 5:11

“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.”

Psalm 9:10

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psalm 16:1

“Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.”

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We are reading a book by Corrie ten Boom, with daily recordings she made to broadcast over Trans World Radio.  Her Dutch family  sheltered Jews during the Nazi invasion of Holland.  As a result, she, her sister Betsy and their father were taken to concentration camps in Germany. The Lord did many miracles to allow both Corrie and Betsy to bring the Gospel to the other women in their camp.   Their father was murdered in an extermination camp and Betsy was sick, dying just two weeks before Corrie and the rest were freed.  After her freedom, Corrie traveled the world, telling everyone even in remote areas, about salvation through Christ, besides radio and writing many books.  This one is entitled, “Not I, but Christ.”

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SURRENDER

What is surrender, full surrender?  There was a time when this was a great problem for me.  Do you also know that feeling?  I did not understand what it meant or what to do.  Then I read a booklet by Andrew Murray, which really helped me.

First of all, I had to understand what surrender meant.  I read 1 Kings 20:1-4.  Benhadad of Syria, with thirty-two allied countries, conquered Samaria, Israel’s capital.   He sent a message to King Ahab and said:  “Your silver and gold is mine:  Your wives and your children are mine.”  Ahab answered:  “I am yours and all that I have.”

I knew, through experience, such complete surrender.  Years ago when I was a prisoner of Adolf Hitler and his followers, I had to surrender my will completely.  During the time I was a prisoner, I could not decide anything  myself.  I just had to obey.

Ahab called Benhadad “My lord, O king”,   and completely surrendered “all that I have.”

But we have to surrender to Someone else, to God, who is Love.  He is not a dictator;  He is a loving father.  There is no limit to what He will do for us, no end to His blessings, if we surrender to Him.  Surrender is trusting God.  This is altogether different from Ahab’s surrender to Benhadad, but it is the surrender God asks from us.  He gives a deep rest after we surrender.

When I was a child I loved to sing:  “Safe in the arms of Jesus.”   The Lord Jesus did not only die on the cross for your and my sins, He lives still and He says” “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20).

Just put your hand into His hand.  Then you are safe, even when you cross life’s wild torrent of water on a bridge without any rail.

Jesus is Victor, and you can safely surrender to Him.

God expects full surrender from us.  Let us for a moment look at all God made.  Then we shall see something that can help us to understand this – the sun, stars, flowers, and trees are completely in His power.

We ourselves possess things we can only use if we have them completely in our hands.  The pen with which I write cannot stay partly in my pocket.  Can God use us if He only possesses part of us?

God is life and love and blessing and power and immeasurable beauty, and He is glad to be united with His children —  His children who are willing to abide in Him.  We in Him and He in us.

As you will understand, I am speaking of those who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  The first thing that has to happen to us is what Jesus called being “born again.”  If you know you are a sinner (as we all are—the Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ~ There is none good ~ no, not one.”) and you ask Jesus to  forgive your sins and to come into your heart, He causes the miracle to happen and you are reborn as a child of God.

This is very important, but we must not forget that birth is only a beginning.  After that we must grow and, time and again, there is the need of a renewed, complete surrender.  A lack of complete surrender on our side is a hindrance to God’s blessings and use of us, to make us a channel of living water.

Solomon’s temple was completely dedicated to God, not just a part of it.  Each one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, if we’re born again.  We must stop compromising, in order that God can do a blessed work through us.  It is no longer what WE can do, but what GOD can do.  Often we will experience that, when we are weak, God is strong.

If you are 100 percent His, you are 100 percent for God’s account.  An electric subway train is constantly  connected with electric current.  A bus has to be filled with diesel fuel again and again.  If we only give part of ourselves to the Lord in order that He can use us, we are like the bus.  The power is continually used up, and we must be filled again.  We must be like the electric trains, continually connected with the current.  Then we shall go from strength to strength.  If we are united with the Lord, we are in His constant care.

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O Lord, how much You can do with a man, a  woman, a child, who has completely surrendered to You!  Thank You that You claim me for the full 100 percent.  Will You keep me from dangers and fear and show me the right path, and especially hold me, if I want to take the wrong way?  Thank You, Lord.  Amen.

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