SURRENDER to JESUS and MAKE HIM THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE (every day)  In some Christian churches you can ‘get saved’ by walking down the aisle at the end of a service and declaring your allegiance (devotion) to Jesus.  Maybe you fill out a card with some personal information.  Then the pastor introduces you to the congregation and they vote you in on the spot and you’re saved. You’re a full member of the Body of Christ.  You’re going to heaven.  What more need be said?  Well . . .where’s the teaching and the understanding and the commitment?

In other churches you’re baptized into the church as an infant, then when you’re around 12 you go through confirmation, with the intention that you learn the basic principles of the faith and then you make a commitment to follow Jesus, with baptism by the clergy, and hopefully of the Holy Spirit.

Clearly either of these systems is dependent on concerted effort by the church community to teach the Bible, to demonstrate the fundamentals of the faith, to show ’em what it feels like to have a personal relationship with the Living God.  It requires all of us having a consistent commitment to Jesus and to our brothers and sisters in the Body.

Which brings us to the subject of this session: SURRENDER to JESUS and MAKE HIM THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE (every day). Like Jesus says in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would be My disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”  This is the starting place for fully surrendering to Jesus. To fully surrender takes time and focus on Jesus and developing your personal relationship with Him.  Time spent talking and listening to Him, every day.  Maybe study the Bible.  Maybe even run with people who actually HAVE a personal relationship with Him.

The question is, “Do you even want to be like Jesus?”  (Phil 2:5-8)  Another question might be, Do you want to be ²⁴“one with Jesus as Jesus is one with God?”  That’s what Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-26.  He also prayed that we ²⁴“may be with Jesus where He is” ²⁴ “that we may see Jesus’ glory”, and that ²⁶“the love with which God loved Jesus may be in us.” (STARTING RIGHT NOW!)  Do you want to experience a relationship like that with Jesus?  All you have to do is give up (surrender) your life (your self, your sinful nature), and let Jesus live His life in you.  You just have to keep surrendering and committing again every day.

We’ll save “Make Jesus the Lord of Your Life” for another session.