Verse of the Day - Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
~ Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)

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Complete abandonment to God . . . that what I read from David. A willingness to be laid bare before the One who sees and knows already, ready and willing to be challenged toward holiness, asking to be cleansed through testing and hard questions, desiring to be purged of all that resists righteousness through the Refiner's Fire.

How many of us can say, "Bring it on!" to God, huh? That takes guts, my friend. But hopefully a time comes in your life when you are sick to death of the sin and self stuff that has crept in and invaded your heart and mind. You are weary of the pattern of poor choices and their regretful consequences. You see and feel the sadness and hopelessness of living without accountability and connectedness to God. And so you say, Go ahead God. Do Your thing in me. I'm ready for an overhaul, 'cuz I just can't stand myself anymore.

I believe that when you experience the divine joy of submitting completely to God, you will desire that way of living over the old self-driven way. This verse, then, becomes a daily pattern of turning over the keys, allowing God to continue to challenge and test and convict for your good and the good of the relationship.

This complete abandonment is really the highest form of worship. You become the living sacrifice, as it says in Romans 12, laid on the altar before God, putting to death the sin that needs slaying; yet, He allows us to walk off the altar and live, as Isaac did in Genesis 22, because God provides the offering to be slain in our place -- Jesus Christ. The mystery is that God refines our souls by cutting out the impurities of sin, and we live on through the power and grace of His Son...

So, are you up to the challenge? Are you ready to tell God, "Bring it on..."?

"Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them." ~ Oswald Chambers


Bring it on
Let the lightning flash,
Let the thunder roll,
Let the storm winds blow
Bring it onLet the trouble come,
Let the hard rain fall,
Let it make me strong
Bring it on

Now, I don't want to sound like some hero
'Cause it's God alone that my hope is in
But I'm not gonna run from the very things
That would drive me closer to Him
So bring it on...
~ from Bring it On, by Steven Curtis Chapman

Love,
Joelene