Category Archives: Surrender

Child Raising, Child Rearing, Completeness, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Following, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mentoring, Parenting, Submission, Surrender

FILLED

ACTS 4:8

“Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people,’”

When you read this verse you see that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. That sounds great doesn’t it? We know he received the Spirit at Pentecost. But what you can’t see from the English translation is this. That word “filled” in the original Greek means filled to capacity. That changes things.

Peter was not only full, he was totally full. He couldn’t hold any more Spirit. That’s what gave him the ability to preach like he does in the following verses. He was simply overflowing with the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit speaking through him. He was just the vessel God decided to use to preach the Gospel to those listening.

APPLICATION

This is a great verse to share with your kids. Ask them if they have ever been full of joy or happiness. Ask them how they acted when that happened. They may get excited telling you and even have to act it out. That’s great. Ask them what they think would have happened if they had tried to hold all that joy and happiness in. They will probably say they would have burst.

That’s how it is with the Spirit of God inside of us. Explain to your children that when they are surrendered to the Spirit and allowing Him to live through them, they will be filled to overflowing with the Spirit. The Spirit will bubble over on people. Their countenance will better. Their speech will be sweeter. They will be bursting with the Spirit.

How is your Spirit gauge? Are you running on empty? The Spirit never leaves us as believers, but we can sure push Him down and not allow Him to show Himself in our lives. Our flesh is strong and can win out much of the time if we don’t surrender our lives to the Spirit every minute of every day.

Lord, I surrender myself to Your Spirit within me today. I won’t to overflow with the love of Jesus which is exhibited through the Spirit You have given me.

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REPENT

Acts 2:37-38

“37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ 38Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

I have always believed that at the end of every sermon, you must give the people an opportunity to respond and make a decision for Christ. Why else preach the Gospel? So many people don’t know how to respond. They don’t understand what the next step is. But I have never had a congregation ask me what to do. Peter had the door slung wide open.

And what did Peter do? He didn’t tell them to be good and try hard to please God. He didn’t say to give more to the church. He didn’t say work hard so God will forgive you. No! He said, “Repent!” Simple enough, right? The baptism follows the repentance. It isn’t necessary for the forgiveness. And when you repent, the Holy Spirit is sent your way.

APPLICATION

This is such an important lesson for our children. They need to know that there is nothing they can do to earn forgiveness. The only action required is repentance, to turn from going in one direction and begin to go in another direction. To turn from doing wrong to follow Jesus. Nothing else is required. Repent.

Have your children repented of their sins? Remember, they are going to understand this at their level. They are not going to comprehend all the truths of Scripture yet. I bet you don’t understand them all either, do you? Children repent to the best of their ability, with the limitations of their intellect. The Spirit will do the rest.

Have you repented? Are you a child of the King? If you have repented, then His Spirit lives within you. He is promised to you. You need to follow that up with baptism as a sign of obedience, but your confession of sin in the act of repentance is all that is required. Do you believe that? Then live like it.

I am so thankful You drew me to repentance. I still remember the day You spoke my name and called me to Yourself. Thank You for forgiving me and sending Your Spirit to live within me.

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LOOKING AT OTHERS

JOHN 21:20-23

“20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ 21 So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’ 23 Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?’”

Why do we compare ourselves to others? You can always find someone “lower” than you and someone “above” you. All we need to be concerned about is ourselves as far as the Lord is concerned. But Peter looks behind him and sees John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and couldn’t help himself. He had to ask Jesus about John.

Jesus was not one to pass on a teachable moment. I love the middle part of His answer. He said, “What is that to you?” Peter, don’t worry about John. Worry about yourself. You follow Me. I’ll take care of John. We would do well to heed Jesus’ words ourselves, right? Our first concern needs to be our own personal relationship with Him.

APPLICATION

Our children are prone to worry about how someone else is being treated. They want to make sure no one is treated better than them. I remember my brother-in-law telling me how he solved the last piece of pie debate with his two kids. One would divide the piece, but the other one got to choose which piece they wanted. Boy, that was the most evenly cut piece of pie in history, lol.

But the lesson for our kids from this verse is the same lesson Jesus gave Peter. They need to concentrate on their own faith walk first. Don’t worry if others seem to be getting “more” from God. He is not a respecter of persons. He is the most fair judge  there is. No one can persuade Him to treat them more fairly than they should be. Remind your children of that.

Do you look at others and envy them? Do you feel like they are being treated better than you? This verse is for you then. If our heart is surrendered to Jesus, we won’t care if others “get more.” In fact, we will be thrilled at the blessings they are receiving. God will take care of you.

Lord, I thank You that You are fair and just. I also thank You that You are always focusing me on my walk with You, not someone else’s walk.

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NOT AN OPTION

1 PETER 2:17

“Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

Peter gives us four commands in this short verse. And he pretty much covers everyone in these commands. Honor all people means to place value on someone according to how precious you consider them. He says to do the same toward the king. That’s convicting, isn’t it? How precious do you consider everyone? How precious do you hold your “king”, which for us would be our President or leaders? Hmmm!

Then Peter says to love the brotherhood which refers to all believers. Be honest, aren’t there some believers you don’t like? Peter doesn’t leave room for that. He uses the Greek word for love agapao which means always doing what the Lord prefers. Ouch! And finally, he says to fear God. Now, he doesn’t mean to be scared of God, but rather to be in awe of, to show reverence toward.

APPLICATION

Teaching our children to honor, love and fear is no small task. Some of these they won’t get until they are older, but we must start when they are young. But all these are best taught by example. We have to model these behaviors. Therein lies the rub, eh? Children learn the easiest by observing us, we have to love, honor and fear.

Ask your children what they think it means to love, honor and fear. You just might learn something. Often their answers are convicting to we adults. They speak with such innocence (at least most of the time) that it drives the point home. You know Jesus often used children to illustrate faith. Don’t you think if He used them, we could learn something from them?

How are you loving, honoring and fearing? Well Carl, I’m doing pretty good with the fearing thing, but that loving thing is tough. I know it is, but all four of these are in the imperative which means they are commands, not suggestions. If you are aren’t doing so good on one or more of these, you need to ask the Lord to show you how. He will you know.

Honor, love and fear need to be more a part of my daily behaviors. I need to spend more time loving and less time judging. I need to depend on You for my ability to do these.

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QUITE A CATCH

JOHN 21:11

“Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.”

From catching nothing the night before to an overwhelming catch! One hundred fifty three, not fifty two or fifty four! This catch was so big with large fish that the disciples counted the fish. John records the number of fish. Why? Because this was an unusually large catch. This miraculous catch of fish convinced them all that it was indeed the Master on the shore.

And Jesus tells them in verse ten to bring some of the fish to Him so they can eat, even though He already had some fish on the fire. Why? Matthew Henry’s commentary says He wanted them to eat some of their labor. He wanted them to taste of the miracle that He had just performed. Aren’t we all supposed to bring to the Master anything He has done through us? Peter ran to do that.

APPLICATION

How many fish can your children catch? When we have our Family Fishing Rodeos at our church, some of the children are especially good at catching fish. Some catch stringers full of nice fish to take home and eat. Catching fish is always fun.

Ask your children what they have done if Jesus had helped them “land the big one.” Would they bring the fish to Him or run off to show their friends? This lesson isn’t about the fish. It’s about bringing to Jesus whatever He chooses to do through us. He deserves all the praise, not us. Anything we do on our own is temporal. Everything He does through us is eternal.

What has the Lord done through you lately? Did you give Him praise for using you? I have known some people who love getting attention for things they do in the church. They love the praise others pour on them. Don’t be like that. If you are being used right now by the Lord, make sure everyone knows who it is who deserves the praise.

I thank You for using me, Father. Let all the praise be given to You. I am only the net You use to gather the fish.

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DO RIGHT

1 PETER 2:15

“For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

People are always wanting to know God’s will. Well, right here Peter tells you part of it. He says it is “by doing right.” That Greek word is only used 10 times in the New Testament, 4 of them in 1 Peter (2:15, 20; 3:6, 17). Peter must have had some experience in “doing right.” Or maybe he learned by doing the opposite.

But I really like what doing right does. It silences the ignorance of foolish men. Isn’t that great? By doing right you totally keep foolish people quiet. They can’t speak evil against you. They can’t point fingers at you in accusation. Why? Because you are doing what is right according to God’s will. That’s awesome!

APPLICATION

What a great verse for kids. If we can teach them to do what is right according to God’s will, they don’t have to worry about what people say about them. They are innocent in God’s eyes, and that’s all that matters.

Doing what is right isn’t always easy, is it? Sometimes we just want to lash out at someone who has been on our case. But we have to remember that we are representing the Lord in all our actions and words. His desire is for us to do His will, even if it requires us to suffer. Suffering for doing what is right may not feel good, but it pleases the Lord.

Are you doing the right thing? Are you making your decisions according to what pleases the Lord? I challenge you to today to do that and watch the critics get silenced. The Lord is our defense. If you can trust Him with your eternity, don’t you think you can trust Him with your today? Do the right thing!

I do want to do what is right, Lord. Help me to choose that each day and not fall into the traps my enemies have for me. I will choose right today.

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WE ARE AT WAR

1 PETER 2:11

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” 

I never served in the military. I came close after completing seminary. I looked into going into the Air Force as a Chaplain. That didn’t happen though, so I missed out on serving our country in uniform. I applaud all those who have served and are serving in every branch.

But I have been in a battle my entire life. It’s the one Peter refers to here in today’s verse. He calls us aliens and strangers because this world is not our home. We are just passing through. And as we pass through it, we are battling the flesh. Only through submission to Christ can we defeat these “fleshly lusts” which seek to pull us down.

APPLICATION

Your children may have a better idea of war since they have never known a day when our country, the United States of

America, was not at war. We’ve been fighting somewhere since 2001. Talk about that with your children. Ask them what they understand about this war we are fighting.

But then talk about today’s verse. Ask them if they realize they are in a daily battle. They are soldiers fighting against the lure of the flesh. Now, you may have to explain that to them. Things like lying, cheating, being mean to their siblings or disobeying you are all good examples of “fleshly lusts.”

How are you fighting? Are you armed with the sword of truth? You cannot fight this battle alone. You do not have the strength or wisdom. Only the power of the cross can defend you and guide you. Let Jesus be your Commander in Chief and lead you into battle today.

Lord, You are my Commander in Chief. I will follow You. Help me defeat the lusts of my flesh by surrendering to You daily.

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YES, WE BELIEVE

JOHN 6:66-69

“66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ 68 Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’” 

Some of Jesus’ early followers fell away when His teachings became difficult. As long as He was healing people and performing miracles, all was cool. But when Jesus demanded commitment, they returned to their former way of life. If they had only known.

Peter and the other chosen disciples had been allowed to sit under Jesus and believed. Peter said, “You have words of eternal life.” They believed in Him. Was their faith perfect? Of course not. We see them struggle, but they believed to the best of their ability.

APPLICATION

I have written about this in the past, but it bears repeating. Parents, when your child comes to you professing Christ as Savior, don’t try to find holes in their testimony. Embrace their decision and work to disciple them into full understanding. We are often so quick to doubt their salvation because of their age.

Do they see themselves as a sinner in need of a Savior? Do they believe Jesus died on a cross and shed His pure, divine blood for them? Do they believed He was buried, rose again the third day and ascended to heaven? If they believe that and confess it with their little tongue, the Word says they are saved. Who are you to doubt that?

Your job as parent is to make them into a disciplemaker by investing your time in them. They must be taught how to study the Word. They must be taught how to pray. They must be taught how to live the Christ-life daily. That’s your job – not doubting their salvation. They have said as Peter said, “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Believe it!

Lord, I believe. Help me encourage all of those who come forth proclaiming their belief. Help me make them into disciplemakers, too.

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UNWORTHY

LUKE 5:8

“But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” 

You should really read verses 1-11 to get the full context of this verse. Luke is the only Gospel that shows Peter this way. He was truly humbled in the presence of Jesus. He saw how he did not rise to the level he thought Jesus wanted. But Jesus saw Peter not as he was but as he would be.

Isn’t that true for us? Unfortunately, many of us think we have arrived. We compare ourselves to other Christians and say Well, I’m better than them. Our only place of comparison should be Jesus. Jesus chose us and drew us to Himself because He saw what we would be in Him. We are, in fact, just like Peter on that boat – unworthy but chosen.

APPLICATION

One of the toughest things to help our children work through is that feeling of unworthiness. That’s why it is so important for us to do all we can to build them up. But we all feel unworthy when we are faced with the reality of our sins. When we come to Christ our sins are exposed. However, Christ doesn’t focus on our sins. He focuses on our salvation.

The next time your child comes to you feeling low and unworthy, read them this story. Let them see how Jesus turned Peter’s feelings of unworthiness into a calling to follow Him. That’s the message your children need to hear. God is calling them and has a plan for their lives.

Are you feeling unworthy of your salvation? Satan loves for you to feel that way. Don’t give him that victory. Your victory is in Christ. Jesus makes you worthy. It doesn’t matter how you feel or what Satan says. YOU ARE WORTHY!!!

I praise You, Lord, for declaring me worthy. I will not allow Satan to bring me down. I will rest in You.

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IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD…

1 PETER 1:16

“because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”

Leviticus 11:45 says, “45 ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Peter is quoting the Old Testament in today’s verse. Whom do you think he had in mind? He had spent over three years with the holiest man alive, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. He had experienced holy as we never will this side of eternity.

Being holy isn’t just about getting saved and attending church. Being holy means we lay aside all that was before and take up all that God is. We live in His righteousness. We love our enemies. We put others before ourselves. We dwell in His presence daily. We “put on” God each day as we encounter others. Holiness has nothing to do with our abilities. It has everything to do with surrender.

APPLICATION

Have your children define “holy”. I love to hear children give definitions of spiritual things. Most of the time they are right on with simple, undefiled definitions. They don’t over think it. They just share what comes out first, unfiltered. Make a list of their definitions.

Now go to this verse and also look at the passage in Leviticus. Ask them what they think Peter was saying and more especially what God was saying. Explain to them the biblical definition too. They need to know that but put it in layman’s terms. Don’t spiritualize it. We tend to do that too much, don’t we? Remember, holiness is not about us. It’s all about Him.

How are you doing living holy? Are you trying too hard? Surrender. Let God’s holiness pour out of you through the power of the Holy Spirit. After all, His name is HOLY Spirit. I think He knows a little bit about being holy. If you will let Him have complete control, holiness will ooze out of you.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! I want to live holy and dwell in Your Holiness. Thank You for filling with Your Holy Spirit.

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