Choose your Master

Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life. That declaration is not one of arrogance, superiority, or lack of self-awareness. Despite being a Believer for 40 years and a 'professional Christian' in my vocation as a Pastor, making that statement true is a daily decision! I don't always get it right when it comes to discerning what His will is. I make mistakes. Honestly, sometimes I am an outright rebel deciding to do what I want to do despite knowing better. Some days, serving Jesus honorably is a a real struggle as Ego fights for control. Yes, there are times when the Spirit is near, the Word is clear. But, I know this... there is a choice to make: today, tomorrow, and each day until I am made perfect when I am called into Eternity. It comes down to this - Is Jesus the Lord and Master of all of my life; or is He just my Friend, whose advice I seek when things are hard, or when I sense I can't control my circumstances?

Let's be clear about something. We cannot save ourselves from judgment. We cannot, apart from the intervention of the Holy Spirit, will ourselves to please God. But, He has given me the privilege of choosing to live 'in the Spirit' or serving Self. The Word teaches us: "Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living." (Romans 6:16, NLT)

How do we choose our Master?

There is Faith. Without faith, the Bible says, we cannot please God! Doing what Jesus wants done runs against our natural desires and wisdom. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to love the unlovely, to give to those who cannot reciprocate, to live for Heaven instead of Today! So, we pray, "Lord, increase my faith!"

There is Surrender. Paul uses some brutal language to describe this. He says, "I die daily!" and "I am crucified with Christ!" Half measures just will not do. You cannot really know what it means to serve the Lord if you hold onto yourself, any more than you can really enjoy all of the intimacies of marriage if you insist on maintaining an entirely separate emotional life from your spouse!

There is Declaration. "Well, Jerry, I'm not really sure if I should go public about being a Christian." Yes, you should, for many of the same reasons that I wear a wedding band signifying that I am Bev's husband. That little gold ring is a powerful symbol of commitment. The Bible teaches us about baptism as a way of making a public statement of our identification with Christ. It also teaches us about 'confessing that Christ is Lord.' Yes, there needs to be a lot of humility. Friends and family need to know that we have given ownership of our lives to Jesus, and they need to hear us admit to being a work in progress.

There is the Process. Once we have accepted Christ as Lord and invited Him to take charge, it will be amazing and sometimes disconcerting to discover how many issues will arise over time. Battles rage! Gradually the Spirit helps us to extend the rule of God into different areas of our lives - relationships, finances, security, sex - to name a few.

Choose your Master!
What's the benefit?
In Christ, we learn to love and we learn to live in love.
In obedience, we find deeper intimacy with God.
In surrender, we enjoy the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
By faith, we are blessed with wisdom beyond ourselves.
We discover the potential of being the person that God designed us to be.

Here's a word from the Word. Take it with you today. "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace....
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:5-6, 12-16, NLT)

All my tomorrows,
all my past,
Jesus is Lord of all.
I've quit my struggles,
Contentment at last,
Jesus is Lord of all.
All of my conflicts,
All my thoughts,
Jesus is Lord of all.

King of kings,
Lord of lords,
Jesus is Lord of all;
All my possessions
And all my life,
Jesus is Lord of all.

Jesus Is Lord of All
© 1973 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management
CCLI License No. 810055