All of Me

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21, NASB)

"...and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:9-11, NASB)

Jesus wants all of me.  In my own strength and in my own way, I am woefully inadequate (in matter of fact, I am powerless) to do anything God would have me to do in thought, word, or deed.  Whether it is prayer, worship, relating to my wife or to a friend, ministry, forgiveness, eating sleeping…, whatever I may do, I need Christ Jesus to do it in me.  Everyday I wake up in the morning I am faced with a choice: Do I begin to tackle the myriad of tasks that await me in my career, at home, in ministry, in service, or do I spend time with the Lord to gain perspective, strength, courage, and direction to do His will?  The answer seems obvious, but how often I am deceived into thinking that somehow I can accomplish God’s will in my own strength! What a fallacy!! What pride!

I need God in every nook and cranny of my life.  Even in those things that seem so routine and mundane, they will fall flat with no power and efficacy if done without the presence of Almighty God.  Jesus wants all of me all of the time.  He is my strength.  He is my confidence.  He is my courage.  He is everything to me.  My prayer today is that all of that is realized in my experience.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NASB)