Journal for Christ: Recognize and surrender

From my Journal entry of:

February 9/11, 2016

Worship: Rooftops by Jesus Culture

Here I am before You, falling in love and seeking Your truth
Knowing that Your perfect grace has brought me to this place
Because of You I freely live, my life to You, oh God, I give
So I stand before You, God
I lift my voice cause You set me free

So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am Yours

All the good You've done for me, I lift up my hands for all to see
You're the only one who brings me to my knees
To share this love across the earth, the beauty of Your holy worth
So I kneel before You, God
I lift my hands cause You set me free

So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am Yours
All that I am, I place into Your loving hands
And I am Yours, I am Yours

Here I am, I stand, with arms wide open
To the One, the Son, the Everlasting God, the Everlasting God

So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am Yours
All that I am, I place into Your loving hands
And I am Yours, I am Yours

Read more: Jesus Culture - Rooftops Lyrics | MetroLyrics

https://youtu.be/4-gLdIO5G-Q

Witness:

Heavenly Father You sit on Your throne

Yet came down and made me Your own

Through Jesus

Without You and deep in sin, I was lost

You sent Your Son who paid the cost

His name is Jesus

Father, You forgave me on account of Him

And by His cross and blood, I enter in

Justified in Jesus

And Father daily I am filled with Joy

When by Your Spirit His name I employ

My Savior Jesus

But then one day when time comes to an end

War and hate will cease and all that offends

The holy Jesus

Every knee will bow and tongue afford

And confess that name that He is LORD

The name of Jesus

Come now sinner while there is still time

Repent and believe and make Him thine

The Savior Jesus

(A poem I wrote on February 9^th when I woke up in the afternoon. The song, poem began as I went to put the dog outside and ended after I showered and sat down to write the poem out. As I wrote I wanted to make sure the Gospel was included in it. I hope that is apparent when you read it)

WORD:

Ps 24:7-10 NIV

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty —

he is the King of glory.

Selah

Ps 24:7-10

7 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

8 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty;

the LORD, invincible in battle.

9 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

10 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD of Heaven's Armies—

he is the King of glory.

Interlude

As you can see, I skipped a day. Yesterday, even as today, my body cried out for rest. I was dealing with an issue with my wife and sought to calm her thoughts and redirect them to a more positive outlook on things. Today I went back and visited a journal entry for August 30^th and read of “surrender”. Funny, but the song “I Surrender” by Hillsong is playing.

Here I am
Down on my knees again
Surrendering all
Surrendering all

Find me here
Lord as You draw me near
Desperate for You
Desperate for You

I surrender

Drench my soul
As mercy and grace unfold
I hunger and thirst
I hunger and thirst

With arms stretched wide
I know You hear my cry
Speak to me now
Speak to me now

I surrender
I surrender

I want to know You more
I want to know You more
I surrender
I surrender

I want to know You more
I want to know You more

Like a rushing wind
Jesus breathe within
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me

Like a mighty storm
Stir within my soul
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me

I surrender
I surrender

Songwriters
MATT CROCKER

Lord, help me to daily surrender but give me rest so I don’t have to fight so much with surrendering. Even now my body cries out for a little rest, but how can I feed on Your word and find strength to surrender if all I do is want to sleep?

When I left off last time I said I might share more on the phrase “King of Glory”. I am not sure now where I was going with this. As I noted that same day, the phrase occurs only here. The phrase “Lord of Glory” appears in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 2:8 which says:

None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor 2:8 NIV

The early church saw this as a psalm referring to Christ’s triumphal entry into heaven at His ascension. Because the phrase is singular to this passage, we could say the question “who is the King of Glory” was a legitimate question since they never heard this title before.

Justin, an early Christian apologist, in his work titled DIALOGUE says that it was because of our Lord’s humble estate in human form that this question was asked:

Chapter 36 - He Proves that Christ is Called Lord of Hosts

Lift up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.' Accordingly, it is shown that Solomon is not the Lord of hosts; but when our Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the rulers in heaven, under appointment of God, are commanded to open the gates of heaven, that He who is King of glory may enter in, and having ascended, may sit on the right hand of the Father until He make the enemies His footstool, as has been made manifest by another Psalm. For when the rulers of heaven saw Him of uncomely and dishonoured appearance, and inglorious, not recognizing Him, they inquired, 'Who is this King of glory? 'And the Holy Spirit, either from the person of His Father, or from His own person, answers them, 'The Lord of hosts, He is this King of glory.' For every one will confess that not one of those who presided over the gates of the temple at Jerusalem would venture to say concerning Solomon, though he was so glorious a king, or concerning the ark of testimony, 'Who is this King of glory? '

Kittel commenting on this passage says:

Justin shows a similar concern to that of 1 Clement in his use of Isa 53 in Apology 50.1 ff.; Dialogue 100.2, etc. Outward appearance is not the issue, but the renunciation of divine glory. This does lead, however, to human dishonoring, so that the heavenly powers, at Christ's ascension, have to ask: "Who is this king of glory?" (Dialogue 36.6). The theme of nonrecognition finds a basis in 1 Cor 2:8.

I must end for it’s time to prepare to go to work. I feel like I have left off in the middle of something. Let me close with this thought. The theme of “surrender’ and “recognition”. Perhaps your view of Christ, coming from a marred view of Him through his servants, keeps you from surrendering. I would encourage you to look to the King and Lord of glory and not those who may not reflect that glory very well in their lives. Then in surrender open wide the door of your heart and mind and let Him enter in!

Journal for Christ

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Recognize and surrender

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