SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
Join us as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee—fifty years of God’s faithfulness, answered prayers, souls saved, lives changed, sustaining grace, and the finished work of Christ at Calvary—to God be all the glory!
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY
LUKE 9:23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
One of the lessons God has taught me through nearly fifty years of ministry is that surrender is never a one-time decision. There have been moments when I have laid everything before the Lord and meant it with all my heart, only to discover the next morning that self was trying to climb back onto the throne. Jesus knew that would happen. That is why He did not say, “Take up your cross once.” He said, “Take up his cross daily.” The cross is not merely where Jesus died for me; spiritually, it is where I learn to die to me. Calvary is not only the place of forgiveness; it becomes the pattern of the surrendered Christian life. Yesterday’s surrender cannot replace today’s obedience. Yesterday’s victory cannot substitute for today’s dependence. Every morning I must decide again who will sit upon the throne of my life—Christ or self.
THE CROSS MEANS JESUS HAS THE FINAL SAY
Jesus said, “Let him deny himself.” Denying self does not mean that you have no worth or that your needs do not matter. It means surrendering your claim to be your own lord. It means I no longer reserve the right to tell Jesus which parts of my life He may control and which parts belong to me. Self says, “I know what is best.” Surrender says, “Jesus, You decide.” Self says, “I deserve my way.” Surrender says, “Lord, Your will matters more than my preference.” Self says, “I have the right to hold onto this hurt, this plan, this relationship, this possession, this ambition, or this reputation.” The cross says, “It all belongs to Him.” This is where surrender becomes very practical. I lay down my rights, my plans, my preferences, my reputation, my comfort, my timetable, and my need to control the outcome. That can be painful because self does not surrender quietly. But every time I say, “Not my will, but Thine,” Christ becomes more visible in me.
THE CROSS IS A DAILY ALTAR
Jesus deliberately used the word “daily.” There are things I surrendered to God years ago that I still have to surrender again today. Fear may return. Pride may rise again. Anger may surface. Control may creep back in. Yesterday I may have trusted God completely, but today a new circumstance may tempt me to take matters back into my own hands. The Christian life therefore requires a daily altar. The altar is not just where something dies; it is where something is given completely to God. Every morning I can climb back onto the throne—or place myself back upon the altar. I can say, “Lord, here is my mind. Think through me. Here are my words. Speak through me. Here are my hands. Work through me. Here are my feet. Lead me. Here are my plans. Change them if You choose. Here are the people I love. I release them into Your care. Here is my future. It belongs to You.” The surrendered life is not dramatic every day. Often it is simply a thousand small decisions in which I choose Jesus instead of self.
WHAT I WILL NOT SURRENDER WILL COMPETE WITH CHRIST
One of the most searching truths in this passage is this: Whatever I refuse to surrender will eventually compete with the Lordship of Christ. It may not begin as open rebellion. It may simply be something I quietly tell God He cannot touch. A relationship. A habit. A dream. A financial decision. A hurt I refuse to forgive. A fear I refuse to release. A plan I insist must happen. A part of my life where I say, “Lord, You can have everything except this.” But Jesus never asked to be one influence among many. He asks to be Lord. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” The exchanged life begins when I stop trying merely to live for Jesus and allow Jesus to live His life through me. The question is no longer simply, “What do I want?” It becomes, “Lord Jesus, what do You want through me?” The safest place in the world is not where I am in control. It is where Christ is Lord.
Picture two places before you every morning: a throne and an altar. The throne represents control. If I sit there, I decide what happens. I defend my rights. I demand my way. I worry because everything depends upon me. The altar represents surrender. When I place myself there, I say, “Lord, my life is Yours. My family is Yours. My ministry is Yours. My health is Yours. My future is Yours. My desires are Yours. Do with me what brings You the greatest glory.” Every morning, one of those two places will define how I live. Either self will sit upon the throne, or self will lie upon the altar. And when self is on the altar, Christ is free to rule the throne.
Jesus never hid the cost of discipleship. He said plainly, “Deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” But He also knew something we often forget: what we surrender to Him is never safer in our hands than it is in His. The cross may cost me my way, but it gives me His way. It may cost me control, but it gives me His peace. It may cost me my plans, but it opens my life to His purposes. So today I want to pray again what I will need to pray tomorrow and every day after that: “Lord Jesus, I surrender. Not my will, but Thine. Not my strength, but Yours. Not my life lived for myself, but Your life lived through me.”
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I come before You today and willingly place myself upon the altar of surrender. I renounce the pride that says I must have my own way and the fear that tells me I must remain in control. I refuse every lie of the enemy that says surrendering to You will cost me something better than You can give me. Lord Jesus, take Your rightful place upon the throne of my heart. I surrender my plans, my desires, my reputation, my family, my future, my fears, my possessions, my ministry, and every hidden place I have tried to control. Expose anything within me that competes with Your Lordship. Break the power of stubbornness, selfishness, pride, fear, bitterness, and unbelief. By faith I reckon myself crucified with Christ and alive unto God. Holy Spirit, fill every place that I surrender. Live the life of Jesus through me today. Guard my mind from the enemy, direct my steps, govern my words, and strengthen me to obey quickly when You speak. I declare that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life. I belong to Him. My future belongs to Him. My family belongs to Him. My circumstances belong to Him. I will take up my cross, follow Christ, and trust the One who gave Himself completely for me. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE
Identify one area you have been trying to control—a person, decision, circumstance, fear, plan, relationship, or outcome. Name it specifically before the Lord and pray: “Jesus, I release this to You. I surrender my right to control the outcome. You decide. You lead. You are Lord.” Then when you are tempted to pick it back up today, remind yourself: “I already placed that on the altar. I will not take back what I have surrendered to God.”
WEDNESDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Britany Smith
Daniel Cooper
Darlene Kelley
Darlene Thaxton
Ginny Ford
Kim’s McClain’s Mother
Lee Cronan
Nancy Brown – Rehab
Rob Davis
Susan Bankston