July 30th, 2024
by David Futrell
by David Futrell
"What is the most costly and valuable gift that I can give to Jesus?" This question resounded in my heart recently while on a jog with Jesus in my neighborhood. I was posed with the question of, “What will I present to Jesus as a worthy and valuable gift on the day that I stand before Him on the other side of eternity?” I realize that my heart of love to Jesus is the response of His love to me. How do I feel about Jesus? How do I show Him what He means to me?
As I meditated and jogged and continued my conversation with Jesus, I remembered Jesus’ conversation with His disciples and the gathered audience on mountainside inaugural sermon. Jesus began to instruct His listeners in the ways of His Father’s Kingdom and how to personally approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. Jesus gave the disciples this guided conversation and posture of heart for prayer:
Jesus so beautifully reminds us that His Father is 'Our Father' if we have committed to follow Him. Wow! What a promise and reality. What a gift of love and intimate connection to the God of all creation. We are His children. Profound! He shares His love and life so freely and abundantly and willingly and openly with us. What can I give in response to this glorious promise of His love to me? How can I respond in love? What can I give Him that is a personal and unique and most valuable of a response back? IT’S MY WILL! The one thing that God has given us and can never demand back is our human free will. My will chooses who I will love, what I will give my life to, where I will go, and every other decision that I will make. My will is exactly that. It's mine to spend. When I choose to submit my will to Jesus, I am saying in essence, "I want to spend my will on purchasing Yours." How do I discover God's will for my life? I lay my will down before Jesus. How do I experience God's Kingdom values, resources, and relationships? I must lay down my will to Jesus. How do I experience the life of Jesus? I must surrender my life to Jesus.
My prayer for you and for me is that we will enter into a daily exchange of our will for Jesus' will. All that I surrender to Him in this life will be exchanged as gold in eternity. I look forward to offering Jesus something as costly as possible in eternity. Let us give what we have in order to receive what He has for us. Like Jesus' counsel to the city church in Laodicea:
Your Brother in the Lord,
David Futrell
As I meditated and jogged and continued my conversation with Jesus, I remembered Jesus’ conversation with His disciples and the gathered audience on mountainside inaugural sermon. Jesus began to instruct His listeners in the ways of His Father’s Kingdom and how to personally approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. Jesus gave the disciples this guided conversation and posture of heart for prayer:
- “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven…” Matthew 6:9-10
Jesus so beautifully reminds us that His Father is 'Our Father' if we have committed to follow Him. Wow! What a promise and reality. What a gift of love and intimate connection to the God of all creation. We are His children. Profound! He shares His love and life so freely and abundantly and willingly and openly with us. What can I give in response to this glorious promise of His love to me? How can I respond in love? What can I give Him that is a personal and unique and most valuable of a response back? IT’S MY WILL! The one thing that God has given us and can never demand back is our human free will. My will chooses who I will love, what I will give my life to, where I will go, and every other decision that I will make. My will is exactly that. It's mine to spend. When I choose to submit my will to Jesus, I am saying in essence, "I want to spend my will on purchasing Yours." How do I discover God's will for my life? I lay my will down before Jesus. How do I experience God's Kingdom values, resources, and relationships? I must lay down my will to Jesus. How do I experience the life of Jesus? I must surrender my life to Jesus.
My prayer for you and for me is that we will enter into a daily exchange of our will for Jesus' will. All that I surrender to Him in this life will be exchanged as gold in eternity. I look forward to offering Jesus something as costly as possible in eternity. Let us give what we have in order to receive what He has for us. Like Jesus' counsel to the city church in Laodicea:
- "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; " Revelation 3:18a
Your Brother in the Lord,
David Futrell
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