A Chocolate Life ~ Sweet Surrender

A Chocolate Life brings sweet morsels of joy and bitter nuggets of pain. Some days are light and smooth; others are dark and lumpy. No matter what, God sustains us with grace in Christ. Wrapped in forgiveness, the Holy Spirit fills us with sweet faith in our Savior! 

Sweet Surrender

"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."  ~Philippians 2:13

My little white flag just went up. Do you see it? I'm waving it weakly back and forth in front of you. I held out long enough and finally, I surrender. I give up. You win. All my resistance is gone. I am no match for you, you irresistible Chocolate-Brownie-Fudge Pie! I surrender all my resistance, all my will power, all my diet plans, and I run toward you with a fork in my hand. Ah, but it is a sweet surrender! Mmmm, delicious!

While I may joke about surrendering to chocolate, I wonder about the kinds of things we usually yield to helplessly. We all have weaknesses, areas of strongest temptation and febblest resistance against which we cannot stand on our own. Maybe we surrender to gossip or gluttony. Perhaps we give in to peer pressure, envy, or greed. Possibly, we struggle with an addiction to something that hurts us and those we love.

In His sweet mercy and grace, our heavenly Father saw us drowning in our sins, weaknesses, and temptations. He lifted us out, saving us from our faults and failures and forgiving us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit working through God's Word breathed new life into us and filled us with faith.

God traded our weakness for His strength and enabled us to surrender to the Lord! We give up. We give up all our feeble attempts to be strong enough on our own, all our futile efforts to do good things by our own strength. You win, God! You won salvation for us when You defeated sin, death, and the devil. In Your victory, You give us eternal life in Christ! All our resistance disappears. Through the power of the Spirit, we no longer resist Your lead, but gladly follow.

In our sin, we cannot match God's holiness, but He took away our sin and made us holy in Christ! We surrender all our foolish plans, selfish ambitions, and evil thoughts and ways to God's perfect ones. Jesus runs toward us with outstretched arms. Filled with His Spirit, we yield to His loving touch. Truly, this is sweet, sweet surrender!

Surrendered, we can only imagine the amazing work ahead as the Spirit works in us, fulfilling His plans and purposes according to His perfect will.

Lord, do with me what You will today. I surrender my ways to You. Work in and through me to do Your will, for Your purposes, and for Your good pleasure. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Chocolate Brownie Fudge Pie

1 c. butter

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate together. Combine sugar and flour. Add chocolate. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla and pecans. Pour into greased pie plate. Bake 25-30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Ah! Sweet surrender!

From A Chocolate Life by Deb Burma © 2012 CPH. Reprinted with permission

The Bless(ing) in the Mess ~ A Choice to Rejoice!

In my previous devotion, “I’ve Got the JOY…Down in My Heart,” I spoke of this powerful fruit of the Spirit, produced in us, chosen and redeemed children of God. And I posed a question: What can we do daily with the JOY that we’ve been given (because of the Hope of Christ living in us)?  We make a choice every day (even minute by minute) whether to smile or frown, whether to bubble over with the joy inside or lock it up for no one to see.  We have been empowered by His Holy Spirit, so how can we bear His fruit & share His joy? To start, we can - by the power of the Holy Spirit - have An Attitude of Gratitude! (Read more about this in my previous devo.) And there is more! We can…

See the Bless(ing) in the Mess!  With God's help, you can choose to see the humor (and yes, even the blessing) in the midst of the messes in life - in difficult, stressful, or frustrating situations.  Not because they're funny, but because you’re shifting your outlook. So…What are your messes? 

ü  Your teen is talking back to you…again. = This gives you the chance you’ve been looking for to practice your patience and “long-suffering” skills! 

ü  You are stuck in a long line at the store = What an opportunity to show Christian love to the frazzled young mom behind you, letting her go ahead of you with her 152 items in the 12-items-or-less lane (and helping her while you’re at it). 

ü  You are late for an appointment and stuck behind a driver going 15 m.p.h. = Envision this motorist with a full fish tank in his back seat and consider the fate of little Goldie goldfish! 

(Okay, so I have chosen some silly examples to make you smile. Perhaps your messes are beyond compare with these.) A woman once spoke of her elderly father’s failing health, and how he taught her to rest in God's strength for the ability to rise above physical circumstances [to be able to shift her outlook!] to savor each moment and count her blessings, even in the midst of struggle. 

Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll once said, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I choose to deal with it.”  Pray for the Lord’s strength to enable you to shift your outlook. To see the bless in the mess.  And remember this truth: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”   Romans 8:28

How might God use your “mess” for your good or the good of others? How might He turn a present mess into a future blessing?

Finally, to bear His fruit and share His joy, we can…

Make a Choice to Rejoice!  With the joy of the Lord rooted deeply in your heart, by God's grace and in His strength, you can delight in each day:  “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”.  Psalm 118:24 

·         Don’t wait for the weekend or vacation to enjoy life - to let loose and laugh - to live life joyously! 

·         Don’t save the China for good company only. 

·         Don’t wait for an act of Congress to go out for a dialog date…or lunch…or coffee… 

·         Don’t delay renting that great movie with wholesome humor! 

·         Don’t wait for Sunday to dig into God’s Word where you will be blessed by His powerful messages to you. Delight in His Truth today.

DO take time to smell the roses (you’ve heard this before, no doubt!), for each day contains a beauty and aroma of its own, if we stop long enough and draw close enough to notice! (Without worry for the thorns…)  “Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10

DO live like children, concerning your attitude; they live IN the moment, enjoying it for what it is and not fretting about tomorrow.  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…” Matthew 6:34

DO live each day as though it were your last (Yep, you’ve heard this one before, too!) and you want to make the most of it. How can you impact the world for Christ today, even if it’s just one heart that you have the opportunity to touch?  “…make the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4:5

DO sing in the shower, shout praises to the Lord, and offer Him your heart-felt worship. A heart of worship is a JOY-filled heart!  “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” Psalm 98:4 ESV 

Bear His fruit & share His joy! By the power of the Holy Spirit, how can you make a choice to rejoice TODAY?

I've Got the Joy...Down in My Heart

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”  Ephesians 1:3

Can you hear these precious little girls:  “Oh, Martha, you look divine!”  “Why, thank you, Dear!  When your curlers come out, you’re going to have simply marvelous hair!”  “Betsy, those Blue Polka-Dots are ALL the rage!”  “Oh, do tell!”  From the time we’re little girls, we know we’ve been wired for fun!  Just watch young ladies make believe, squeal, and laugh with unrestrained joy - holding nothing back! 

Ladies…WE ARE those little girls…all grown up! What happened to us? Let me ask you: when did you last laugh? (Just now, I hope?!) Before that...? Are you feelin’ full of JOY these days? Or not...

Now that we’re all grown up, our days - our lives - are filled with responsibilities, worries, struggles…and sometimes strife and suffering.  We live in a sinful, fallen world; days are often heavy or at least hum-drum.  A smile - a little laughter - can lighten and brighten our days. The ability to laugh - to find joy and delight in the midst of what otherwise could be a drab existence or a painful place - is a gift from God! 

We are daughters of our heavenly Father, chosen in Christ, and we have been empowered with JOY and LAUGHTER! That's right. We are plugged-in to the life-giving power source of Christ! (Wow! Do you realize what that means?!)

Let me ask you another question: have you Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in Your Heart?  The answer is YES! You’ve got it, ‘cause He put it there! And He put it there to stay! (Are you humming the tune to this classic Sunday School song yet?!) Know that you have been chosen by God in Christ, and you possess this JOY! (Whether you're currently feelin' full of joy or not!) Christ has gifted you with salvation through faith by grace, purchased for you by His death and resurrection.  The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in your heart; you are filled with the Spirit's POWER, and He is at work in you! You bear His fruit... “The fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace…”  (Galatians 5:22) 

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.”  Job 8:21 Laughter and joy are found together in scripture multiple times!  Both are gifts from God.  While laughter is not required of someone who has "the joy down in [her] heart,” it often flows from joy as a response. “A glad heart makes a cheerful face…”  Proverbs 15:13a 

God also gives each of us our unique, ultra-special personalities, and included in those customized packages is, to varying degrees, a sense of humor.  In the next few weeks, I would like to explore a bit more about joy AND laughter. For now I’ll begin where good, clean, wholesome laughter starts: JOY!

Please don’t confuse “joy” with “happiness”. Happiness depends upon circumstances; joy is ours despite our circumstances. We cannot invent or fake this joy; it is ours in Christ, a POWERFUL fruit that flows out of faith. Make no mistake, we are justified (saved) by faith alone. But here comes our part: what do we do daily with the JOY we’ve been given?  We make a choice every day (even minute by minute) whether to smile or frown, whether to bubble over with the joy inside or lock it up for no one to see.  We are empowered by His Holy Spirit, so how are we going to bear His fruit & share His joy? To start, we can...

Have an Attitude of Gratitude! 

Though I do not know what realities – what circumstances – you face today, I can tell you this: you are blessed. (Check out Ephesians 1:3 at the top!) And by the strength of the Spirit, you can possess an attitude of gratitude in any and every situation. “Be joyful always…give thanks in all circumstances…” I Thess. 5:16,18  Whether you realize it or not, your cup DOES overflow.  Begin to see the blessings in the big things AND in the little things: 

Breathe in; then slowly exhale. (Go ahead…) See, God just gave you another breath...another moment of life! Look back upon the past several days. Remember the kind clerk at the store, the fellowship of loved ones in your life, the delicious foods you love to savor? Reflect on the changing of the seasons, God’s continual provision of your needs, and above all, the faith He has instilled in you to know that Jesus is Lord and He is Risen! He is bigger than any painful or difficult circumstance you face today. And He has chosen YOU…and appointed you to go and bear fruit (see John 15:16) that the world may see Christ living in You as you bubble over with His JOY!  

And this is just a start…stay tuned for more ways in which we bear His fruit and share His joy…and maybe even laugh a little.

Take a moment to write down FIVE blessings for which you are thankful and in which you respond with JOY, by the power of the Spirit! Share them, please...