Out of the water...

I was reading in a book the other day about mercenaries being hired to help fight in the crusades. Because this was a holy war, the mercenaries had to be baptized. As they were being baptized, they held their swords out of the water to symbolize the part of their life that God couldn't control. They were saying that God could have every other part of their life except that one. It got me thinking, what part of my life am I "holding out of the water". What part of my life am I saying that I can handle better than God. So now I am asking God to reveal to me the parts of my life that I've only said with my words He can have, but not with my actions. I know that this can be a painful process, but I also know that in the end it will be worth it. There's a saying that God meets us where we are. He doesn't wait for us to change to reach our hearts. We tend to overlook the second part of that truth. Yes, He meets us where we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. Anyone who has taken care of plants knows that you have to prune it to make it a healthy, thriving plant. The same is true for Christians, sometimes God needs to prune things out of our lives that keep us from being the thriving Christian He intends us to be. If you read in the Bible about the encounters that Jesus had with people, you'll see a Savior who lovingly met people where they were. You'll also see how He asked them to change and live for Him. So, since I'm challenging myself, I'm also challenging anyone who reads this to do the same. I don't want to be one of those Christians that does all the right things on Sunday to play the part of a strong Christian and then goes home and lives differently Monday-Saturday. I want to be the same person on Tuesday that I am on Sunday. That only comes from complete surrender of EVERY part of my life. I want every part of my life to be "in the water". There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "Dive" I thought I would include the lyrics to his song.

The long-awaited rain has just fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
Have carved their way to where the wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rain I have been carried here to where the river flows
My heart is racin' and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice telling me it's time to
Take a leap of faith
So here I go

[CHORUS]
I'm diving in
I'm going deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rushLost in the flow
In over my head I wanna go
The river's deep
The river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swimI'm diving in
I'm diving in

There is a supernatural power in this mighty river's flow
We can bring the dead to life, we can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing worth living and dying for
But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves be swept away into this holy flood
So if you'll take my hand and close your eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let's go

Join me, won't you?