MY ETERNAL LEGACY

" So dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give you to give your bodies to the Lord because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him." Romans 12:1 (NLT) What does it mean to truly SURRENDER your life to Christ? I am discovering that at age 51, it is a lot more difficult than when I was 11. At age 11 I hadn't yet faced any real fears, pride was no problem and there was no confusion. GOD LOVED ME AND I LOVED HIM.  As a child of God all I wanted to do was serve Him and obey. Then things happened - bad things, scary things and worst of all, things I had no control over. Oh I still knew God loved me, but fear was becoming overwhelming. Unlike my simple childhood faith, as an adult I had started to develop a little pride. I discovered this inner need to be in control of everything.  I needed to be `in charge' of my life, and when faced with my limitations I b...

                " The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 Do you remember the day you committed your life to Christ? I do, and I remember the hymn I sung with gusto.           "All to Jesus I surrender,                                              All to Him I freely give.                    I will ever love and trust Him,                    In His presence daily live." At 11 years of age I meant every word. I was determined to `surrender' all to the Lord. I was a goody-goody and found most temptations easy to pass up. Peer pressure wasn't a real problem as nobody wanted to be around me. When everyone was sin...

"What a wonderful inheritance! I know the Lord is always with me...... You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasure of living with you forever."  Psalm 16:8&11 What kind of legacy do I want to leave to my children and grandchildren - one with wealth, knowledge or FAITH? It definitely won't be one of wealth. No matter how hard we work and try to save money, we never seem to get ahead. I believe one reason for this is that we are not very good givers. Oh we have always given our time in service, but I don't think our pastors and their families live off what we put in the offering plate each week. No there won't be a great financial legacy left behind when we go, but I would hope there will be a legacy of SERVICE. Knowledge and Wisdom?  Well I can't say I am the most intelligent of people.  At the end of the day my husband and I will not win any Nobel Prizes for intelligence, but if you have read any of my ear...

"God is working in you and giving you the desire to do what pleases Him." Philippians 2:13  Most of my life, up until now, seems to have been set aside for creating an earthly legacy: education and material wealth. These are not necessarily bad, but recently I discovered a need to create an ETERNAL LEGACY, not just for myself, but for my husband, my children and grandchildren. "Remember, we will stand before the judgement seat........ Each of us will give a personal account to God." Romans 14:10b&12 Rick Warren, author of `The Purpose Driven Life', reminds us that there are two crucial questions God will ask us on that day. 1. What did you do with my son Jesus Christ? Did you accept (`learn to love and trust him') or did you reject him? 2. What did you do with what I gave you - those gifts, talents, opportunities and energies? Did you spend them on yourselves or use them for the purpose God made them for? So far I believe I can answer positiv...