Yielded to His Touch

Transformation begins with a rebirth at the cross but is matured in surrender. We are born again a new creation and are transformed into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The transformation happens primarily in the mind through our yielding to His way of thinking. We give ourselves as a living sacrifice to have our entire being metamorphosed by defeating lies and embracing truth. We begin to think with our new mind, the mind of Christ. We begin to see as God sees. We begin to hope with Him. We are encouraged by His presence. We are inspired by His voice. We are loved in His embrace. All of that is made possible by our complete and total surrender.

I know I talk about surrender a lot. It’s really not my fault it is Papa’s plan. There are many ways to describe this continuous act of contrition. Yielding, sacrifice, laid-down-lover, humbled, poor in spirit, dead, clay for the potter, empty of self, and many more. If you see any of those descriptions through a law lens or religious prison you see “stop sinning.” It actually has nothing to do with that but often results in that. What it means is to give up your rights to anything, period. You give it all to God and you trust Him explicitly without hesitation. It is based on faith, your believing in a good and loving God that won’t leave you wanting.

This message keeps ringing in my ears. It is actually like a vibration that is all throughout my being. I truly want to be possessed in a good way. I want to be so dead that it is Christ who lives in me who is me. I know often people are confused with this kind of language. It is an outpouring of a renewed mind and lands in all kinds of soil. I don’t worry however because I know God is irresistible. I know that Jesus is King. I know that the Holy Spirit has the power of resurrection. I know that every person who reads this has given Holy Spirit permission to bring revelation. Sorry if you weren’t ready. It’s too late now. I don’t apologize for the goodness of God.

I heard this poem just the other day. It is a perfect picture of a surrendered child of God. This is what is available to everyone who just gives in and gives up. There is no work involved. Your act of faith (or your works that prove your living faith) is to trust Him. How awesome is that? So for all you who are like me and need to repent every day, here you go. Remember repentance is not “stop sinning” but is changing the way you think and surrender to His way of thinking. That is beautiful. That is Grace in action.

The Old Violin

The Touch of the Masters Hand

‘Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

“What am I bid, good people”, he cried,
“Who starts the bidding for me?”
“One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?”
“Two dollars, who makes it three?”
“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,”

But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said “What now am I bid for this old violin?”
As he held it aloft with its’ bow.

“One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?”
“Two thousand, Who makes it three?”
“Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone”, said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
“We just don’t understand.”
“What changed its’ worth?”
Swift came the reply.
“The Touch of the Masters Hand.”

“And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters’ Hand.

– by Myra Brooks Welch

Remember we are vessels of clay at the hands of a master potter.  It doesn’t hurt to be pottered.  It is the most loving expression God has for us.  We get to climb up on the potter’s wheel and let Him mold us and shape us into exactly what He made us to be.  It is so liberating to be free of all our junk and shaped into the perfect vessel of His habitation.  Often times His pottering is realized in encounters with His presence.  It is so powerful and stretching at the same time.  That old wine skin of thinking is stretched and worked into a pliable state to receive more and more of Him and His transforming power.  Our old fabric of thinking is replaced with new fabric.  There aren’t any painful needles or vase smashing hammers or brittle balloon popping experiences.  God gently removes any of our stuff and replaces it with His joy, peace and perfect rightness in relationship.  His Kingdom invades our very understanding and it is like soaking in a spa.  It is refreshing and empowering.

When we become hard, brittle, stuck-in-our-ways, un-stretchable, calloused to Him, religious, then it doesn’t work.  When we aren’t surrendered or think we have it all figured out we are not being molded.  We aren’t being transformed.  We have stepped into the Kingdom and never leave the entrance.  We are left wanting.  We live in an alternate lifestyle of the world.  We accept depression, anxiety, worry, anger, remorse, shame, guilt…all as normal.  That is not God’s plan.  That is not what Jesus paid for.  That is rejecting the Holy Spirit and His transforming power.

I pray You all encounter God in such a powerful way you can’t be the same ever again! God is that good. He died to set you free. If he sets you free you are free indeed. All of His love is poured out to you and in you to transform your surrendered-self into the image of Jesus, powerful, whole, well and filled with the music of heaven. You have the authority. He brings the power. You get to surrender to His loving touch.

Yay God!

Lance