December 15, 2025
Lay Down Your Crowns
During this Christmas season, let’s bow in self-abandoned surrender and confess that every honor, accomplishment, and triumph we possess comes from the Lord, who alone deserves the glory.
Articles for tag: Surrender
April 8, 2016
Not Defiance, but Surrender
By Mark Krause I recently read of a young mother who named her son Defy. Yes, I spelled that correctly: Defy, as in “to oppose with an attitude.” She said she wanted her child to grow up knowing he never had to accept the status quo and should always question everything. While I understand the cultural frustration that causes this sort of thing, it seems dangerous to me. If everyone in a society becomes a relentless questioner, pretty soon there is no one left to give answers, and collapse is inevitable. This can happen in the church. Is our first
December 17, 2014
Why I”m Hoping to Lose
By Jim Tune In his memoir Report to Greco, Nikos Kazantzakis reflects on his early years as a searching, God-haunted man needing direction from God. One summer the young Kazantzakis climbed Mount Athos to visit a monastery. There he met Father Makarios, an old monk with a reputation for deep wisdom. In one remarkable exchange, the young Kazantzakis asked the monk, “Do you still wrestle with the devil?” “Not any longer, my child,” Father Makarios replied. “I have grown old, and he has grown old with me. He doesn”t have the strength.” The young man assumed that the battle must
What Am I Likely to Hear?
Clearing out competing voices is only the first step in hearing God. Jan Johnson describes common themes God speaks—love, comfort, surrender, and purpose—and shares how God’s gentle questions can move us forward.
