“Designated for a consecrated life.” I love that word, designated! Thesaurus gives these synonyms: chosen, elected, selected, voted, nominated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I came across designated<\/em>\nin Romans 1:7 (Amplified), my heart exploded in praise. Paul wrote, \u201cTo [you\nthen] all God\u2019s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a\nconsecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our\nFather and from the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So\u2026to you then, all God\u2019s beloved ones in Tennessee,\nVirginia, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Colorado, California, throughout the world\u2026we\nare called to be saints and designated<\/em>\nfor a consecrated life! And that means we\u2019re entitled! Yes\u2026entitled to grace\nand spiritual blessing and peace from our Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that\u2019s true, why are we down in the dumps, overcome by worry and heartache, living alienated from the abundant life Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection provided for us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think we haven\u2019t caught the exhilaration of that truth\u2014designated\nfor a consecrated life. Think about it\u2026designated for a consecrated life! How\ncan we be satisfied with anything less?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Would you describe yours as a consecrated life? Have you\nwondered what it is? Have you known people who displayed it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was just a little girl of seven when I came to Jesus,\nasking him into my heart as my Savior. I\u2019d been taught that he was the only begotten\nSon of God and that he loved me so much, he died on a cross to pay for my sins,\nrose again on the third day, and returned to Heaven where I\u2019d live with him\nforever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing\nup, I loved Jesus and wanted to please him. I felt satisfied with my average\nChristian life. When I landed my dream job at eighteen writing for our local newspaper,\nI found more than my calling to write. The Lord placed in my path three friends\nwho displayed astonishing devotion, faith, and joy. Their extreme reliance on\nChrist gave me clues to that dimension of life Jesus called abundant<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\nLouise Barker was twenty years older, we became instant friends. Widowed at a\nyoung age and left to rear her thirteen-year-old son Byron alone, she displayed\ncourage that reflected her devotion to the Lord and complete dependence on him.\nHer strength intrigued me, and her unwavering confidence in Jesus inspired me\nto draw near to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Returning\nfrom interviews, I often paused to chat with the newspaper’s receptionist,\nFreda Rose Wilhoit. I\u2019d also become friends with her daughter, Donna, who was\nmy age. As Freda and I shared our lives and concerns, she’d say, \u201cI can’t wait\nto see how God works this out!\u201d I’d never known anyone with such faith\u2014faith\nthat covered her with peace, no matter the circumstances. Freda introduced me\nto the writings of Andrew Murray. I read Absolute\nSurrender <\/em>more than once, hungry for a faith like hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nhappiest person I’d ever met, Harry Jones\u2014a banker and civic leader\u2014often\nstopped by the newsroom. He was always smiling and upbeat. I didn’t know him\nwell but I sensed genuine joy. Although curious, I never asked him about the\nsource. Years later his wife Cissy told me that early in their marriage, while\ninvolved in a group Bible study, they had fully surrendered their lives to the\nLord. That explained the joy, but before hearing their story I only knew I had\nan unquenchable thirst for that overflowing joy and an ache to grow in my\nChristian walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nteaching a couples’ Sunday school class, I read aloud the focus verse for the\nweek. \u201cLet the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable\nin thy sight, O Lord, my strength,\nand my redeemer\u201d (Psalm 19:14). Although\nI’d read the verse many times, the meaning suddenly filled me with awe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What an extraordinary way to live! The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart acceptable in God\u2019s sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What an extraordinary way to live! The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart acceptable in God\u2019s sight! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nbegan seeking the Lord with all my heart. That met his only condition: “Ye\nshall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart”\n(Jeremiah 29:13). I wanted to know what Jesus said and how he expected me to\nlive. Reading through the gospels, I paid attention to his words. Using a\nconcordance I did word studies on areas of need in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading\nChristian books I came across puzzling terms that I learned mean the same thing:\nChrist-controlled personality, total commitment, full surrender, yielded life,\nlordship. How could I make those concepts a reality in my life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I discovered the absolute requirement to experience abundant life is total surrender\u2014giving my life completely to Christ, no strings attached. When I yield\u2014fully commit all I am and have to the Lord and give him total control\u2014the Holy Spirit produces fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nan unforgettable spring morning, with a gush of tears I prayed surrendering my\nlife to the Lord\u2014past and present; future hopes and dreams; strengths and\nweaknesses; career and family. Instantly flooded with joy and peace, I had much\nto learn about living the surrendered life, but I\u2019d taken the first step toward\nan incredible adventure exploring Christ’s abundance, the overflow of a\nconsecrated life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you caught the exhilaration? You were designated for a consecrated life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you caught the exhilaration? You were designated for a consecrated life! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, you don\u2019t feel worthy? We\u2019re not worthy! But feeling has nothing to do with truth. We were designated for a consecrated life! How can you experience that? Start with this simple prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord,\nI surrender my life completely to you\u2014myself, my spouse, my children, my\ncareer, my home, my possessions, my finances, my talent, my time, my treasures,\nmy ambitions, my past, my present, my future. I want to follow you\nwholeheartedly. Take the throne of my life, and reign in my heart as Lord of\nall. Fill me with your Spirit so my life overflows with love, joy, peace, patience,\ngentleness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Use me for your\nglory. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Please tell me how living fully\nsurrendered to Christ impacts your daily life. And I\u2019d appreciate your sharing\nthis with your friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Adapted from Cabbages and Kings\u2014Reflections on Living Abundantly in Christ)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Designated for a consecrated life.” I love that word, designated! Thesaurus gives these synonyms: chosen, elected, selected, voted, nominated. When I came across designated in Romans 1:7 (Amplified), my heart exploded in praise. Paul wrote, \u201cTo [you then] all God\u2019s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[13,9,77,58,411,410],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-abundant-life","tag-dianne-barker","tag-joy","tag-peace","tag-spirit-controlled-life","tag-total-surrender"],"yoast_head":"\n