Category: Bold Confidence

Is there anything too hard for the lord?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Encourage, Faith, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Hope, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Power of Prayer, Righteousness, Surrender, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 18

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Gen 18:13-14 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In the everyday rush of life and circumstances we often face challenges that seem insurmountable to us. When our selfish wishes don’t come true, or if our prayers are not answered like we envision in our own minds, we tend to feel like God is not in control and/or that He does not hear our prayers. In this chapter we read where Abraham and Sarah has grown very old, yet God has seen fit to still bless them with another child. Sarah felt like the plan of God was so far out that she laughed, because the plan sounded so far out to her. I believe that today as we face life’s challenges we may not even go to God with our concerns because we feel like our problems are way too big. I believe that God is saying to me, and/or to us, O Ye of Little Faith! Is anything too hard for the Lord? Friends, we serve the creator and developer of this universe, the One who spoke all this into existence. Is there anything too hard for Him? I would dare say that He can do all things! He can handle every problem or challenge that seem so impossible to us. Today let’s let go, and let God be God!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I know that You must look at Your children and often say “O ye of little faith, have I not proven myself to you on numerous occasions? Why won’t you let me help you?”. Please help me to learn to place my trust in You and allow You to be God in all circumstances of my life. You are well aware of all that is troubling me today. I have no need to worry, because I need to just place everything into Your care and allow You to take control. Thank You for reminding me of Your power this morning. Thank You for reminding me that nothing is too hard for You! As I place myself into Your powerful hands again today, I pray that You will relieve me of every concern that tend to burden me. I need You each and every day through each and every situation. Please take control of every decision and every aspect of this life, and allow me to look through Your eyes when I am tempted to worry. Thank You for loving me so much!

A Covenant Relationship

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Born Again, Celebrate God, Chosen by God, Christian, Encourage, Eternal Life, Evangelism, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Heaven, Hope, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Reaching the Lost, Reflecting Christ, Repentance, Righteousness, Surrender, The Book of Life, Things Eternal, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 17

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! Gen 17:1-6 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Much is said in God’s Work about covenant relationships. In this particular chapter there were several covenant relationships made with Abram (Abraham) and they all were similar in form. God made a covenant that He would do certain things and this was either preceded, or followed by, certain things that would be required by Abram and/or his people. In this particular covenant God told his servant who was once fatherless, that he would become the father of countless descendants and of many nations, and to mark this his name would be changed to reflect the new him, because Abraham actually means ‘Father of Many’. Now prior to all this being revealed, God demanded of Abram that he vow to serve Him faithfully and live a blameless life. Throughout God’s Word He makes many promises to us, the greatest of which was the gift of His Son Jesus. In this particular covenant, God sent His Son so that those of us that believe on, and accept Him as Lord of our life, would have eternal life. At Christmas time we celebrate the gift that was presented to us. I trust that for all who may read this devotional, You would truly accept this gift and complete the covenant presented by God, for I guarantee you that He will live up to His part of the covenant by opening heaven’s gates and receiving us into eternity with Him. Friend I pray that your eyes will be opened to this invitation, because the alternative is not very bright for those who refuse to accept Jesus. An eternal life of damnation and the unpleasentries of Hell is not anything that I can imagine anyone wanting to set as a goal in their life.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I thank You for the greatest gift ever given – Your Son. I thank You also for touching my life and encouraging me to accept Your gift some 35 years ago. I am concerned about the numerous number of family and/or friends and/or co-workers that have chosen to ignore Your gift and the covenant You have offered to us. I pray that this will be an important Christmas weekend in the lives of those that You have touched my life through, because I pray that You will once again overly sensitize their hearts so that they will understand how hopeless life is without You. May they experience the real meaning of the reason that we celebrate Christmas as they surrender and submit their lives to You this week.

Righteous Because of Our Faith!

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, God Reigns, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Righteousness, Surrender, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 15

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.”5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Gen 15:4-6 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Abram had been pretty faithful in following God’s commands. He had demonstrated his faith in many ways, following through in action. Often we demonstrate our faith through church attendance, prayer and even good works; but these things don’t make us right with God. These are evidences of our righteous faith in God. These things come as a natural result of our being right with God. Abram was around 85 years old and had never had a son. Immediately upon God’s word to him, verse 6 says that he (Abram) believed. God saw the righteousness in this man because of his faith. Today, God is watching to see if our faith is worthy of the power and love that He has in store for us. Are we truly righteous men and women? Do we truly have faith in the God of the universe? I know that often our problems seem insurmountable, but let’s not forget that the God who brought us to it will take us through it! God is still God! We just need to extend our faith and acknowledge that He is, and follow His commands.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, Your Word is so powerful and timely. You know the needs of our lives and You know exactly when we need to be reminded of Your power in all things. You are so much bigger than my problems, although they often feel insurmountable to me. Please help me to daily surrender all things to You and allow You to have Your will and way in my life. Today may self step aside and let God resume control of my life, my family and my situations. May I learn to daily put my faith where I often proclaim my belief system is. May I be found worthy of being counted righteous in Your sight, oh Lord!

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Strive for Perfection, Just as Christ is Perfect!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Chosen by God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God’s Word, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Share God’s Word, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 5

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matt 5:48 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

At the conclusion of a chapter devoted to telling us how to live a true Christ-like life, Jesus tells us that we are to strive for perfection like the only perfect One – Himself. I feel like there are several things to consider here:

  1. In Character: When we continually sin and just shrug it off to excuses like: “Well I’m sorry, after all I’m just human” or “It’s OK, I know that God will forgive me”or “Well, there’s always another chance for me to try and do this right”, then I believe that we are giving in to being a child of this world and accepting the pitfalls and weaknesses of this world rather than placing our faith solidly in the hands of the almighty and striving wholeheartedly to be like Him. Let’s aspire to be as much like Christ as possible. He will see our sincerity and help us through our human flaws;
  2. In Holiness: In striving to be more like Christ, we will find that love for, and service to others, become a priority in our lives. God showed mercy and love even to those who hated Him and chose to fight against Him. Look at how He healed the soldier in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let’s remember that we are chosen by God to carry His love into this sick world and represent Him in all of our interaction with sinners.
  3. In Maturity: Christ-like maturity doesn’t happen instantly. Just like we expect more from a teenager than we do from a child, or more from an adult than we do from a teenager because of the years of maturing into adulthood, so it is as we study God’s Word, learn more about Him and how we can become more like Him. We should be showing signs of maturing more and more each day. Friends, we don’t mature into adulthood strictly by what we learn in school – we learn it from our everyday living. So it is with maturing as a Christian – don’t depend solely on what you may learn from a weekly sermon. Get into the Word (God’s book of instruction) and learn daily what it is that God is teaching you that day to help you mature in Him.
  4. In Love: We must seek to love others with the same love that Christ loved us. He gave His life for us, while we still hated Him, while we plotted to kill Him, while we spat in His face and mocked Him. We weren’t deserving of His love, yet He gave it all to show His love for us. That’s the kind of love we must have for those that we come into contact with daily.

Christ calls us to rise above mediocrity and be perfect even as He is perfect. When we strive for this perfection we stop accepting anything less. One day we will be perfect, just as He is perfect!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I serve the only perfect one. My desire is to daily grow to be, or mature to be, more like You in every way. This means that I am striving to also be perfect. This requires my daily time on Your Word and my ultimate desire to overcome the things of this world that will distract me in every way possible. However, I have the confidence in knowing that I serve the only One who could give me the strength, wisdom, desire, boldness and power to overcome the sinfulness of this world and strive for ultimate perfection in You. Please give me a constant desire to be more like You so that others may see Jesus in me and want to also know You. thank You for providing such an example for me to follow and mature in.

Intent of the Heart and Obedience to the Word

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, God our Helper, God’s Word, Honesty, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 5

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!  Matt 5:17-20 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that today we know many who try everything to get around the law, or they try to see how close they can come in doing something without getting arrested or caught for actually doing the crime. Take for instance speeding on the highways. We know that we could get a pricy ticket if we are caught, so we purchase a ‘fuzz buster’ to tell us when we are approaching a highway patrolman. Now in God’s records, can we be accused of breaking the law of the land? Of course we can. Just because we may hide behind a ‘fuzz buster’ or a lie, or anything else, God knows what actually took place. In fact, Jesus taught that even if we are angry enough to murder, we have sinned, even if we didn’t actually pull the trigger, or plunge the dagger. These were the type of folk that Jesus was teaching in this passage, and I believe that as I described, our folk that He would be teaching today. Even though I can’t think of how this applies to me, what caught my attention is verse 19, where Jesus teaches that if we ignore in the least, one of His commands, and we teach others to do so, then we would be considered one of the least in His Kingdom. I trust that I will be devoted to serving Christ to the fullest and obeying His commands each and every day, and that this will be so evident in my life that others will not be misled. If our hearts have been hardened to the Word of God, may we be blessed with a man of God to preach the Word to reveal our shortcomings this week.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I know that many times we will do something often enough until we will lose sight of whether it is wrong or not. I pray today that You will open my mind and my understanding to anything that I may do that is not in line with Your Word and in obedience to Your commands. I pray that my every word and every action will be from a heart devoted to You and with the intent of leading others to know You and understand Your teachings. Please touch my heart daily and give me the desire to obey Your commands, followed by the actions that would display the intent of Your Word.

Be a Godly Example and receive His Blessings

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, Forgiveness, Getting Along, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Healing, Helper, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love your Neighbor, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Righteousness, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 13

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

14 After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.16 And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!17 Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.  Gen 13:14-18 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In an earlier chapter we saw where Noah pleased God when he created an altar and gave a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. In turn, he was blessed with a lot more than he thought he would have just coming out of the ark. In this passage we see where Abram was very open in being a peace maker. He was the key leader in this whole journey with Lot, yet when strife broke out, Abram was the one willing to step back and give Lot first preference in whichever land he wanted to settle on with his family, herds and belongings, and Abram settled for whatever was left. Although not specifically said in the passage, it is evident that this peaceful act, this display of family love and devotion, pleased God very much. In fact, so much so, that He met with Abram and showed him everything that would really belong to him. Abram, being the Godly man that he was, settled in and immediately built an altar to the Lord. Today it almost seems to be more important that we strive to be the revenger, the better man, the victor, the winner, to look bigger in the eyes of onlookers or those we try to impress, instead of being the peacemaker like Abram. I don’t believe that it ever hurts to eat ‘humble pie’ and always please God with our actions. This helps us be a much ‘bigger’ person in the eyes of our beholders, as they will realize that it must have been the power of God working in and through us, to face possible condemnation, possible defeat in the eyes of those looking for a fight, but to look and act more like God in what He would do in the same circumstance. In our passage today God has shown yet another example of what it means to represent Him and act in a Christian manner in our everyday lives. As we study His Word we will find more and more ways to look more like Him in all that we do and say instead of jumping in with both feet and doing what self, or the world promotes. Let’s be God-followers, even if it means eating the ‘humble pie’ like Abram did! In all circumstances let us be good examples of God in word and deed.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Your Word is filled with examples of how we should act and what it really means to represent You well while blessed to be here on this earth. Thank You for the example of Abram in this passage today. Today we are faced with equally as important decisions and/or challenges. May I not act in haste and respond in a manner outside of Your will or Your character. May I continue to represent You well in the good times, but may I also learn to represent You even more when old Satan rears his ugly head and tries to bring out the worst in me. May the worst in me be cleansed by You and replaced with qualities pleasing to You so that I may respond to life’s circumstances in a Godly fashion. It’s You I live for and You that I desire to please in all that I say or do, but I need Your constant touch on my life. Please continue to teach me Your ways and give me strength each day to be victorious in being Your representative in all things and in all ways.

Dt 11:22: (The Blessings of Obedience) – 22 “Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.

Make God First in Your Life, then……

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Born Again, Chosen by God, Christian, Disciple, Faith, Follow Jesus, God’s Word, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Servants of God, Surrender, Work Til Jesus ComesLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Matthew 4

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matt 4:18-22 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

While this seems like a miraculous thing for Jesus to call these men from what they were doing, and especially for them to leave their secular jobs and follow Him, I believe that this also occurs today. We were created by God, and while our flesh strives to live in and enjoy the pleasures of this world, I believe that our inward soul longs to be with Jesus and live a life pleasing to Him while here on this earth. Unfortunately I believe that the latter is not possible until we accept that deep longing to accept Jesus as Lord of our life. We can always stop and think of what life could be like if we weren’t so stuck on pleasing others. It is so unfortunate that we try so hard to please our peers, our family, our friends, our co-workers, our boss, our pastor and then with whatever is left in us we try to please God. Friend why not try and do this in reverse order – surrender your heart to God, give Him 100% of your effort to please Him and follow His commands, then watch how easy it will be to see others accept you for who you are. A life surrendered to, committed to and following the commands of Jesus will result in a happy, satisfied, fulfilled life with a purpose and a goal oriented mindset that will be fixed on Jesus Christ. Oh that we will do just that this Christmas season – a time on our calendar that we dedicate to the One whose birthday is the whole purpose of Christmas.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I rededicated myself anew to You this Christmas. I pray that You will direct me each and every day, especially during this busy time on my calendar. I pray that You will help me place my life in perspective – You first, and all else to follow as You direct. May I be deep into Your Word daily so that I may learn of and subsequently follow the plan You have designed for my life. May I be an influence to others, especially those that have not yet accepted You as Lord of their lives. Like Peter, Andrew, James and John, may I be obedient to Your call on my life and serve You willingly every day. Please touch the lives of all readers today that they too may first of all accept You as Lord, then submit their lives totally to You and Your service. You gave Your very best that very first ‘Christmas’, may we in turn give our very best to You this Christmas.

Speak in Boldness, But with a Humble Spirit

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Evangelism, Faith, Fruit of the Spirit, God Reigns, God’s Word, Humility, Obedience, Reflecting Christ, Repentance, Righteousness, Share God’s Word, Truthful, Victorious Life1 Comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Matthew 3

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Matt 3:8 (NLT)

13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” Matt 3:13-14 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Two things in particular caught my attention in this passage this morning:

  1. The boldness of John the Baptist – He was on mission for God and seems like he said what he felt led of God to say to the people that he preached to, without fear of repercussion from the government of that day, or the leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees). It seems like today we have become so politically correct in our churches in order to not hurt anyone’s feelings (and I don’t believe for a minute that we can only speak the truth if we know that someone’s feelings got hurt), but it just seems like we are afraid to say it like it is. An old saying that I always remember is that ‘if the shoe fits, wear it’, in other words if something that was said speaks to issues in your life, then obviously God is dealing with you through His spoken Word. As a people we have become so ‘thin-skinned’ that we retaliate when our feelings are hurt by holding back on our tithes, or not attending church, or gossiping about the preacher, etc, etc. Assuming that we have all prayed earnestly for the man of God, that he may discern God’s will and Word for us when he stands in the pulpit before us, are we then not challenging God Himself when we retaliate against the preaching or even God’s written Word? How dare us?
  2. The humbleness of John the Baptist – A man known for his boldness in speaking out, yet when Jesus comes to be baptized, John the Baptist said that in no way is he worthy to baptize the Savior of the world. How true this is. No matter how close we feel like we have become to God, we are but dirty rags compared to the only pure and Holy One of God. I believe that this is well worth keeping foremost in our minds so that we don’t let self pride come in the way. We are nothing without Christ, and we personally can do nothing miraculous, such as winning a lost soul or healing a sick person, but only through prayer and humble submission to the power and will of God. We should always pass any praise or glory straight on up to God for anything accomplished through us. It is encouraging for us to see lives touched by God because of something He may have said through us, but may our Words and actions be so filled with His love and His power that He may accomplish great things for the kingdom in spite of our human shortcomings.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

I believe that much could be accomplished through us and our churches today if we used the boldness displayed by John the Baptist, yet the humble spirit that he displayed in the presence of the Holy Son of God. Lord Jesus, it is You that I serve and You that deserves all the praise for anything accomplished in Your name here on this earth. Please may I find boldness in serving You, but be ready to step aside and let the glory all go up straight to You. Please have Your will and way in my life today, and may  there be opportunities for Your glory to shine through in something that I may say or do today so that Your kingdom may be fulfilled. Opportunities will come and go, and so will my words, but I believe that as You use me as Your humble servant today, Your words spoken through me will touch the hearts of Your people with lasting power and effectiveness. To God be the Glory for all that will be accomplished in Your name today!

How to Receive from God Whatever You Request of Him!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, Listen to the Word of GodLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: 1 John 3 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

1 John 3:21-22 ~ Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
(NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

John had just shared how important it is that we not be selfish. That as God has blessed so wonderfully, we ought to also bless others, otherwise we may end up with a guilty conscience and even realize that may not even belong to Christ as we thought we did. On the contrary, if we have no guilt about such things, we can come to God in confidence and receive whatever we should ask for, because of our obedience. The trouble I see here is that in, and of our own selves we may feel convinced that we have nothing to be guilty of, but when we dig into the Word and actually hear from God, our shortcomings will quickly become evident. Friends, we needn’t fool ourselves. The plumb line is God’s Word, not for us to look at ourselves and determine if we are good enough. God is our judge, let’s let Him always have control and show us the way that is pleasing to Him. Receiving from God whatever we should ask of Him is the ultimate experience we could ever expect of God. Let’s do our part and keep ourselves clear of all guilt and pride. Let’s give God the controls to our lives then watch Him respond and use us in such mighty ways that others will see and believe, and also accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You for providing the way to salvation, dear God. Thank You for working so wonderfully in my life. Please help me to keep my eyes fixed on You and allow Your Word to wash me daily so that I may always be clear of guilt and always free to come before You receiving anything that I may ask of You unselfishly. You are my God. Thank You for looking through my sin, prompting me to surrender my life over to You, accepting me as a born again child, and for directing my path each and every day.