Living a life of surrender to Christ isn’t easy. It’s agonizing at times. Praise be to God that we surrender to a loving Savior and Heavenly Father.

Jesus made it clear. “Hold on to your life and you’ll lose it. Surrender it to me and you’ll find it.”

What a crazy principle. It goes against our natural thinking. But it’s true.

Jesus plays it out to the max. He boldly states that our soul is in jeopardy if we don’t surrender to him. That’s serious stuff.

That's what we'll center on today as we start a new devotional theme this week.

KEY PASSAGE;

Matthew 16:24-26

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

We can’t throw everything out of our lives to accommodate rest. Indeed, there are some things we might have to toss or put on hold. Maybe a couple commitments that we need to pause for now.

Let’s take a look at one of the busiest men of the New Testament—the Apostle Paul. After he came to Christ, he vanished for years to prepare for ministry. Most of us dive headlong into new things when opportunity arises. Especially when asked to serve God. But not Paul. What can we learn from him? Let's explore that today in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Acts 2:46-47

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

The practice of rest is hard, but silently experiencing God’s presence is even harder. In our flurry of activities, input, noise and our interruptive devices, we’re up against an army of enemies. Rest and communion with God don’t come naturally.

If Satan can keep us busy, he keeps us from God. We have to be intentional to win this war. Let's dig into that today in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

I Kings 19:9-13

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Isn’t it time to stop running on empty? No matter how hard it is to set aside time to rest, you must do it. Shut down your body, mind and emotions. Put them in neutral. Take a break.

If you’re having difficulty giving yourself permission to rest, let me do that for you. You have my permission to rest.

Jesus made time to rest. He would leave the demanding disciples and crowd to slip away to a lonely place. He needed rest from the pressures of the day.

We'll rest together this week.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 14:18-23

“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

There’s a good chance you’ll face someone or something that will interrupt your joy today. How you handle it will determine how you feel on the other side of that interruption. It will be a test of the depth of your walk with God.

The key is to be prepared before the surprise hits. That's our focus on today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law [or instruction] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers."

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Our lives are filled with stuff. So much stuff that storage units seem like the fastest growing business around. Three-car garages are popular, not because we have three cars, but because we need one slot to store all our stuff.

In Psalm 4, the Psalmist is speaking about stuff. Material wealth. He looks around him at all his neighbors’ overflowing blessings. And his response? Contentment. Joy. In fact, more joy than his neighbors are experiencing with their fabulous blessings.

Let's see how we can adopt that attitude in today's audio devotional.

Key Passage:

“Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!’
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”

(Psalm 4:4-7 ESV).

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Why do we try "joy substitutes" when we have full joy? Good question.

We let joy “substitutes” crowd out our Savior. That’s why we go from one to another. They don’t satisfy for long. Jesus said, “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” When I hear him saying that to me, I picture joy as a seed waiting to grow. Jesus’ joy is inside me, but it only grows when nourished.

Let's explore that today.

Key Passage: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11).

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

“Guilty.” That’s what the judge pronounced at the end of the trial. When the word rang in Susan’s ears, she stood there in shock. She was convinced she would be cleared of the charges. Never in a million years did she think she’d be sent to prison. But that was about to become her new reality.

Susan was sentenced to five years for her crime, soon to be separated from her husband and two young children. Her freedom was about to be snatched away. No friends, no luxuries, not even the chance to see her kids’ school programs. She wouldn’t enter her home for half a decade.

Our story is much like Susan's. Find out why in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

1 John 2:1-2 NIV

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com