From The Start...

I have just been astounded at how God's hand has totally been completely at work through the Radical series by David Platt that I have been going through. From the start! Absolutely incredible. My friend Todd first introduced it to me. I completely ate it up right away, and wanted to share it with everyone I knew. I am just so encouraged by how God has been using this truth in my life, and through the lives of my friends too. Right off the top of my head I can think of a great handful of my friends who have also been diving into it. Thank you Karleen, Nate, Amanda, Leah, Cassie, Chad, Robby, and so forth. I even shared it with Shawn Holtgren (Associate Vice President for Student Development and guy-in-charge-of-chapel at Bethel), and he is planning on doing a fall series based off of and inspired by it called Radical Discipleship. Wow! And thank You, Lord for Your faithfulness to Your children. You just blow me away.

Here is something from the series that has challenged me so much. I heard it yesterday. It's called "Consecration of Jonathan Edwards":

"I claim no right to myself - no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me; neither do I have any right to this body or its members - no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears, or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own. I have been to God this morning and told Him I have given myself wholly to Him. I have given every power, so that for the future I claim no right to myself in any respect. I have expressly promised Him, for by His grace I will not fail. I take Him as my whole portion and felicity, looking upon nothing else as any part of my happiness. His law is the constant rule of my obedience. I will fight with all my might against the world, the flesh, and the devil to the end of my life. I will adhere to the faith of the Gospel, however hazardous and difficult the profession and practice of it may be. I receive the blessed Spirit as my Teacher, Sanctifier, and only Comforter, and cherish all admonitions to enlighten, purify, confirm, comfort, and assist me. This I have done. I pray God, for the sake of others, to look upon this as a self-dedication, and receive me as His own. Henceforth, I am not to act in any respect as my own. I shall act as my own if I ever make use of any of my powers to do anything that is not to the glory of God, or to fail to make the glorifying of Him my whole and entire business. If I murmur in the least at afflictions; if I am in any way uncharitable; if I revenge my own case; if I do anything purely to please myself, or omit anything because it is a great denial; if I trust to myself; if I take any praise for any good which Christ does by me; or if I am in any way proud, I shall act as my own and not God's. I purpose to be absolutely His."

For those of you who may be reading this, here is the link again: Radical by David Platt. Dive right on in!