who's in your driver's seat?

Over the weekend, my 11-year old and I had a big conversation about what it means to have a heart yielded to God. Interestingly enough, Week 2 of the Backseat Jesus sermon series touched on the very same thing. (Click HERE to give it a listen.) Between our conversation and the sermon, a few things really stood out:

1. God is most concerned about the condition of our heart. "Following Jesus is not about behavior modification, He is after transformation." (Pastor Pete Wilson hits this point straight-on with some great examples.)
2. A surrendered heart yields to God. It is malleable, willing to let go, accepting of His terms, and does not oppose. My life and will given freely. A process, not perfection. Out of love, not obligation.
3. This yielding brings about heart changes: patience, kindness, humility, compassion, contentment, and more.

So what happens when I encounter something in the Bible I don't like? What if in reading God's Word I start to become uncomfortable about my pencil-stealing habit (they are just pencils after all)? Or what if I have a hard time grasping the whole, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" thing? The gap between "the current me" and "the imagined me" can seem HUGE. What does a surrendered heart do?

Own it. Painful but necessary.

Repent. ("God, Your Word seems to make things pretty clear... what I've been doing is wrong. I'm sorry. Please forgive me.")

Pray. Tell God how you feel. ("I am having a hard time with this thing. Please change me. Help me to see this situation through Your eyes. Give me a desire to do things Your way instead of mine.")

Receive. Trust God for His forgiveness, it is a done deal. Trust His continued guidance and help.

It's important not to use His forgiveness as an excuse. Do not make a practice of sin by looking for ways to justify it. God makes it clear that true repentance brings about a changed heart. On the flip side, He understands our faults and shortcomings. Change might take days, weeks, or even months - continue to seek God through His Word, avoid temptations, and lean on others to help hold you accountable.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For my yoke is wholesome (useful, good - not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP)

Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare, "Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of anyone who believes in me.” John 7:38 (NIV)

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Acts 3:19 (NLT)

Peter and the apostles answered, "It's necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail." Acts 5:31 (MSG)

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9 (NIV)