Dear Beloved Beach Church Believers And Beyond,
Here is today’s Daily Redemption bulletin.
Today we examine the true cost of discipleship, asking what hidden corners of our lives we still withhold when we sing “I Surrender All.”
Featured Scripture and Commentary
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
I Surrender All is a hymn that is set apart. It is one thing to sing about what a friend we have in Jesus. It is similarly righteous and beautiful to sing This Rugged Cross to seek the Lord’s face in “Nearer My God To Thee” or “Just A Closer Walk With Jesus”. It is wonderful to confess and celebrate in the same breath in a song like “Just As I Am” or to celebrate our salvation in “Victory In Jesus” or “Blessed Assurance”. Letting those beautiful marches of faith sweep over and through one is a wonderful way to engage in daily communion with the Lord. But “I Surrender All”, now that song says something else entirely. Probably the closest song in terms of 100% commitment is “Trust And Obey”. Here is the overlooked thing about the song. It’s power is is simply in the affirmation “all”. The verses make the pledge again but then focus on the benefit that will come from pledging everything to God. “Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine, Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.” If one fully surrenders all then it is without an agenda even one’s own salvation.” There are many hymns that say these same things without distinguishing themselves. What these lyrics say is I will surrender all if you will do these things for me. They are transactional. But to say “I Surrender All” is possibly the strongest lyric in all of hymndom. Here is how hard it is to live up to that for even the most faithful. After the first verse which is pure of personal benefit “All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.” 100% commitment there in verse 1. Giving freely expecting nothing in return, loving Him forever and daily. Yes that aligns perfectly with the chorus. After that first verse though the message gets sabotaged in terms of its completeness. Interestingly there are two more verses which are almost never sung but which carry the message of the chorus in a pure and powerful way including lyrics “Humbly at His feet I bow,Worldly pleasures all forsaken; and “Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory to His name!”
Briefly the story of the guy who wrote the verse – Judson W. Van DeVenter struggled for 5 years between his calling to be an Evangelical preacher and an artist/art teacher. When in East Palestine, Ohio, in 1896 he chose God.
So what is my point? To shame and indict a guy who died 89 years ago? No, just to point out that even the guy who wrote the lyrics to the hymn had some difficulty in the lyrics of the hymn itself to keep the pledge without personal interest (yes, personal salvation is a personal interest) creeping in even while writing the song.
Jesus says “deny yourselves”. Proverbs says “in all your ways submit to Him”, Paul says “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” and “you are not your own, you are bought at a price”.
None of us truly do this. Jesus covered us in his blood and our faith in that blood is counted as righteousness. But that is the grace of God while we continue to have personal interests and
commit sins.
Paul in Romans 8 says we have absolutely been freed from sin nature. Then he says he continues to do the things he wants not to do and to not do the righteous things he should do. Theologians have said that he is speaking of his former self in order to resolve the inconsistency. And it is true that all the while as he wrote this he was in jail suffering endless persecutions of all kind for his faith. However, in his heart he did not feel that he had surrendered all.
I am not seeking to move the goal post for all of us to an unattainable standard. The Lord saved us while we were still sinners and accepted us just as we are. The benefit I offer in this discussion is that we set our own standards higher and to the utmost of our ability seek in all worldly engagements and at all times to remember just this… “All means all”. There is one who gave all so we might live. That all was all and more. Thank you Jesus.
7 LIFE CHANGING CORROBORATING SCRIPTURE QUOTES:
Luke 9:23, Matthew 6:24, Proverbs 3:5–6, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:23–24, Joshua 24:15, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 3:23–24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Joshua 24:15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
TODAYs BIBLICAL MORALITY TALE
We sing “I Surrender All” with passion. We raise our hands. We feel the emotion. But what does the word “All” actually mean?
Does it mean everything except my finances? Everything except my reputation? Everything except my secret habits? Everything except my right to be angry?
Jesus did not die for 90% of you. He did not buy 80% of your time. He bought you all. As Paul wrote, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).
The problem is that we often treat surrender as a transaction: “God, I’ll give You my Sundays if You keep my Mondays. I’ll give You my church service if You leave my private life alone.” But Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). You cannot hold back a “private room” in your heart for sin while offering the rest to God. That is not surrender; that is negotiation.
What are you holding back?
Your Control: Do you trust God with your future, or do you have a Plan B that excludes Him?
Your Relationships: Are there people you refuse to forgive because you want to keep the moral high ground?
Your Identity: Do you define yourself by your job, your past, or your failures rather than your status in Christ?
Your Comfort: Are you unwilling to step out in faith because it might cost you ease or approval?
True surrender is not a feeling; it is a relinquishment of rights. It is saying, “Lord, even this part of me that I am ashamed of, even this part I want to protect, even this part I think is ‘mine’—it belongs to You.”
When we hold back, we block the flow of His power. A branch that clings to its own sap cannot bear fruit for the Vine. But when we let go—truly let go—we find that we don’t lose ourselves. We find ourselves in Him.
“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” Not just my lips. Not just my songs. My life.
PRAYER FOR WHOMSOEVERS
Lord, expose what I am holding back. Show me the areas where I have negotiated with You instead of surrendered to You. I confess that I have tried to keep parts of my life under my own control. Today, I release them. I surrender my finances, my relationships, my reputation, my fears, and my future. Take it all. Use it all. I am Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
