mans 6:13 ….yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead.
Most people think of yielding as giving up. If they yield to Satan, through the temptation of sin, they are right. It doesn’t have to be permanent, but yes, for the moment they have surrendered to the forces of evil. Take this glue sniffer in the picture above for example. He is a sweet kid. He still calls me pastor. But he started sniffing glue when he was a little grommet. Now he would rather sniff glue than eat. I did manage to get his brother to force a few spaghetti noodles down his throat today, but he has quit trying to live. He doesn’t even want to eat any more. There´s nothing physically left in his mind anymore. It has been eaten away by glue fumes. Literally! I have seen glue sniffers who eventually lost all their bones and cartilage in their face because of the glue fumes. However, Jesus made his brains so He can restore his brains just as easily. When we get saved we have the mind of Christ as it says in 1 Cor 2:16. Jesus can totally turn his life around, to include growing and repairing a new brain. The only condition is that he would have to yield to the Lord first. I don´t know his real name because everyone calls him ´Necio´ (pest) because he’s been sniffing glue for so long he has totally worn out everyone’s patience with him. All he answers to is ´Necio´. His mother used to work with us in Calvary Chapel Managua when we first started. He knew the Word of God, but he yielded to his addiction. Please pray for ´Necio´. Sorry, like I said, I don´t know his real name, I don´t think anyone else does either. God does though, and God still does miracles.
When people hear someone say ‘yield to God’ they usually think that that means sit back, do ‘church stuff’ and let God handle everything else. People think of the word yield as yielding to traffic when merging onto a highway. That is one true definition in the original Greek, preferring others to have their way over yours. People erroneously take yielding to God as stopping everything that they are doing, and letting God do it all for them.
Let me explain the role of the Holy Spirit. He is our helper. If I ask you to come over and help me move, but I just sit there on the couch playing on my phone while you are moving all the furniture and stuff, you are not helping me, you are doing all the work. You are working for me. When I ask for help moving, that means that I carry stuff myself. I work along with you. You help me, as I am working. That´s what help means. That´s what the Holy Spirit does when we ask Him for help. He works alongside us.
While you can give all the worry, fear and uncertainty to Jesus, you can’t just fall into a spiritual coma. You have the responsibilities to do and act at the Holy Spirit`s leading. The Holy Spirit will guide you. The Holy Spirit will lead you. The Holy Spirit will in fact help you. But you have to be doing what He shows you to do, and acting with urgency upon His leading.
Another definition of the word yield in the original Greek is the word ‘do’. People often overlook that part. The word of God is a double edged sword as it says in Hebrews 4:12. It cuts deeply to the core of all the hearers and readers. When we yield to the Spirit of God, it is to DO His will. His will is never to have you sitting behind a desk, on a pew, in a golf cart, or on a couch and expect Him to do it all for you.
I posted a meme on FaceBook that got a lot of interesting feedback this week. It said something like ‘it is better to treat people right than to post Bible verses on FB all the time’. The truth is we need to share God’s Word AND Treat people right simultaneously. Posting scriptures all the time on FB is great. I post a lot of scriptures on FB! But I would hope that when I meet some of my FB followers face to face, they will see someone doing what God wants them to be doing, in the way that God wants it done, with a cheerful disposition. Many FB followers recognize me before I recognize them. A bald, giant gringo walking around in one of the most dangerous market places in central america for example is pretty obvious. Most FB ´friends´ usually watch me for a while without my knowledge, to see if I am the real thing. What they are really looking for is to see if I am yielded to the Spirit of God, or not. We should post, talk, write, preach EXPECTING that our readers will get a chance to see how we (Christians) live in REAL TIME. That will confirm to them that we are not phoneys, and what’s even more important, That Jesus Is Alive!
I rest my case with this verse: James 1:22 says But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
A person who is fully yielded to God happily does what God wants, in the way that God wants. We, as true believers, all have been fully yielded to God at one time or another. Not continually, but sometimes. And it felt wonderful. Yielding to God is demonstrated by giving, going, loving, interceding, forgiving, receiving, listening and talking. I wish I could always be fully yielded to God, but strangely, I am not. Like I said, I don’t think anyone is all the time. Being fully yielded to God is doing a lot, and acting on what He wants, without hesitation.
As a result of yielding to God and doing what He wanted, I drove down to Nicaragua about 3 decades ago. I have been clumsily serving Him ever since in Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, USA and Panama. For the past decade, Winnie and I have yielded to the Lord’s guidance and provision by staying strictly in Nicaragua. Feeding centers, orphanages, old folks homes and schools seems to be what He has in the plans for Winnie and me. That requires staying put (which is not easy for me either). All of these dreams and visions will come to pass as a result of yielding to God and acting when the Holy Spirit shows us. The process is painfully slow, but not yielding to the Holy Spirit is even more painful.
As previously stated, neither I nor anyone else is fully yielded to God all the time. When we are not yielded to God we are resisting Him. When we are not yielded to God we are not doing what He wants. Resisting God is what Satan wants. Not yielding to God is resisting God. Resisting God is yielding to Satan. It’s one or the other. Satan wants you to resist God. If we yield to God we are resisting Satan. It is so much better for all concerned to resist Satan than God!
James 4:7 says Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
With much love in Jesus
Dean and Winnie Peters
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Managua Nicaragua https://www.facebook.com/winnie.pureheart www.whatistheloveofGod.com www.PureHeartChildren.org
COVID 19 UPDATE- GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE, PRAYER STILL CHANGES THINGS. WE STILL HAVE NOT HAD ONE CASE AMONG THE 300+ FAMILIES WE SERVE, NOR AMONG OUR STAFF, NOR THEIR EXTENDED FRIENDS AND FAMILY HERE IN NICARAGUA. NICARAGUA SEEMS TO BE FINE FOR THE MOST PART! PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE IT IN THE STATES, AND HAVE LOST LOVED ONES. PSALM 91
Pureheart Update – WINTER BREAK IS OVER; BUT WE ARE STILL BUILDING AN ADDITION TO THE WINNER HOME FOR BETTER, MORE COMFORTABLE HOUSING FOR WINNIE AND A BIGGER WAREHOUSE. PRAY THAT THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT GOES SMOOTHLY WHILE CLASSES ARE IN SESSION. THE CONSTRUCTION CREW IS EXTREMELY PERCEPTIVE.
ppRAYER
prayer requests
- PRAYING TO BE OF USE TO GOD, TO WIN SOULS, AND TO FINISH WELL.
- FOR HEALING LOVED ONES WITH EVERYTHING FROM CANCER TO MENTAL ILLNESS.
- FOR HOME VISITATIONS TO PRODUCE RESULTS
- FOR OUR 2 FEEDING CENTERS AND THE TWO OTHER FEEDING CENTERS THAT WE HELP.
- AS WE ARE HELPING OTHERS WITH EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS RAINY SEASON DESTROYS THE SHACKS THAT MANY OF OUR PEOPLE LIVE IN.
- AS WE ARE STILL STRIVING WITH THE GOVERNMENTAL PAPERWORK, AMONG OF WHICH IS FOR PERMISSION TO HAVE AN ORPHANAGE-OLDFOLKS HOME ON A SUSTAINABLE GREEN FARM IN THE MANAGUA CITY LIMITS. THIS IS THE 4TH TIME IN TEN YEARS THAT WE HAVE HAD TO START AGAIN FROM SCRATCH EVERYTHING FROM ALL THE ACCOUNTING, BOOKS, AND PERMISSIONS FOR THE ORPHANAGE. EVEN REINCORPORATING DOWN HERE. IT GETS TOUGHER EVERY TIME, BUT WE AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE. THE CPA PAPERWORK AND ACCOUNTABILITY IS ESPECIALLY TOUGH. WE HAVE HAD TO DOUBLE OUR CPS´S PAY .
- AS WE ARE WAITING ON THE LORD TO PROVIDE FOR ALL THE FULL TIME STAFF, DOCTOR, NURSE, AIDES ETC THAT COME WITH A FARM THAT HAS ROOM FOR AN ORPHANAGE AND AN OLD FOLKS HOME ON IT, AS WELL AS THE PROPERTY ITSELF. EVEN WITH JUST AN ORPHANAGE HERE, OUR STAFF WILL ALMOST HAVE TO DOUBLE IN SIZE PER NICARAGUAN REGULATIONS
A TALL ORDER, BUT NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD, NOT EVEN DIFFICULT.
Please continue what you are doing to keep us going.. WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING, IT’S WORKING!!. pray, donate, and spread the word!