As you have probably heard, there are some folks out there who claim to be the masters of deal making. And as you probably know already, making deals is all about making compromises as you negotiate the small, and not so small… details.

Can I just tell you that when we speak about ‘coming to Jesus’, there are no deals to be made, no negotiating petty details, nor do any of us have any leverage to use when it comes to receiving this eternal life that Jesus spoke about. God is the one who lays down the conditions, and we either accept them or we take our toys and go home…and perish. Yes, that sounds cold and harsh, but ‘unless we repent, we will all likewise perish’. (Luke 13:1-5)

Let’s be honest here…if you were afloat at sea for weeks in a small dingy, dying of thirst and starvation, and one lone sailing vessel comes by inviting you to board their craft…what ‘negotiating’ needs to take place before you board and are rescued? Yet, how many people today have been led to believe we can do that when it comes to turning to God in order to be ‘saved’? There are no ‘deals’ to be made, period. We either surrender our whole heart to Him or we will continue to walk in darkness, captive to the powers of evil, and be destroyed (John 3:36; Acts 26:18; 1 John 5:19; 2 Tim. 2:24-26).

We don’t ‘set the terms’ when it comes to becoming a child of God; He does. And Jesus made it clear, unless we are truly ‘born again of the Spirit’, and are ‘willing to forsake all that we have…we cannot be His disciple’ nor can we enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3; Luke 14:33). That’s the gospel in a ‘nutshell’.

I saw a quote the other day that someone shared that goes like this: ‘Christians don’t tell lies, but they sure do sing them at church weekly!” And the first hymn that came to mind was “I Surrender All”.

Yes, I’m still talking about what it means to experience the true peace of God that is available to all who call upon the name of the Lord. This has nothing to do with some ‘spiritual experience’ you might have in a robust church service. On the contrary, this has everything to do with walking in this ‘pathway of peace’ (Luke 1:79), where the peace of God reigns and rules in our hearts as we learn what it means to be ‘led by His Spirit’, which is what genuine ‘children of God’ do (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16,18).

I shared the other day the incident I had when I arrived at the wrong airport out here several years ago, and how I nearly went in to panic mode before the Holy Spirit calmed me down… and I purposed in that moment to ‘choose peace’. And peace is what washed over me when I just ‘surrendered all’ to God in that moment, including all plausible scenarios, and was just going to ‘trust Him’. And may I stress the fact that I surrendered all the possible outcomes in that moment, not making any conditions or empty promises to God suggesting that “if He did this, I’d do that”.

I remember as I was typing that out the other morning, I was reminded of a well-known story found in the book of Daniel. Perhaps you are familiar with the three Hebrew boys who were ‘cast into a fiery furnace’? You’ll find it in chapter 3 and may want to review that later, but for now I simply call to your attention this place of ‘surrender’ that those three young men reached. Things were looking bleak for them, and it all centered around their unwillingness to compromise and ‘bow down to a golden image’ set up by king Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:15).

The place of decision these young men came to is found in a quote which has been preached on and sang about for many years, and you’ll find it in vs. 17-18. It can be summarized like this: “We serve a God who is able to deliver us from this burning fire, and He will deliver us…but even if He doesn’t…we still are not going to bow.”

This enraged the king who had the furnace heated up seven times hotter than usual and into the fire they were tossed. (20-23)

A few moments later, a visual inspection was made and guess what was reported? After confirming that three men were tossed in, it seems that there were actually 4 men visible inside the furnace, untouched and unharmed, and the 4th Man in that fire had the ‘form like the Son of God’. (25)

Friends…this is a perfect picture of what true peace and total surrender looks like. And here’s the good news…any and all who call upon the name of the Lord…can be ‘saved’ and experience this; but you should know up front, that ‘calling upon His name’ means you will be ‘willing to do whatever He tells you to do’…if you want to see and experience true transformation yourself (John 2:5; Luke 6:46; Heb. 5:9). And just know that if/when you do this, God will…’test your heart’ to see how serious you are about beginning this walk of faith (Deut. 8:2; 1 Thess. 2:4).

And why would we not take Him up on this offer…or ‘deal’? What are your options? How has doing it ‘your way’ worked out for you? Need some encouraging news? It’s not the will of God for ANY…to perish, but for all to come to repentance and to come to the knowledge of the truth that they too…might be ‘saved’. (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4)

When it comes to ‘making deals’, at least in the movies or on those TV shows…you’ll hear someone toss out the phrase: “Make me an offer I can’t refuse.” So try this one on for size: Jesus offered: “I have come that you might have life, and it more abundantly; and he who believes in me shall never die/perish.” (John10:10; 11:25-26).

One might be inclined to respond: “What must I do?” (Acts 2:37-38). Well, that answer is short and simple: “Repent...and be baptized...”.

And if you refuse? Well…that answer is short and simple as well: You will perish (Luke 13:3,5). That’s when we usually hear the line: “Is that your final offer?”…followed up with an assuring: “Yes, it is. You can take it or leave it.”

Sadly…scripture seems to suggest more people ‘walk away’…than ‘take the deal’…and then in turn... follow Jesus. At least that’s what the Bible seems to teach and make clear.