How God Makes Men: Ten Epic Stories. Ten Proven Principles. One Huge Promise for Your Life.

by Patrick Morley

you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:11–18)

instead of getting what he deserved, he got something else—Jesus converted him into a new man.

thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited

patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:12–16)

Simply put, Paul never got over grace. Grace means getting the mercy we don’t deserve and not getti...

We try to have the best of what the Christian life has to offer without giving up our pursuit of the best of what the world has to offer. We tend to make a partial surrender of our

You start reading the Bible, attending church, and participating in a small group. Then someone takes you under his wing to disciple you. Your understanding of God begins to change. Slowly at first, because you have a lot of baggage—a duffel bag full of it.

But as you learn more, your estimate of God becomes higher and higher. You realize that He is so much greater than you ever imagined. You thought you would start to feel like you had a handle on God. Instead, you become overwhelmed by His attributes. You realize that He shrouds Himself in great mysteries. Then one day, because of how big God has become, you realize that you are not as big as you once thought you were. And your estimate of yourself starts to shrink. You become lower and lower in your own eyes.

Suffering compels us to seek the God that success makes us think we don’t need.

There is a God we want, and there is a God who is. They are not the same God. The turning point of our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is.

It finally sank in. I had wanted to

change God, but God wanted to change me. He wanted me to follow Jesus with my whole heart: wherever, whenever, whatever. That’s what He wants for all of us—a full, total, complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus. Let me explain what I mean.

“Well, okay then, but you’re not going to like my answer. I don’t think you Americans understand what Christianity is all about. Back in the 1960s you started to use the word ‘commitment’ to describe your relationship with Christ. However, any time a word comes into usage, another word goes into disuse.” He continued, “Until the 1960s, you Americans talked about ‘surrender’ to Christ. Surrender means giving up control, turning over all to the Master, Jesus. By changing to the word ‘commitment,’ your relationship with Christ has become something you do; therefore you are able to keep control. Surrender means giving up all rights to oneself.

There are two ways to go. The first is to get bogged down by insisting you know what’s best, trying to control the situation, exerting your will, trying to get your own way, and coming out on top. Filled with small ambitions, petty grievances, and easily hurt feelings, this is the way of the committed man. The other way is to deny yourself, come humbly to the foot of the cross, give Jesus your life daily, fully consider the gravity of your times, and fit into the larger perspective of what God is doing in the world. Filled with humble gratitude, this is the way of the surrendered man.

It’s so like God to redeem such a horrible situation. Today, Dan is happily married to a strong, surrendered Christian wife.

Have you truly surrendered, not just committed, your life to Jesus Christ? Maybe you have prayed a sinner’s prayer; maybe not. Maybe you surrendered in the past, but you have taken back control of your life. In any case, be sure to settle this issue before you set down this book.

The great irony of surrender is that it leads not to d...

Finally, once we raise our heads from making that full surrender, we are ready to take on our greatest role.

A servant is no longer preoccupied with the question “What do I want?” Instead he’s asking “What does the Master need?” This is no small difference.

A servant doesn’t serve God to get a reward (although there are many). A servant is simply doing his duty. Jesus said, “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” (Luke 17:10).

The chief test of whether or not you are a servant is whether you’re willing to be treated like one. If we never make a sacrifice for Jesus, then how will either one of us know that we really love Him? So whatever is asked of you—whether time, money, a menial task, or something that is inconvenient or “beneath” you—the questions to ask are, What does the Master need? What would a servant do? Practically speaking...

To God, our work is serving the Lord. So, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.… It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23–24).

You see, there is no such thing as a “secular” job. He equips and sends us to be carpenters, plumbers, custodians, doctors, computer repairmen, truck drivers, lawyers, politicians, soldiers, and so on. Every vocation is holy to the Lord. Our work is not merely a means to other ends. There is intrinsic value in the work we do.