Jesus Culture - Let It Echo DevotionalSample

"Everything And Nothing Less" - Chris McClarney

As I sit here writing this it’s only two weeks until Christmas. Every year my wife and I make a list of what we need get each family member and our friends weeks before the big day (so we’re not scrambling on Christmas Eve). I imagine that in a lot of ways God relates to me like I relate to my own children. That piece of refrigerator artwork, or craft, or even another pair of socks means a ton, not because it was expensive or particularly well done, but because it came from one of my children. The sad truth is simply that there’s no thing they could give me that I couldn’t just buy myself, and the REAL truth is that my wife or I give them money buy us something. So I actually AM buying it for myself).

That’s a lot how our relationship with our heavenly father is. He literally owns everything, and we don’t have anything he hasn’t already given us. The psalmist posed a similar question in Psalm 116:12: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?”

“Everything and Nothing Less” is about giving our everything back to God. All of it - our very best - our very worst - our every breath - our every song. Complete surrender, in humility, knowing that there truly isn’t anything else we can give worthy of His greatness.

Here’s the psalmists answer to the question in Psalm 116:13-19
“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord…I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”

What is he describing? Complete surrender and absolute sacrifice. Hopefully as people sing this song they’ll be able to reach even deeper places of surrender. For truly He is worthy of our very best…our all.