In Exodus 20, the first of the commandments is to "have no other gods before me."

In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus says the greatest commandment is "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Luke adds strength - see Luke 10:27)

In Deuteronomy 30:6, the NCV version reads, "The LORD your God will prepare you and your descendants to love him with your whole being so that you will live." The NRSV renders this, "Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live."

In John 3 Jesus speaks with Nicodemus and tells him that in order to see the Kingdom of God you must be born from above, born from the Spirit.

Scripture doesn't use the term "surrender" in terms of us to God. The only translation of the NLT, NCV, NKJ, NIV, and NASB translations (from a Bible Gateway search) that uses anything close to this is the NLT. Once this is in reference to surrendering pride. The other translations render things as "circumcise the heart."

The act of circumcision was an act of agreeance and joining into a covenant with God. To circumcise our hearts is to join in that covenant (the new covenant Jesus gave to us - see Luke 22). We offer our hearts to him and he circumcises us (according to Deuteronomy 30:6) causing us therefore to fulfill the command of Exodus 20 and doing what was discussed with Nicodemus in John 3. This covenant we enter into is a partnership between God and us. It is not one-sided.

So many times it seems we Christians talk about "surrender" as a place where we give ourselves to God and He does the rest. He does circumcise our hearts through the Holy Spirit (see Colossians 2:11), but we are now living in partnership, not slavery to Him. The concept of surrender is not biblical in that He doesn't take us over, instead it's an agreement and joining in in Him and who He is. That is the circumcision of the heart - a partnership. It is a joining in of us into His Life, into His will. Our hearts are aligned with His and we join in with Him as partners in ministry as He completes His works through us.

In the world of Christ there are those who say that we will never know when He is returning and so we wait flippantly for His return. Then there are those who say His return is imminent and they are so focused on it that they cannot function in anything else. But what does His word say? Jesus said to know the times. We cannot know the date, but we can know the times. And in those times we are to wait for Him eagerly, while still maintaining that which He has assigned us to. For some that's caring for other servants. For some it's doing the task of preaching, or healing, or sharing Him in the workforce. Wherever you have found yourself assigned, do it to His glory while still keeping an eye open and a lamp full and ready for His return. He is only like a thief in the night for those who are not watching. For the others it's like the man returning from a trip to servants who have been awaiting his return.