Is Our Commitment to Christ Showing Forth in and Through Us?
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday I spent some time with a friend whose wife was dying. She was in her last hours. He has been married to her for fifty-nine and one half years and for the last few her caregiver. They will not make their sixtieth. He summed up the experience that reflected his faith and marriage in one word…commitment. Words like promise, vow and pledge describes his marriage and his duty to the divine. His loyalty is admirable. When I asked him what prayers he wanted for his situation he asked me to pray for one of his grandkids who was bitter about life. Is Our Commitment to Christ Showing Forth in and Through Us?
Scripture: Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3 (NRSV)
Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord lightens my darkness. By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path. He made my feet like the feet of deer, and set me secure on the heights.
2 Samuel 22:29-34 (NRSV)
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:27-33 (NRSV)
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
Psalm 37:5 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s devotional and scripture is a call to commitment… a commitment to a spouse, a commitment to the Lord, a commitment to personal growth, a commitment to a local fellowship of relationships, a commitment to share the faith, and put our talents and abilities to work for the least, last and lost. Christianity is not a sideline experience friends. At some point you have to jump into the water to experience the connection between effort and success. You have to practice swimming against the current. If you do not jump in, the adversities of life will throw you in and for the unprepared drag you down. To survive against the rapids of life, God’s Spirit must live in and through you. It is about commitment. It is about your commitment to God and God’s commitment to you. The question is whether we are faithfully committed are only half-heartedly committed. You see God wants surrender. He wants our commitment to extend beyond self to family, church, and to an experience with Him.
Tying up all the loose ends in our lives helps us to understand that the intensity of our commitments are really a reflection of our commitment to love. Here we discover the strength of our commitment. Here we discover if we can go the distance. Here, avoiding commitments can easily be seen as an act of pride and sin… foolishness and selfishness…deflecting God’s love of us. It can also be a coward’s escape from opportunity and responsibility. Friends, every believer must know and realize the real value of commitment born from our deepening awareness of how we are to show our living faith. And it means we give up control. For only when we are ready to make that kind of commitment will it change our lives. Friends, there is a very large gap between our ideas of religion and our commitment to God.
In the book of Matthew Jesus tells us what He expects of His disciples…of us. We need to have commitment to face the opposition in this world, for it is our belief that makes us righteous…our faith that protects us. The message is clear. We need to stand our ground in what we believe and boldly proclaim the good news…even at a deathbed. The reality is that Christ expects us to acknowledge Him before men….to love…to make a lifelong commitment.
Pray we have the courage to make a commitment. Pray we make a commitment to serve. Pray we have a sense of urgency and commitment to prayer. Pray we understand that keeping commitments builds trust.
Pray we have a lifetime commitment to God from the moment we first believe. Pray we trust God. Pray we know God in truth. Pray we continue to learn to grow in love of God and others. Pray that we realize that when the whole family believes in God, they will be filled with joy. Pray that we pass on the truth with great patience and proper instruction. Pray that our households become places of love…that we show our metal…that we show the young ones how victories are won…pray that we show forth zeal and courage for the Redeemer’s cause allowing His spirit to work in us. Pray we face the discouragement and the lack of commitment of others. Pray we have a commitment to one another.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 