Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach of the Green Bay Packers, said: "Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."
The question for today and the next 30 days is: How committed are you to the Lord?
Today's Devotional Scripture
"The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chronicles 16:9, New Living Translation)
Where Do You Spend Your Time and Money?
In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren notes that you can measure a person's commitment by looking at his or her checkbook and his or her appointment book. People's commitments tend to be tied to where they spend their money and time.
Coach Lombardi built his championship teams on the principle that you win more games when you function as a team with one objective as opposed to multiple personalities seeking multiple objectives.
Jesus Doing the Will of God the Father
I like to go on adventures so I searched the 2011 New International Version of The Bible for any Gospel passages where Jesus says: "I have come to do the will of My Father."
I found six instances in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with the most verses centering around one event - the prayers of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before His arrest.
Do you want to know what total commitment looks and feels like?
Read Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-41 and Luke 22:39-46. One of the most powerful verses on commitment and self-sacrifice is Luke 22:44, which says: " And being in anguish, he (Jesus) prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."
Five Helpful Suggestions
The demands of total commitment are great, but here are five suggestions that may help you in preparing for your daily journey through life on earth..
- Listen to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not like a genie who grants wishes if you pray the right way. The Holy Spirit was given to you by Jesus so you would have a counselor, a comforter, a teacher and an encourager dwelling within you. Sometimes you need to stop thinking, plotting and trying so hard and just listen. You can hear the "still small voice" if you just calm down and let the Holy Spirit guide your steps.
- Pray. "You've got to pray to make it today" is more than just a lyrical catchphrase. You may want to go back and read Days 9 and 10 of our countdown to Easter. Pray when you are alone, pray with loved ones and pray with a committed group pf believers.
- Read The Bible. God's Word provides spiritual food. One thing God has done for me is reveal more of Himself and Jesus through the Holy Scriptures. It seems like I find something every day that I can apply to my life as I read The Bible. The Bible is full of ordinary, less than perfect people who were made extraordinary by the power and will of God.
- Seek the counsel of spiritually strong people. Committed people lean on other committed people for wise counsel and advice. If you aren't sure who the strongest people of faith are in your fellowship or church, ask others around you. They will point you to the right men and women.
- Praise! I don't think we praise God enough for the many blessings He bestows on us. We have eternal expectations, but we treat them as "whatever." Ask yourself one or more of the following questions: Who created the earth, the sky and the seas? Who made humanity out of the dust? Who intercedes for us in ways we cannot imagine? Who is waiting to welcome you to an eternal, heavenly place?
Jesus said in John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."
You have the ability. Maybe you just need to apply one or more of the suggestions included in this article.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity to commit myself completely to You. I stand in awe of Your loving-kindness toward me. Lead me on an upward path to wholehearted devotion to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
I have attached a music video of "All to Us" by Chris Tomlin to this article to remind us of who Jesus is and what He did for us.
The tag on Twitter for this article is #committedtoChrist and it is logged by @denimartin. You can also comment on this article or send me an email at deni-martin@att.net.
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