A Life Committed to God - Day 84 Through the Bible in a Year

"The Monet Award" - Each spring the Toe River Arts Council hosts an en plein air juried event around our hometown and on the historic town square.  

The Call: A Life Committed to God - Deuteronomy 11 and 12: God calls us to commit to Him in both the OT and NT readings today. Note the importance of repetitive commands:  "take heed to yourself (4 times in these two chapters)...lest your heart be deceived... that you are not ensnared..., that you do not forget....that you do all I command you."  Also repeated numerous times: "obey, do, keep, bind, teach follow... My commandments."  The Israelites had not and were not remembering or following these warnings.  Moses chastises them:  "You shall not do as we are doing here today - every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes." (12:8)  As the OT warns about the necessity of the life committed to God, the NT reading illustrates this ideal life.  

Joseph: Example of a Man Committed to God  - Luke 2: Yesterday we looked at the committed lives of "righteous" Elizabeth and Zacharias - of the the tribe of Levi - and the blessing of the birth of their son, God's chosen forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist.  Today's committed lives are from the tribe of Judah.  We have spoken about the humble, obedient life of Mary who chose to honor God - disregarding what man should think. Today, Dr. Charles Stanley looks more closely at the life of Joseph, a committed man of God.  What were Joseph's godly traits?  "1) Concerned for others before himself - for his betrothed and her reputation, not his own,  2) Sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading - heart, ears, and will attuned to the voice of God, 3) Valuing God's plan above what others might think of him. 4) Accepting of God's guidance (both regarding the birth and the flight to Egypt).  Joseph, a humble man, honored God by obeying His Word, by remaining consistent and content, by being reliable in following God regardless of the personal costs" - the essence of a life committed to God.

 My Lesson / Application  Two words from today's lessons seem to sum up where we have gone wrong and what we are lacking.  We have erred in allowing ourselves to be deceived by the world's philosophy - in following it rather than God's Word - in honoring men rather than God.  We are lacking commitment to God in personal, family and corporate life.  Our families are disintegrating, our churches lack godly power, and our institutions are rife with corruption. May God have mercy on us, and may we no longer "do as we are doing here today - every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes."  If it is true that at each pivotal point in the church's history there has been a clarion call of God for certain of His people to arise, I emphatically believe that trumpet call today is for a new, powerful rising of the men of God - for God, for the church, for the family, for our nation, for the world - before it is too late.

The more the Gospel progresses and the closer we come to the end of the age, the more aggressive the enemy becomes. Sadly, many Christians are unaware that a battle is raging all around them, and they have not reported for duty. - David Jeremiah