Commitment

Welcome friends to another week. It is hard to believe this year is about gone. We have seen so many changes in the world this year. It is amazing! My friends, we are not perfect. It does not matter how much we want to be; it is not possible. We all do things we should not do. However, God still blesses us continuously. My ah-ha moment was when I did not show Christ this week. I was attending to business with a neighbor. An unknown man yelled at me while running errands, which angered me. Once I calmed down, I found myself praying for that man and myself.

Afterward, I watched John Piper’s video on Faith Social. https://www.faithsocial.com/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaSmip_dPlo Before his sermon, he began by reminding us that we all mess up. (You may not see that part.) Then he gave an excellent illustration of Naomi and Ruth. Naomi grieved for her husband, Boaz, who passed away. Afterward, she moved (not like we do.). There was not a moving truck nor a car for her to drive to her new home. Therefore, she and her daughter-in-law Naomi walked many miles from Moab (Jordan) to Israel, about 102 miles today, depending on the point of origin. Rev. Piper reminded me of our lives. Life is not smooth; there are many blows and disappointments. Beloved people or animals die or separate from us (Children grow up then out, marriages break up, disagreements cause hardship, and the list continues.) We can all identify with the list above; many of you can add to this list.

Rev. Piper also reminded me of rain. God sends rain and sunlight. Our lives cannot always be sunny; if so, we would not appreciate what God does for us. What would happen if we never experienced any problems? We would expect the Lord to keep troubles away, which is not what he does. If we always had extraordinary lives, we would not appreciate what Christ did for us. If we did not sin, we would be perfect then Christ’s death would be in vain.

That said, when chips are down, do we pray more or less? When life is good, do we pray or read our Bibles as we should? In other words, commitment requires work. Regardless of our faith in him (some people do not believe at all) or sin condition, he does not ever waiver; however, we do. It is human nature.

Ruth’s commitment to God and Boaz was evident by her actions, and so was the devotion between Ruth and Naomi. These women honored God by their faithfulness. As a result, God allowed Noami to marry Boaz, producing Obed, Jessie, and David (later crowned king). What an excellent example of commitment and faith! Like Ruth, God honors our commitment and faith as well with crowns. Of the 164 times in the Bible, I’d like to leave you with one of the strongest verses, in my opinion. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5)

God Bless and have a great week,

Dorothy

Clouds