Commitment (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/21/2013 12:21 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Commitment

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We begin to look at the second main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Proverbs.  He has entitled this chapter “Enjoying God’s Guidance,” and the first way that we can do this is by faith, which we looked at in yesterday’s SD.

            2. Commitment

            When we were born into the world physically we were born spiritually dead as Paul writes when he states that “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”  Then one day the Holy Spirit of God gave to us an effective call, a call we could not say no to, and at that point we were born again.  We confessed to the Lord that we are sinners, born into sin and that there was no possible way we could ever come into His presence on our own and so we invited the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts to be our Savior and our Lord.  Our lives are completely different from that time on and so we have to realize that we have a commitment to our Lord unlike any commitment we have had to anything else ever.  Our goals are different as we seek to walk with the Lord to please Him.  However there are times when our commitment is lacking and we slip back into having a commitment to the world and its pleasures.  We realize this and then confess this to our Lord.  The commitment we have to the Lord is vastly different than any other commitment we have with anything else.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Knowing and doing the will of God isn’t a ‘spiritual technique’ that we use occasionally; it’s a committed lifestyle that involves everything we do.”

            I have been watching one of my favorite channels, the Golf Channel, and there is a program on it that features a man by the name of Hank Haney and he is a world renowned golf teacher who is teaching Michael Phelps.  “Michael Fred Phelps II is a retired American swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals.”  During the last program Haney asks Phelps how committed to learning golf was he?  Michael said he had to sleep on it, and the next day he said he was all out to learning golf.  Haney kept saying to him “you’re Michael Phelps you know what commitment is all about.”  I suppose we could say something similar to the apostle Paul about his commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Hopefully we will someday say the same thing about all who have named the name of Jesus Christ.  “He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded (Pr. 13:13).” 

            We have seen from the book of Proverbs that the father will give loving calls to obedience to his son, “My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments (Pr. 3:1).”  “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother (Pr. 6:20).”  “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you (Pr. 7:1).”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The will of God isn’t a curiosity for us to study, it’s a command for us to obey; God isn’t obligated to reveal His will unless we’re willing to do it.”  “"If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority (John 7:17 NKJV).”  F. W. Robertson said “Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “This commitment is spelled out in Romans 12:1-2, another familiar passage about the will of God.  Before I can ‘prove by experience’ what God’s will is, and discover that His will is ‘good, pleasing and perfect’ (NIV), I must give Him my body, my mind, and my will, a total commitment of my total being.  This is a once-for-all presentation, but it needs to be renewed daily as we meet with the Lord in worship and prayer.”

            God does not want us to be “cafeteria Christians’, Christian who will not let God plan the meal for us but who pick and chose what they want from the menu.  Take a close look at the life of Jesus Christ while on earth and you will discover that His total desire was to do what the Father had given Him to do, to offer Himself as a sin substitute for us because of His great love for us.  Can we do less?  When we don’t do it we are being selfish, carrying for our own will more that wanting to do the will of God.

            We have been look at Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following about the word “acknowledge:” “ Acknowledge carries with it the idea of intimate communion and is used to describe the marriage relationship (Gen. 4:1; 19:8).  Whenever I find myself distant from my Father, then I know that I’ve allowed something to enter my life that is not in the sphere of His will.  Since the will of God comes from the heart of God, it ought to draw my heart closer to Him.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can truly say that I needed this SD, and have needed it for a while, but I know that God’s timing is always perfect.  My commitment to following the will of God needs to get better, and by God’s grace it will.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To remember that in all my ways I must acknowledge Him so that He can make my paths straight.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-7

            1 How blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Answer to yesterday’s question:  “The power to give the Holy Spirit to others.”  (Acts 8:18-19)

Question for Today:  “What did Jesus say to Matthew when he called Him?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

3/21/2013 1:21 PM