Commitment

commitment |kəˈmitmənt| noun 1 the act of committing or the state of being committed. • dedication; application : the company’s commitment to quality. • a pledge or undertaking : I cannot make such a commitment at the moment. • an act of pledging or setting aside something : there must be a major commitment of money and time. 2 (usu. commitments) an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action : business commitments | young people delay major commitments including marriage and children.

 

Dedication, pledging something aside.

Commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s a daily commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and you must be all in.

Jesus says in Mark 8:34,

” And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ” (NASB) Mark 8:34

In Luke 9:23,

Jesus says, “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

There He uses the word “daily”.

Yes, it’s a daily commitment to deny yourself, pick up your cross daily and follow Him.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, sometimes you don’t want to do that at all. You say I want to do my own thing.

But once you do that, you will see that way, that road, is not good. You will center on yourself and by doing that, life will go downhill.

Life will be totally empty and void if you do it your own way when not denying yourself and picking up that cross and following Him.

How do I know?

Experience. I have done just that. Lived my life my own way, doing the Frank Sinatra thing. “I do it my way”. By focusing on myself, I see all the sin in my life, I make judgements about other people. It’s a mess.

You have to stick close to Him, follow Him, each and every day. Yes, there will be days where the path Jesus takes you will be rough and tough, bleak and totally not fun.

Do it anyway.

Be committed to Him. Start out each morning with a simple prayer – I am committed to You, Lord Jesus. I love You. You died for me. You love me. I am Yours.

Be blessed in following Him and being committed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’d Rather Have Jesus

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain,
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

iPhone

I am writing this post from my iPhone.

How amazing is that!

Being Honest & Real

Most people who vist this blog do not know the slightest thing about me. They don’t know what I like, dislike, my views on many myriad items, etc.

I keep it to myself because I grew up thinking that people don’t give a care about myself, so I kept it to myself.

But…I had a conversation with a fellow Follower in Christ this morning and she gave me a link to her blog stating things about HER that people don’t know about.

Quite an interesting list for sure. I told her that if I made a list about myself, it would be very short. She replied, people still would like to know about you whether the list is short or not. People want to know you!

I can state the first thing about myself is that I am very, very private about myself.  Maybe that is why I don’t have much friends, eh? The Bible states that if you want friends, you have to be friendly with others. Makes sense.

So…here is a list about myself. Exposing yourself to others is risky, but it makes you grow in relationships with others.

Random thoughts here.

1) As I stated, I am very private.

2) I am an Apple boy. I have Apple “toys”. An iMac, Apple TV, 13 inch MacBook, iPhone, iPod Touch. I got hooked about 3 yrs ago when I was visiting Tuscon, AZ, Arizona University. They had an Apple retail store there selling iPod Touch. I was simply awestruck by the beauty and the technology of the device. After that, rest is history. 😀

The saying goes: “Once you go MAC, you will never go back!”,in referencing to Windows Operating Systems and computers. The statement is very true.

3) I am a Gulf War Vet. No, not the current Operation in Iraq, but the first Operation. Shield and Storm in 90/91. I don’t talk about that very much. I was in the rear theatre during the whole operation, so I didn’t see any action of any kind. But you have to be there to understand what feelings/thoughts go through my mind. I did celebrate my 25th Birthday out in the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. That was interesting. Got a steak for dinner. But what kind of meat it was, still don’t know.

4) I am an only child. Many thoughts/feelings about that, but that is ultra-private. It’s not fun to be an only child. Oh sure, you who have siblings think it would be ultra-cool to be an only child. No. It’s lonely, not only then but in the future as well.

5) As I mentioned I am a private guy. I keep to myself. Don’t bother anyone. Just do what I have to do and go on. Pretty dull life, eh? Again, maybe the Lord is starting to poke me about this “private” stuff and get me out of my hole? Stretching and getting out of that “comfort zone”.

6) Been to the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Mexico. Travelin dude here. Most because of the Army, but Mexico was a high school graduation gift from my parents. I took Spanish in my Senior year and had the chance to go to Mexico City, and Acapulco. Even deep fishing in the Pacific Ocean. How cool is that? Ultra cool, though I didn’t fish, just watched.  Africa was not an Army thing. Did you know that I am a Missionary? 😀 My former church sponsored a couple in Ghana, West Africa. In 2004, me and 2 other Brothers took the trip there for a construction trip, to install electrical wires, the whole bit to a new house. Talking about starting from scratch! That trip effected me in many ways afterward, a lot of negative ways. That is another blog.

7) I love to read. When I was young, 5 yrs or so, I had a speech impeditment. Couldn’t say TH in a word. For example, Thursday. I don’t remember what I said, but it didn’t come out right. So, in order to get it right, the “doc” had me started to read all kinds of books out loud to my mother and others. I got hooked. I am not much of a book worm now as I used to. I work with books, textbooks, now and so the desire to read is seriously dampened, lol. But reading is very important in a child’s life. It can lead to great adventures in the mind 😀

8) I like to eat. Too much. I have always been big. During elementary, junior high, high school and into college. After college, I went into the Army. Lost 40 lbs. After the Army though, I ballooned up way past 230. Lost 45 lbs. Gained it again to 242. Lost 30 lbs and that is where I am at now. 211 lbs. If you have problems with food addiction or any other addiction, I suggest www.settingcaptivesfree.com, a 60 day Bible study on any particular addiction. It’s free and you get a mentor on the trip. Most important thing you get out of this, is a closer relationship with the LORD. That is awesome! Pray for me, for I still have issues with overeating. I just love to eat and I need to have Jesus fill me up, instead of food which is very temporary.

9) Since I have been alone all of my life, no friends and such, I have problems getting out what I think on views and such. I just can’t verbalize like I want to. I do have thoughts on such things, but they never get out in a very organized way. I need to work on that.

Well, I think that will be enough. I can’t think of anything more now.

Please pray for me. Before Christ, my view of myself was not pretty. My view of myself now is still not pretty, even though I know who I am in Christ Jesus and what He has done for and in me. Sanctification is a life-long process and I know that I have a very, long way. Holiness is the goal, to be like Christ. A prayer that we all need to pray for each other and ourselves.

May God bless and keep you.

RNS

“The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.”

Proverbs 22:7

This little verse in Proverbs packs a punch – two truths. One is dealing with money, the other sin. It doesn’t seem like they have anything in common, but…

The first truth is dealing with money. There is a saying “Money makes the world go around.”, made famous in the musical “Cabaret”. Without it, things will stop and the world will fall apart.

Americans love money. They spend money even if they don’t have any. That is called credit. Did you know that the average balance for a family who have credit cards is more than $9,300? The average American consumer debt is more than $2.7 TRILLION.

Yep, we love money. And we are poor. Because we are poor, we have become slaves to the lender (Credit Card companies). The credit card industry takes in $43 billion per year from fees like late payments, and balance transfers. People  are in no shape to pay back that kind of money!

Slaves.

Slaves that have no idea how to get out of the hole they are in, or see no hope at all.

Like slaves to money and credit cards, there are people who are slaves to sin. Unfortunately, we are born with sin and there are people out there who deny that they have sin in their lives. But sin is real. Look at the front page of your morning newspaper each morning and you will see.

Sin is a master that will not let you go. Sin leads to death, physically and  spiritually. Sin does not lead you to righteousness and to freedom, but enslavement.

Money is an enslavement. Talk to billionaires and you will find out they want more money! Slaves! Sin is an enslavement. Talk to a person who is addicted to a drug or to porn, they want more! Slaves!

It seems like there is no hope at all for those who are slaves. No one to come and help them or to free them.

But there is hope.

For those who are slaves to credit card debt, you need to check out Dave Ramsey. Dave is a guy who has been a slave and he found a way out of debt and he is teaching people all over the country how to do that. He has a class called Financial Peace University which helps people to get out of debt. I am taking that class and I can say it works, even only after 5 weeks in the class. You can become debt free and not to be a slave to the lender, the credit card companies nor anyone else for that matter! You can pay cash, instead of using credit!

As for sin, even though you were born of the sin nature, you CAN become free. There is no program, no class to be free of sin. There is only One Person who can set you free of being a slave to sin. That Person is Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. He died on the cross for your sins. Your sins were placed on Him and because the wages of sin is death, He died. BUT He overcame death and rose from the dead, having your sins forgiven and paid for.

The Apostle Paul talks about this in Romans 6:22. Now that you are freed from sin because of the Cross, and being enslaved to God instead of sin, the final benefit in your life is that you have eternal life in Christ Jesus! You are free!

Money and sin. Both enslavers. Both can cause pain and hurt in one’s life. One can cause death. Don’t be a slave no more to either.

Come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins.

Go to Dave Ramsey and check his website out.

GO!

Yes, Jesus loves me…

Jesus loves me!
This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak but He is strong.
Jesus loves me!
Loves me still,
Tho I’m very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free,
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me!
He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me!
He will stay
Close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me;
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Chorus:
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

–Anna B. Warner, 1820 -1915

This song, so well known to all who grew up in Sunday School, was originally a poem.

Oh, such simple words, but oh, what powerful words that Anna Warner scripted.

But there is a danger to such simple words. We can take those simple words for granted in every day life.

Think about it.

Here we have an Almighty, Holy God who is Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the Universe in the person of His Son, Jesus, come down to earth to save His people, His creation, from sin and death.

On a simple wooden cross, He bled and died for me.

Yes, God did demonstrate His love for me in a real and powerful way. By sacrificing Himself with His blood, our sins are washed away.

Forever.

Yes, Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, does love me and He still does, and will forever.

He loves you as well.

Don’t let that simple phrase make you stumble. He really, really, does love YOU!

Come to Him, receive Him, call upon Him.  Let Him come into your life and change you from the inside out!

Listen to Marshall Hall of the Gaither Vocal Band sings Jesus Loves me and let us all get that into our hearts and lives!

Yearning

Have you ever felt a yearning to get away from all the NOISE in your life and just be by yourself and God?

No cell phones.

No computers.

Just you and the Word of God.

I have.

And that yearning is back. Stronger this time around.

I so want to go and be with Him, away from it all.

Just to sit at His feet and just focus on Him only.

This song below is describing what I am feeling inside now.

As the deer pants for the water

So my soul longs after you

You alone are my hearts desire

And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone will my spirit yield

You alone are my hearts desire

And I long to worship You

I want You more than gold or silver

Only You can satisfy

You alone are the real joy giver

And the apple of my eye

You’re my friend and You are my Father

Even though You are my King

I love You more than any other

So much more than anything

As you listen to this song,  just sit back and just praise Him.

To yearn for the Living God, to pant for Him, to praise and worship Him only.

May that be my prayer for you and I, each and every day.

The Mirror

The Book of Romans is a book that can change a man’s life.

But only if he lets the Word of God penetrate his heart and his mind, that is.

Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

A man can look in a mirror and then forget, or denies what he has seen in the mirror. If a man looks into the Word of God and doesn’t let the Word of God change him, he will never change.

I first came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ back in October of 1991. During those long years, my walk with the LORD has been like a rollercoaster. Up, down. Sadly, it’s been mostly down.

But in the last 7 months, the Lord, in His mercy and grace, has started to work in me, through Christian Brothers and Sisters online, my church and most importantly, the Word of God.

I have not let the Word of God work in me as it should be. I never let the Word get into me and cleanse me from all the crud in my spirit and start to let Him, the Holy Spirit, to start the work that He can only do.

Until recently.

The other night, I read the first chapter of the Book of Romans line by line and read the commentary by John MacArthur along with it.

I never cried so much after reading that chapter.

The Word of God showed me that I was that man described in verses 28-32 before I came to Christ Jesus.

It shows me now that I am a totally depraved man without the righteousness of Christ Jesus the Lord.

I can’t come to Him only on my merits, my works, my deeds, no matter how good they look in my own eyes.

I am totally, utterly lost without the Lord’s mercy and grace through Jesus Christ and what He had done on the Cross and His resurrection.

The Word of God not only showed who I was before Christ, it shows me now who I am in Christ Jesus.

Paul in other letters that he wrote tells us who we are in Christ –

Holy

Blameless

Beyond reproach

Justified

Being sanctified

In Him, our Beloved.

The Word of God is there to help us change into the likeness of Christ Jesus. We can become like Him only if we look into the Word of God and let Him change us.

Start looking into that Mirror today.

Setting Captives Free

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus Christ said these words to the people in Nazareth about Himself and they were “filled with wrath” and almost threw Him off a cliff.

Why?

Because Jesus is claiming that by these words, He is the Messiah.

With Him being the Messiah, He can proclaim and set at liberty those who are oppressed.

Oppressed by sin, the sin of bondage to sexual sins, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders.

Any sin.

I can attest to what Jesus Christ has done in my life, setting me free from the captivity of sexual sin, specifically homosexuality.

The journey has not been easy. Jesus didn’t heal me all in one sweep, it took time. Mostly because of my pride, stubborness and not wanting to come out into the Light.

But the LORD has indeed set me, a captive, free.

How can He do this? With Him nothing is impossible, but let me explain what happened to me earlier this week.

Some background first: Once we surrender our lives to the Lord, the Holy Spirit of God comes in our lives, our bodies to “sanctify” us. Our body is the Temple of God because the Spirit of God is in us. This temple has rooms – rooms of lust, pride, anger, impatience, etc. With the rooms, there are keys.

To totally surrender to the Spirit of God, one must give up the key to a room that you want to keep to yourself. You can’t have it both ways. The Spirit of God so desires to clean up that room and fill it up with Himself and His Fruit, but if you hold on to that key to that room, He won’t come in. Instead you will not be filled with the Fruit, but with that sin.

Last Monday evening, I totally surrendered the key to sexual sin to the Spirit of God. I said to Him, Lord, take this key. I don’t want the fruit of this sin no more. It stinks, it is rotten, it is death. I want Your Fruit of joy, peace, love, etc. I so wanted this room to be holy and pure.

As of today, the Lord has been faithful in keeping that key from me. The temptations, the lusts of sexual sin, homosexuality, has been like nil, hardly nothing. I used to go to gay porn sites almost every day.

No more.

Are you a captive of sin? Do you really want to be set free from the bondage? Do you really want the Lord to set you free?

You can be set free. He has promised that He will. But you must come to Him in His way. Total surrender of that key to that room, that sin.

Blessings in Him, our Deliver from sin.

Sweetly Broken – Jeremy Riddle