Confront the Enemy!
Have you the confronted the enemy in your Christian life? “What enemy?” you ask. It is the enemy of dedicated service to the Lord Jesus Christ. That enemy is a refusal to make commitments in your spiritual life.
We make commitments in every other area of our lives but our walk with Christ. The unspoken reason for not making commitments is easy to understand. If I don’t make a commitment, then I don’t do something I know I should do, and I can excuse myself from any responsibility—i.e. “Hey, I never said I would do it.” The only problem with not making commitments in your spiritual life is that it is contrary to God’s Word. Jesus always called His followers to commitment. That’s why the rich young man of Mark 10:17-22 left sad. He wanted to enjoy a relationship with the Lord without giving up anything. When you make a commitment in some area of your life, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to remind you of that decision. Then, when you follow through with the commitment, you grow spiritually (and receive blessing from God). Learn to have the heart of Daniel. It is recorded of him that he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.” (Daniel 1:8) That young man made a commitment in his service to the Lord regarding what he would eat and drink. Then, when the time came for him to be tested in that area, he was reminded of the commitment. He followed through and grew mightily in his spiritual life. And the Lord blessed Daniel by having him promoted to a place of great responsibility in the kingdom. What a contrast to the testimony of the rich young man! Are you confronting the “enemy” of your walk with the Lord?
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.