Commitment

Recently I shared the following west by Bishop Dale Bronner, "Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but because of lack of commitment."

How many times do we fall short because we are not committed?

As I reflected on Easter weekend and compared Easter weekend to this past weekend, I realized we had 90+ less people in church this past weekend than we had on Easter Sunday.

Why the big difference? I would say it is because of one word, "Commitment."

It seems that in today's culture people are committed to so many things that they have lost their commitment to God and to church attendance.

I know people are involved in a lot of "good" things. But we must realize that our involvement in "good" things has caused us to edge out the "best" thing.

Today, the church is competing with all the "good" things people are involved in. And sadly these "good" things cause people to fall away from their commitment to Christ. "How is that possible?" you ask.

Well it's simple. People are replacing what they should do with what they would rather do.

I hear things like this all the time.

"We would have been at church but we made a commitment to _______"

"We won't be at church because our child's team has a game."

You know, there was a day when people put their commitments to Christ and to the church above other things. Now the church has taken a back seat for most people.

Recent statistics say that the average church attender in America attends church once every 3 weeks!

So if you attend church every other week, you are above average!

Another survey said that on any given Sunday in any church in America, only about 40% of the people who call that church home are in attendance. And out of that 40% only about 30% will give financially.

I always thought saying your committed to something meant you gave 100%!

I wonder if so many people are struggling in their marriages, other relationships, finances, and other areas because they have their priorities all messed up?

I know this post probably won't get a lot of likes. But you know when it comes to commitment. there are "good" things we can be committed to and then there is what is best!

Fighting For Your Family

Tomorrow is Passover. This Sunday is Easter.
This week is an amazing week because we are reminded of what Christ Jesus has done for us.

Last night a friend reminded me of a sermon I did a few years ago called, "Fighting For Your Family."
The sermon talks about the very first Passover, and how God instructed Moses and the people of Israel to sacrifice a lamb and apply the blood of the lamb over the door post of their homes.

In a nut shell, someone had to be willing to apply the blood of the lamb to their homes as a covering for their family.

After many of us give our lives to Jesus, one of our biggest prayers is often that our family and a few close friends would also come to know the Lord...   Let the Lord use the “Passover Passage” from Exodus 12 to teach you how to “fight for your family.”  

Exodus 12:1-14 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.

¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord's Passover. ¹² “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. ¹⁴ “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

1.  THE PROVISION. 

“...each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household...” Exodus 12:3b

           

A. The lamb here was a prophetic symbol of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, who was going to give His life on the cross for all of us.  (“...The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...” John 1:29)

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

In the Old Testament they chose a perfect lamb to be the sacrifice for their sins. But a lamb wasn’t enough, so Jesus came to earth to be the sacrifice for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

                                                                                                                                                    

B. Notice the gripping truth...There was supposed to be a specific lamb FOR EACH HOUSE (FAMILY).

Somebody in that family had to decide they were going to fight for the lives of their family. Somebody had to decide that they would prepare the lamb so that their family would be covered by the blood when the LORD passed over.

"I want to, by faith, be a token, a symbol of You to my family. I want to be the person that if nobody else prays for my family I do, if no one else prays for my close friends, I will."

I want to be an extension of Jesus to my family and friends. — By faith I want to be the lamb for the house!

Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

Lord, by faith, I’ll be the one who stands in the gap for my family.

2.  THE PROBLEM. 

“...The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect...”    Exodus 12:5a

We’re all human and on our best day we’re not even close to perfect.

“The toughest people to be truly Christ-like around is often the people in your own family.”

“Preach the gospel. If necessary use words.” St Francis of Assissi

“To show a heart change there has to be an action change.”

3.  THE PRIVILEGE.  

“...Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs...” Exodus 12:7 

Somebody had to more than understand the sacrifice, they had to apply the blood. They had to do something about it.

A. Done through consistent prayer and from “praying back Scripture”  (Several listed below)

SCRIPTURES TO ‘PRAY BACK’ TO THE LORD AS YOU “ FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS” (In several Scriptures, we are giving them to you in “first person” so they are easier to “pray back...”)

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” Acts 16:31

“The Heavenly Father is turning the hearts of the fathers of this generation to be closer to their children. And He is turning the hearts of the children of this generation to be closer to their earthly fathers...”    Malachi 4:6

“I know that it is not the will of my Father in Heaven that one single person should be eternally lost.”   Matthew 18:14

“Jehovah God promises saying, ‘I will pour spiritual water upon people who are thirsty for truth and I will bring a flood of living water to break up the very dry grounds of people’s hearts. I will pour my Holy Spirit upon your family and I will bring my blessings to your offspring.’ ”  Isaiah 44:3  

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9

“And Jesus said, ‘If you can believe by faith in your heart, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE  to, through, and for the person who believes.”  Mark 9:23  

“For I am very confident of this one important thing:  That our Heavenly Father who has BEGUN a good work spiritually inside the heart of __________________________ will definitely COMPLETE that work before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.”   Philippians 1:6 

And finally...“Lord, according to the pattern you created in Exodus 12, make me ‘A LAMB FOR MY HOUSE’ in the lives of my non-Christian family and close friends....’A LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH’ ....And then by faith,    “I WILL PRAYERFULLY APPLY THE POWER OF THE BLOOD THAT JESUS CHRIST SHED ON THE CROSS   ...TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.”... Believing for them to come to know Jesus Christ in a personal way.    

Blessed by Falsehood!

The other day a friend told me of a meeting she attended. During the meeting my name was brought up and some things were said about me. (Nice to have friends who look out for you!)
Anyway, as she told me about the meeting, I kind of wanted to be upset about people saying things about me, especially people who don't really know me.

As I was playing all this over in my mind, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:11-12. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of things against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Now I know the things being said of me we not because I follow Christ. But the enemy of my soul used what was said to try and bring discouragement on me. As I thought about what was said, I began to feel encouraged. Why encouraged? Because this was a lesson in not caring what people think.
I am learning not to care what people say or think about me. All that matters is what Jesus thinks about me! I am striving to be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser.