Illustration results for commitment to christ
Topic of the Week: Changes
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Mark 14:32-14:42
Matthew 6:9-6:13
Joshua 1:1-3:1
1 John 4:7-4:21
Mark 10:17-10:22
2 Corinthians 5:17-5:17
$3.00 WORTH OF GOD, PLEASE
Tim Hansel in his book "When I Relax I feel Guilty," writes some insights of what most people want from God.
"I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please."
If we would be totally honest, the idea of transformation really scares us. That is because we know that such a radical change would be quite uncomfortable. We realize that with transformation comes a major overhaul of our lives and priorities.
(From a sermon by Scott Chambers, The Mission if You Accept it: Transformation, 2/15/2011)
“Joy in Christ requires a commitment to working at the Christian lifestyle. Salvation comes as a gif, but the joy of salvation demands disciplined action. Most Christians I know have just enough of the Gospel to make them miserable, but not enough to make them joyful. They know enough about the biblical message to keep them form doing the things which the world tempts them to do; but they do not have enough of a commitment to God to do those things through which they might experience the fullness of his joy.” (Tony Campolo. Seven Deadly Sins. p. 21)
John Maxwell—in his book “ Be a people person”-----states—“Until I am committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole steam of events erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons, and material assistance which I could never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me—the moment I make a commitment”
If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.
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Notice John Wesley’s Rule for Christian Living
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever... You can!
"You’ve got to count the cost when you carry the cross." - unknown
"If you want to follow Jesus," remarked the activist priest Berigan, "you had better look good on wood."
A.W. Tozer says that people who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks:
1. They are facing only one direction,
2. They can never turn back, ...
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, I am told that the captain of the ship transporting him sought to turn him back. "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages," he cried. Calvert only replied, "We died before we came here."
I like what President Jimmy Carter said in his Nobel Peace Prize Speech this past week:
The unchanging principles of life predate modern times. I worship Jesus Christ, whom we Christians consider to be the prince of peace. As a Jew, he taught us to cross religious boundaries in service and in love. He repeatedly reached out and embraced our Roman conquerors, other Gentiles and even the more-despised Samaritans.
Despite theological differences, all great religions share common commitments that define our ideal secular relationships. I’m convinced that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and others can embrace each other in a common effort to alleviate human suffering and to espouse peace.
Carter concluded his speech with this admonition:
Ladies and gentlemen, war may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us a capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes. And we must. –END OF CARTER”S SPEECH
How do you and I begin to make these changes suggested by Carter in his speech?
Reach out to someone, look out for their interests and needs, just as Joseph did for Mary and also, as Jesus did for us.
