Scripture: Book of Ruth 1 v 16-18; Matthew 27 v 50 - 52;
Isaiah 53.
In many areas of life we need to make a firm commitment
:- To study well at school; to be a
faithful spouse; to succeed in a career; to serve the Lord our God
wholeheartedly; to perform our work ethic to a high standard. Our character is
revealed by how well we keep our commitments.
Ruth, by her own will and desire after the death of her
husband, chose to commit her life to following Naomi, her mother-in-law, to her
own land, Israel. She left her idols and religion to serve the one true God,
and stated "where you go, I go, where you die, I die". Naomi had been
a wonderful role model and mentor to Ruth, but she was surprised at Ruth's
fervent desire to follow her to her homeland.
We need to commit our lives to Jesus the same way. All or
nothing. Turn our backs on sin, corruption, lies and all evil to follow the
righteous King into everlasting life. Too many people "rent a place at the
altar" to recommit their lives to Jesus every few weeks when they live
their lives selfishly and 'in the flesh'.
Total commitment means that you see Jesus for who He is -
the only begotten Son of God, who came to Earth to save sinners. He laid down
His own life to break the power of death for every human being. He committed
His all as a ransom to redeem us all. What should our response be to such a
sacrifice?
We should be willing to lay our selfish lives aside and
become part of God's eternal plan to save the world.
It means giving up habits and behaviour that the sinful
world call fun and games. The sinful world watch us critically to expose any
bad behaviour that justifies them not following Jesus. They mock Christians who
live as they do.
So we need to show the world the power of Jesus to change
and transform us into a new creation of people that live holy, moral and dignified
lives; forsaking sin and evil practices to honour the Lamb of God who saved
them.
If Jesus is real to us we can make Him real to sinners by
the pure light that shines through us.
If we continue to smoke cigarettes or marijuana; get drunk; sleep around
or indulge in pagan religious activities disguised as Christianity then sinners
will remain unmoved by our witness for the life of Jesus. Our work for Jesus is
to be a true pure witness that draws sinners to the Cross where the Blood of
Jesus cleanses of all sin.
Prayer: Father God, as Jesus placed Himself in Your hands
in Gethsemane; in the Judgment Hall, on Golgotha, and in Paradise awaiting His
resurrection, so do I submit myself into Your hands, into Your kingdom forever.
As the dead saints of old followed Jesus out of Paradise into Heaven and were
seen by many on their way through, so do I follow Him through life and death
and resurrection into Your Kingdom.
(Matthew 27 v 50 - 52). In Jesus'
name. Amen.