WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
OCTOBER 30, 2024
TOPIC: FULL COMMITMENT TO GOD (2)
BY T. O. BANSO
“For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]” (Philippians 1:21 Amplified Bile).
Yesterday’s devotional focused on being fully committed to God, i.e. being loyal, devoted, and dedicated to Him, worshipping and adoring Him, and obeying His Word. Some examples of commitment to God in the Old and New Testaments were discussed.
The devotional today discusses more examples in the Bible.
Some examples of people who were fully committed to God
6. Abraham. Abraham was fully committed to God. His commitment is first seen in the Bible in his obedience to God when He called him. “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran” (Genesis 12:1-4 New International Version). Abraham obeyed God to go to a place God had not told him the exact name, leaving his comfort zone. Considering his age, 75 years, many people would have disobeyed God.
Another demonstration of Abraham’s commitment to God is his obedience to Him to go and sacrifice, as a burnt offering, Isaac, the promised child born after many years of waiting. “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you’” (Genesis 22:2 New International Version). How easy is it to give away only one thing you have, not to talk of sacrificing the only son someone has? God had promised to establish His covenant with Isaac as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him (Genesis 17:19). Yet, God said Abraham should go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. How then would the covenant be established?
But Abraham, a man fully committed to God obeyed Him. As he was about to slay him, the angel of the LORD stopped him and provided a ram instead for the sacrifice. It was a test from God and he passed. “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me’” (Genesis 22:15-18 New International Version).
Referring to God’s test of Abraham’s faith, Hebrews 11:17-19 says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” New International Version). Abraham was fully committed to God. You, too, should.
7. Job. Job is another Old Testament Bible character, who was fully committed to God. Despite Job’s trials, he remained committed to God. But the devil said he would curse God he faced his trials but he didn’t (Job 1:11; 2:5). Job 1:22 says despite everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong. When his wife asked him to curse God and die, he rebuked her (Job 2:9-10). In Job 13:15, Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face” (New International Version). Job was fully committed to God despite all the many questions he asked because of God’s silence during his trials. In Job 19:25, he said, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (New International Version).
Eventually, God spoke and vindicated Job before his miserable comforter friends who had wrongly attributed his trials to sin. God humbled them by telling them to go to Job to sacrifice a burnt offering for themselves and for him to pray for them (Job 42:8). “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters” (verses 12-13 New International Version).
Trials and persecutions will test your commitment to God. Learn from Job. Persevere. God will not fail you.
8. Peter and John. These two apostles were arrested while they were speaking to the people after the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate and brought before the Sanhedrin. They defended themselves, refusing to be intimidated. In reply to the command of the Council not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus, they boldly told the members to judge whether it was right in the sight of God to listen to them more than to God. They were not ready to obey their command not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:1-22). Peter and John were fully committed to God and would not disobey God to obey man.
After their release, they went to meet their colleagues and they all prayed to God that they would speak His Word with great boldness and that He would stretch out His hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through Jesus’ name. The disciples were not silenced by the threats of the Sanhedrin. Acts 4:31 says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (New International Version). Be fully committed to God.
On another occasion when the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts 5 and were eventually flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them, they went away rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (verses 17-41). They were committed to God and knew that persecution was part of discipleship (John 15:20; Matthew 10:16-18).
9. Paul and Silas. These two apostles were fully committed to God and suffered because of Him. In Acts 16:16-40, they were stripped and beaten with rods while performing their ministerial duties and locked up in prison where, rather than regretting and lamenting, they were praying and singing hymns to God. The prison doors were supernaturally opened but they refused to flee. They were later released and begged to leave. Paul and Silas were fully committed to God and didn’t complain about their persecution.
In 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, Paul detailed his suffering for Christ. There is no expression of frustration in Paul’s account. Paul wrote in Romans 1:17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (New International Version). He also wrote in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (New King James Version). He was committed to God; he didn’t regret following and serving Him. He said, “For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]” (Philippians 1:21 Amplified Bile).
Be fully committed to God. It is better to die being committed to God than to live, forsaking Him. Life becomes miserable for a Christian who forsakes God. For thirty silver coins, Judas betrayed his master but he couldn’t keep the money. He returned it to the religious leaders who gave it to him but they rejected it too because it was blood money. He threw it away and went to commit suicide (Matthew 27:3-6; Acts 1:18).
If you compromise in little, you will compromise in much. Before Judas made himself available to the devil to betray Jesus, he had been available to him to steal. The Bible says in John 12:6 that Judas was a thief and had been stealing from the ministry’s money. If someone is useful to the devil in a little way, he will come for you when there is a bigger assignment! That’s why he came for Judas and not any other disciple. Be fully committed to God.
10. Jesus. Jesus is a perfect example of full commitment to God. Every child of God should emulate Him and do God’s will. Jesus, at different times during His earthly ministry, spoke and demonstrated His commitment to God. He said in John 5:30, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (New International Version). Also in John 6:38, Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me” (New International Version). Furthermore, in John 8:29, He said, “He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him” (New International Version).
Jesus did nothing independently of His Father even when He was aware that His crucifixion was near. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39 New International Version). He prayed the same prayer two more times before those who arrested Him came (verses 42 & 44).
Jesus did not put His comfort above the will of God. He was fully committed to God and obeyed Him. He said in John 4:34 that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him and to finish His work. Therefore, He died on the cross to save humanity. Desire to do God’s will, as Psalm 40:8 says. Emulate Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: These are just a few of the Bible characters who were fully committed to God. Be fully committed to God. Don’t be like King Asa of Judah who started well, doing what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD, but didn’t finish well (2 Chronicles 14:2; 16:7-9). His son, King Jehoshaphat, was unlike him. He was committed or devoted to the ways of the Lord (2 Chronicles 17:6). He followed the ways of his ancestor, David, a man after God’s heart (2 Chronicles 17:3; 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). He followed God’s commands rather than the practices of Israel (2 Chronicles 17:4).
Solomon started well as king. The Lord appeared to him twice (1 Kings 3:5; 1 Chronicles 1:7; 1 Kings 9:1-3; 2 Chronicles 7:11). But he did not continue to be committed to God. He went into marriage with foreign women who led him into idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-13). Learn from his error.
Also, don’t be like Demas. He loved the world and deserted Paul (2 Timothy 4:10). He most probably became an ex-Christian. Be fully committed to God. Remain committed to Him. Luke 9:62 says, “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (New International Version).
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to live for God and die for Him. I shall not do my will but the will of God. I shall not compromise my faith in God because of trials and persecution. Holy Spirit, help me to endure to the end. I shall not love the world but love the Lord.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
