Commit Yourself To God

Commit Yourself To God “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” 1st Peter 4:19 Just how committed are we to continually obey and follow the commandments of God every day of our lives? So often people become enthused and excited about their spiritual life, such as after a church revival, but as soon as the excitement wears off they are back to the daily routine and God begins to take a back seat to their other commitments. This reminds me of a story about a man in a fancy restaurant who started to choke on some food. A doctor rushed over, identified himself, and reassured the man that he was going to be all right. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and the food popped out. As the man’s breath and voice returned he said, “I’m ever so grateful, doctor, how can I ever repay you?’ The doctor smiled and said, “I’ll settle for one-tenth of what you were willing to pay while you were choking.” This is so true, as when we’re facing a crisis (especially a life threatening crisis), we would give everything we have to get through it. Money is no object. We do the same thing on a spiritual level. How many times have you faced a hardship or difficult time and prayed, “Lord, if you’ll just see me through this, I’ll serve you faithfully the rest of my life.” But what happens when the crisis passes? Those feelings of urgency about serving God pass as well. If we could commit ourselves to doing one-tenth of what we’re willing to do in those moments, most of us would ascend to a new level of commitment. I would encourage each of you to think about your commitment to God, and determine just how committed you really are to serving Him and obeying His commands. Now is the time to recommit yourself. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 27 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Serve God Every Day

Serve God Every Day “Then he said to them all: if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 Several years ago I heard a dynamic speaker who spoke at our church. He was an eloquent speaker and really had the audience worked up by his rhetoric and his ability to get them enthused and excited. However underneath his sensationalism his words were not exactly what the Bible teaches us. In the book of 2nd John the Bible warns of false teachers, and tells us to “Watch Out”. So often Christians can be led astray by sensationalism, but this is nothing new, as there have always been speakers who know how to get people worked up and excited. Often this kind of speaker majors on excitement, and minors on Biblical truth, and sometimes teaches error. I believe that many Christians are gullible, which could be why they are called sheep, and many are led astray easily when they become excited and enthused by a gifted speaker, even when they are not speaking the truth. It is good to be excited, enthused and renewed from time to time by hearing the word of God taught by an exciting and enthusiastic man of God, however we need to keep this excitement and enthusiasm in our lives on a daily basis, not just occasionally. The scripture above says to “take up his cross daily” not just at special times. Do we think that we are only effective in serving Jesus when we are all revved up and excited? We need to always be excited and enthused about serving Jesus. I would hope that God’s power and presence can be seen in our everyday lives and not just at special times. This faithfulness in our everyday life can be a powerful witness to others. We need to focus on glorifying God in our daily lives, even on those days that are average days, and ones that are not so exciting and sensational. May 25 Robert Wiliam Brock, Jr.

Be Patient And Prepared

Be Patient And Prepared “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” Hebrews 11:7 So often I have been guilty of not being patient enough and doing the proper preparation before I ventured out and committed myself to a task or project, and then have it become a failure and not succeed. I realize that a great concert pianist invests hundreds of hours of practice before their concerts. They know that the quality of those many grueling hours of practice will prepare them for their greatest performance. The world champion heavyweight boxer knows that he must prepare himself before he steps into the ring with his opponent. So, for many weeks before his fight, he toils with his morning workout, running and exercise program. When Jesus began His ministry He had waited over thirty years preparing himself. His ministry was a short three and one half years, but His preparation time was thirty years. He was patient and did not begin until He was prepared and ready. The quality of preparation determines the quality of performance. Preparation time is never wasted time. Whatever business you are in it will take time to know your business. It will take time to know your product. It will take time to develop a list of customers and clients. Think about the life of Jesus. He saw hundreds die around Him because of sickness and disease. He saw thousands warped with the traditions and legalism of religious systems. But His time had not come, as He knew that His Father was letting Him grow and preparing Him for what lay ahead. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:52. I would encourage each of you to be patient and keep your faith and trust in God, as He has great things planned for you and in His time will reveal these plans. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 23 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Take A Stand

Take A Stand “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” John 2:15 The scripture above describes the scene where Jesus cleansed the Temple which was being desecrated by evil. I have often thought about the kind of personality that Jesus must have had. We can see that He could become angry from the scripture above. We can also see that He was very compassionate, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” Luke 19:41. Jesus evidently was not afraid to show His emotions and feelings, as we can find instances such as this above, where He displayed both anger and compassion. He was enthusiastic when He saw a demonstration of faith, and He wept when He saw unbelief. The disciples were affected by the personality of Jesus, as they saw Him express His pleasure and displeasure first hand, and they changed the course of history by following His lead. I believe that we can learn much from the personality of Jesus. We need to be bold in expressing our opinions as He was. When things are not right we need to take a firm stand, just as Jesus did when He cleansed the temple, but we also need to be compassionate and understanding in other situations. Just as the personality of Jesus set the tone for His disciples, our personalities can set the tone for the people we come into contact with. We do not need to hide our feelings and emotions, but express them when we see things that are wrong, and also show compassion, love and understanding at the good things. We can be such an influence for good all around us, when we take a stand and not be afraid to express our feelings and opinions. We need to not be afraid to let others know about the things that matter in our lives. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 22 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Be A Tomorrow Thinker

Be A Tomorrow Thinker “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18 Are you a tomorrow thinker, or do you dwell in the past? I believe Jesus was a tomorrow thinker as when He met the Samaritan woman at the well, He barely mentioned that she had been married five times. He pointed her to her future. He said that he would give her water and she would never thirst again. Another example of tomorrow thinking concerns the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus never discussed her sin, but simply said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:11. So often people get caught up in the past and dwell on past hurts, disappointments and situations that they have gone through and cannot plan for their futures. I realize that it is difficult to release the past hurts from our memories, but when we are unable to do so, we are not really able to focus on our futures the way we should. We must let go of our past and get on with our lives, as there is nothing we can do to change things that happened in the past, instead we have to plan for what lies ahead. Satan wants us to be constantly reminded of the past, as it brings us down and keeps reminding us of the failures, hurts and disappointments, and keeps us in the frame of mind where we are vulnerable to his attacks. Jesus is not concerned about your past, as when you are reborn and have accepted Jesus in your heart, the past is forgotten and you will start anew. We need to stop taking journeys into our past and start living for our tomorrows. We need to thank Jesus for giving us a new beginning, and pointing us to our future successes. We need to thank Him for wiping our hearts clean and giving us a chance for a better future. We can now move forward and not keep dwelling on what happened in the past, but focus on what is to come tomorrow. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 21 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Guard Yourself Against Greed

Guard Yourself Against Greed “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 Rich people are not always happy people. Your hands can be full of money; your head can be full of information, but if your heart is empty your life can be very meaningless. The Bible is filled with scriptures about money and material possessions and the power it can have over people. Just think for a moment. Most people probably possess more today than any of their ancestors ever imagined, and more than any time in their whole life. But do you feel more joy than you’ve ever had in your life? Do you laugh more now than you’ve ever laughed? Are you happier now than you’ve ever been? If you are truly honest with yourself you may find that you now have more money and more material possessions than you ever had, but you are not the happiest you have ever been. Jesus knew that money and material possessions does not bring happiness, but so often can do just the opposite, as man is never satisfied with what he owns but wants to accumulate more. Our prosperity should be measured by having enough to provide for our needs and to complete the purpose and plan God has for us. There are things that must matter more than our money and possessions. Jesus saw this and talked to the rich, and looked into their eyes and saw a longing for something that money could not buy. King Solomon was a wealthy king, yet he confessed “Therefore I hated life.” Ecclesiastes 2:17. I would encourage you that when you achieve success, please remind yourselves that money and possessions cannot bring you happiness, but giving it to others can. There are many other things in our lives that matter more than money. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 20 Robert William Brock, Jr.

God Will Provide A Way

God Will Provide A Way “Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:6-7 The scripture above is one that all of us should aspire to, and claim as a promise of God that He will protect us and deliver us from our difficulties. Have you thought about what you do in your times of troubles and difficulties? Most of us are looking to friends, our pastor or a more experienced Christian to provide a certain level of instruction in spiritual things. These kinds of people are wonderful to have, and I believe accountability is an important key to our spiritual formation and growth. All of us have a need to have godly, spiritual guidance throughout our life, but Jesus gives us some advice about this when He said in Matthew 15:14 “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.” We should rely on these people for comfort and counsel, but it is important to know the wisdom and guidance that only God gives. There is not much that is not covered in God’s word to help us get through the darkest moments. We are all going to have our trials and troubles as God tells us we will have, but there are also the assurances that God gives us that He will provide for us and protect us and get us through these times. The Israelites thought that things were hopeless when they arrived at the Red Sea, and saw the Egyptians behind them. They felt that they were doomed, but God provided a way for them and delivered them. When we see that there is no way out of our individual situations, God is still there and will provide a way for us as well. When we see our Red Seas in front of us, God can also part the waters and let us pass through to safety. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 19 Robert William Brock, Jr.