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March 8, 2016: How to Keep Your Commitments
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Dear <<First Name>>,

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. Mark 14:31

We have all made promises to ourselves and others that at the time we really believed we would keep. "I'm going to lose five pounds." "I'm never going to raise my voice to my children." I'm going to stick to a budget." "I am going to read my bible every day." These and hundreds of other commitments have been made at a time before the test.

I so identify with the disciples in this chapter. They fall asleep in prayer... three times! They also miss the one opportunity to actually bring ministry "to" Jesus and all make the "unto death" commitment. Like us, they make promises they will not keep, though at the time, they were certainly committed.

The problem with commitment is that it opens us up for testing. And the testing reveals our weakness. And our weakness reveals our true self without God. On our own, we are eventually powerless. This is why we have been given the Holy Spirit. If we want to keep our commitments, we have to understand three things:

1) Commitments resting in our own power will fail.

2) Commitments open us up to our limits.

3) Commitments require a greater reliance on the Holy Spirit than we first realize.

In order to keep our commitments, we will have to learn to give ourselves in prayer until our reliance is on Him. It still takes cooperation with our own minds, but asking the Holy Spirit for power to keep our commitments is the necessary piece. 

Everyone of the disciples except for John eventually gave their lives for Jesus. However, it was only their reliance upon the power of God that could help them through the testing. It is the same for us.
“Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Psalms 37:5, NAS95.

Here is the today's reading:

Tuesday

Love, 

Pastor Stuart

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