Being Committed, to being Committed. Over this weekend I have seen that you lot are committed, some of you should be committed but that is a different issue.
You commitment shines through.
I once heard a guy say that you can tell a guys personality by the car he drives and how he looks after it. (Yep you lot are eccentric and passionate) I once heard another guy say that you can tell what a bloke is committed to by his bookshelf. I can see your commitment in your cars. And you probably have books about them on your shelves at home. But what of our base commitments?God, Family, community. Are these prioritised correctly? Let’s investigate. When I was trying to sort my life out at one stage someone of great importance to me gave me this verse. (Actually 2 people of importance Marianne gave it too me and only a few weeks later so did mum!!) PS 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. PS 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. PS 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: Listen to a direct translation of verse 5:
Roll on Jehovah, trust in Him and His way and He will work for you. I thought that roll on Jehovah was appropriate for you guys. (By the way I don’t read Hebrew but I am blessed that a retired minister from the USA is a member of our congregation and he does – a very handy resource. Its like having a mate who is a mechanic or a panel beater for those interested in cars and such)
A few things here.
1. Trust. V3 – trust in the Lord. Trust is more than just saying we are involved in church In the Hebrew understanding of this word “trust” ( to trust, to be confident in, to be sure). Trust is putting our life in God’s hands.
Then being confident with where we have placed our lives.
2. Dwell. v3- I love this term – to dwell means to kind of waste time somewhere, again the Hebrew understanding of to dwell is to inhabit, permanently stay, remain, or rest. But dwell is also a word of security. Waste time in the security of God – I like that.
3. Delight v4 – delight yourself in God. Where is this coming from? This word has the connotations of being in a state of delight and of pleasure. How do I do that? Trust Him, dwell in Him then you realize your on a good thing here. But I give you some hints. Spend time enjoying God. You enjoy your cars – you delight in them. Work on them, clean them, etc. Do the same with God. Get to know every bolt of your relationship to Him – It takes a bit of time – but it becomes a delight.
4. Commit – Here is something interesting, it is the same word as trust!!!!! Except it is a noun more like a place. Being committed is a place to be!!!!!!) To commit to something is a conscious decision. Make it a conscious decision to trust God, to dwell with God, to delight in God.
These verses are for you guys. Be who you are in God. Be safe there. Allow yourselves your eccentricity, your passion and your commitment. Dwell in your life with God.
I want to say one more thing. Use you cars for God. As was said in a song from Newcastle in the late 70’s never let a chance go by. Cars are one of the greatest tools for evangelism to men in Australian culture.
Just as the disciples used their passion – use yours, Just as you are eccentric and centred on other things use it, just be committed to the message of Jesus and to sharing that.
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