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The power of commitment

We were grateful to have Dr Jerry White in town to share some insight on the topic commitment and the lordship of Christ. Dr White is the ex-president of The Navigators.

When people talk about commitment, some respond as calling – calling for full time, missionary and so on. Is it true calling come from passion? The reality – not much deviation from our devotion and commitment to God.

The pillar of our commitment: “Jesus is Lord”. Every believer shall confess Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:10-11). Do you (and us) commit to the lordship of Christ in mind, hear and will? It’s a decision (mind); a response (heart); an act (will).

Is it easy to commit? From our mind, it is the seat of knowledge – knowledge of God (Matt 22:37, Rom 14:5, 1 Pet 1:13). The first step is getting to know (input?).

What next if we have the knowledge? The heart – the seat of our emotion and desires. From the mind, comes down to the heart where the desire begins. Having desire is sufficient?

Why not acts it out? The will – the seat of action and decisions. Doing the will of God from the heart (Eph 6:6).

Mind, heart and will, how can we separate each of them? It’s a symbiosis.
The mind needs the Word of God to nurture it in truth.
The heart needs the Spirit of God to guide its affections.
The will needs the Lordship of Christ to lead to loving obedience.

Committed we are:
- to understand with the mind (Luke 14:235-33)
- to open out heart to Christ as Lord
- by an act of the will we commit ourselves fully to Christ

Beware of the enemies of commitment – busyness, materialism, temptation etc.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
wa, your blog got new face.
Thursday, October 12, 2006 12:12:00 PM
HK Jun said…
1st anniversary blogging. So had little makeover.
Friday, October 13, 2006 10:30:00 AM
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