commitment and priority is not a spoken promise



it all lies in the action and how you give your time for that commitment and priority..





this is what i'd like to share with everyone after reading Matthew 19:16-30

i realised this is something very real in ministries...

we obey God like what the rich young man did.... but when asked of practical actions/commitments from God... we think twice of our own gain or our own interest before we give that commitment or priority..



often... we commit to the Lord... speaking of our undivided devotion to Him...

then when circumstances come...we think FIRST about our own activities... we think FIRST how we want to spend time with our friends or our loved ones... or even, as wayne shared with my group over youth last sunday... we think FIRST of the things we want to do... we don't want to waste our time.. so we find OTHER things to do... rather than what we SHOULD do...



there's nothing wrong with fellowshipping with friends and spending time with out loved ones...

but there's definitely a couple of scenarios where we struggle between what we want to do and what we can actually offer up to God...

i'm sure its quite familiar when u hear the holy spirit prompting u to do something.. but yet we ignored or we procrastinate it to a later time...

well it boils down to priorities and commitment to God...

i'm sure our God is an understanding God.... he will definitely set aside time for us to have fun and enjoy ourselves... but He will definitely be delighted when certain things we do it for Him and we really put into action this commitment we have made to Him...

imagine you have a child and he's got so many things in school... having fun playing soccer in his CCA.. or studying... but yet he fork out time to help you do housework because he has promised that he will help you out...

i'm sure it will put a smile on your face...

i'm sure God, our father, will have a similar smile on His face too...



serious... it's not just a spoken commitment in a ministry...

no matter we are serving as a role in ushers, projectionists, musicians.... or even serving as a church or youth leader... or ANY kind of ministry...

how much we are willing to give up our time, our own personal pleasure, our time with people...

for the things that really matters...

as uncle Tony has reminded.... kingdom business...



in real business.... you can't say "I'll want to make money.. i want to know more clients..." and yet you say this.... and then you rather use the time to meet clients to chill out with friends... or you sit back and do nothing....

there's action to be taken



this is the same for ministries... for example... we say that we want to see youth fusion grow... we can say we want to see unity... we speak of how we want to go out to proclaim Jesus and evangelise....

we can say all these with perfect zeal and passion...

but it is really just lip service if no action, no commitment, no priority is given...





whether we are ready to give up our time for Christ... as Jesus said in Mark 8:34 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. " "



notice that it's not written "If anyone would come after me, he must only take up his cross and follow me" nor is it written "If anyone would come after me, he must only deny himself and proclaim he believes in me"

nope... Jesus put it across as deny himself... which is something which can be a spoken proclaimation or a spoken commitment...

and he also said "to take up his cross and follow me"... which is something that needs action...



in Mark8:36 to the end of the passage.. it clearly speaks of why there's a need for such a commitment...and why the priority in kingdom business...

simply because the things in this world can never be compared to what the things God can offer...





for me personally, i m taking some time to evaluate myself before the new year arrives on my individual ministries as well as personal commitments, promises i have made to God in the past year.

Why not you, whoever is reading this, take some time to think and ponder about this issue too?

I'm sure it will be a wonderful time of seeking and re-commitment of new things, or even past promises to our Heavenly Father. =)