SCRIPTURE: 1 Timothy 6:6
(TM)
A devout life does
bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.
STORY shared by Dale A.
Hays:
On a recent trip to Haiti, I heard a Haitian pastor
illustrate to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ. His
parable: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted
very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full
price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the
original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one
small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house
back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out,
found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still
owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the
house to the owner of the nail.
The Haitian pastor's conclusion: "If we leave the Devil
with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage
OBSERVATION:
Not now. Not yet. These are some of the saddest words that
could be heard in the English language. “I’ll commit my life to Christ, but not
now … not yet.” We want to keep all of our options open.
Commitment is difficult. Taking a stand is hard. The
challenges are many, but, oh, the benefits of a committed life. Peace of God’s
presence and the assurance of eternity. The freedom to be who God has created
us to be. The freedom to realize our full spiritual potential. Shedding the
pretense of playing charades. Taking off the mask of falsehood. Releasing our
true nature. Not driven by the desires of the flesh nor the fickleness of other
people’s opinions. This is the wealth of a devout life.
Even the smallest part of our self if left exposed to the
temptations of the flesh, i.e. the Devil, we can find ourselves fighting a
battle of the garbage of life. We will smell the rotting garbage and wonder
where it came from thinking that we have been living a devoted life, but that
one “nail” left in the hands of Satan is all he needs. He will wait until we
are the most vulnerable, at our weakest, tired in the spirit … and then spring
into action.
The cross of Christ gives us a new day, a clean conscience,
a new start, a usable future, a life of possibilities … and the removal of all
the exposed “nails”.
PRAYER:
We are yours, O Lord. Take all of us. Take everything. Leave
nothing … and then we will have everything.
QUOTE by Adoniram Judson:
The
motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to
be "Devoted for life."
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