Commitment

During church service yesterday my pastor spoke about commitment. He said we should be committed to: the Lord, reading the Bible, and to prayer. His sermon reminded me of a commitment I made two and a half years ago.

In an effort to know God more, I promised to read a minimum of one chapter a day from the Bible (usually less than half a page) and to pray at least once a day. Being new to such discipline, I decided to employ the rule, “No read. No feed.” This meant that if I didn’t read my Bible, or say my prayers that morning, I wasn’t allowed to eat breakfast until I did. The rule worked great, allowing me to establish a new routine. Eventually, I was able to drop the tactic because my relationship with the Lord had developed to where I hungrily sought Him of my own accord.

The pastor also spoke yesterday about how many of us had likely made plans, set goals and outlined objectives for the New Year. I certainly had. But then it snowed—record-breaking snowfall for Spokane, Washington—and messed with my plans!

“God, I don’t understand. My plans were for you. I was going to start the New Year by tending to some administrative tasks for Chariot Ministries. Why would you keep me from doing your work?”

Pastor Roger’s sermon addressed my distress. “The commitment needs to be to the Lord. Not the plan.”

Duh.

Commitment to the Lord should be ever present. It should not be dependant on a bout of inspiration for the New Year, or relegated to a pew on Sunday mornings. Nor should we treat our commitments like fad diets that we vow to “start on Monday.” When we commit to the Lord he will meet us...even if we are stuck from the snow.

When the snow comes, use that time to recommit yourself to the Lord. Read your Bible. Pray. I did.

As of this morning, I’ve completed the entire Old Testament.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray that I will continue to seek God’s guidance as it relates to Chariot Ministries. That my commitment to Him will be ever-present as I strive to submit myself to His will and His perfect timing.
• Pray for our web designer, Noel, who is diligently working on posting a new website for Chariot Ministries that is more reflective of our mission. Pray the Lord will inspire him and fill him with purpose-driven creativity.
• Pray for us as we work on getting the paperwork together to file for non-profit status.
• Pray for the women who are being called to be part of the Journey to the Son: Every Woman project. That they will see God’s greater purpose in their vulnerability. That they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and full of inspiration and creativity. That they will feel safe in sharing.
• Pray for our finances. Pray that the Lord will continue to open doors allowing us to afford the many tasks at hand (filing legal paperwork, publishing books, promoting shows, staging productions).

For His Glory,

~Harvest

Be sure to visit us at our website: www.chariotministries.com