Commitment

Commitment

1. an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.
2. The process or an instance of committing oneself; a pledge or undertaking.

What are you committed to? I ask this question because it has been on my mind most of the day. I get the DT's (discouraging thoughts) quite frequently. It is easy to look at an empty church parking lot on Friday nights and get discouraged. The only people who have come with us on Friday nights for our evangelistic outreaches are from other churches. That being said I have to remind myself that I have made a commitment. I voluntarily have restricted the amount of freedom I have on the average Friday night. I have pledged myself to go out and hand people a piece of paper with the gospel message on it. I have pledged to myself to go verbally share the gospel with them. I am committed. My desire is for my church family to join Nicole and I on Friday night's when we go out. I want it to be a true church ministry. Right now it is a Fei and Nicole thing. It is called a church ministry simply because we go to that church. The truth is that if we left our church the ministry would cease to exist. I want followers of Christ to stop telling me "I could never do that" (in reference to street evangelism/cold turkey evangelism). Read 2 Corinthians 12:9. Either that is true or it isn't. I dislike talking to strangers. It is highly uncomfortable for me. I don't want to seem like a weirdo. I don't think I am charismatic enough to engage people in conversation and hold their attention. The truth is, I probably am right for thinking all of those things if we are talking solely about me using my natural talents, abilities, and comfort levels. But with the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and the promise to be made strong because of my weakness I know that I can go out each Friday night to share the gospel. I also do it throughout the week when opportunities arise, particularly with my students, but Friday nights are special. That is my night committed specifically to evangelism. If you read my blog and are free on Friday nights in the Inland Empire area, please consider coming with us. Shoot me a message or a call and step out of your comfort zone and rely on Christ to work through you. Don't rely on your own skill or knowledge. If you ever doubt God's power look at the Apostle Peter. Have you ever stopped to consider that he was probably not a trained theologian or trained in school for very long. He was a simple fisherman. Read 1 and 2 Peter. Do the words you read sound like they are coming from a simple fisherman? NO! God took a simple fisherman, filled him with the Holy Spirit and used him in ways that Peter probably never would have imagined before Christ came into his life. 

Verses that talk about commitment in the Bible (in relationships with God, spouses, friends, family, to the lost, etc...)

Joshua 24:15

Job 5:8

Psalm 37:5

Psalm 31:5

Proverbs 16:3

Acts 20:24

1 Corinthians 9:16

2 Corinthians 5:19

Romans 12:1-2

2 Timothy 4:1-2

1 Corinthians 7:3

Hebrews 12:1-3

Hebrews 13:4

Jude 22-23

Jeremiah 20:7-9

- Chad