God calls us to be totally committed to Him. This daily devotional looks at how to respond to transforming our character to serve Him.
Nuggets
- In our passionate service for God, we need to exercise perseverance.
- In our passionate service for God, we need to keep the intensity up for the work God has called us to do.
- In our passionate service for God, we need to be completely committed to doing the work to which He has called us.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Transformed to Perfection series
When we commit our lives to God, He wants it to be a total commitment. He wants our intensity and passion to complete the service to which He calls us.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Let's Put It into Context #2
We’ve talked before about the topic of persistence/diligence a couple of times. Diligence is a consistent, persistent effort.
Devotions in the Moralities Lead to Godliness series
Devotions in the Consistency Needed for Spiritual Growth series
Transformed by Passion and Persistence
“Do not lack diligence in zeal …” (Rom. 12: 11 CSB)
In our passionate service for God, we need to exercise perseverance.
In what should we be diligent? Bird identified that as “… everything which occupies our attention, but more particularly our temporal pursuits.
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Personally, I don’t think it is more particularly applied to our temporal pursuits. God wants us focused on Him, not this life.
We have to watch what our end goal is. Our goal shouldn’t be salvation. Our goal should be to become holy.
Let me explain it this way. I graduated from my six-month secretarial program after I graduated from high school and went into the work force.
After a year or so, I decided I wanted to go back to school to get my music degree. I was a success. I got my degree.
I really haven’t done anything with it — job wise — because my end goal wasn’t to get a job. It was to get the degree.
Our end goal shouldn’t be get obtain salvation/education. It should be to live for God/become holy/get a job.
Tyson said that we become holy by displaying the spiritual graces in our lives. We talked recently where the worldly morals have to be kicked up to social graces that leads to holiness.
Devotions in the Moralities Lead to Godliness series
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Building character takes a lot of work. Storrs noted that, while we perform the acts of integrity, our hearts are being changed to have integrity.
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We should persevere to gain holiness. Garbett wrote, “It can only have its spring in a total change of heart and life, wrought in us by the mighty Spirit of God — in the gift of a new nature with its own spiritual senses and experiences.”
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Moore reminded us that God expects us to be industrious. Melvill pointed out that Adam had a job to do before he was ejected from the Garden of Eden.
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God has a plan for each of our lives, and we all have work to do to expand His kingdom.
Morris had an interesting comment on that. He wrote, “God’s appointment does not interfere with our free agency, or release us from responsibility.”
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Free agency goes by the name of free will in these devotions. Free will is the ability within us to make decisions, which determine actions that produce character.
God has a plan for our lives, which includes how He wants us to serve Him. It is up to us to accept or reject that plan. If we reject it, there will be consequences because we have sinned.
- Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
Morris also said that our secular work is subordinate to our work for God. We can’t let it take our focus off God. We can’t put Him on the shelf while we go about our daily lives.
Why? Morris wrote, “A mind thus kept spiritual will be able to make some use of work for the purposes of the soul.” God is more concerned about the condition of our souls than our worldly pursuits.
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Caird said what was important was how we perform worldly activities with a spiritual motive. Our morality is shown in our motives, not our actions.
Don’t get me wrong. There can be diligence for worldly pursuits. Tyson said it could come from pride, ambition, and selfishness. One name given it is climbing the corporate ladder.
I like how Caird put it. He wrote, “Religion is a science and an art, a system of doctrines to be believed and a system of duties to be done.”
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We don’t have to do anything for salvation except accept the gift. However, sanctification has aspects of being, doing, and suffering. The being is believing in the doctrines.
Transformed by Our Fervorous Response
“… be fervent in the Spirit …” (Rom. 12: 11 CBS)
In our passionate service for God, we need to keep the intensity up for the work God has called us to do.
The zeal indicates a fervorous response to the work God calls us to do. We would call it enthusiasm, but I am not sure if that really conveys all we want to say.
Our joy from being transformed as well as the the evidence of these changes must bubble out from us. Others have to see the changes that are occurring in us.
The fervor manifests itself into a light that emanates from us. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5: 16 CSB).
Fervor and zeal indicate an intensity. We have to be all in for God.
- “Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going” (Ecc. 9: 10 CSB).
- “We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work” (Jn. 9: 4 CSB).
Why is it important that we be fervorous in spirit? Milligan said fervorous is the opposite of lukewarm.
We don’t want to be lukewarm like the church at Laodicea. “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” (Rev. 3: 15-16 NLT).
How are we lukewarm? We say we are a disciple but try to rewrite the Scriptures to placate worldview people. We are a back row Baptist [or whatever your denomination is].
I thought it was interesting that Logan said that a fervent piety “… is not so much a single virtue, as a constellation of virtues. Here reverence, gratitude, faith, hope, love, concentre their rays, and shine with united glory.”
Piety is defined as the persistent application of moral virtues to our lives because of our supreme love for God. God wants us to completely submit to Him. That means all of the virtues that we possess must be up to His level.
Transformed by Service
“… serve the Lord” (Rom. 12: 11 CSB)
In our passionate service for God, we need to be completely committed to doing the work to which He has called us.
Okay, how did I do the Disciple’s Job Description, and not have serving the Lord as a job duty? Hmmm.
Lyth said that serving the Lord meant that we are completely committed to His laws and commandments. It is our intent that He be glorified.
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Sturgeon gave us essentials of serving God. We have to work in the service project that God has designated. We can’t go off and do our own thing, and expect God to sanction our work.
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We not only have to not serve where God hasn’t called us, but we also have to serve God where He does call us. Yes, it might not be where or doing what we had in our plan, but God’s plan is best.
Making the Connections
Did you see what Milligan said? He wrote, “Religion is not a matter of easy acquirement.”
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Wait! What?
Religion — a.k.a. our relationship with God — is a gift that we can either accept or reject. What is hard about that?
Well, for some people, it can be a hard decision.
Milligan also said that serving God has its difficulties as well. He described it as a pitched battle with the enemy between us and our reward.
- Jeremiah 17: 9 says our hearts are deceitful.
- We’ve got our human nature to fight.
- Once we become children of God, we can expect the persecution.
Oh, yeah. I see difficult now.
It is difficult, but not impossible. Logan said that “piety is the foundation of virtue and morality.” We get there by the transformation of sanctification.
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Our persistent application of moral virtues to our lives is the foundation of virtue and morality. Hmmmm. Kind of sounds like a circular definition, doesn’t it?
But then again, I see it. The application of His moral virtues is the foundation of making our virtues and morality what He wants them to be.
How Do We Apply This?
- Pick the right objects to pursue — things God has in our plans.
- When we do have to pursue worldly things in order to live, make sure God is always our #1 priority.
- Ensure that our actions are motivated by spiritual graces and motives.
- Watch our thoughts as they motivate our actions, also.
- Surrender ourselves to God.
- Find examples of saints in the Scriptures and in your world to see their fervor.
- Wait in the Holy Spirit to call us to our mission field.
- We each can serve God, even if we just pray and support those who are doing the actual work.
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We have to remember that it isn’t the number of mountaintop encounters we experiences. It isn’t even about our weekly worship in His house.
It is about diligently living for God each day.
Father God. You call us to follow You 24/7/365. You don’t want us to follow You part of the time — only on the weekends — only when we are out. You call us to always —enthusiastically — serve You. Help us to do so. Help us to change our characters to be more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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