FROM THE PASTOR ----- Dedication to the Lord August 24, 2008
Christian service and living must begin with personal dedication to the Lord. The Christian who fails in life is the one who has first failed at the altar, refusing to surrender completely to Christ.
The motive for dedication is love; Paul in Romans chapter twelve verses one and two, does not say, “I command you” but “I beseech you, because of what God has already done for you.” We do not serve Christ in order to receive His mercies, because we already have them (3:21-8:39).We serve Him out off love and appreciation.

True dedication is the presenting of body, mind, and will to God day by day. It is daily yielding the body to Him, having the mind renewed by the Word, and surrendering the will through prayer and obedience.

Every Christian is either a conformer, looking for and like the world, or a transformer, daily becoming more like Christ. (The Gk. Word for “transform” is the same as the one for “transfigure” in Matt. 17:2) Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us that we are transformed (transfigured) as we allow the Spirit to reveal Christ in us and through us by the Word of God. It is only when the believer is thus dedicated to God that he can know God’s will for his life. God does not reveal His will to the uncommitted. God does not have three wills (good, acceptable, and perfect) for believers in the way that there are three choices for merchandise in the mail order catalogs (“good, better, best”). Rather, we grow in our appreciation of God’s will. Some Christians obey God because they know that obedience is good for them, and they fear chastening. Others obey because they find God’s will acceptable. But the deepest devotion is in those who love God’s will and find it perfect. Christian service and living must begin with personal dedication to the Lord.


To God Be The Glory
Dr. Z