The Commitment

Day one hundred sixty-one

This has been a busy week and so I was looking forward to having breakfast with the seminary youth and just chillin' a little with them.  They are a pretty good group and the last day of seminary is always exciting with the prospect of sleeping in for the summer.  As a teacher it is a little bitter sweet.  You look forward to the sleeping in, but you have a little worry about what will go on during the summer months.  All year you work on spiritually feeding them each morning and then it just stops, they are now responsible to feed themselves and you know that some of them will not do it.  So many things can go wrong in the next three months.

My prayer this morning is that the Lord will bless the youth with the strength and desire to do what is right. That He will bless their families with opportunities to share the Spirit in their homes and to build strong relationships.  I asked the Lord to protect the youth and to provide them with the chance to feel His love daily.  And to bless those that teach them with the peace and assurance that they will return again next year!

Joshua 1

"Commitment in the face of conflict produces character." ~Unknown

The Israelites are about to build some serious character.  Through Joshua the Lord is preparing His people to conquer the land of Canaan, their Promised Land, which will require some battles.  He has called them to claim the land, He has given them some challenges to think about, and now He is asking them to completely commit to the plan.  Let's take a closer look at what commitments the Lord is asking the Israelites to make:

The Commitment To A Life Of Surrender (v 16)
These people make their stand with the Lord. They promise absolute obedience and surrender to the will of God.

This is the only way spiritual victory will come to any life. There must be total and absolute surrender of every area of life to the will of God and to His divine leadership. Anything less hinders the work of God in your life.

What are you holding back from the Lord? 

The Commitment To A Life Of Submission (v 17) 
These men also promised to follow the leadership of God's prophet. Just as they had followed Moses, they committed themselves to following Joshua!

We are to submit to the leadership of God. That can be a difficult statement to take in. Many of us rebel against anything that seems like authority in our lives. None of us like to be told what to do!  But there are good reasons for following the Prophets of God.  President Ezra Taft Benson gave a talk entitled, "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet".  Here are some highlights:

The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
The prophet will never lead the Church astray.
The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
The Prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
The prophet can receive revelation on any matter—temporal or spiritual.
The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.

It appears that the benefits (blessings) far out way the negatives (suffering) in this matter.  Are there ways you can better implement the words of the prophets in your life?

The Commitment To A Life Of Separation (v 18)
Finally, the people commit themselves to separating from those in their midst who refused to comply with the commandments of the Lord. And, their commitment to this was so strong that they vowed to put to death anyone who rebelled against the leadership of Joshua. These people knew that allowing rebellion in their midst was a sure way to guarantee defeat.

The lesson for us is clear:  If we want to walk in victory, we must practice separation in our lives as well. We should separate ourselves from anything that would prevent us from having victory in our lives. Whether it be from certain people, or the way we dress, the way we talk, the things we watch and do, where we work, how we think or in any other area of life. If it is a hindrance to your spiritual victory, then it must go. Otherwise, you will always be defeated and in danger.

Spiritual victories can be ours if we choose to claim them. However, we need to remember, that we have to be willing to pay the price.  What is it going to take to get you into your Promised Land? Are you willing to pay the price, whatever it is?! You choose to heed the call, to accept the challenge, and to commit to the plan.  So what are you waiting for?