“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

(Focus for today: It will take more than a half-hearted commitment to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.)

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again and with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred- fold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

Commitment is important in every area of our lives. It is a form of worship. It will cause us to give thanks and rejoice in the midst of our trials, and it assures us that God is able to provide the strength and the power to endure. We are his children and he delights in us, and when our faith begins to weaken, we may find ourselves complaining. For example, I may sometimes feel that I used to not struggle so hard in my daily life before I turned my life over to Jesus Christ, when in fact, because I have allowed Jesus to direct my steps, my life has a greater purpose. It’s through his Word, that we find that His grace is sufficient. We can be confident because the Lord promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He is our shield and buckler; if we look upon the hills for help, we’ll find him waiting to deliver us.

When I need to hear from God on situations that arise in my life, I know that I can trust the Lord to speak to me, in my spirit, or through the preaching of the Word. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.” I am thankful for our pastor who preaches the truth and lives it on a daily basis. Being consistently true to our beliefs demonstrates strong leadership, and when we can build a strong relationship with Jesus Christ by consistently communicating with him through prayer and our daily walk, we are wise.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:2-5).

God has given us a new heart and a new spirit to accomplish his purpose. Let’s keep moving forward in his will in the months to come.

In this week’s Lattereign, I am assured that It is well with my soul  (Click on the link to open it in a new window).