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Are You Fully Commited?


The question of the times for all saints is, "are you fully commited?" Are you commited to love, serve, and put your sole trust, hope, and strength in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? On this question is staked your mortal life and eternal life. For Christ says, "I wish you were hot or cold, the lukwarn I spit out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16). God does not want half-hearted followers, but people who will say, "I am all in," I will "deny myself, pick up my cross, and follow you." (Matthew 16:24). There are many examples in Bible of men and women who put God before everything, before relationships, comforts, opportunites, and every good thing of the earth. The most radical example was Abraham. Here is a man that upon hearing God's voice and command: left his home in Ur (), left his father's household (Genesis 12:1), left other gods her served for the One Truth God (), took his Wife Sarah and went to Canaan, a wilderness after living a metropolitan city of Ur (New York City of that day), gave up his brother Lot (Genesis 13:11), He had to banish if first born son Ishmael (Genesis 21:8-21),  and most amazing of all, was willing to sacrifice his promised and miraculous son Isaac (Genesis 22).

Abraham was precursor to Paul, "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8). Abraham had devotion and love for God that can only be expressed in Christ's own command, "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." (Mark 12:30). Abram was a zealot, and in the best sense of the word. He counted nothing as important as loving God and following His command. Abraham was tested, he was told by LORD (Yahweh, Elohim: Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) to take some wood, take a knife, and go to the high place to offer a sacirice. Abraham was commanded to bring his young son, Isaac, and was told he would bind him with cords on an altar of stone. (Genesis 22:9). When Abraham reached the summit of sacrifice, he bound his son's body with cords, lifted up the dagger, and was about to smite his son unto death, when an angel of Lord (Jesus pre-incarnate) spoke and stopped his hand (Genesis 22:11). The Angel of the Lord said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
." (Genesis 22:12). A lamb appeared to be sacrificed, which many allude to Christ, being sacricial lamb, but I see Abraham as Father, and Isaac as Christ type. Abraham was willing to do, what our Father in Heaven did do, give "his One and only begotten son.." (John 3:16).

Abraham must have had doubts and even fears as he gave up everthing for God. But look at how He blessed this man with singular focus on the Lord. Abraham has been remembered forever, His children are as numerous as stars in sky and sands of the shoreline (Genesis 22:17), from Him came the Seed of Salvation, Christ Jesus (Matthew 1:1), from Him came the Nation Israel, and to this day we saints draw inspiration from Abraham's obedience, and most importantly his love for God that even was greater than his love for his own flesh and blood son! In Abram do we have the example of what Christ is calling us to, "to Love God with all our heart, soul, body, mind, and strength," (Mark 12:10) and "to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus." (Matthew 16:24). Abraham is proof a person can do it, even pre-Incarnate Christ, how much more so now that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit live in us! (Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:9, Ephesians 2:22, 1 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 3:6). Abraham was able to obey God without God living in him and we as Christians have God inside us! We have not excuse brothers and sisters! Abraham was willing to bear his cross before the term existed, and he was willing to love Lord so much, he was willing to give up His son, and did as saints are to, "and they loved not their lives unto death." (Revelation 12:11).

Are you fully commited? Can you leave Ur? Can you leave your family, like Abraham left his father and left his brother Lot? Can you go at God's behest to a wilderness like Canaan? Can you even consider your children as less than your God, and be willing to give them up if God so asks? Obviously, the Lord will not likely ask you to take a knife and sacrifice your son, that actually was Molech worship, and in original Aramaic, God said to Abraham, "God dedicate your son to me," which means more akin to baptize and circumicize, but Abraham in his old pagan rites knew dedicate to mean slay and spill the blood of a sacrifice. Hence why God had Himself the Angel of Lord (Jesus before He came in flesh) ready to stop Abraham, and a lamb ready for the sacrifice. This bit of insight helps understand Jesus' words, "But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." (Luke 20:37-38). The old Aramaiac and Hebrew reveals sacrificing Isaac was Abraham's interpretation of God's words, but even so, the fact Abraham was willing to kill his most prized and beloved child if it was God's will shows a radical devotion, faith, and trust in God. Even is Abraham had succeeded, and he slayed Isaac, the Lord could have raised Isaac from the dead, just like Ezekiel and the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

As Christians we are children of Abraham. It matters not if we Jew or Gentile, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed (offspring, descendants, children), and heirs according to the promise (to Abraham)." (Galatians 3:28-29). We are children through Christ of Abraham, and Abraham's faith was accounted as righteousness before God (Romans 4:3). So we like Abram should have great faith (trust in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit), and not allow anything to be more important than our faith in Christ and our love For Him who is God.

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