Principle Three

CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE TO COMMIT ALL MY LIFE AND WILL TO CHRIST’S CARE AND CONTROL

In Principle Three we make the one-time, permanent decision to turn over our lives to the care of God - the most important decision we will ever make. Our choice, not chance, determines our destiny. And that decision requires only putting our faith into action. 

But what is faith? It isn’t a sense, sight, or reason. Faith is simply taking God at His word. God’s Word tells us in Romans 10:9 that “…if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe it in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” For some people that seems too simple. But it is not. Our salvation depends much more on God’s love for us than on our love for Him.

Many people don’t understand that putting off the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Higher Power, as their Lord and Savior, is really deciding not to accept Him. Principle Three is like opening the door: All you need is the willingness to make the decision. Christ will do the rest. Revelation 3:20 states, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.”

If we are going to successfully work Principle Three, we need to get past our old, familiar, negative barriers of pride, guilt, worry and doubt. But how do we break this cycle? The answer is; we need to be proactive, to take the initiative. In fact, Principle Three is all about action.

Remember the opening words of Principle Three: “Consciously choose to commit …” Making that choice requires action. We use an acrostic to explain the action needed and the Bible verses that accompany those actions.

A ccept - Romans 10:9

C ommit - Psalm 143:10

T urn it over - Proverbs 3:6

I t’s only the beginning - Philippians 1:6

O ne day at a time - Matthew 6:34

N ext step - 1 Corinthians 15:2-4

Turning over our lives to Christ is a one-time yet permanent commitment. Once we accept Christ as Lord of our life, it is a done deal. We cannot lose our salvation. It comes with a lifetime (in this case eternal) guarantee from the Holy Spirit: “You were also included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13)

Parts of the preceding Blog were taken from the Celebrate Recovery Bible (NIV).

For more information on Celebrate Recovery Ministry, contact me by email: donbonney58@gmail.com or call 712.240.2316.

Until next month, may the God of all peace and understanding bless you and your families.

Don