"Do not let them slip away as good things can do in hands made of flesh..."

This title is part of something God told me in the early stages of this blog and I couldn't help but make it the title because I want to be reminded to hold on to the good things of God.

Hello friends and welcome back to Dedicate. In the last five parts of this series, we have grasped the definition of dedicate, the qualities we need in order to be dedicated, the action responses of dedication (the rising and being still), and how dedication effects us on our walk with Christ. In the first few parts, we found key words that I said would come in handy later on, well, this is where they come of use. That's right, our Biblical hunt for the key words begins.

Let's start by looking at the key words we found in the first blog of this series 'Defining Dedication and Revealing Its Layers':

Chosen & Predestined:

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.

Ephesians 1:4-6

Uswhobelieve, God spoke our name before the creation of the Earth. He foreknew we would be His Children. He dedicated us (set us apart for a special purpose). We who are chosen, are also predestined, we who are predestined, are children of God - the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Devote:

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1

We are meant to devote, to dedicate, our whole being to God.

Loyalty:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Stay loyal, stay dedicated, to the hope He has promised for He is faithful.

Surrender & Submission:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Wave the white flag of surrender. Submit and dedicate yourself to God.

Action:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of your says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:14-17

If you obtain that little mustard seed of faith and say, "Okay, that all I need God, thanks." You are not living up to your potential, not using your calling, and not fulfilling your purpose. Not to mention that you are missing out on so much that God wants for you. Walking with Christ isn't just about that room reserved for you in Heaven, it's also about the works He wants to pursue through you here on the earth. It's time to rise!

Yielding:

I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

Abiding, yielding, dedicating yourself to Him is the only way to produce fruit. I've mentioned that we will go over the 9 fruits of the Spirit in another blog, and that's coming up next week, but I feel like they fit here too.

Obedience:

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

Deuteronomy 28:1

Obey and dedicate your time to carefully following what He has called you to do.

Commit:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

Find a way to commit, to dedicate, what it is you do to God.

Determination:

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.

Acts 20:24

Be determined, be dedicated, to complete the task.

Discipline:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

Self-discipline or self-control is one the the fruits of the Spirit as well. Just another thing that we receive when we are dedicated to God. Or you could call self-discipline another quality of dedication. Now I want to share something that God told me when I first started writing this blog, before I knew how it would end.

Grasp these qualities and put them in your life as your walk with your Lord and Savior. Do not let them slip away as good things can do in hands made of the flesh, but grasp them in a way that they may never leave you without dedication - the fire you feel for thy Father, and the love you feel for thy Lord.. Let it not be wasted in the haste of life, but let it be a reminder all your days.

Let not your heart be troubled of this way of life as these days have declared it. For the way of life declared by this age does not effect your spirit, only the things of the flesh. Let the same gladness well up in your heart as the prophets of the days of Bible had. Let not your heart be troubled because of those who but waste their time and do not believe. Their earthly time will come to a close and your life will continue everlasting.

Wow. When He first gave me this I had no idea how it would fit in this blog, but it just summed up everything perfectly. He has a way of doing that, I've noticed. Grasp some joy because He was the perfect ending planned for you, and the perfect middle too. All you have to do is rise up and take it.