John Bradshaw - Three Strikes
I'm glad to get this opportunity to open the Bible with you and spend some time in the Word. So let's pray together now and ask God's blessing.
Our Father in heaven, we're grateful to have the opportunity to open up Your Word and allow You to speak to us. We want to listen with open ears and open hearts. Let Your Spirit guide and bless, we pray and we thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen.
We are going to begin by diving right in 2 Kings, chapter 13 and verse 14. 2 Kings 13:14, let's start in the Word of God. Here's what the Bible says: "Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, 'O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!'" It's 60 years since he was first called to be a prophet, and now Elisha is sick. Interestingly, virtually no mention's been made of Elisha in regards to anything that's happened over the last 45 years. Yet, here comes the king, who knew that Elisha was, was to Israel as though he was their chariots and horsemen.
King Ahab, on the other hand, derided Elisha as a troubler in Israel. But King Joash says, "He is to Israel as", what? "Chariots and horsemen". The sun was setting on Elisha's life and yet, still, he was worthy of the respect of a king. So we don't want anyone to think, particularly the aged to think, that they're not useful. Let not any of the younger generation think that the older generation has nothing to offer. Their wisdom alone is a treasure of great value. Israel at this time was prodigiously wicked. During Elisha's ministry he had dealt with scoundrels, scoundrels like King Ahab and Joram, Ahab's son. The, the zealous, yet brutal, Jehu, the corrupt Queen Athaliah.
Now there was at least one bright spot. Joash, the boy king. But in general, the leaders of Israel were a depraved mob. Through it all, however, Elisha had been constant. He was a steadfast representative of God, even in the midst of a wholesale depravity and corporate apostasy. Through it all, Elisha stayed true. This tells me, friend, that God will give you the capacity to be true to Him irrespective of your surroundings or your circumstances. While it is true that some situations we just don't want to put ourselves into, the will of God and the grace of God is always able to sustain you. Rough job? Rough family? Rough marriage, rough town, rough colleagues, rough life, rough school, rough church? God will give you the grace to be as faithful to Him in the midst of your situation as was Elijah in the midst of the decadence, the dissoluteness, and the degeneracy that he faced.
And get this, even though the king was a wicked man, even though Elisha might have wondered if his witness meant anything at all to that wicked king, even though he may have wondered whether his life was making any difference at all, his witness was powerful. When the chips were down, the king knew who to turn to. Friend, even if you wonder if your witness means anything at all to people, continue to let your light shine brightly. It will make a difference. People notice. Somebody's going to call on you when times get rough. Someone's going to ask you to pray when a crisis comes. Remember, when you're ready to exercise faith, like Desmond Doss, folks ridiculed him, wanted him out of the military, wanted him dead, but it got to the stage that they would hold up entire battles during World War II and wouldn't start them until after Desmond Doss had completed his personal devotions. Powerful. Your witness makes a difference. You don't have to see the difference, you can know the difference. You can believe the difference.
The Bible says, Jesus said, "Let your light shine". The Bible says, "You are the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth". And salt ought to be introduced carefully. You don't take salt and put it in somebody's eyes. You might take salt and put it, just the right amount, in somebody's food. It tastes good. Your witness is going to taste good when you mix up as salt, not getting it in anybody's eyes, but letting people see Jesus in you and see Jesus work through you. Verse 15: "Elisha said unto him, 'Take bow and arrows.' And he took unto him bow and arrows". Strange request. Take bow and arrows? Clearly the prophet's got something cooking. Verse 16: "And he said to the king of Israel, 'Put thine hand upon the bow.' And he put his hand upon it, and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, 'Open the window eastward;' and he opened it".
King opens it. Opens it, and it's facing east, in the direction of Syria, Israel's mortal enemy at the time. This was great assurance for the king. Not only was Elisha prophesying with words, but he was confirming this thing with signs that the king would have the victory. "Take the bow and grab an arrow". King does. And then Elisha does a curious thing. He places his old hands upon the king's hands. For what? For additional power in shooting the thing? Get a little extra distance? No, the prophet is a dying man, not Robin Hood. He's not helping the king hit a target or shoot further than ever before. He's teaching this king something.
He's saying, "King, if your hands are in the hands of the God of heaven, if you'll move forward in faith, making God your counselor, if you'll trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, if you'll rely on God, if you'll do things His way, you are going to have victory. You are going to triumph. Only one thing preventing you from wasting your enemies, king, and that is failure to go with God. King, you'll win with God. So march to the beat of His drum and watch Him do something incredible". And God says that to us today. If you will live this life relying on God, trusting in God, depending on God, connected to God, your hands in God's hands, God is going to bring victory into your life, and in the words of Peter, the Bible writer, "You shall never fall". Verse 17, "Then Elisha said, 'Shoot'; and he shot. And he said, 'The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed them.'"
Now, that's magnificent. Joash did like his forefathers and permitted idolatry to go on in Israel. Now, in case you don't know, idolatry is bad. God is not into that at all. Yet when this scoundrel comes to the prophet, God meets him where he is and offers the guy all the help that he needs. You know what this means. You can be a terrible sinner, yet if you're front-up on God's doorstep, you can know that God will take you in and make you feel at home and make you part of the family. What a great God! Come on and say amen. He's in the business of accepting the repentant and forgiving sinners and fixing broken hearts. Praise the Lord. What a great day to be a Christian. And then Elisha kicks it up a notch. Verse 18. "And he said, 'Take the arrows.' And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, 'Smite upon the ground'; and he smote thrice, and stayed". Or, "He struck the ground three times, and stopped".
Three strikes. Verse 19. "And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, 'You should have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: Whereas now you shall smite Syria but three times.'" You know in baseball, if all you get is three strikes, no hits, that's bad news. Good news for the pitcher. The pitcher doesn't have to waste energy throwing extra pitches. You know the Cy Young Award winners. If I've got it right, they're the, they're the premier best pitchers of the year in the various leagues. They'll get 200 strikeouts a year. Two hundred and fifty, maybe 300, strikeouts in a season. These pitchers evidently pitch so well that all of those times the batter never even got a base hit. Instead, he's off back to the dugout. And you know what he wants more than anything as he's off to the dugout? He wants more strikes. He's saying to himself, "Give me more strikes, that pitcher will be sorry. Give me more strikes, I'll hit a home run".
Now if you connect on the third pitch and make a base hit, you're fine. But so often, three strikes isn't enough. And Joash's three strikes were probably at least three strikes too few. He should have pounded away on the ground until Elisha told him, "Hold on, Tiger, pull back. You need to quit". But he didn't. And the prophet of God was angry. Of course, there is the temptation to say, "Man, that's a bit harsh of Elisha. If only the king had known. If only Elisha had told him, then he would have pounded the turf relentlessly". But that's the point. Elisha drew out of the man what was in the man's heart, and revealed what was not in his heart. He didn't have faith. He didn't really trust in the Lord. Three strikes? Come on, are you kidding? You know what that means? He wasn't giving his energies to the Lord. He was like those soldiers following Gideon. Remember? They got down to the water, most of those men fell down on their hands and knees and gulped that water down. But the soldiers who meant business, they were the ones who stayed upright, all ready for action, prepared to do battle. They were the ones Gideon could use.
If Joash had been there that day, he'd have fallen down in the water with the rest of the incompetent. He had given little of himself to God and so he made few demands on God. Listen to this, would you? He made few demands on God. He didn't ask God for much, and God was bothered by that. God wanted Joash to ask for the sun and the moon and the stars, but instead Joash was asking for small change. God wanted Joash to ask much. Jesus did not say, "Ask and you might receive". He said in John 14:13, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do". That WILL I do. Joash made small demands on God and, therefore, received less than he should have and would have. But the reason was he invested little in God. See, friend, Joash's problem wasn't that he asked God for little. That's like saying your problem is shortness of breath when what you have is emphysema. His problem wasn't that he asked little, he asked little because of his problem, and his problem was that he wasn't invested in God. He wasn't connected to God. He wasn't surrendered to God.
When you're connected, when you're invested, when you are surrendered, you'll start making huge demands on God. Praying big prayers. Asking for huge blessings, consistently, because you want to see God glorified. It is hard to ask God to intervene powerfully in your life if you've never made the decision to turn your life over to God. Of course, I'm not suggesting that if you've never turned your life over to God, you shouldn't pray. No, even if you are light years away from God, you may still come to Him. But as you do, there needs to be a willingness to surrender your all to Him.
Now, with me, consider some ways in which this might be real in our lives. If you want God to bless your family, you are going to commit your family to God. The parents that crave the moving of God in their family are going to be praying to God for their children. They are going to be leading their family in family worship in the morning and in the evening. If you don't have time in the morning, make time, because you want to see God's power and presence in your family. A husband who wants to see God's blessing in his home won't spend all day watching NASCAR on TV while his wife is quietly going out of her mind. Now, if you've got a deal set and she's happy here and you're happy there, that may be your definition of a happy home. That's fine. But every time there's a dish to be washed or a baby to be changed or a child to be bathed, dad ought not disappear out to the garage. You get out of marriage what you put in.
If you want God's blessing on your home, let God take control of your home. Conduct the home in reference to God's will. Let it be a little piece of heaven on earth. That does not have to be a dream, you know. Do all you can to be sure that your children are getting a Christian education. Does it cost? No. No, it doesn't cost. It pays. I'm not ignoring financial realities, I'm simply saying that in eternity you are not going to want that money back. At the time of the second coming, you're not going to be complaining about having, too little in your pocket. It depends on what your priorities are. And let me say this, if you want your children to have a Christian education and you can't afford it, you go to God.
First, God will say, "Do all you can," because that's right. And if at the end of the day it just isn't enough, then you go to God and you say, "I've done what I can. This Christian education thing, that's Your idea, not mine. That school was set up by You, not me. It's here or public school," which often might be like feeding your kid to sharks, spiritually speaking. And so you want to commit to God your family, and say, "Lord, I want my kids to be raised and educated in the best environment," and so you pray with them big prayers. You don't pound the ground three times, you go to God and you pound it and you say, "Lord, Christian education, Lord, church school, Lord, I want my kids to be raised in the right way".
You want to bring your children to God. You want to expose them to heavenly things. You want to educate them in God's will. You want to do all you can to keep the devil out of their life. Maybe it's time for radical action. If so, take radical action. No point in clipping toenails if what you need to do is amputate a leg. You'll see little of God's presence in your family while you're asking for little of God's presence in your family. To that end, it'd be good for all of us to take a look at our homes and ask ourselves, "Who occupies the throne at our home"? It must be time to run the devil out of our homes if we've not done that already. Let's take our homes and make them truly God's. Unequivocally, indisputably, unambiguously God's. Let them speak of God's presence, God's ownership.
When you're sick, often you'll do what you wouldn't ordinarily do because you are serious about getting well. You are committed to regaining your health. You'll take medicine. You'll drink carrot juice. Let me tell you. You get these folks that make up these smoothies. Carrots, I like carrot juice, I like smoothies. Carrot juice, I'd drink it all day long. Carrot juice and celery, that's okay, it's pretty good. And then, and then they're going to add kale. We did this thing once where we added cactus. You can get the flower part on a cactus. It's like trying to blend rocks because of the seeds in there. I don't think we need to go too deep into that story. But some of these smoothies, man, by the time people are finished with them, let's be honest, they taste terrible. Oh, someone says, smoothies are good. Good smoothies are good. But bad smoothies are bad. But you know why you drink 'em? Filled up with garlic and, and, and beet juice, and I don't know what else, you drink them because you think they're going to be good for you and so you do it.
Worst thing I ever drank was not a smoothie. It was goldenseal. I drank it as a tea. I was a college student and I was sick and I wanted to be well. And someone said, "What you need to do, man, is drink this goldenseal tea". And I said, "Bring it on". Goldenseal tea tasted like dirt. No, no, wait a minute, that's not fair on dirt. Dirt would not have tasted that bad. Truth be told, I got well, by the next day I was well. I don't know if it was the goldenseal. I don't know if my body just rebelled against me and said, "Anything to stop you from putting goldenseal inside of me". Worst thing I ever tasted.
Another time a friend of mine gave me some teabags he bought at an Asian store in Chinatown in San Francisco. Told me it would be the worst tasting stuff I had ever had, but that it would make me well. I wasn't really sick, but I drank some of these teabags anyway, well, I drank the tea from the teabags. He said they would a good precautionary thing. It was disgusting. I have no idea what was in there. He told, he told me it was all okay. But why do you do it? You do it because you tell yourself, "It's for a good cause". We do it for our health. That's why we do it. A man in southeast China said that he avoided intestinal problems for 40 years. He avoided intestinal problems for 40 years by swallowing live tree frogs and live rats. This is not a joke. Until he was 26 years old he'd suffered from abdominal pains and coughing.
So an old man suggested tree frogs as a remedy. No joke. After a month of eating live frogs, his stomach pains and his coughing were completely gone. Over the years he added live mice, baby rats, and green frogs to his diet. Once ate 20 mice in a single day. Now, please, don't try this at home. I'm not recommending it. I think it's madness. My point is, when you want something, you'll do what you feel like you need to do. Friend, we have to have the power of God's Spirit in our lives. Joash got little because he expected little. And he expected little because he had surrendered little. We want to see the blessing of God in our finances, in our businesses, in our investments. Isn't that true? Yes, we do. You don't want your wallet to be any skinnier than it needs to be.
Now, God came to us and gave us the secret for financial security. He said via the prophet Malachi, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord," and He promises to open up the windows of heaven and pour out such blessing that we will not have room enough to receive it. Never has anyone made such an outrageous promise to you regarding your finances. God says, "I'll open up to you the windows of heaven. You won't have room enough to receive all the blessings". That promise is predicated upon a certain something. God says, "I'll do this, but first I need for you to do that". Now, it isn't the money God wants. God wants your heart. This is about the attitude of the heart. The heart that says, "I have faith in God. I believe in God. I trust in God. I love God. He asks for 10 percent, I'll give it".
In fact, God does something a little interesting. He says, "The tenth is mine". In actual fact, when you get your next paycheck, you ought to look at it and then tell the Lord, "Lord, they've done it again. Somehow they've managed to get my money all mixed up with some of Your money. This 10 percent isn't mine. But they give it to me anyway. Ten percent is Yours, Father, and I want You to have it back". The tenth is His. We ought not dare withhold that. It's far more than a duty to return it to God. It's a blessing. I know you're going to say amen. I hope you're going to say amen. And there's a huge promise attached. God says, "I know you'll be skittish over turning over 10 percent of your income, so I'm making you a promise. If you do, I pledge," God says, "I vow, I assure you, I will open up for you the windows of heaven and pour you out a great blessing".
Honest to goodness. If Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos made me that promise, I'd take them up on it. I simply will. Or would. Not saying will as though they will, but if they did, I would. If Bill Gates sat down opposite me and said, "Here's what I want to do. You invest with me 10 percent of your increase, of your income, every day, week, month, year, whatever it is. You give me 10 percent. I'll look after you like you couldn't believe". I would be in like a robber's dog. Many people would. Warren Buffett. Wise investor. Very successful in business. "Uh, just 10 percent and I'll take care of you for good". Except God, God does better than that. He says, "Ten percent, I'll take care of you forever".
God wants our heart. It's not the money, it's the heart. Imagine telling your investment advisor or your bank manager, "Do you know what? I think I'll pass this week. I won't be putting, I won't be putting my weekly amount in. I'm just gonna sort of do my own thing with that money this week. There are things I've got to do. Good things, you know". Your investment advisor, he or she would tell you, "Well, that's up to you, but in the end, you're the one who'll be hurt. You'll get less back". We want God's moving in our lives. But we're doing like Joash, committing little to God, and not receiving what God wants to give us. Yes, Joash got three victories. That was good. But it wasn't what he could have had. It wasn't what he should have had. So the tenth is God's. But God does something interesting. He says, He says, "There are tithes and offerings".
Oh, friend, if you're serious about being joined to Jesus, don't forget the offerings. How much? That's up to you. Now as a church we typically recommend that a person would think about giving five or six percent in offerings, or maybe further, maybe ten. Or more, depends how you go. But, of course, you don't need to stop. You could give more. The Jews used to give 30 percent or more to God. You think there's a reason that as a people they know something about wise money management? I want to encourage you. If you're not giving offerings, start to do so. Give what you can. If God is a priority in your life, in the vast majority of cases you can find ways of being generous towards God.
In our family we have built it into the family budget and it's exciting. Yes, I can support my church or this ministry or that organization, what matters most to us. If we can give to the cable company, we can surely give to God. If we can give to the Olive Garden, we can surely give to God. If we can give to eBay or a 401K or a motor vehicle manufacturer in Detroit, we can definitely give to God. You see, if all I want is three strikes, I'm asking for little from God in return. If my love for God is great, I will pound the ground again and again and again and open my life and open my wallet and commit my family to the Lord. I'm not talking about earning God's blessing. I'm talking about what the Bible's talking about, being in a right relationship with God so that we can expect God's blessing. You can't buy God's favor. There are many Christians who try. "If you just give this, God will give that". Oh, no. I can promise you this, if you give this, God will bless you.
Now, too many Christian believers think, "I'm going to sow my seed offering, and I give a hundred and God will give me back a thousand". No, God may give you peace. He may protect you from illness. The tires on your car may last a little bit longer. You may have good neighbors move in instead of bad. You just let God bless you the way God wants to bless you. You don't need to be turning blessing into covetousness, faithfulness into greed. You don't want to do that. What you realize from God, what you receive from God will be in proportion to what you yield to God. And God wants your heart. I have a friend who used to be, let me protect his identity. He used to be involved in less-than-honest pursuits. Let me just put it that way.
Now he devotes an awful lot of time to helping people who are in the same jam he used to be in. But his pursuit of less-than-honest pursuits put his family under huge pressure. Led to very real threats against his life due to his dishonest ways. He wanted to be rich. He wanted to live the big life. He was raised to attend a certain church, but he wandered far from God, wanted nothing to do with religion. These, these dishonest pursuits were his life. It was destroying his life. It ruined his family. But then my friend found Jesus. He was baptized. He became part of the church. He turned his back on dishonest pursuits. He started a little business and he decided he would be honest. He did not need to get rich quick, he decided. "I'm not going to try and cut corners. I'm not going to try to live the high life. I'm not going to show off in front of anybody. I just want to live my Christian life. This is how I'm going to earn my daily bread. And I'm going to be faithful in my giving to God".
A funny thing happened. This man started to see his business grow. As a matter of fact, his business boomed and he became what anybody would describe as a very wealthy man. God could trust him with wealth because he had a converted heart. And what's more, he can't help himself, he has to share his faith wherever he goes. He started sharing his faith with a man that I'm going to call Joe. Joe ran some businesses. He lived life in the fast lane, with nice cars and glamorous friends and money running through his hands like water. Over 20 years ago, wait, over 20 years ago? Way over 20 year, there's no need I tell you. Many years ago, I used to be, a patron at one of Joe's businesses. Left way too much money behind in those places. I was as lost as Joe was.
You know, Joe told he spent 20 years without being sober a single day. I believe him. If it was an exaggeration, you still get the point. Needless to say, Joe, who was living the high life, lost it all. He went from the heights to the depths. From having it all to losing it all. He had nothing. By the influence of God's Spirit and my friend's encouragement, Joe started to attend church. He reached out to Jesus. He started attending a series of meetings that I held. And when that series was over, I got to baptize the man whose nightclub I used to attend years and years before. God brought us both up out of the pit. We gave it all to God and God gave it all to us. Joe moved into a modest apartment. Joe had little of this world's goods, but he had peace and eternal life and he knew Jesus Christ as his eternal Savior.
What you get out depends on what you put in. Joe put it all in. By the same token, if I want to see God's blessing in my spiritual life, I will throw myself into my relationship with God. If I want to grow spiritually, I need to take that seriously. My walk with the Lord is going nowhere if I'm not praying and reading my Bible. How can I be knit together with God if I'm not spending time with God. We've got to spend time with God daily. Take your Bible, read a passage, feed on that, mediate on that, ask God what He's saying to you, write down some key points, store some of that in your mind, and then pray, speak with God, commit your life to Him, tell Him what's going on in your mind. Tell Him what's going on in your life. Praise Him. Ask Him. Thank Him. And then go on your way believing that your heart is towards Him. You can't get anything out if we refuse to put anything in.
"Oh, Lord, where's Your blessing in my life"? "Oh, child, why weren't you at prayer meeting? Why weren't you in Sabbath School? Why aren't you coming to church"? If you get by on the bare minimum, if you are not connecting, you'll receive a bare minimum. It's common for Christians today to work harder on their abs than on their walk with Jesus. It's common for people to spend more time talking to their potted plants than to Jesus. I'm not getting anything out of my relationship with God if I am not putting anything in. I'm not going to walk on water if I refuse to get out of the boat. A friend of mine sent me the lyrics to a, to a song the other day. I've never heard it, so I can't tell you what it's like, but the song tells a forceful story. It's called "The Lumber Song". Now, hold on a minute, that's not right. It's about lumber. It's called "That's All the Lumber".
In the song a man finds himself in heaven and instead of getting a great big gorgeous mansion as he hoped and expected, he was escorted to a two-room shack. In disbelief he asked, "How can this be"? And he's told, "That's all the lumber you sent. The man in the big mansion built that place with his heart, but as for you, that's all the lumber you sent". Of course there's are flaws in the theology of the song. Nobody in heaven is going to live in a little shack. There isn't a hierarchy of mansions for the more faithful and the less faithful. We're all equal in heaven. But what a thought. The Bible says, "Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also". How much lumber are you sending to Jesus? What are you telling Him to build you by the way you give or don't give in your heart?
You make small demands on God, you'll realize pitiful returns in your spiritual life. Small prayers, small answers. Small commitment levels, small blessing level. Small surrender, small spiritual power. Small investment in God, little transformation. God asks for all your heart and when He gets it, that's when the fun begins. Good stuff. It's wonderful when you throw yourself into God's plan for your life. Have you done that? This poor old king came to the prophet and he said, "I know you're the man". It was the right thing to say. "You speak of the blessing of God. You guide us in God's ways". Amen. Put his hands in the hands of the prophet, shot that arrow. Pounded the ground. Then he quit.
Think about your devotional life. Are you in with God? Really? Think of your prayer life. Are you in with God? Think of the way your family operates. If someone walked into your home, would they say, "Christian home"? Or would they walk into a home and say, "No different than anybody else"? Are you taking this thing seriously? God takes you seriously. Serious enough that Jesus came to this earth, stretched out His arms, allowed Himself to be nailed to an old rugged cross, and died so that He might spend eternity with you. He's serious about you. Deadly serious. This isn't hard work. It's just an attitude shift. It's a difference in focus, in direction. It's not hard work to say no to the devil. I mean, temptation can get at you, but it's not onerous to say I'm not following that way anymore. Doesn't make your life worse.
You're not a second-class citizen because you're investing in God and allowing the God of heaven to fill your heart with His presence. And one day Jesus comes back, we're going home. We believe that day is soon. You read in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12 it speaks of the saved in the end of time. "Here is the patience of the saints". What do they look like? "Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus".
They've chosen to surrender and Jesus is living His life in them. Have you made that choice? Have you chosen to surrender? Have you done that? Lord, not my way, Your way. I know I've got a bad temper, Lord, please give me a new heart. I know I'm stingy, I may not be faithful in my stewardship, Lord, forgive me and give me a new heart. I might not treat those around me like I ought to treat them. Lord, forgive me, give me a new heart, live in me. You do it, I cannot. "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it". This is what the Bible says. Have you prayed the prayer that says, "Lord, do it"? Let's pray that prayer now. Let's pray together.
Father in heaven, do it, we pray. Give us grace that our lives are all in with the life of Jesus. Not pounding the ground just three times, but pounding and pounding and pounding, and continuing to make great demands on You and pray big prayers. Because that's all we can do when our lives are bound up with Your life. Let it be so. We choose Jesus again and again.
Friend, can you pray that prayer today? "Lord, I want to be all in. I want to live a life of commitment". Can you pray that prayer? Would you pray it now?
Lord, hear the prayer of our hearts. The prayer of our heart is we want to live a life of commitment and so, therefore, we need Jesus to live His life in us. Let it be so, we pray, and thank You in Jesus' name. Please say with me, amen.