21 Days of Dedication

Day 21 - Discernment

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11, ESV).

We have reached the final day of our 21 Day Dedication to the Lord! I simply want to say thank you to each of you who have been following along, growing in the Spirit, and being more dedicated to the Lord. You make all of this worth it; believe me, it's not easy. It takes a lot. It takes prayer, seeking, worship and discernment. 

It takes discernment because right now, and throughout this time, there have been a great many things that I have wanted to say. But that's the thing, isn't it? Who cares about what I want to say? I don't even care about what I WANT to say; I WANT TO SAY WHAT GOD WANTS ME TO SAY. It takes discernment to decide what He wants me to say. At the end of our dedication, that's what I want to leave you with: discernment. 

To live a dedicated life to the Lord, we need discernment and endurance (sneak peek to tomorrow's message: "You Have Need of Endurance!"). 

Discernment, as I refer to it, is the ability to judge what God's guidance is in any situation. As we have dedicated our lives to Him in a special way, we can now ask Him, "How can I show you I am dedicated to You today?" and believe that He will not only answer us, but guide us in the right direction. But we have the responsibility to decide what God is leading us to do! This is why we need discernment. 

If you read the passage above again, you'll see what discernment leads us to. Discernment leads us to approve what is excellent (according to God's standards), it leads us to be pure and blameless for the day our Christ returns, and it leads us to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ, to the praise and glory of God! Discernment is an amazing way to show the Lord that we are devoted and dedicated to Him. So today, at the end of our dedication, I pray you receive and use more discernment in daily life. And I will catch you on the flippity-flip!

-Pastor Tim Escamilla