Commitment never exceeds assurance. In fact, by simply examining a person’s devotion to a particular ideal, you can usually gain an accurate understanding of just how much they do (or don’t) believe in it. A Christian who still occasionally wonders about the divine inspiration of Scripture, or secretly doubts whether God actually exists, will never be fully committed to his faith or have much success in convincing others he’s found the truth.

“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.”

                    -Romans 4:20-21

Several years ago when God called me to preach, I remember a period of one or two days when I felt about 99% sure of my calling. Of course there are some areas of life when that level of certainty is sufficient, as we discussed last week. Would you hesitate to schedule a picnic on a day with a 99% chance of sunshine? Of course not. But I recognized that a call to the ministry carries with it much more significance than a day at the park. It’s a permanent calling and one that would require my daily attention.

Sure, 99% would have been enough at first. I would still have been able to preach my first sermon with enthusiasm and gladly accept any invitations to speak at local churches. But what about when things got rough? What about the times I faced criticism for my beliefs, or felt my service wasn’t being appreciated? Suddenly that small bit of doubt would have occasion to grow, and the devil would likely succeed in convincing me that I misunderstood the Lord in the first place.

With this in mind, I told God I needed absolute assurance that the voice I heard was in fact His. It took several more hours of prayer and soul searching, but I came away without any doubt of what God had called me to be.

Of course not everyone reading these words has been called to this same type of ministry, but you still need a relationship with God that is free of doubt and uncertainty. 99% may be enough for you today when everything is going well spiritually. But sooner or later, you’ll go through the fire. Your faith will be put to the test, and any doubts you have now will only grow then. Let today be the day you let God erase any doubts hidden deep in your heart and replace them with His truth.

You’ve seen the ads. Chances are you’ve bought the products. Air fresheners, disinfectant wipes, and…well…99% of cleaning products on the market generally make the same claim: they’ll kill 99% of germs, 100% of the time. The question is whether or not 99% is good enough, and the answer inevitably depends on the context of the claim.

For example, a police department that successfully solved 99% of local crimes would be doing pretty good, as would any doctor that managed to send 99% of cancer patients into remission. For all intents and purposes, a bottle of hand sanitizer that sterilizes 99% of the germs on my hands is worth the money.

But there are as many scenarios when 99% is simply unacceptable. What if a hospital advertised a 99% success rate when it came to giving the right baby to the right mother? What if credit card companies charged only 99% of purchases to the right account, or your bank properly processed only 99% of transactions? Chances are it wouldn’t take an expensive advertising campaign for these inadequacies to become public knowledge.

On a more personal level, would you be satisfied in knowing your spouse was 99% sure he/she loved you? What if 1 John 4:8 read, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is mostly love?” Suppose the Word of God Itself claimed only to be 99% accurate? Chances are you would be hesitant to invest your life in a relationship if you weren’t entirely sure your feelings were reciprocated, or to follow God wholeheartedly if you thought there was a chance He didn’t exist.

In the same way, serving God is one of the many areas of life that requires absolute commitment. It’s not difficult to fill the majority of one’s time with godliness. You may attend church Sunday morning, listen to Christian music on your way to Cracker Barrel afterwards, and engage in Christian conversation around the table. But if you refuse the Lord’s leading to share the Gospel with the waitress, you successfully filled roughly 99% of your day with God but came up short when it mattered most. As the apostle Paul would have said, a little leaven leavened the whole lump (Gal. 5:9).

Over the next several weeks, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the difference between partial commitment and complete devotion. The differences may not always be obvious, but they are nevertheless important and often carry with them eternal consequences – both for you and those you influence.

Part 1 is scheduled to go live one week from today, so check back on Sunday or subscribe via email to make sure you don’t miss it. In the meantime, please leave a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts or favorite Bible verses on the subject.

“An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.”

       -Proverbs 29:22

Everybody knows what anger feels like. When someone lies to you, cuts you off in traffic, or is five minutes late for a dinner appointment you immediately feel it starting to build. But just because anger often comes so naturally when things don’t go your way doesn’t mean this emotion is always justified. Even if we are quite certain that we have every right to our anger, the question then becomes “is it worth it?” Studies show angry people are more likely to experience heart trouble, headaches and weakened immune systems¹, not to mention the emotional and spiritual side effects.

“But Jesus got angry!” you may be saying. Yes, but Jesus’ anger was far different than what we usually experience. In his book “Anger is a Choice”, Tim LaHaye makes this point:

“It is wrong to compare our Lord's anger toward sin with human anger, for Jesus has a divine nature of holiness that man does not share; thus Jesus could sustain a holy wrath without sin. His most severe anger involved righteous indignation against sin; it was never a response to personal rejection, insult, or injury.”

Reading this for the first time awakened me to the foolishness of comparing my anger to God’s, or attempting to justify resentment based on Christ’s occasional righteous indignation toward the Pharisees. I’ve heard many believers point to the Lord’s cleansing of the temple in John 2 as “evidence” that their own anger toward a friend or family member is reasonable, without considering that Christ never took personal offense. Is there any record of a heated argument with Peter after his denial of the Lord? Did He harbor a grudge against Judas, or any of those who crucified Him? Quite the opposite! In fact, Scripture indicates His immediate prayer was for their forgiveness (Luke 23:34). It didn’t take Him years of battling with bitterness and hatred before He found peace; He never gave place to anger in the first place. 

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

       -Matthew 6:15

The obvious cure for anger is forgiveness, and forgiveness never comes without sacrifice on your part. For example, forgiving someone who stole $10 from you means releasing your claim to that money and shouldering the financial consequences of another’s actions. Forgiving someone for tainting your reputation with gossip means bearing the loss of your good name. Basically, any instance of forgiveness requires you to give up your claim to restitution. Isn’t that what Christ did for us? He released us from the consequences of our sin, but only because He personally paid the price for them.

In the parable of the king, one generous ruler forgave his servant of an enormous debt equivalent to millions of dollars in today’s money. The former debtor then went out and found someone who owed him 100 pence, – about $10 – took him by the throat, and demanded payment (Matthew 18:23-30). Forgiveness was not given as it had been received, and anger was the result.

Don’t allow your life to be consumed with anger. It is perhaps the greatest thief of Christian joy you’ll ever encounter, while the extension of forgiveness to the undeserving is one of the greatest sources of this joy. Let your joy be full.