Half-hearted?

Today's Readings: OT - Leviticus 18 / NT - Acts 19:11-22

"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power." - Acts 19:18-20 

In a time when a large number of people are still unemployed, employers can be very demanding in their hiring choices. They are looking for employees that will be fully committed to the business. They want someone who will  leave their personal life at home and come to work completely focused. Anything less than this work ethic will lose someone their job. In this climate, there is no place for half-hearted workers.

In the same way, disciples of Christ are expected to be fully committed, leaving their past behind. A great number of new disciples in Ephesus were coming to Christ from a background in the occult. They recognized the need to make a complete break from this past if they were to be faithful followers of Christ. The sacrifice and monetary loss was great, but on that day in Ephesus, there were no half-hearted disciples.

When you came to Christ you became "a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) As the heart becomes new, so should the lifestyle. Our connection to past sins and gods needs to be broken forever. The Lord looks for disciples who are fully committed and totally focused on Him. Have you taken practical steps to put the past behind you with a whole heart, or are you still a half-hearted disciple?

Think About This: "Let him make our lives narrow; let him make them intense; let him make them absolutely his!" 

~ Oswald Chambers 

Tomorrow's Readings: OT - Leviticus 19:1-8 / NT - Acts 19:23-20:6