Determine to Make the Commitment!

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

When missionary Dr. David Livingstone was working in Africa, a group of friends wrote him: “We would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good road into your area yet?” Dr. Livingstone sent this message in reply: “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”

There’s a big difference between just being interested in doing something and actually making a commitment to doing it! Just being interested allows us the freedom do a thing only when our circumstances permit. But making a commitment to do that thing means accepting no excuses and no reservations — it means putting aside our fears and reservations moving forward till we see the end result! Dr. Livingstone was looking for results, and this required men of commitment!

Let’s make some commitments! Our Lord, our families, our jobs and our congregations are awaiting us!



This article was provided by Worthy Devotions

Interesting Fact: Candy Cane

ViveAlive has been in “hibernation” mode for couple of weeks now. The main reasons are due to lack inspiration and ever increasing workload. Nevertheless, I determine to write something today especially after receiving some good feedback from the readers. Thank you so much for spending time to read my articles and also for commenting. Your comment means a lot to me. Anyway, here is something interesting that I learn recently about Candy Cane. It all started when a Candymaker in Indiana, USA wanted to make a candy that would help people remember who Christmas is really about. So he made a Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. Hard candy to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the "Good Shepherd". The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life. The candy became known as a Candy Cane -- a decoration seen at Christmas time. The meaning has faded, but still gives joy to children young and old, whom Jesus loves and treasures.

Next time when you get hold of a Candy Cane, hope you will remember the story behind it.

Be Blessed.