Consecration

These short devotional have been written by Rev Malcolm Duncan, Elim Minister of Kensington Temple in London. They were written in 2024 to help Elim Ministers and members spend time consecrating their lives to God.

Select a day : 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12   (Day 13 on Wed)

There are some verses in the Bible and some phrases that seem to put on boxing gloves when you are not looking, and when you come back to them and read them, they reach out and punch you on the nose!

This is one of those, I think. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not whole-heartedly. If you read on, you will realise that what he did not do was quite reasonable in modern terms! The challenge is that the Bible seems to suggest that because he did not wholeheartedly follow the instructions of the Law in relation to the people and descendants of the land Israel had conquered, his reign was ultimately less fruitful than it could have been. It is easy to obey the bits of the Scripture that we like, it is harder to obey the bits that we struggle with. Too often we seem to pick and choose the bits that are 'right' for our time and ignore the 'bits' that aren't. Partial consecration is, in the end, something of an oxymoron. Nevertheless, a helpful question to consider is, in our own lives, are we consecrated fully or partially?

Do we heed the call of Scripture to a consecrated life in its fulness, or do we cut and paste the consecration calls of Scripture to suit our culture or suit our preferences? Surely consecration affects everything we are and everything we do? Our inner world and our outer world are held together by the degree to which we are willing to be consecrated. We should be in no doubt that there is a central moral and ethical code that we are called never to depart from. God has made clear that it is to be wholeheartedly at the centre of everything we do and say. It is contained in both the Old Testament and the New. Here is a simple test for us – are we living out the truths of the Ten Commandments?

As a pastor, could you cite them to me? If that is too much, then here's another two great questions to help us think about what a consecrated life looks like: are we loving God with everything we have and loving others as we love ourselves? Could you name your neighbours for five houses in either direction of where you live? If you don't know them, how can you love them? Are we so busy with ministry that we have lost the sense of what it means to be wholeheartedly present in the daily rhythm of our lives and families?

Consecration starts in the quiet place and at home, not in the pulpit or the boardroom.

For further thought –

Which parts of faithfulness to God do you struggle with most in the work you do or in your life? How can you bring those under the lordship of Christ? Who can you talk to about that? Do you have a prayer partner or an accountability partner? What about pastoral supervision? Is there a band of colleagues you could meet with to open your heart to and spur one another on? Do you know the Ten Commandments? What about your neighbours? What can you do to address these questions?