How do i rededicate my life to god

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC marks where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech, “I Have a Dream.” Standing in the shadow of Lincoln gave greater force to Dr. King’s words. The site intensified the message. I’m convinced that’s why Joshua regathered the young Hebrew nation to Shechem. 

The geographical context of his words played a significant role. They spoke as loudly as Joshua did that day.

And they speak to us.

Let’s Go to Shechem—Again

It wasn’t the Hebrews’ first time there. God told them to go to Shechem after they entered the Promised Land and dedicate themselves to His Law—which they did (Joshua 8:30-35).

When I visited the valley between the hills, I envisioned the nation of Israel shouting the blessings and the curses. BiblePlaces.com cites an acoustic experiment conducted in 1879 that demonstrated how the valley would have acted as a natural amphitheater—amplifying the voices of the Hebrew nation.

Now, after the conquest, Joshua again gathered them to Shechem, as if to ask:

• “Remember how Abraham left his idols and came to this city?”
• “Remember how Jacob put away his idols here?”
• “Remember how you yourselves dedicated yourselves to the Lord here?”

The place became a mute reminder of past dedications. It reignited those passions.

Joshua challenged the people to choose nothing short of wholehearted rededication to God “in sincerity and truth” (Joshua 24:14). He told them they could either choose their parents’ bad examples or their culture’s examples, but that the ultimate decision of whom they would serve remained theirs alone.

We must remember that it’s possible to affirm the existence of God with your lips and to deny the existence of God with your life. The most dangerous form of atheism is not theoretical atheism but practical atheism. —Martin Luther King, Jr. (from a message entitled, “Rediscovering Lost Values”)

Jesus Came To the Same Place

Centuries later, Jesus (whose name in Greek reflects the Hebrew name Joshua), said the same thing just outside of Shechem in Sychar. He told the woman at Jacob’s well that God seeks those who worship Him in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24). Similarly, Joshua had said to serve God “in sincerity and truth.”

Both Joshua and Jesus remind us of the need to choose our Lord over all false gods or idols—whether they are passions, possessions, or people.

A Place of Rededication to God

Shechem became a place of rededication for Abraham, Jacob, Israel and the Samaritan woman—a place where the old life was abandoned in favor of following a Lord who alone was God.

Shechem can represent that place for us as well.

You don’t have to go to a particular place for your rededication to God. You can do it right where you are—right now. But it does help to “go back” in your mind to where you were before you knew the Lord.

• As you do when you take Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, remember how Jesus Christ saved you by grace through faith when you could never have saved yourself (Titus 3:5).
• Examine your life and confess any known sin—not in order to be saved—so that your fellowship with God is restored (1 John 1:9).
• Choose to walk with God in spite of your past—including your upbringing, your culture’s temptations, and your own inclinations.

As Joshua said, “Choose today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

Resolved: That all men should live for the glory of God. Resolved second: That whether others do or not, I will. —Jonathan Edwards

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The large church I attended had a room off a hallway which was used for counseling people who responded (or came forward) to the appeal (or invitation) at the end of the Sunday evening service. Sometimes the chairs were arranged in pairs so that a counselor (or personal worker) could talk to and pray with an individual and a small pre-printed index card was on one of the chairs that could be filled in with a name, address, phone number for further ministry contact (or follow-up).

There were a number of boxes on those index cards that could be checked if the person was seeking salvation, or desiring to be baptized, but there were often boxes that said assurance or re-dedication.

I’ve talked before about the fact we don’t hear much about assurance anymore. We covered it here in 2013 and also in 2015. The same could be said for recommitting or rededicating. In the ebb and flow of topical trends in the church, some things get said at the expense of other things.

For some, the concept treads on a narrower, more-Calvinistic view of the salvation process (or soteriology.) One particular site which I’m not going to link to (for many reasons) is dismissive of the need to recommit or rededicate oneself to God; to Christ; to Christ’s cause. But they did get one sentence right: “Repentance is not re-dedication.” The world may offer that ‘confession is good for the soul,’ but confession of sin is a necessary part of following after Jesus, honoring God and not grieving the Holy Spirit.

But having said that, are there times in the life of a believer when, not over specific sin, he or she needs to reset, refocus and renew?* Of course there are.

CompellingTruth.org is an outreach of GotQuestions.org who we often cite here. They offer this teaching:

The idea of “rededicating your life to Christ” is not named in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean it’s not useful. In fact, it can be an effective way to help people realize that Jesus’ forgiveness is for all of us.

There are two common scenarios in which people rededicate their lives to Christ. The most common is that of an older child or young adult who accepted Christ at a young age. After years of going to church and living through the influence of his parents’ faith, he may realize his own faith is stagnant and underdeveloped. He may have never taken responsibility for his relationship with Jesus, or he may actually be living a sinful lifestyle. He comes to the realization that despite the fact he is a Christian, he wants a stronger Christian life. So he rededicates his life to Christ, taking a leap in maturity and restarting His Christian growth.

The second scenario is not strictly a re-dedication, but a realization. It involves someone who heard the gospel and thought she accepted Christ, but didn’t understand the implications well enough to have a saving relationship with Jesus. She may have gone to church the whole time, even served, but at some point she comes to know and accept the true nature of salvation. If she doesn’t realize that she was not a Christian before, she may call the transformation a re-dedication, even though it is technically a conversion.

Of course, it is not God’s intent for any young Christian to fall into a sinful lifestyle. Romans 12:1-2 says that a believer is meant to reject sin and experience continual spiritual growth. Likewise, it’s not God’s plan for anyone to misunderstand the gospel, going through the motions of a Christian life for years, before really understanding saving grace.

But re-dedication as a concept is a powerful tool. It clearly demonstrates that God forgives. He forgives old Christians who sin, and new Christians who were deceived for years. It is a spiritual deep breath, wherein a believer can refocus her relationship with Christ. Like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and Peter in John 21, it shows that Jesus will always take us back…

Their parent website, Got Questions looks at this from a different angle:

…In a desire to consciously choose to adhere to a newfound, deeper understanding of the gospel, believers may “rededicate” themselves to Christ.

However, falling away and returning to God is not how the Christian walk is supposed to look. Romans 12:1–2 explains that spiritual maturity is a gradual, ongoing process. Jesus said that to follow Him we should take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). And 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1 speak of the Christian life as a race, meant to be run every day. Many people rededicate after every sin. It’s easy to get caught in a cycle of rededicating, striving to follow Jesus closely, failing, and rededicating again. But habitual sin is not a problem solved by rededicating. It’s a deeper issue that can only be solved with a greater understanding of the grace and love of God.

Still, re-dedication is a useful tool. It’s a way to deliberately reject sin and renew a love for Christ. The disciples went through a re-dedication of sorts when they saw the risen Jesus. Their half-hearted devotion turned into a desire to pour out their lives for His service. In the same way, whether because of a conviction about a sinful lifestyle or a greater understanding of the gift of Christ, we can choose to abandon our shallow devotion to Christ and devote ourselves to Him more fully…

Here are today’s key scriptures:

Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight (2 Kings 20:3 Amplifed).

Remember from where you have come out and do the former works (Revelation 2:5a Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.  (Psalm 71:20 Berean Study Bible)

Do you need to, in computer language, “reset to factory settings?” That is to say, do a reset back to the days when you first followed Jesus? Or a time when your level of commitment was more wholehearted?

Then recommit. Rededicate.

This prayer is from the website ThreeDimensionalVitality.com:

Dear God,

I confess that I have strayed from my first love – Jesus – and I want to recommit my life to You. Please help me to become the person You created me to be. Enable me to always live a life that is pleasing to You.

I want to be a witness to others of Your saving grace and power. Forgive me when I take back the control of my life. I want You to be Lord of my life.

Renew my passion to walk more closely with You. You know all my desires and plans. Help me to fulfill Your unique call and purpose in my life.

Renew my heart, restore the joy of my salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Lord, thank You for this hope I have in You. Use my life to bring You glory, honor and praise.

Thank You, Lord, Jesus for hearing and answering my prayer. In Your Name. Amen.

*In our list of ‘re’ words, there is a great crossover between re dedication and repentance but there is also one word I didn’t touch because it offers us two different paths. That word is revival. The two paths are quite distinct, but one deals with personal revival, and other deals with the collective revival of a family or a church (or in Old-Testament terms, an entire nation.)

But at this point, we can also work backwards and say that perhaps there are times when a whole family or a whole church needs to re-dedicate or re-commit. And that may be a path to consider. But start with me and then look outside to we.

What does it mean to rededicate yourself?

How do I commit my life to God?

How do I devote my life to God?

How do I give my life to God again?