Wholly Committed

Is God calling you to a deeper level of commitment?  

When I first read this question, my immediate answer in my head was "No!  There is no way I could possibly BE more committed to God!  I read the Bible every morning, pray daily, attend church and Bible study regularly, and love Him more than anything else!"  

Of course, that was when I felt the twinge in my heart.  The small twinge, accompanied by a thought: Am I really completely and deeply committed to God, all day every day?  

Then I knew what I would be reflecting upon and blogging about this week :) Once I realized God is calling me to be more committed, I have contemplated how to grow deeper in my relationship with God.  Various scriptures popped into my head throughout the week:  

• Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (NIV)  Could I categorize every thought I have into one of these categories?  If not, am I able to quickly change my thought to fit in one of these categories?  
• Colossians 3:23 - "And don't just do the minimum that will get you by.  Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance.  Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ." (MSG)  Am I always doing my best for God?  Am I more worried about my work as a means to collect a paycheck, or as a means to glorify God and serve others?  
• Colossians 1:10 - "...So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..." (NIV)  Am I growing in my knowledge of God?  I think many times I do not try to "get to know him" better, or learn more about Him.  Instead, I tend to be focused on how His Word and how my prayers can improve my life, or the lives of those around me, while neglecting to get to know Him more.  

Another thing I need to improve upon is responding to Him whenever he calls me (immediately say YES GOD!).  Sometimes I just need to make a choice to walk away from gossiping, trust Him with situations that are making me anxious, or many other things I try to handle myself.  I feel like I need God to put one of these little signs in front of me when I am in these situations, but I need to learn to recognize them for myself! 

Other times, I feel a gentle nudging that makes me think I should share my faith with the person I am conversing with, talk to a stranger, or some other "random" act that is out of my comfort zone.  I want to get better at immediately recognizing that it is God nudging me, and respond cheerfully and without fear!  

I also want to focus on constantly loving others, even when I am do not feel like it.  I found this list (I love lists!) that has some good points and scripture references that I can focus on, as I know that loving and serving others will help me grow in Christ!  

And now I need your help - I can definitely use some more ideas on how to become wholly committed to God, and to grow deeper in my relationship with Him!  How have you been able to achieve a deeper level of commitment with God?  How have you been able to get to know Him better?  I pray you are always able to grow more with Him! God bless :)