Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Written by Naijuvelin Diaz, volunteer for Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Venezuela

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Lk 14:25-33 NIV)

Understanding the meaning of the word committed is important. Close in meaning to words such as difficult and exposed, it is an adjective that implies risk, difficulty, or danger.

Many times, in interpersonal relationships, expressions such as "I commit to" in response to a job application, a study option, a competition, or a relationship are intended to include all the given conditions so that you can succeed. It is not easy to commit to accomplishing everything—even more so if you are unaware of certain situations that will arise.

However, Jesus teaches us to consider beforehand the cost and the risk of following Him and committing to Him. Jesus denied himself to prioritize us; He also requires us to deny ourselves in any situation or comfort to prioritize Him.

True commitment requires responsibility and faithfulness.

For example, the cost of infidelity without calculating the magnitude of the distress it could generate on a spiritual, mental, moral, and social level would likely lead to your total collapse and the loss of your communion with God. Underestimating the consequences of a bad decision devoid of commitment results in chaos.

Christ showed His commitment to follow the way of the cross. Focusing on our salvation, He carried that heavy cross, denying Himself, even to death. Showing genuine, faithful commitment to our Lord defines me as a disciple of Him. Giving Him first place refocuses me on the path of salvation by reminding me of the cost of following Him, compared to the cost He paid in committing before God to redeem me.

When you make the commitment to be His disciple, you also acquire eternal life (Jn 15:5-8). James 1:12 motivates us to obtain the crown of life by remaining committed throughout our whole life.

Maintaining a disciplined life of integrity means leaving behind curses, anger, worldly pleasures, or any situation that is natural for the human mind but that goes against the teaching of Jesus.

The rich young ruler presented a question to Jesus about how to obtain eternal life. Jesus asks him to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor. This completely discouraged the young man, who, manifesting an attitude of sadness, left. Material possessions and attachments to material, emotional, and physical goods are obstacles to committing to Christ 100%.

To commit ourselves is to let go of all burdens. If the believer is unwilling to fulfill this condition, they should remember Jesus' words, "Such a person cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:26).

Following Christ and committing 100% to the Great I AM is the best decision, even if it is difficult. "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial" (Jas 1:12a).

I am moved by the descriptive words of the apostle Paul when he expresses that he considers everything as garbage, as loss, in order to gain Christ, affirming that he left everything to follow Him. To assume this faithful commitment was his firm and best decision (Php 3:7).

God gives us the grace to commit ourselves fully to the Great I AM.

Are we really willing to give up possessions, convenience, and comfort to commit 100% to the Great I AM?

Written by Ayane Nayara, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in João Pessoa, Brazil

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. (Ps 10:14 NIV)

When we have a relationship with God, we can enjoy many of His characteristics; we get a taste of what He is. We taste His love, His faithfulness, His kindness, His mercy, His grace, His generosity, among other attributes of our God, including His commitment.

To better understand this attribute, let’s think about its meaning. Commitment is an obligation assumed by one or more parties. It is an agreement or pact made by someone with another being or with themselves.

God as our Creator and Father is committed to us. Since the creation of man, He has made promises and covenants with humanity and His people. He planned every part of our journey and He committed to fulfilling it. Unfortunately, these covenants were broken, not by God, but by man. When a covenant is broken, both parties no longer have the obligation or commitment to fulfill what was agreed. However, what we do does not change who God is.

God takes on a responsibility with us. Like a true father, He knows our needs and despite our faults, He is committed to keeping His covenant. At all times, He seeks to teach us, make us grow, and bring us back to His path.

In Jeremiah 29, part of His people was exiled in Babylon. It was a difficult time for them. Israel had failed God; they once again broke the covenant with the Father and were suffering the consequences. However, the Lord remembered them and made this clear when He sent them a letter through the prophet Jeremiah, asking them to remain firm, not to listen to false prophets, to multiply, and stay alive.

In verse 11 He says, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” All along, the Lord has been committed to helping, loving, and rescuing His people.

In the Old Testament, He made a covenant with one people, while still blessing others. From humanity: broken alliances, broken promises, betrayal in worship, among other failures; from God: fidelity and commitment.

In the New Testament, He makes a covenant not only with one people but with all those who are open to His will. He gave us His Son so that through Him we could draw closer, and He left us His Spirit as proof of the commitment He has made to take us to our heavenly home. From humanity: the same situation as in the Old Testament; from God: He remains committed. Unlike before, we now have His grace that allows us to get closer to our Father. Even so, in response to His unconditional commitment, He asks us to commit. We need to seek and strive to bring who we are to who the Father is. He does not force us to enjoy who He is, but He is available when we seek Him.

We must always remember that no matter what we do, God remains committed to us as long as we repent and return to Him.

Remember: God is a Father committed to helping, loving, and rescuing us.

He loves us, allowing us to learn from the consequences of our mistakes. He helps us, revealing our sin, guiding us where to walk and what our attitude should be to grow. And He rescues us, reminding us of our covenant with Him and fulfilling His promises.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” (Jer 29:12-14a)

Written by Ana Cardoso, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Ecuador

The Word of God says: “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Ps 100:5 NIV).

Currently, the concept of love is totally distorted by the world, compared to the love that God teaches us. The love we learn from the world is based on the law of giving and receiving in which for you to receive, it is necessary to give. Often, we Christians follow this pattern.

God's love is eternal, faithful, and incomparable. Many times in my life, I have come to doubt God's love, thinking that because I had given in to sin, God would no longer love me and that perhaps He was tired of my excuses, but I have learned over these 19 years that God's faithfulness never ends. He loves me so much and never fails me. Even knowing this, I continue to make mistakes, yet He continues to love me and teach me about His infinite faithfulness. I often compare myself to the people of Israel, who disobeyed God again and again, and I see that God remained faithful to the Israelites, and still does to us to this day.

But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Dt 7:8-9)

If, like me, you feel that God is no longer willing to forgive you for the sins you have committed, remember what John said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9). This is one of the promises that God made to us; we just have to confess our sin and believe in the Word.

In 2023, I was in a training program for young missionaries, and at the end of the year, I discovered that my missionary field would be in another country. At the time I didn't have a single dollar saved to buy the ticket. It was at that moment that I saw that God never abandoned me and remained faithful, even if I didn't deserve it. There were days when I let despair overcome me and I didn't remember who was on my side. It was a unique experience where I was able to have the pleasure of seeing the power of God. As I said, I fail with my faithfulness, but God has never failed and will never fail.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (2Tm 2:11-13)

Dear sisters, I encourage you to seek to know more about God's love and faithfulness, and most importantly, put it into practice. After I started looking more into this, my perspective changed when I saw challenges appearing before me. Now I can say that I finally understand that God's faithfulness has always reached me, and it reaches you, too.

No one can be perfectly faithful, but our God can! When we are not faithful, He remains faithful because He maintains consistency. And, if God is faithful, we have confidence that we will receive the reward He promised us.

Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas

After the Israelites left Egypt, God told them:

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God. (Ex 20:3-5a ESV)

We don’t know when man first turned to idols, but Joshua tells us, “Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Jos 24:2b).

Later, when Jacob took his family back to his homeland, Laban came after them, accusing them of stealing his gods (Ge 31). In Genesis 35, Jacob tells his household to put away all their foreign gods and purify themselves, Then, they go to Bethel to build an altar to the LORD, whom Jacob affirmed had been with him wherever he had gone.

In Egypt, the Israelites were exposed to the gods of the Egyptians, so when God led His people out of slavery, He wanted them to understand there is one God.

The Israelites were constantly tempted to worship the gods of surrounding peoples. It was not until the Babylonian captivity that the Israelites became mono-theistic. That captivity cured them of worshipping idols.

What do we think of when we hear the word “idol”? A simple definition is anything or anyone that we love and desire more than God, our Heavenly Father, our Creator.

Jesus addressed this desire when He said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6).

Most of us know what it is to be hungry and thirsty. Jesus wants us to have that same longing for righteousness.

So, what becomes an idol in our lives? Bowing down to a golden calf is not something most of us do, but is it possible we have other things that take the place of God?

It is sometimes said that there is a “God-shaped hole” in our hearts, and we seek to fill that hole. Satan tempts us to fill that hole with something other than God. People attempt to fill that hole with family, job, money, possessions, and many other things, but only God can give the peace and fulfillment that fills the heart.

When Jesus was talking to His disciples in the upper room, He told them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).

A few minutes later He prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15).

We live in the world, and many things attempt to take our focus off of Jesus, of doing His will, of making Him LORD of our life.

When we hunger and thirst after righteousness, striving to do God’s will, the peace Jesus left will fill our hearts.

In 1772, William Cowper penned the words to “O for a Closer Walk with God.” One of the stanzas reads:
         The dearest idol I have known,
         Whate’er that idol be
         Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
         And worship only Thee.

We turn our hearts toward God, seeking His righteousness to fill our hearts. Second Chronicles 12:14 says of Rehoboam, “He did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”

The question we need to answer is, “Do I value anything more than my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Redeemer?” If we answer “yes,“ what changes do we need to make so we hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Written by Liliana Henríquez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colombia

In the previous blog post, I told you that sometimes there are situations or people that we turn into idols that end up occupying God's place in our hearts, our minds, and even our agenda. That's a serious mistake! As Christians, our priority should be God and following Him, not other things.

I am very fond of remembering the promise in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV). God promises us that if we seek Him, He is faithful to give us what we need. The challenge is to understand that the peace and joy that God offers us is far greater than that offered by the world. It is also important to remind ourselves that we need God's support to be able to cope with life's challenges—not something we can do with our own strength.

A job, a husband, children... they will never be able to fill the space that only God can fill.

In June 2023, I received an invitation to support a mission project in another country for a couple of weeks. That really got me excited! However, there was a "small" problem... my passport was expired. What a great frustration! However, I remember that Matthew 6:31-33 came to my mind and gave me strength. I like how it appears in the Easy-to-Read Version:

Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. (ERV, emphasis added)

A relevant fact that I must share is that I am Venezuelan and I live in Colombia. At that time, there was no Venezuelan consulate in all of Colombia, so the only way to get the passport was to go to Venezuela, stay for a month or two there until my passport was ready, and come back. And that definitely wasn't an option for me.

So I, in my conversations with God, asked Him: How am I going to get my passport if there hasn't been a consulate in Colombia for five years?

I answered myself, based on verse 32: Liliana, only those who do not know God try to achieve these things by their own means. Take it easy.

That same month, the first Venezuelan consulate in Colombia opened its doors (Miracle 1). It was located in the city of Cúcuta, which is 16 hours by bus from Bogotá (where I live). I got my appointment very quickly and without difficulty (Miracle 2). I went in August and the whole process was successful. Now all that was left was to hand over the passport. Since the consulate had just started operations, they had not enabled the option of sending the new passport to other cities. So as soon as I was notified that the passport was already printed, I traveled to Cúcuta again to pick it up. In October, I returned home happy with my new passport, ready to be used (Miracle 3).

On that occasion, I confirmed once again that when we obey God, He takes care of providing and opening doors that may have been closed for years. All He asks of us is that we truly commit to Him and make Him our priority.

Written by Liliana Henriquez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colombia

I'm one of those people who, when they like a song, listen to it a thousand times throughout the day (or several days) until it doesn't excite them anymore. I can literally search on YouTube: "An hour of... (title of the song)" and play it all day long. It becomes the first and only song I listen to for a long time. It becomes the soundtrack or the main song of my day (or days) and I enjoy it very much.

This reminds me of when we decide to obey the gospel and get baptized. Converting ourselves to Christ and everything that has to do with the church is our priority. We are excited to learn the lyrics to all the hymns we sing at service, attend all church activities, read the whole Bible, and know all the verses. We are passionate about Jesus!

How wonderful it would be if we maintained that same passion for the rest of our lives as Christians!

As expected, life goes on, and with it comes new decisions, challenges, and stages such as marriage, children, new jobs, university studies, travel, migration... and generally, these tend to diminish the passion for Jesus that we felt at the beginning. I don't mean that we stop loving Jesus or being His disciples; I mean that the cares of life are sometimes so heavy and challenging that they distract us from what is important, to such an extent that we could make the grave mistake of giving them the first place that only God deserves.

You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. (Ex 20:4-5 NIV, emphasis added)

As I read this passage, I am struck by these three words:

"MAKE": It leads me to understand that anything taking the place of God is an idol that we ourselves have the power to create.

"BOW DOWN": Everything we idolize causes us to take on an attitude of submission. Therefore, we yield our will to that idol.

"WORSHIP": We respect and give a place of preeminence to what we put first.

It's important to remember that we have a jealous God and we need to be very aware of that. He wants us to seek Him, to choose Him, to worship Him above anything else created in the world. Our life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3) and we are to honor only Him.

I invite you to ask yourself: Is God the theme song of my life today?

I hope so. He is our King.

Written by Michelle J. Goff with shared inspiration by Chrys Goff

Faith is funny, elusive.
We place it without thought.
We put it in things we tangibly see
And in ones that we cannot.

Faith in what is faithful
Would make a lot of sense.
But we be stupid sometimes.
In fact, we often dense.

Little g’s can’t be faithful.
It’s not in their DNA.
We should kick them to the curb
Because they only make us pay.

The price of following little g’s
Is steep and full of gall.
Let’s humbly fall at the gracious feet
Of the One who made it all.

The OG is our Creator,
Our Father, Faithful One
Who crushed all the little g’s power
When He sent His only Son.

The OG models faithfulness
And invites us to do the same.
His heart breaks every time
Those little g’s get in the way.

Please heed The OG’s warning,
Since we all get a choice.
We can follow empty little g’s
Or we can hear The OG’s voice.

“Be faithful my child, I love you.
My promises are faithful and true.
I AM faithful, my child, I AM YHWH.
My Spirit yields faithfulness in you.”

Written by Michelle J. Goff, Founder and Executive Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries

In preparation for the 2024 theme, “Committed to Christ, 24/7 in 2024,” I conducted a search of the uses of the word “commit.” Concordances provide a list of the occurrences of a word in the Bible. Sadly, I found the most frequent use of the word “commit” in the English Bible was in conjunction with the word, “adultery.” Ouch.

According to Merriam-Webster, “to commit” is 1. to carry into action deliberately (e.g. to commit a crime); 2. to obligate or bind (e.g. a committed relationship); 3. to put into charge or trust (e.g. committed by the court; commit to memory); 4. to obligate or pledge oneself (e.g. I commit my life to Christ.)

Returning to the Scriptures, references to committing adultery plague the Old and New Testaments. Instead of references to a commitment to God with a positive connotation, the pages of the Bible are riddled with stories of those who committed adultery and warnings to not commit adultery—personally or spiritually speaking.

Confronted by the harsh reality of the biblical references to the word, I was forced to analyze why adultery was the most frequent usage. A realization hit me: If we are not 100% committed to God, we commit spiritual adultery.

The 7th commandment is “You shall not commit adultery.” This command to “not commit” is the opposite of the first three commandments “to commit [to YHWH].” Those initial three are an admonition and invitation to commit ourselves wholly and completely to God—with our lives, our worship, our speech, and our actions.

The prophets often referred to Israel prostituting herself to foreign gods. God asked Hosea to marry Gomer as a testimony of how many times God forgave and took back Israel, His imperfect bride. Jeremiah specified the invitation of repentance to Israel by explaining that God would restore her to being “Virgin Israel,” as if the adultery had never happened (Jer 31:3-4). Clean slate. Committed to God, no longer committing adultery.

When I consider how I spend my time and energy or where I focus my thoughts and my money, I realize what I am or am not committed to. And if any of those things on the list come higher than God, I am committing adultery.

When God invites us, His church, to be the bride of Christ, the perfect Lamb, He highlights how He is 100% committed to His bride (Rev 19:7, 21:9). In return, He longs for us to remain committedly faithful to Him. Thankfully, His faithfulness is not dependent on ours (2Ti 2:11-13 NIV):

Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,


we will also live with him;


if we endure,


we will also reign with him.


If we disown him,


he will also disown us;


 if we are faithless,


he remains faithful,


for he cannot disown himself.

Committing to Christ, 24/7 in 2024, does not mean that we will do it 100% faithfully every minute of every day. If we think we can or will, we make ourselves out to be liars.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:8-9)

We should walk in the light as He is in the light (1Jn 1:8). God is Light and Christ was sent as the Light of the world (1Jn 1:5; Jn 8:12). He shines light on the way to live as faithful followers—those committed to Christ and not those who commit spiritual adultery.

Committing to God is committing to the eternal nature of ourselves, as designed by our divine Creator. It is truly the greatest blessing of our lives. And the reward for faithful, committed service? Eternal life with Him.

Share one way in which a faithful commitment to Christ has been a blessing in your life. Conversely, what is one way you are currently committing spiritual adultery?