Deal

We can consider the quality of our works, the fruit we produce for the glory of God, in order to honor His name. The degree of our surrender will determine the quality of our fruit. And, we should be dedicated to giving our best to the Lord. Ephesians 2 reminds us:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We don't work for our salvation, and it is tempting to rely on our human strength in order to produce good works for God; but that's not how it works.  The fruit that pleases God is not dependent on human effort, but on the power of the Spirit working mightily through us. We offer ourselves, as the Bible says, as living sacrifices, so that Christ's love might be expressed through us. We are not trying to work to earn God's love, but we abide in that love, and in so doing, we are obedient to our Father. 

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In our study of the Word, we can certainly, and rightly, focus on the promises of God - but what about our promises to Him? We have surrendered our lives and have pledged a life of obedience to Christ; we are called to lay down our lives so that His life may be expressed through us. Psalm 61 says:
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king's life, His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.

The actor has lost his life on screen over a hundred times; but he was destined to either spend the rest of his life in prison or even lose his life for real through the death penalty.

But, he made a deal.

With God.

Movieguide.org offers this:

“I made a deal with God,” actor Danny Trejo recalled. At the time, he was in solitary confinement and facing the death penalty.

“I asked Him to let me die with dignity. Then I promised to always say His name and help my fellow inmates.”

Trejo details the encounter in his new book, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood.

The Movieguide article links to an NBCNews.com story, as well as a piece at USAToday.com, which says this:

"I said 'inmate' because I never thought I was getting out of prison. By the grace of God, on August 23, 1969, they let me out. I kept my deal. I say his name 20 times a day and I help wherever I can."

While still serving time, Trejo began attending 12-step programs and eventually became sober. After prison, he worked as a drug counselor.

If there's anything he hopes readers walk away with, he says, it is the belief "that it doesn't matter where you start, it's where you end."

Movieguide notes that: "In addition to acting, Trejo also threw himself into embracing a new kind of masculinity — community service," and quotes the actor as saying, “Masculine means you go to work, you support your family, you help out your neighbors — that’s masculine, that’s machismo...we’re supposed to be caretakers. That’s what masculinity means to me now,” Trejo said. “Everything good that has happened to me, has happened as a direct result of helping someone else,” he adds, “and that’s masculine — helping people.”

In a YouTube video referenced in the article, Trejo says, "Jesus is everything...I’m always asked how I’ve accomplished what I’ve accomplished [considering] where I came from, and only an idiot would deny that it was an act of God that brought me … from on my way to a gas chamber to where I’m at now.”

Danny Trejo claims to have made a deal with God; but God has something wonderful and surprising in store - instead of dying with dignity, as Trejo had asked, God allowed him to live and even sprung him from prison.  But, Danny did not believe he was exempt from keeping up his end of the bargain - he claims to have continued to speak God's name 20 times a day and he threw himself into community service. Certainly, God's ways are higher than our own.

And, that's our first takeaway as we consider the actor's story.

I don't necessarily think we should make deals with God, although I have heard that concept in testimonies, especially people who are desperate, at the end of their rope.  The Bible does speak of making vows to God, and emphasizes the importance of following through.  You know, if we have been born again, we have made a promise to Jesus - he has saved our soul, and now we are called to life of obedience to Him and service to others. 

Too often, even though the Lord has promised the abundant life to us, we make ill-informed decisions to pursue our own course, make decisions based on what we think rather than what He thinks.  The Bible says that faith without works is dead; that doesn't mean we fall into the deception of trying to make our good outweigh our bad, but to allow the Spirit of God, as we love Him daily, to direct us so that we might honor the Lord.