Category Archives: Obedience

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 30, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Obedience

Who’s the Boss?

Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, instructed the Hebrew midwives … to kill all Hebrew boys as soon as they were born, but to let the girls live. But the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king—they let the boys live too. … And God blessed the midwives because they were God-fearing women. … And because the midwives revered God, he gave them children of their own. [Exodus 1:15-17,20-21 (TLB)]

Do we, like the midwives, ever have to make difficult decisions? Do we ever have to choose between what we’ve been told to do and what we know God wants us to do? Lord, guide us when we have to decide who the real boss of our lives is and let us never forget that it is you. While the joy that comes from doing the right thing is reward enough, thank you for the reassurance our lives will be blessed when we honor you.

And so the Lord has paid me with his blessings, for I have done what is right, and I am pure of heart. This he knows, for he watches my every step. [Psalm 18:24 (TLB)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 29, 2013

Posted under

Love & Works, Obedience

Love Isn’t a Request; It is a Command

This is my command: love each other. [John 15:17 (NLT)]

Almighty God, let your love enable me to love others as generously as you love me. Forgive me when I fail to follow this clear and simple command. Please keep sending me opportunities to get it right. May I always share your love in everything I do and say.

In the last analysis, the commandment of love means this: no one is a stranger to you; every man’s welfare is your concern. [Albert Schweitzer]

 

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 27, 2013

Posted under

God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Obedience

Look to the Lord

But even there you can look for the Lord your God, and you will find him if you look for him with your whole being. It will be hard when all these things happen to you. But after that you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him, because the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you. [Deuteronomy 4:29-31a (NCV)]

Because of their disobedience, the Lord told the Hebrews that difficult times and suffering lay ahead for them. God, however, also promised that He would neither leave nor destroy them. That promise holds true today. There are times that we, too, will suffer because of our failings, but God will neither abandon nor crush us. Although He will never turn his back on us, we can turn our backs on him just as the ancient Hebrews did. When that happens, we may end up destroying ourselves. Which way will we turn today?

Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me! I will let you find me,” says the Lord. [Jeremiah 29:12-14a (NCV)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 19, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Obedience, Thanks & Praise

Some Overdue Thanks

The punishment you gave me was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. They are more valuable to me than millions in silver and gold! [Psalm 119:71-72 (TLB)]

Discipline and punishment are two concepts that seem to have fallen out of favor and yet they teach us about living as we should: about accepting responsibility for our words and actions. They teach us self-restraint, the inevitability of consequences, and the importance of being true to ourselves and God. Oddly enough, I don’t remember ever thanking someone for punishing or disciplining me. In fact, I probably said unpleasant things about them under my breath. Today let’s give them some overdue thanks.

Thank you, Lord, for those people in the past who cared enough about us to demand good behavior and to teach us the difference between right and wrong. Thank you for those people in our lives today who won’t hesitate to chastise us when we err in our ways. Lord, thank you for correcting us by putting people in our lives who make us accountable for our conduct.

After you have corrected me, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey! Oh, don’t forsake me and let me slip back into sin again. [Psalm 119:7-8 (TLB)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 13, 2013

Posted under

God's Plan, Obedience, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Temptation & Sin

Run For Your Life

When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” … But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. [Genesis 19:16-17, 26 (NLT)]

Sodom was to be destroyed. Lot warned his sons-in-law who laughed and ignored him. Even Lot was tentative about leaving until the angels pulled him away. Lot finally took his wife and daughters and fled the doomed city. Unfortunately, Lot’s wife just had to take one last look back and she, too, was destroyed.

We may not live in Sodom, but we might be mired in things that can destroy us: unhealthy lifestyles, destructive habits, harmful relationships, dead-end jobs, or deepening depression. God will provide a means of escape but we are the ones who will have to take the journey. It could take professional help or simply some deep soul-searching but there may be changes we must make or we, too, will be destroyed. Being willing to make a change is not easy, but it is often necessary for our salvation. Let’s not be like Lot’s sons-in-law and ignore God’s warning or like Lot’s wife who clung to her past. Our past must never keep us from the beautiful future God has planned for us.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. [Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 5, 2013

Posted under

Obedience, Prayer

Confession: the Ab Work of Prayer – (Prayer part 4)

If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. [1 John 1:8-9 (NCV)]

I enjoy working out and lifting weights. There is one exercise, however, that I dislike and avoid doing whenever possible: sit-ups. I abhor doing them, yet doing them is essential in order to have a strong core. So, begrudgingly, I do work on my abs (but not nearly as often or as enthusiastically as I should.) Confession is a bit like the sit-ups of our prayer life. It certainly isn’t pleasant and can even be a bit painful, yet it is an essential part of our daily faith regimen if we ever hope to grow spiritually strong.

Father guide us in our prayer lives so that we are willing to search our souls and exercise in honest self-evaluation and confession. Forgive us our sins; may your Holy Spirit lead us to be the people you want us to be.