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Tag Archives: obedience

Getting Help

16 Jul

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Most of us like to be helped.  When facing a difficult challenge, even a word of encouragement can go a long way.

If you are like most people, then you have relied upon help at one time or another.  Scripture teaches us that part of showing gratefulness is taking the blessing you received and passing it on to someone else.  It can be anything – a kind word, food, a ride, or a helping hand carrying things.  If it is done in obedience to God’s Word, it’s powerful and life changing.

What we need to start realizing is that even though all these good things came through the people around us, God originated them.  All the blessings that we receive come from the Lord’s hand.  It’s in thankfulness to Him that we are willing to pass a blessing on to someone else.

Look for an opportunity, today, to be a blessing to someone.  Do something unexpected.  Take the good things you have received from God and pass them on to someone around you.  The Lord will see to it that some day, in some way, you will be rewarded for your act of gratefulness to Him.

 
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Posted by on July 16, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Obedience – the Highest Call

11 Jun

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

In this passage, the prophet Samuel is rebuking King Saul.  He had disobeyed a direct command of God for “religious” reasons.  Saul said that he was going to give God a sacrifice instead.  In his rebuke, Samuel gives us a principle that we would do well to remember.

Obedience to God is always better than any sacrifice we can make.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re putting money in an offering plate or offering up a “sacrifice of praise.”  Obedience trumps sacrifice every time.

The reason is that sacrifice can be manipulated.  It can be motivated by self-will or arrogance.  Obedience, on the other hand, honors God by putting Him directly in the center of what we’re doing.  Usually, total obedience to God can only be accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  Not only is God the focus, but He is also the One who strengthens us.

A good example of this is Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.  As He cried out to God He said, “If it is Your will, take this cup [dying on the cross] from me.”  Then He told the Father that it was not His own will that was important, but the Father’s.  The Lord’s prayer that day was in accordance with the principle of Samuel.  What Jesus wanted didn’t matter – it was the Father’s will that was supreme.

Our “cup” and God’s will are two totally different things until we allow the Lord to merge them.  Our highest goal should be to know God’s will and obey it.  More than any other part of our lives, this is our highest call.

 
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Posted by on June 11, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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A Child of God

25 Mar

John 1:12-13
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

I can’t think of a greater blessing!  We can be children of God.

This is not for everybody.  You have to want it.  It comes by faith in God and what He has done through Christ.  It has to be received, if we believe in His provision for us on the cross.  If Jesus Christ is our Savior, then we are God’s children.

Some people look at themselves as slaves of God.  Then they get the attitude that it is hard to work for Him.  They have an angry look on their face and act like serving God is the worst thing you could do.

Now I do admit that children are supposed to obey their parents.  In that sense we must “serve” God.  I know that on more than one occasion I accused my parents of treating me as their slave.  The fact is, even when you have to do what you’re told, the parent-child relationship is far superior to that of a master and slave.

This verse tells me that I am not just treated like a child of God.  He doesn’t just call me His son.  It is much greater than that.  I have the right – with all the responsibilities and privileges – to be a child of God.  This is an amazing thought.  God views us as full fledged sons and daughters.  That is why He both blesses and disciplines us.

Spending time with our Father should be the most natural inclination.  It should be where we want to go for love, support, encouragement, and strength.  Spend time with the Lord today, knowing that He wants you to experience the best that being a part of His family has to offer.

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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