Obedience
June 2013
"Jesus replied,“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." John 14:23-24 NIV
"If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it."
Deuteronomy 30:16 ESV
Obedience.
o · be · di · ence: /ōˈbēdēəns/
Compliance with someone's wishes or orders or acknowledgment of their authority
.".......Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice.........." 1 Samuel 15:22 NLT Obedience. We both love this word and dislike it.,,,...at times.
We are called to be obedient to God, but often times we choose to not be. In 1 Samuel 15:1-9 NLT we can see ourselves in many ways. God gave Saul and the people of Israel specific instructions as He does us many times. God told Saul to "go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation----- MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, BABIES, CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, CAMELS, and DONKEYS." Saul and the Israelites in return did what many of us do when given specific instructions.
They "partially" obeyed God.
"Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them.
They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality."
(1 Samuel 15:7-9 NLT)
Friend, do you see a problem here?
Know this: Partial obedience is still disobedience!
I'm not sure who this is for, but as children of the Most High we must learn to be obedient to Christ in every aspect of our lives.
If He says to do something.....we must do it....to a tee.
Many times when God tells us to do something we do exactly what Saul and the Israelites did, we keep those things that seem to appeal to us and destroy only what "seems" worthless or of poor quality. It's time out for us obeying "this" part, but not "that" part. It's time out for picking and choosing what parts of the Word we will obey and not obey. As blood-bought believers we must realized once and for all that God "doesn't think the way we think neither does he work the way we work. God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work ,and the way I think is beyond the way you think." (Isaiah 55:8-9 MSG) For this reason we must always remember that, "wisdom is the principle thing...." (Proverbs 4:7 KJV) and desire wisdom when it comes to our day-to-day lives..
Friend, God knows what's best for us even when we don't quite understand His plans. He knows that sometimes He removes people from our lives to protect us. He also knows that His blessing is not always in what He gives, but what He takes away. He knows that He closes certain doors because He has your best interest at heart.
If God removed someone out of your life........trust His plan........be obedient and don't run after them.
Stop trying to pick up what He has told you to put down. Sure, God may close some doors, but it is only because He has something better for us. Always remember that behind many of those close doors were things that were not meant for you to begin with.
Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "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." He has plans for you friend....good plans that will give you a future and a hope.
The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but our God comes that we "may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
(John 10:10 AMP)
Friend, let's be obedient today and everyday of our lives. Is there anything God is leading you to completely "destroy" or let go of in your life that you may think is good, but it really is not? . Proverbs 19:21 NIV says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." It's the Lord's purpose that prevails.....for this reason.......
We should desire God's blueprints, not our elementary scribblings; God's assignment and not our sometimes foolish plans. (Jackie Kendall)
We often say to God, "show me and I'll trust you." BUT God says, "trust Me and I'll show you."
A huge part of faith is trusting God when you don't understand. On the surface "it" may look perfect, but He can see things that we cannot see. It may not make sense right now, but one day, when God's whole plan unfolds, you will see what God was up to all along!
So be obedient and know that every provision needed by you has already been provided by God.
Philippians 4:19 KJV says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!"
Rest. Trust. Believe. Have faith and know that Jesus does have your best interest at heart. He desires to bless you by giving you the best. Sometimes what you perceive as the best is nothing more than a generic version.
Refuse to settle for less than God's best for your life!!
Always remember that obedience, when it flows out of genuine love for Jesus Christ, is never wasted and never regretted.
Be obedient today. You will be blessed because of it.
Be encouraged!
"If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it."
Deuteronomy 30:16 ESV
Obedience.
o · be · di · ence: /ōˈbēdēəns/
Compliance with someone's wishes or orders or acknowledgment of their authority
.".......Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice.........." 1 Samuel 15:22 NLT Obedience. We both love this word and dislike it.,,,...at times.
We are called to be obedient to God, but often times we choose to not be. In 1 Samuel 15:1-9 NLT we can see ourselves in many ways. God gave Saul and the people of Israel specific instructions as He does us many times. God told Saul to "go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation----- MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, BABIES, CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, CAMELS, and DONKEYS." Saul and the Israelites in return did what many of us do when given specific instructions.
They "partially" obeyed God.
"Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them.
They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality."
(1 Samuel 15:7-9 NLT)
Friend, do you see a problem here?
Know this: Partial obedience is still disobedience!
I'm not sure who this is for, but as children of the Most High we must learn to be obedient to Christ in every aspect of our lives.
If He says to do something.....we must do it....to a tee.
Many times when God tells us to do something we do exactly what Saul and the Israelites did, we keep those things that seem to appeal to us and destroy only what "seems" worthless or of poor quality. It's time out for us obeying "this" part, but not "that" part. It's time out for picking and choosing what parts of the Word we will obey and not obey. As blood-bought believers we must realized once and for all that God "doesn't think the way we think neither does he work the way we work. God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work ,and the way I think is beyond the way you think." (Isaiah 55:8-9 MSG) For this reason we must always remember that, "wisdom is the principle thing...." (Proverbs 4:7 KJV) and desire wisdom when it comes to our day-to-day lives..
Friend, God knows what's best for us even when we don't quite understand His plans. He knows that sometimes He removes people from our lives to protect us. He also knows that His blessing is not always in what He gives, but what He takes away. He knows that He closes certain doors because He has your best interest at heart.
If God removed someone out of your life........trust His plan........be obedient and don't run after them.
Stop trying to pick up what He has told you to put down. Sure, God may close some doors, but it is only because He has something better for us. Always remember that behind many of those close doors were things that were not meant for you to begin with.
Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "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." He has plans for you friend....good plans that will give you a future and a hope.
The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but our God comes that we "may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
(John 10:10 AMP)
Friend, let's be obedient today and everyday of our lives. Is there anything God is leading you to completely "destroy" or let go of in your life that you may think is good, but it really is not? . Proverbs 19:21 NIV says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." It's the Lord's purpose that prevails.....for this reason.......
We should desire God's blueprints, not our elementary scribblings; God's assignment and not our sometimes foolish plans. (Jackie Kendall)
We often say to God, "show me and I'll trust you." BUT God says, "trust Me and I'll show you."
A huge part of faith is trusting God when you don't understand. On the surface "it" may look perfect, but He can see things that we cannot see. It may not make sense right now, but one day, when God's whole plan unfolds, you will see what God was up to all along!
So be obedient and know that every provision needed by you has already been provided by God.
Philippians 4:19 KJV says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!"
Rest. Trust. Believe. Have faith and know that Jesus does have your best interest at heart. He desires to bless you by giving you the best. Sometimes what you perceive as the best is nothing more than a generic version.
Refuse to settle for less than God's best for your life!!
Always remember that obedience, when it flows out of genuine love for Jesus Christ, is never wasted and never regretted.
Be obedient today. You will be blessed because of it.
Be encouraged!
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