Tag: obedience

Seeking and Obeying the Counsel of the Holy Spirit

2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

God sets the vision for our lives and puts everything in place for us to fulfill the plan. He provides His Holy Spirit to stand by us, to guide us and to instruct us in the person, the grace and the righteousness that is Jesus Christ. There is absolutely nothing in this world that can stop us from meeting the plans that Almighty God has set aside for us.

We must, however, take all the small steps needed to move from one place to the next higher place that God has planned for us. We must be obedient to the urgings of the Holy Spirit as we overcome the callings of our flesh. We must allow the Holy Spirit to move us from a knowledge of Our Savior into a meaningful relationship with Him.

Along the way, Satan will challenge each and every step. And once we really start making progress, Satan will turn his evil on those around us, especially those close to us. Built up by our faith and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we will overcome. As we surrender to the whispers of Our Helper, our tiny steps of obedience will take us to our special calling and allow us to live godly lives through the One who has called us.

Let us make the Lord, Jesus Christ, first in our lives. Let us learn to seek His counsel in all things. May the voice of His Holy Spirit drown out all the noise that the world sends to keep us from our manifest destiny in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promise to complete Your good work in our lives. Thank You for the faith that You provide us through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We pray that You will help us to build a relationship with Your Son and His Holy Spirit who has been sent to be Our Helper. Help us to become tuned in to every tiny whisper from the Holy Spirit that reminds us of Your promises and guides us in faith on our journey of sanctification. We ask all these things in the name of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.

Living in the Fullness of Life through Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

From time to time, we truly experience the exhilarating feeling of God’s presence in our lives. We cannot see God, but we know that He is with us. These moments are precious. These moments are important building blocks in the foundation of our faith. These moments are glimpses of things not seen, but things that hold everlasting promise. These are the moments that will carry us through our daily duties and trials when we do not feel the presence of God with us. These moments have eternal value.

On the other hand, the special moments that we experience in the flesh are only temporary. How can we put our faith in the things of the flesh that will be here today and gone tomorrow? How can we put our faith in the calamities of life? How can we put our faith in all those things that will be stripped away at our death?

Let us be governed by the things of eternal hope and not by the appearance and lure of present things. Let us walk by faith as we look to Jesus Christ for righteousness, peace, pardon, and eternal life. Let us live in the fullness of life offered by Our Savior. Let us live in confident expectation of the things that are to come. Let us live and act based on our faith which reveals to us that all the promises of God’s Holy Word are true.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the times that You allow us to experience Your presence in our lives. We pray that You will use those moments to build our faith in You. We pray that You will use those moments to strengthen us when our burdens are heavy and we do not feel Your presence. We ask, Lord, that we will be filled with joy even when You have called us to tedious tasks. May the Holy Spirit remind us how pleasing it is to You when we are obedient to Your calling in our lives. We pray that we will be living vessels of those moments in Your presence so that the world around us may experience who You are. May the strength of our faith draw others to Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of our eternally faithful king, Jesus Christ.

Securing the Promises of God Through Obedience to His Call Upon Our Lives

Matthew 16:21
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Jesus fulfilled everything that He was called to do. Even though He was tested beyond human imagination, He never faltered once in His obedience to the plans of God for His life. Through the process, it was a blessing to us all that Jesus did not listen to the voice of others around Him. Peter specifically rebuked Jesus for proclaiming such a tragic ending to His life. Jesus let Peter know that he spoke Satan’s language when he suggested that Jesus step away from His mission.

It is very easy to say, “I give up. I cannot do it.” This is especially true when we allow others in our lives to suggest that the values of man should be given more weight than the callings of God upon our lives. In essence, if what we are pursuing is of God, then giving up is denying the promises of God Himself.

Jesus overcame all of His trials because He was one with the Father and He trusted in the promises of the Father. And indeed, He did rise on the third day, fulfilling all of God’s promises for mankind. In the same way, we are to be anxious in nothing for God promises to take care of our every need and He promises to finish anything that He has called us to do. Our victories are in fact complete before we are even aware of our calling to their pursuit.

Let us stand firmly on the promises of God Almighty. Just as Jesus did, let us surrender in complete obedience to God’s calling on our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son to be the guarantor of Your promise of eternal life available to each of us. We exalt the name of Jesus for His complete obedience to His calling as Our Savior. We pray for the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may be obedient to the completed purpose and plans that You have set aside for our lives. May we stand firmly on Your promises. We ask these things in the name of the One who secured our victories on the Cross, Jesus Christ.

Surrendering to the Will of God

Matthew 26:39
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus fully accepted His assignment of death on the Cross. He knew that His sacrifice was necessary for the salvation of all men. He knew that His death on the Cross was the reason He was sent to earth. The thing that overwhelmed Jesus was the impending separation from the Father when He would take on the sins of all men. Yet Jesus was fully obedient to the will of the Father for the good of all mankind. And He was received in all His glory by the Father.

According to this example of Christ, we must drink of the most bitter cup which God puts into our hands. Even though our flesh will seek immediate relief from all trial in our lives, we must recognize and accept the will of Our Father as we go through our trials. For, as God allowed the unspeakable trial of the Cross for the benefit of all mankind, He allows each of us to go through our trials for our ultimate eternal gain. Through our faithful obedience, one day we will be standing sinless before Almighty God and we will be received into glory by Him.

Let us face each cup of bitterness in our lives with hope and confidence in the promises of the Cross. Let us rejoice that Almighty God loves us so much that He works every detail in our lives for our eternal good. Let us exalt the name of Jesus for accepting His cup of bitterness so that we may have victory over every trial in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You allow the trials in our lives that prepare us to be received by You. May You provide the grace we need for our spiritual maturation so that we are able to take our cup of bitterness and rejoice in our submission to Your will and plan for our lives. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us and strengthen us so that we may overcome the weakness of our flesh. We surrender to Our Savior and ask that we live in the fullness that He has made available to us through His sacrifice on the Cross. We ask all these things in the name of the Word made flesh on our eternal behalf, Jesus Christ.

As if Christ Himself is Speaking to Us

Luke 24:32
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Two men walking on the road to Emmaus were met by Jesus, who accompanied them on the journey and joined them in their discussions about the recent events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. They did not recognize Him, but marveled in His knowledge of the events. Later Jesus revealed Himself to the men, resulting in their realization of how stirring that His words had been earlier.

The Scriptures can be a sealed book. The very identity of Jesus Christ and His salvation message can be hidden from us. The power and the truth are unveiled only through Jesus Christ. With Christ as Our Savior, we receive the words in Scripture as if Christ Himself is speaking them to us.

To aid us in our study of the Bible, we are joined in each reading by the Holy Spirit who directs us to focus on Jesus. The Holy Spirit whispers gentle urgings into our hearts as He reveals the truths and promises given to us through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit directs us to abide in Christ so that we may follow the path of salvation and sanctification that the Word of God provides us. If we are obedient in following the urgings of the Holy Spirit our hearts will burn with a fervent love for Our Savior and we will live in the fullness of His presence.

Let us surrender ourselves to the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit. Let our hearts burn within us with the knowledge of Our Risen Savior. Let our lives reflect the burning passion of Our King and our burning passion for Our King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us the Living Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You for inspiring the writers of the Bible who made the Living Word readily available to us for reading and study. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit joins us as we seek to make Your Word the fire that fuels our love for Your Son. As the Word comes to us with evidence, power and sweetness, may our hearts burn with eagerness to be transformed by our relationship with Our Lord. We pray that our fire be so strong and so bright that others will be drawn to surrender their lives to Our Savior King. We ask all these things in the name of the eternal flame, Jesus Christ.

The Peace and Comfort Offered by Simple Obedience

Luke 19:42
If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

As Jesus weeped over Jerusalem, He spoke the words in Luke 19 to the Jews, who He knew would reject Him and His offer of salvation. Because they rejected His offer, He transferred His offer to the willing Gentiles.

This principle is carried out in a different way in our daily lives. Jesus prepares us to do His work and asks us to be obedient to His calling. Sometimes He will give us simple urgings in the spirit to do something nice for someone, to pray for someone, to forgive someone or to ask forgiveness from someone. Often His urging may be for a simple act to bring a smile upon the face of another. At other times, His bidding will have much more significant impact. Whatever He asks of us, if we accept His call, we will be given greater things to do for Him. We will experience the peace and comfort that flows from serving Him. If we do not accept His bidding, we will miss the peace He offers and we will miss a portion of the bigger plans that He has for our lives. Sadly, He will move on to find the one who is willing serve Him readily.

Let us not miss the satisfaction of living in the peace and comfort of the Lord. Let us eagerly accept and carry out any task, big or small, that the Lord is asking us to do. Let us discover how simple acts of obedience bring complete peace and comfort into our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to serve You. We rejoice in knowing that You are pleased when we are obedient to Your urging. We pray that You make us sensitive to the work that You call us to do. May we find joy in even the smallest tasks. May it all bring honor and glory to You, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the One that gives us peace at all times and in every way, Jesus Christ.

Preparing Ourselves to Receive and Share the Blessings God Has for Us

Ezekiel 34:26
And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

Everything on earth, whether man, beast or plant, is under the hand of Almighty God. Our all-sufficient Lord sends out everything required for sustenance and growth. And when the timing is right, He sends showers. When God is ready to spread His grace, be certain that you will not receive drops or droplets. You will receive showers, not a shower, but plentiful showers.

He will cause the showers to come down in season. His showers will fall upon us according to His divine will and timing for our lives. His showers will refresh us, revive us and make us fruitful unto His own purpose for our lives. And it will all be a part of His abundant grace which provides peace, rest, pardon, righteousness and eternal life for each of us.

And through His blessings on each of us in the Body of Christ, the world will receive showers of grace. But first, we must prepare ourselves to be worthy vessels and we must be alert to the onset of our seasons of grace. When our seasons arrive, we must be obedient to His calling on our lives. If we have made ourselves ready, we will receive the promised showers of favor on our lives.

Let us prepare ourselves for the God’s blessings by spending time with Him and spending dedicated time in His Word. Let us prepare ourselves through obedience to the urgings of the Holy Spirit. Let us become cisterns of His anointing showers and fountainheads for dispersing those showers of grace into the lives of others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You and thank You for Your abundant nature. We seek the wisdom to learn to wait on Your provision. We pray for the Holy Spirit to sharpen our awareness of the showers of grace that You pour upon us. We ask, Father, that You help us to prepare our ground so that we will bear much fruit when the showers arrive. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us in becoming eager conduits of Your grace. We ask all these things in the name of Our All-Sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

Joining Jesus in Doing the Work of the Father

John 14:31
But I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

What an succinct invitation that Jesus offered to His disciples, “Come let’s be going.” He offers us the same invitation to join Him in doing the work of the Father.

We cannot possibly find a better model for life, nor a better partner for our work, than the only man who lived without sin. And what was it that this man without sin did? He loved His Father and He did what His Father asked of Him. Then He asked others to join Him in His work.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are asked to be obedient to the Father as He was. We are asked to share the Gospel as He did. We are asked to suffer for the sake of the kingdom as He did. We are asked to fully surrender to the will of the Father as He did. We are asked to find others who will join in the work of the kingdom, just as the Son of Man did. In doing so, we join Jesus in doing the work that the Father called Him to do.

Let us be obedient to the call of Jesus. Let us join the Son of God in doing the Father’s work. Let us show the Father and the Son how much we love them by joining them in their good work.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so that we are empowered to show the world how much we love You. We bless the name of Jesus for surrendering His life to You so that we can surrender to You. We thank You, Father, for the privilege of joining Your Son, Jesus, in His work. We pray, Lord, that You will raise us up as instruments of Your good work. We ask that You use us as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We seek the wisdom, grace and the strength to be able to gather others to unite with us in union with Our Savior. We ask all these things in the holy name of One who invites us to join Him, Jesus Christ.

Breaking Through When Our Troubles are Overwhelming

1 Kings 19:5
Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

Elijah was on the run from his troubles. He was so depressed that he asked God to take his life. Then he fell asleep. God sent an angel to pull him out of his despair.

It is very common for all of us to want to go into a shell when troubles seem overwhelming. We do not always have the faith that we need when things are not going our way. At times, we may feel like we should just give up. This, however, is the messaging that we are receiving from our enemy.

God knows everything about us. He designed us. He knows our daily work and he knows our daily trials. He has promised that if we have faith in Him, His grace will be sufficient for us to overcome the attacks of the enemy.

It is amazing how simple acts of love or service can lift us out of the darkness of depression or despair that we may be experiencing. The angel instructed Elijah to get up and eat. Through his simple act of obedience, Elijah was quickly on his road to recovery. He was back to a place where he once again trusted in the care that God promises all of us.

When we are feeling down, a quick look around to find others who are in need may be our way out from the darkness to the light. A simple gesture of kindness to the person in need could be all that we need to get us going again.

Let us learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in our times of need. Let us be aware of His calls for our obedience even in very small matters. Let us consider being angels of mercy to those around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Spirit is always with us to lift us up in our times of struggle. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will urge us to inquire how we can serve You when we feel so needy. Inspire us, Lord, to do the simple acts of obedience that You set before us. May we learn to comfort the world around us with the comfort that You provide us in our times of trouble. We ask that You use us as your angels of mercy in our times of overwhelming trouble. We ask all these things in the name of the Angel of Mercy, Jesus Christ.

Obey the Calling and Leave the Consequences to the Lord

Luke 23:26
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

Because Jesus was obedient to His Father’s calling on His life, it cost others around Him. It cost His disciples who suddenly were without the leading and teaching of their Master. It cost His mother who suddenly lost a Son. It cost His brothers and sisters who suddenly lost a sibling. In the case of today’s passage, it was Simon of Cyrene who bore a portion of the costs of Jesus’ obedience when he was suddenly called to carry the cross of Jesus.

Whenever we choose to be obedient to God’s calling on our lives, it is likely to cost other people. It certainly will be a dramatic shock and cost to those near us who are not Christians when we proclaim that we have received Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior. Our choice will completely shake up their world.

Then after receiving Jesus, suppose the Lord asks us to give up something we love doing because He wants more time with us. It is likely that we shared our beloved activity with others who will suffer from our withdrawal from the activity. Or it may be that our faithful service at church creates an internal challenge to those who are shunning a calling of their own. We must guard against the inclination to move away from our calling in order to avoid costing others. We simply must obey and leave the consequences with Our Lord. He completely understands the challenge of dealing with the cries of those who would try to discourage us from our calling.

Let us learn to accept the fullness of our calling, even when it bears some cost for those near us. Let us learn to lean on the strength and the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we are faced with the befuddlement of others. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our detractors, so that they, too, may drawn to the Lord that we serve.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us to fulfill unique plans and purposes in Your kingdom. We pray that you keep us steadfast in our obedience to Your calling on our lives. We ask, Lord, that You provide the strength we need to overcome the pressure that may come from others as they bear the costs of our obedience. Show us, Father, how to love and forgive those that persecute us for serving You. We pray these things in the name of the One who gave His life in obedience to the Father so that we may have eternal life, Jesus Christ.