Tag: obedience

Opening Our Hearts to Give Joy to One Another

Philemon 1:21
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his slave, Onesimus, who had run away. Paul also asked Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ. The law gave Philemon the right to deal with his runaway slave harshly. Paul was asking Philemon to go beyond the law and respond with an act of brotherly love.

God’s call on each of our lives is unique. While He gives all of us His Holy Word and the Ten Commandments to follow, He sets aside specific directives for each of us to follow. He places these callings on our heart. He wants to see our obedience to Him. It is for His glory. It is for the gain of His kingdom here on earth and in heaven. When we follow God’s calling, it is certain that our obedience will provide favor in our lives beyond anything that we see or imagine.

But we should strive to go beyond the things that we are called to. We should open our hearts and our minds to find ways to give joy to one another. We should look around to see who among us is hurting, struggling or simply in need of a kind gesture. Let us find ways to comfort one another and bring joy to one another. We should exhaust every measure to bring hope to others. But if in no other way, we should abound in prayer for everyone.

If obedience to the law brings us unimagined favor, what will we receive for going beyond the law? Just as Paul was confident in Philemon, Jesus is confident that His disciples will do even more than He asks. He is waiting to richly reward those that love and serve the world.

Let us take up the Cross of Jesus Christ, who gave His all for all of mankind. Let us model the servant King. Let us show the world the love of the One who dwells within us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to serve You. We know that You will provide Your favor and protection when we follow your Holy Word and your Commandments and the callings that You place on our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity. Gracious Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit reveal to us the areas where You are calling us in obedience to serve you. We ask for an overflowing of the love of Our Savior in our lives so that we will be founts of comfort, joy and hope to those that are in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

The Perfect Model of Service

1 Peter 5:2
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly–not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

The apostle, Peter, witnessed first hand the servant attitude of His Master, Jesus Christ. Peter saw how Jesus served all people out of the devotion He had for His Father in heaven. In his writings, he was encouraging His fellow followers of Christ to follow the model that Jesus had provided them.

When we were children, many of us joined our parents in the work that needed to be done around the house. We joined them in obedience to their request for help. If we served them because we loved them and wanted to honor them, our work was done eagerly and with joy. If we served them for any other reason – to earn allowance or perhaps avoid punishment – our work probably became tedious quickly.

We may find a similar experience when we seek to serve humanity. No matter how fulfilling the service may be at first, the humanitarian cause will become exhausting if the root of our service is not our love for Our Savior. The secret of our joy in service will be our devotion to Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the perfect model of service. Jesus was able to carry through on His service to mankind all the way to the end because He was driven by His love for His Father first. Honoring His Father with His obedience was His calling. The service that He provided for mankind was the result of His love for His Father.

Let us willingly serve Our Father in heaven with the same passion that was so evident in Jesus’ ministry. Let us eagerly serve those around us out of devotion for Our Savior King. Let our service to the flock that the Lord has given us be marked by the same sacrificial fervor as the Good Shepherd.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to express our love to You through our service to those around us. We pray that You strengthen us, Lord, for our work by helping us to grow in our relationship with Your Son. May our devotion to Him be measured by the fruits of our work. May all that we do to serve Your kingdom bring honor and glory to Your Holy Name, the name of Your Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of Our Servant King and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Will of God in Our Daily Lives

2 Chronicles 27:6
King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God.

Jotham became king at the age of 28. He was obedient in all things. Because of his faithfulness, he was given victory in all of his battles and a resting place of honor when he died.

God does not overlook a single thing in our lives. Everything that we do is examined by Him. He delights in our obedience in even the simplest of acts.

On the other hand, we can miss out on the promises of God in our lives simply by not complying to the small things of life that the Holy Spirit may place on our hearts. How many times have we passed up the opportunity to assist a grouchy neighbor, lend a helping hand to a needy stranger or respond politely and with love when receiving poor service? Each time we passed on one of these or numerous other Holy Spirit led opportunities, we deprived God of His delight in us. It is quite possible that we also limited the release of His power in our lives. It is important that we seek and give full consideration to the will of God concerning all elements of our daily lives.

Let us listen to the urgings of the Holy Spirit as we go through our daily activities. Let us surrender ourselves to being vessels of the perfect love and forgiveness that we have received from Our Heavenly Father. May the fruits of our obedience delight the Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the opportunity to bring honor and glory to Your Name when we allow the marvel of Your grace to be exhibited in our lives. Teach us, Father, to recognize You and Your love in the simplest of tasks that are performed in service to others. Lord, we pray that You release the fullness of Your power in our lives as we learn to share Your perfect love and forgiveness with the world around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

He Will Finish Anything He Calls Us to Do

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.

Don’t Miss Out on Offerings from God

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.

Join Jesus 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.

Just Do What Jesus Did

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.

“Give up” is a Message from the Enemy

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.

When We are Called to Carry Our Cross, it Will Cost Others

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.

Simple Steps of Faith Lead to a Harvest

Hebrews 11: 8
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

What an amazing example of living in faith is provided by the story of Abraham. It was a great step of faith for Abraham to leave his family and his homeland in response to God’s calling on his life. He did not even know where God was leading him. Yet he faithfully followed the path that the Lord laid out for him. And for his simple act of faith, he became the father of all nations.

Abraham was called out of his own country. He was called away from his family. He was called away from his father’s house. He was called from the only culture that he knew. It is not likely that God will ask us to follow a similar plan as Abraham. He is not likely to call us away from relatives, friends and acquaintances. He is not likely to call us away from the neighbors and neighborhoods where we find our comfort. In fact, it is quite likely that these are the places that He will call us to serve. But just like Abraham, we can be assured that we will be challenged in some major way by our calling.

In challenging each of us, God will ask us to take simple steps of faith. As we respond obediently, He will put before us the next step which usually will require a little more faith in Him and a little more of letting go of faith in ourselves. We may not become a father of a nation by yielding to our calling, but we will surely gain more than we ever imagined.

Let us step out in faith when we sense the urging of the Holy Spirit. Let us follow God’s calling even when we are not sure where we are going. Let us reap the harvest of our journey.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for having a unique plan for each of us. We rejoice in knowing that the reward that You have prepared for us if we respond to Your calling is beyond our imagination. We pray, Father, that you will give us the strength and guidance to follow the path that you have laid out for each of us. Even though we may not know our destination, Lord, may your Holy Spirit keep us steadfast in our journey to stand before you in the image of Your Son. We pray these things in the precious name of the author of our faith, Jesus Christ.