Just as we should not put off getting our lives right with God initially, neither should we put off obeying God in the ongoing day-to-day areas of our lives. Find out why delayed obedience = disobedience.
And if you’re struggling to obey in some area, you’ll also find out where you can turn to for help and a list of some of my most frequently used and most helpful resources. These resources can help you or someone you know grow and walk in more faithful obedience.
Authority. Most of us bristle at the thought of someone telling us what to do. Add to that the culture’s attitude toward our perceived rights and feminism’s influence on marriage and you have a cocktail of silent, when not outward, rebellion.
While it’s true that authority has been abused, rejected, and reversed, God is a God of order and He has ordained authority as part of that order. No matter what we think, we are not living obediently before God if we aren’t fully submitted to the authority He has placed in our lives. But human authority is not unlimited.
So, what does submission to authority look like? And what are the limits on authority?
Also, true worship is more than a time of music and singing. True worship involves how we live our lives. Whether we obey God (including our submission to authority) or harden our hearts to His commands are both a demonstration of who we worship … ourselves and our autonomy or God.
Why bother living right? After all, everyone else seems to be living any way that makes them happy. Couples live together without ever marrying yet still attend church without criticism or shame. Others divorce because they are no longer happy together. And in many other ways, those who claim faith in God live lives that look more like the world rather than faithful Christians.
So why not? Are they just lifestyle choices that don’t make that much difference? Are the things in the Bible mostly suggestions for a better life? And if they really are sin, since God is willing to forgive sin, why not just live any way we want and confess them later?
Do you have hope in Christ in the midst of your circumstances or when life doesn’t go your way? Is that hope lived out in the way you respond? If not, what do you need to change? What would living based on the hope of Christ look like and why is it the way to true blessings?
Last fall the leadership team at our church met to plan out the following year. We talked about goals, scheduled events, and budgeting issues. Most people understand that planning is important. Sadly, even evil men and women spend time planning to do evil. But, what if we could make another kind of plan, a plan to do right rather than wrong, a “spiritual obedience plan,” if you will?
As I thought about this subject, it brought to mind parachuting. When a parachutist jumps out of a plane, he first wants to know that his parachute was packed properly and in working order. But, even then, he knows that things can go wrong. So, there is a plan “B,” a reserve parachute. In a way, a spiritual obedience plan can be both. It can guide us through the normal tests and temptations of life, help us to form new habits, and because it is written out, it can serve as that reserve parachute when emotions are running high.
So, what might it involve, how can we make one, and could it actually help us grow and steady us in tough times?
Mirrors, they’re everywhere today. But that would not have been true for most people living in biblical times. Yet, the women we’ll read about today, women with the same desire to be attractive that we experience, gave up their bronze mirrors for the glory of God. What would you and I be willing to give up for God’s glory? And does the focus of our care and attention line up with what we say?
The Apostle John wrote his first letter to believers who had doubts about their salvation. What about you? Do you ever have doubts about the genuineness of your salvation? Is it even possible to “know” that we have eternal life? If so, how?
Also, read about the failure of religious legalism and what God sees as more important. And, finally, in our reading from Proverbs, find out what God says about the importance of our motive for obeying Him.
“Obey all the way, right away with a happy heart.” What does all that have to do with living in the fear of the Lord?
The fear of the Lord is about how we live our lives every minute of every day. It’s obeying His commands and precepts in all areas of our lives, how we treat others, our attitude toward authority, our motives for all that we do and much more. It’s a prevailing heart attitude that we should all cultivate.
“Obey all the way, right away with a happy heart” encompasses all of that and is good advice for all of us, but what does it mean?
