08/14/2017
Hebrews 5:8 “though He was a son,
yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
Christ didn’t need
to come down and correct any disobedience or sin that He had committed. He was
perfect, blameless. He became flesh to learn obedience just as He learned to
withstand temptation. He did it to prove His humanity and to experience the
sufferings of humanity to the fullest. A verse that has been pivotal in this
last season of my life has been Hebrews 4:15-16. These verses talk about how Jesus
is our great sympathizer because He was at all points tempted as we are. We can
boldly come before the throne room of grace to receive help in our time of need
because we know the Lord understands. Christ was obedient even to the point of death
because He knew the Father’s heart. For me, obedience has been rather difficult
when I look at what I’m called to do from an earthly perspective. Sometimes we
think that the Lord calls us to do something because He wants to make life
challenging. In reality, God is our good father. He calls us to step out in
faith and in obedience because He has a perfect and sovereign plan. When we are
unsure of why the Lord is calling us to do something, we can rest in the truth
that He was in all points just as we are. He had to submit to the Father
through the spirit. We too must be obedient to the Father and that’s only
possible through His spirit.
Application: Today I will journal
any events I can recall where the Lord called me to be obedient and the fruit
of that obedience.
08/15/2016
Acts 5:29 “But Peter and the other
apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.””
In this verse the apostles are on
trial for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They had been put in prison
but an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and freed them to preach the
gospel in the temples. The council strictly told the apostles not to do so and
their response was that they obey God, not man. We are called to submit to the
authority that is set over us, but if it is contrary to the word of God then we
must obey God. Like most, I tend to lean more towards pleasing and seeking
approval from people over God. Earlier this year I was presented with two
incredible opportunities; Patmos Reality Discipleship program and IGNITE. As I
began to seek the Lord for direction, He put it on my heart to find the answer
in Him alone. Up until that point I had been asking my friends and family for
what they thought was best for me, instead of asking God. I realized that everyone
had their idea of what they thought was best for me, but they had no clue what
was God’s best for me. God made it so clear in two weeks where He wanted me to
go and revealed it through His Word. From that point on, I made it an effort to
take all things before the Lord before man.
Application: Whenever I have to
make a decision or need to talk someone, I will purpose to talk to the Lord
beforehand.
Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that to
whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom
obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness?”
Before Christ we were under the
law, but now we are under grace. In verse 15 Paul asks the question “Shall we
sin because we are not under the law but under grace?” Paul is reminding us
that we are no longer slaves to our past sin but slaves to righteousness. Sin
no longer has dominion over us and we are not identified with our past sins. We
are redeemed by Jesus and now submit to Him alone. Psalm 51 says, “Create in me
a clean heart, O God, renew a steadfast spirit within me.” When I first came to
know the Lord, I was fully aware of the sinful state of my heart and how easy
it was to fall back into sin because of certain strongholds. My prayer was and
is that the Lord would create in me a clean heart and take away any of my old
sinful desires. I think it’s easier to be obedient and take captive big sins,
but sometimes we let small sins creep back in because we aren’t obedient in
submitting them to the Lord. I thank God every day for the life He delivered me
from and for the new life He has given me. My prayer is that I would never seek
the ways of my past, but continue to be changed by the Lord as He brings me
from glory to glory.
Application: Today I will write victories
over strongholds that the Lord has walked me through.
Ephesians 6:1 “Children obey your
parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey
your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
As a kid, I remember hearing this
verse at Sunday school and immediately getting on the defense. It’s easy to
obey your parents when you know they love God, but what about those that have
parents that don’t love God? My obedience to my parents growing up was strictly
out of fear. Once I got to middle school, I began to rebel. My mom would ask me
to do a chore around the house or ask me not to go out for the weekend, but I
wouldn’t listen and I would do my own thing. Looking back now, I see how
foolish I was. No matter if my parents believe it or not, they too submit to
authority and that authority is Jesus Christ. Had I loved the Lord from a young
age, I don’t think I would’ve had issues obeying. We know that first we obey
the Lord and then our parents. Although I’m 21 now, I still go to my mom for
her approval and obey her when she asks something of me. Before coming to
IGNITE I asked for her approval and she disagreed for a short period of time.
However, the Lord was able to work on her heart in that time. She was able to
put her trust in the Lord with my life and know that first and foremost I am to
be obedient to the calling that the Lord has placed on my life. The Lord is the
one that places the authority over us and calls us to submit to it.
Application: On my wifi time I will
call my mom and apologize for all the times I was rebellious and didn’t obey
her.
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