Tag Archive | obedience

Go!?

May15

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; — Genesis 12:1
So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. — Genesis 12:4

Have you been sent by the Lord to an unknown place with nothing more than the instruction to “go”?  First I see here that I would need to hear what the Lord said. That will take my being attentive to the relationship with Jesus. I need to be consistent in my intent to know Him better. With this I will be more apt to hear Him when He instructs.

Next I see that I would need to do something with the instructions I’ve been given. Obedience is the next step when hearing the Word of the Lord. Abram was instructed to leave country, relatives, even His father’s house to go to a land that God would show Him. God did not tell Him to go to such and such a place but said that I will show you. Abram was also well along in life. I am sure he was well established and comfortable in his surroundings and life. When we are set in our ways it is even harder to hear and obey when God says to go but we can when we are surrendered to this wonderful faith in Jesus Christ, totally trusting in God.

The biggest step is the one when we say yes I will go by faith and faith alone.  It takes great faith to step out into the unknown with no clear path but to totally lean on Jesus, trust Him completely. When God says, “Go”, will you step out in faith, into the unknown in obedience to the Lord? The first step is faith, the rest is calm assurance on a journey beyond our wildest comprehension. God is good.

Thank you Lord for the challenges in our lives that bring us to a closer walk and faith in You.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

All My Heart

May8

Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. — 1 Samuel 12:24

When I consider all the Lord has done for me — relocated from on high to a dark world of sin; endured extreme pain, ridicule, being mocked; experiencing rejection and ultimately on the cross loneliness, shame and sin — how can I not believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ.*

He has given me life worth living filled abundantly with love, peace, joy, contentment and a journey beyond all my expectations. Let me make it clear that I am not perfect and make many mistakes while the Lord conforms me to His will. I still have freewill and that “will” many times has a hard time trusting. But I will continue to return to God with all my heart.«

I choose to fear and serve Him with all my heart. I choose to seek Him, love Him, observe and keep His law, hold fast, walk in His ways giving thanks and doing it with all my heart. The more I practice these the more my trust toward the Lord increases so that I trust Him with all my heart.

As I trust my Lord I rejoice and exult Him with all my heart!»

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

*Acts 8:37
«Joel 2:12
»Zephania 3:14

Victory!

Apr19

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. — Hebrews 2:14-15

He Himself likewise also partook of the same. The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. Jesus experienced human life just like every human that ever lived. He also experienced extreme pain and anguish. As Jesus knelt in the garden He prayed, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” Jesus came for purpose — to fulfill the will of God.

Jesus was the perfect example of obedience. Through His obedience He died that He might render powerless the devil who had the power of death. We saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Is there anything more glorious than what Jesus did for us? We are free from the fear of death and have received a spirit of adoption as sons. We also cry, “Abba Father” with grateful hearts.

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:57

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

– And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.– John 1:14
– For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” — Romans 8:15
Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” — Mark 14:36

Humble, Pray, Seek

Mar22

“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: — Deuteronomy 28:15

“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. . . Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. . . The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. . . A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually. . . You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.  You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.  You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. . . — Deuteronomy 28:16, 19, 25, 33, 38-40

So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. . . Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;  therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.  Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. . . — Deuteronomy 28:45, 47-52

“If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. . . Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. — Deuteronomy 28:58-59, 65-67

Sound familiar? Do we have the curses of God upon us? What is the answer?

 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. — 2 Chronicles 7:13-15

Blessings While Coming And Going

Mar19

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2   “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. — Deuteronomy 28:6

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. (Psalm 121:8) Forever is a long time. What a peace is ours knowing that in our obedience God promises to bless us as we come in and go out. As we grow in our obedience we learn to trust Jesus more and more as we see the blessings, experience the assurance of God’s promises kept, and draw closer to Him.

Drawing closer to Jesus I am confident that He is intimately acquainted with all my ways. He checks out my path and my lying down. He sees my ways and all my steps are numbered. From birth to death I am His. I love that He encloses me behind and before and has laid His hand upon me. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds His people from now and forever.

Why would we not want to be obedient? Built into obedience is trust, peace, security, intimacy, direction, and a relationship with God, the Almighty, Creator of the Universe, Father, and the lover of my soul.

Come and be blessed. Go and be blessed.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. — Psalm 139:3-5

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. — Psalm 125:2

“Does He not see my ways And number all my steps? — Job 31:4

For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. — Psalm 116:8

The Blessing of Provision

Mar18

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: Deuteronomy 28:2          “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Deuteronomy 28:5

Obedience to God brings blessing to our table. What have we to worry about when our obedient trust in Jesus promises blessing to us. “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? — Matthew 6:25-26

“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” — Matthew 6:32-33 Our God treasures us and thinks we are worthy to be blessed. He desires to shower blessings on His children and He will when we are obedient. He knows what we need to survive and will supply all we need. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:19

Our Great Provider, of all our needs, has given us a means to receive blessings by our obedience and seeking of His righteousness and kingdom. The choice is ours. Hopefully we choose blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

The Blessing of Work

Mar17

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2.                                                                                                                                                                          “Blessed shall be . . . the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. — Deuteronomy 28:4.                                                                                                 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. — Deuteronomy 28:8.                                   The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, . . . in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. — Deuteronomy 28:11-12

Here I go traipsing back to the Garden of Eden. God created work: Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15) God’s plan from the beginning was for man to work. Work is a blessing itself as it provides for our needs, enables us to help/bless others, gives us purpose and allows us to glorify God.

God designed work and will bless us in that work when we obey Him. It is by His power and blessing that we prosper, are successful, and enjoy contentment in our work. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10:22)

With these thoughts in mind, hopefully our attitude about work will be a positive attitude giving glory, praise and honor to God. Enjoy your work of obedience and let it overflow to your daily work, livelihood.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Blessing of Children

Mar16

 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2

 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body — Deuteronomy 28:4a

The Lord will make you abound …  in the offspring of your body — Deuteronomy 28:11a

Obedience brings the blessing of children. God created humanity and through them He continues the blessing of life. He continues His image on the earth for God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them*. God’s plan was for procreation from the very beginning (God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth — Genesis 1:28a) so it is understandable that He would bless what He has commanded. God calls the man whose quiver is full of them (children) a blessed man.

The blessing is not just in number. I believe it is also to bless you and your children’s relationships and to bless your children and your children’s children and so on. God longs to bless His children. Obedience brings blessing, builds trust, and strengthens our relationship with Jesus Christ. Receive the blessing by being obedient — for you and your offspring.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

*Genesis 1:27

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate. — Psalm 127:4-5

Be Blessed Where You Live

Mar15

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:  “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. — Deuteronomy 28:2-3

Wherever you abide in the Lord, whether the city or country, the blessings of God will come upon you and overtake you. Wow, overtake you! That’s awesome. Oh I almost forgot — that is IF you obey the Lord your God. That has been God’s plan since Eden when He placed Adam and Eve in the garden.

If we believe, we can trust that wherever God places us, He is in control and we are where God has planned for us to be. Abram trusted God and went forth from his homeland to where God sent him. Jesus came that we might have abundant life but what does that entail? Obeying Him, putting that obedience to trust in Jesus, knowing that He will never leave us nor forsake us. I call that an abundant, blessed life.

So be obedient by studying the Word of God to know what you are to obey and enforce your obedience with prayer to strengthen your convictions and relationship with Jesus.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. — Genesis 2:15

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; — Genesis 12:1

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. — John 10:10

If You Diligently Obey

Mar4

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1

Did you ever notice how closely our obedience is connected to our blessings? We aren’t obedient to receive blessings — we can’t work our way to blessings or heaven — but through our obedience God blesses us. Just like our kids — we desire to bless them but if they are disobedient it would be detrimental to bless them. We require and expect our children to be obedient. God expects the same from His children (us).

This verse says, “God will set you high above all the nations”. I couldn’t help but be reminiscent thinking about great nations of the past who prospered when they were walking in the obedience of God. One such nation was the United States known to be established on Biblical principles. It was a nation that posted the Ten Commandments in it’s court houses, that had prayer in schools to the One and only God. It was a nation that was set above all the nations of the earth. God blessed this nation.

Just as Israel was blessed and prospered throughout history they were also disciplined for disobedience. It saddens my heart that this country draws further and further away from God. Fortunately God loves us enough to discipline us but unfortunately we are not responding. Our nation needs to turn back to obedience to God. As His people we must unite through the Holy Spirit and bathe our country in prayer and be an example as we are obedient to the Lord God Almighty.

Hear the cry, O Lord, of your remnant. Amen.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, — Deuteronomy 28: 13