Walking in Obedience
What is obedience? Are there consequences of disobedience? What are the rewards of obedience?
Obedience is the act of following instructions. In the life of a Christian, obedience is an act of faith and a choice. You can either decide to obey God or you decide not to obey. God is never pleased when we walk in disobedience and His plan for any of His children will not be fulfilled if that child chooses to walk in disobedience. Walking in disobedience is very common in the lives of Christians. Sometimes it is done willfully and sometimes unknowingly. We disobey God by not loving one another the way we should. Maybe someone has done something to you and you just make up your mind that "I am not just going to love this person." We disobey God by holding on to our tithes thinking that we have a lot of expenses for the month. So we say to ourselves "this month I just won't pay my tithe." Or we disobey God by the things people say to us and we try to rationalise the word of God and they ask us like Satan asked Eve "did God really say?" (Genesis 3:1) This gets some of us thinking and questioning the word of God saying "should we really or should we not?" Most times, when we do this, we tend to walk in disobedience. Sometimes out of fear, we disobey God and in all of these, we are not pleasing God.
If you fall into any of the category mentioned or not even mentioned but you know that your ways are not pleasing to God, you need to repent, ask for forgiveness and turn around. The bible tells us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and He is just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).
When you come to that place when you know that you need the grace of God to walk in obedience, the Holy Spirit will help you. The ability, the grace to walk fully in obedience is available to everyone of us and we need to make that decision to walk in obedience.
Are there consequences of disobedience? Yes. When we walk partially in obedience, is this obedience? No. Saul decided and took it upon himself to disobey God's order. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, God told him through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:3), but out of fear for the people and greed, he decided to spare King Agag and the choicest animals saying to Samuel that they were meant to be used for sacrifice unto God (1 Samuel 15:9 & 15). But Samuel told him thst to obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). So thought he obeyed God to a certain extent but he did not obey fully and partial obedience is disobedience. Saul faced God's wrath because of his disobedience. May we never face God's wrath. May the grace to fully obey be released upon us everyday of our lives in the name of Jesus.
There are great rewards for obedience. It is sometimes not easy to obey. But when we do obey, we enjoy great rewards. When Abraham decided to obey God, the Bible tells us that he became a friend of God. He obeyed God and was ready, willing to sacrifice his only son, the son he waited to have for so many years. It was an act of faith on his part because he never knew that God was going to provide an alternative for his son and he was at the point of actually sacrificing his son, Isaac when God stopped him. His faith and obedience got him God's commendation; he became the friend of God. That is what obedience does for us. It brings us to that place where God trusts us and has confidence in us that we would hold nothing back from Him. For this to happen, we must be ready and willing to give God our obedience.
When we walk in obedience, God sets us on high and does not hold anything back from us; His promises, blessings just flow continuously in our lives. Deuteronomy 28 talks about the blessings that will come to us if we fully obey - healing, prosperity and so much more when we obey the Lord. Do you choose today to obey and follow God? Ask for His help because it is not easy. Sometimes, I try to rationalise things that I am required to do. I deliberate and wonder whether or not I am able to do it. I know this is the flesh at work because the Lord expects me to walk in obedience.
There are so many instructions in the Bible with blessings or rewards attached to them. God says be anxious for nothing! This is a commandment. What happens when we obey? When we pray and make our supplications known to God, His peace will fill our hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:6-7). That is the reward for obeying and not being anxious. When the Bible says ask and you will receive, knock and the door will be opened, seek and you will find, these are instructions that we need to take actions on (Matthew 7:7-8). We are expected to obey in order to enter into the promises. If you don't ask, you will not receive, if you don't knock, no door will be opened to you and if you don't seek you would not find anything. To obey is better than sacrifice!
What other instructions are there for us in the Bible? The Bible says love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Are you showing love to your neighbour or are you waiting for your neighbour to love you first? Are you finding an excuse not to show love? The Bible says that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). This means that God has given you that ability to love. The Bible says husbands love your wives (Ephesians 5:25). Are you loving her or you're waiting for her to submit before you show her love? Same thing with the wives (Ephesians 5:22). Are you submitting to your husbands or you're waiting for him to love you first? Are you saying "if he doesn't love me, I am not going to submit to him." The Bible says children should honour their father and mother in the Lord (Deuteronomy 5:16). Are you honouring them? Or you're saying "they are so mean to me!" or "I asked them for something last week and I didn't get it, so I'm not honouring them'" That is not obedience but utter disobedience and displeasing to God.
May we never face the wrath of God. May the Lord help us as we walk in obedience and as we yield fully to the Holy Spirit, may His blessings fill our lives to overflowing in the mighty name of Jesus.
I trust that you have been blessed. Please leave your comment and share with your friends.
Remain blessed. Shalom!
True Worship
What is worship? What makes worship true? Is it the song? Is it how you sing the song? Is it the instrument? Is it even how fast or slow a song is? What exactly is true worship?
A slow song rendered by a singer in an emotional voice with eyes closed might be considered to be worship by one because it is slow, while another might consider the singer as being in the spirit because of the emotions displayed by the closing of eyes. However, is this what true worship is about? Is that what God is seeking? The Bible tells us in John 4:23 that the Father is seeking those that would worship Him in Spirit and truth.
So is true worship really about the song or music? I don't think so! If it was, God would not have cast Lucifer out of heaven because he was making good music but his heart was not right with God. He was prideful and pride cannot go with true worship. Worship must come from the heart of one who is seeking and doing the will of God. The song is secondary and should not be the focus of our attention. Seeking and pleasing God must be our priority.
I find out a lot of times that we make so much fuss about the elements of worship rather than the object of our worship...God. The main purpose of the gospel is to turn sinners into true worshippers. This means that worship is very important to God. We were created to worship and glorify God (Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11). What really brings God glory is a life that serves Him; a life that seeks Him; a life that shows and manifests His love to the people around; a life that tells about His goodness...that is true worship! When people see you, they see God because you were made in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:27). We are little gods and when we live as such, showing love and honouring our Father, glorifies Him. God seeks men and women that would be as He is; men and women whose lives impact and change other people's lives for good. This is true worship.
It's nice when we congregate in church or at meetings and we sing songs to glorify God but let us not place too much focus on the singing. Why do I say this? If a heart that does not seek God offers spiritual songs and we conclude that this is true worship and it is acceptable to God, we are deceiving ourselves.
True worship must come from a heart that glorifies and honours God. God delights and takes pleasure from such. We must daily ask God to help us to delight in Him so that He can take pleasure in us. Our prayer should be that He should help us not to play lip service to worship by just mouthing songs in order to please man, but that our worship will spring from a heart that loves and honours God; from a life that draws people to Him.
When we do this, our lives will take another dimension. A dimension that when people see us, they see Christ in us and testify that we are of God as they testified of the disciples in Antioch where they were first called Christians because of the fruits they manifested (Acts 11:26). When you get to the place where people are quick to say, "there's something about you...there's something about your life"...then you are living a life of true worship.
However, you cannot do this by yourself or in your own strength or ability. You need the Holy Spirit to help you. Ask the Lord to empower and enable you to live a life of worship; a life that would glorify Him. Daily ask for His help for it is "God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). Daily ask for empowerment and strength to live a life of worship and when you miss it, just ask for forgiveness, turn around and start all over again.
I trust you were blessed by this. Please remember to leave your comment and share with your friends.
Remain blessed. Shalom!
Waiting
What are we waiting for? How should we wait? What should we do while we are waiting?
My favourite scripture in the Bible is in Isaiah 40:31 and it talks about those who wait upon the Lord.
Waiting is something that a lot of us do not like to engage in. When I want something, I want it now and here. But overtime, I have been waiting for several things and most of them are yet to materialise. I am still waiting!
A lot of us wait for spouses, some wait to build or buy a house, some wait to buy a car or get a job, some wait to have a child…there are so many things we can wait for and the bible says that “…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). I noted earlier that this is my favourite scripture and I have held on to it for those things that I am waiting on God for.
I am encouraging you today that when you wait on the Lord, you should wait in Him. How do we wait in the Lord? By encouraging yourself with scriptures that relate to those things that I am waiting for. For example if you are waiting on God for a child, there are scriptures that tell you that God does not want anyone to be barren (Deuteronomy 7:14; Exodus 23:25-26). This means that you cannot be barren and can trust God for that child no matter how long you have to wait, you have the confidence that the child would materialise. If you are trusting the Lord for a husband or a wife, you can hold on to the word of God that “it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). This tells us that there is a woman for every man desiring to get married and vice versa. For everyone in this situation, you are able to hold on to that word of God and the one who is fit for you will show up in God’s time.
While you are waiting, you are praying and trusting God. While you are waiting, you are looking up to God and preparing yourself for that thing that you are expecting. You don’t just wait with folded arms expecting that it would just fall on your laps. There are things you must do while waiting. Praying helps you to renew your strength and ensures that you do not relent in trusting God. For those who have experienced waiting, it is not easy and it requires focus and commitment. That is why it is important that your mind is made up to wait on God with your face set like a flint and you will not be ashamed (Isaiah 50:7). Whether what you are waiting for materialises today, tomorrow, next year or the year after, you are not moved. As you commit to waiting on the Lord, He will prove Himself faithful on your behalf.
Discouragement may show up in your waiting and this is when you really need the word of God. Bask in God’s promises and surround yourself with people that will encourage and lift you up in prayers. David is a good example when he encountered the challenge with the Amalekites and the people were grieved and considered stoning him, the Bible told us that he “strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). So no matter what is going on around you, no matter your circumstance, don’t be discouraged for the Lord will not put you to shame.
As you wait on the Lord, stay strong! As you wait on the Lord, stay committed! As you wait on the Lord, stay diligent and you will see what the Lord will do in your life.
Please remember to leave your comment and share with your friends.
Remain blessed. Shalom!