The Passion to Obey

The Passion to Obey

BY Dr. Charles Stanley 

 

John 14:15

 

For a sermon I gave several years ago, I jotted down a list and titled it "The Evolution of a Passion to Obey God." That passion doesn't just spring up, full-blown at salvation. We do enter our new life in Christ with a desire to please Him, and that does include obeying Him. But an intensely determined pursuit of His will develops more slowly.

 

In fact, the first stage--fear of the consequences of disobedience--barely qualifies as reverence for God. But as we progress in our faith and form a commitment to obey the Lord, we eventually reach the final stage, which is love and devotion to Christ. Wouldn't you rather follow Him out of love than out of fear?

 

Getting from the first stage to the last begins with what you might expect--an increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we dig into God's Word to see how He provided for the saints, we develop a desire for His best. Men like Moses, David, and Paul weren't satisfied with what the world had to offer, and we won't be either when we witness His work in the lives of His followers. So we test out obedience and discover that God's promised blessings are real. As we acquire a record of consistent rewards for doing His will, we recognize the wisdom of obedience.

 

Can you find yourself on the spectrum between fear and devotion? It is my hope that you have committed to obeying God and that you are reading His Word daily to learn how to keep your promise. God wants your best--your passionate pursuit of His will--because He is giving His best to you.

Give Up Your Bag of Burdens

Give Up Your Bag of Burdens

By Max Lucado

Worry is the burlap bag of burdens.  It’s overflowing with “whaddifs” and “howells.” Whaddif after all my dieting, I find that lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn’t?  Howell we pay our baby’s tuition?”  Whaddifs and howells…the burlap bag of worry. Cumbersome. Chunky. Unattractive. Scratchy.  Irritating to carry and impossible to give away!

No one wants your worries.  The truth is, you don’t want them either. No one has to remind you of the high cost of anxiety, but I will anyway. Worry divides the mind.  It splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems.  The result is half-minded living!

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to “boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and, in His grace, find timely help.”  God’s help is timely!  God will do the right thing at the right time.  And what a difference that makes!

Pursue Your Purpose, Only

Pursue Your Purpose, Only
SHALA W. GRAHAM

“And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’” Mark 1:38 (ESV)

I was setting my priorities for the new year when my mentor told me that I’m easily distracted by “bright and shiny new opportunities.” Are you telling me I’m like a cat, chasing the light from a flashlight? He delightfully agreed and instructed that if an opportunity came up that doesn’t fulfill one of my priorities, I needed to say no. Period.

I’m one of those people who dives into every exciting idea. If it’s a good thing, why not?

Honestly, it’s an exhausting way to live. Thankfully, Jesus shows us a better way. 

In Mark 1, Jesus begins His ministry. In one day, He cast out an unclean spirit and healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and as soon as the sun went down on the Sabbath, everyone from the town with diseases and demons was at His door, and He healed them. Observe Jesus’ next moves:

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons” (Mark 1:35-39, ESV).

Jesus was the talk of the town. Everyone wanted His miraculous touch. But Jesus, having spent the morning in prayer, tells the people looking for Him it was time to move on to the next town because preaching the gospel was why He came out. 

But Jesus, isn’t healing people a good thing? Yes, but it was not His why. Jesus knew His priority was to preach the gospel. Souls needed saving! What would have happened if Jesus allowed Himself to get stuck in a town doing meaningful, but not purpose-driven things?

How often am I guilty of doing all the good things to the detriment of completing the purpose God has for me? 

Jesus had the wisdom and the conviction to pursue His purpose. We see this throughout the Gospels. Whenever His presence in a town was dominated by His miracles, Jesus would move on to the next town so He could get back on His purpose. I’m sure some people were disappointed He did not stay longer and heal more people, but Jesus was content with their disappointment because He was focused on His purpose. 

I found myself evaluating all the things I’m doing. Work. Personal projects. Church responsibilities. They are all good things, but they don’t all align with my God-given purpose. I know that as I begin to cut the distractions out — even if I’m good at them or others find them meaningful — there will be people who are disappointed and tell me to keep doing that thing. They might even try to spiritualize it. But I can’t be that cat chasing the bright and shiny lights. I must be able to say no to anything that does not align with my God-given purpose and priorities.

And if you and I pursue our God assignments wholeheartedly and undistractedly, we’ll ultimately be pursuing our Savior — the biggest why of our lives.

Father, help me look to the example of Jesus. Help me pull away to spend time with You, and keep my eyes focused on my why. Give me the courage to cut the things that are not Your priority for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Ephesians 2:10, “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” (NCV)

Isaiah 26:3-4, “You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever; he will always protect us.” (GNT)

Scripture to Comfort

Scripture to Comfort 
by Meghan Kleppinger

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. - Matthew 5:4, NAS

If you have ever suffered a broken relationship and/or heart, the loss of a loved one, or any number of other devastations, than you know about "that" pain.

It's that pain that originates in the bottom of your stomach and initially feels like a big numb ball. Later it develops into a raw gnawing that can only be equated to burning stabs of fire. It makes it way up through the intestines and finally settles in the throat, choking out all attempted spoken words and creating such an excruciating sensation that tears are sure to follow.

Like any other person who has spent more than a few days on this planet, I know "that" pain well. It comes quickly and when it does, it's difficult to believe that it will ever go away. It brings about sorrow, grief, and as it eventually begins to fade away, it brings guilt.

This has been a tough year for my family. We've lost friends and recently, just a few short weeks ago, my grandfather. I know I'm not an anomaly and that people all over the world are suffering a similar pain, so as I began to pray about what I should write about for this week, I started thinking about what has really been helpful for me during these times.

Friends and family have been great, but most of all, scripture has been comforting me. My hope is that the scripture I share with you will be beneficial to you as you grieve or that you can use it to minister to others who are suffering.

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27)

"And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed n spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

"The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:17)

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)

"And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."  (Revelation 21:4)

And finally…

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Go to the Word of God for comfort. In the words of Matthew Henry, ""The Word of God gives us great help in attaining the peace we need. It is living, very lively and active in seizing the conscience of the sinner, in cutting him to the heart, and in comforting him and binding up the wounds of the soul. It is powerful. It convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully.""

God Wants to Stretch Your Faith Today

God Wants to Stretch Your Faith Today
By Chris Russell

Not long ago I read a book called Fitness After 40. It was an intriguing book that helped me to understand pretty much everything that has gone wrong with my body over the past couple decades!

The list of changes was quite lengthy, but one of them had to do with the way we tend to become less and less flexible in our muscles and joints as we grow older. Every athletic coach I’ve had over the years has always told me how important it is to stretch, but this book seemed to flip a light on in my mind as I began to understand just how important stretching is for our bodies... over time.

In a similar way, we must also remember to stretch SPIRITUALLY as we grow in the Lord over time. And when we stretch spiritually, it always has to do with our faith. God wants us to stretch in our faith.

Paul lays out an amazing list of Bible personalities in Hebrews 11 who demonstrated their faith in powerful ways. This passage has come to be known as the “Faith Hall of Fame,” and we can find many examples of how to live by faith.

Faith is absolutely central to the Christian experience. We enter into a relationship with God through faith (Romans 10:9-10), and Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is a big deal!

And faith is powerful! Jesus said that if we will have faith as a grain of mustard seed, we can pray and see mountains cast into the ocean. I wonder how small my faith must look in that type of comparison!

As you read this, I’d like to suggest to you that it is likely that God wants to stretch your faith. And just like physical stretching, spiritual stretching is not easy. Stretching requires us to push beyond our normal level of comfort.

I’ve seen some pretty amazing feats when watching MMA fighters on TV. It’s stunning to see how a fighter can effortlessly swing his foot over the head of his opponent with no thought at all. But one thing I know about that fighter is that he took many, many years to stretch those muscles so that he could get to that level. And the stretching in his gym was always designed to push him beyond what felt comfortable.

And so it is with our faith. God wants to stretch you beyond your normal comfort zone. And that is where you will begin to see growth and progress like never before.

An Important Point:

It is likely that God wants to stretch your faith today.

Consider the following when it comes to the ways God may want to stretch you:

God may want you to DO something.

God may want you to STOP DOING something.

God may want you to GIVE something.

God may want you to SAY something.

God may want you to STOP SAYING something.

God may want you to SELL something.

God may want you to BUY something. (presumably for a person or ministry in need)

God may want you to START something.

God may want you to END something.

God may want you to LOVE someone.

The chances are great that God likely wants to stretch you today!

When it comes to your spiritual fitness, don’t forget to stretch!

A Prayer for God’s Protection over Our Children

A Prayer for God’s Protection over Our Children
By: John North

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” - Proverbs 22:6

God has taken a life that he loves, that he wants nurtured to love him and serve him, and entrusted it into your care—no greater privilege could he give you!

As you watch your children grow, (whether you are their natural or spiritual parent), you realize that their whole lives are being shaped by their experiences in their early years. As you train your children to love God above all else and to share Christ with others and to see every situation as a ministry opportunity, you are shooting them like arrows into the future.

Long after your own influence in this world has faded, your children and their children after them will be serving God and building his Kingdom in the lives and hearts of those around them. The time you spend giving your kids a godly heritage will bear far greater fruit in the long run than time spent in your own ministry to others.

If you are a parent, you do not have to choose between your own ministry and discipling your children, but the Lord is reminding you not to let the balance swing away from your children for too long. They are God’s gift to you. And your years of influence in their lives will not last forever!

Dear Lord, we ask that you place a hand of protection over our children. Teach them to be strong without being hard, and compassionate without being proud. We are their parents, but you are their Heavenly Father. Please be with our children as they grow in this strange world. Teach them to love others as you have loved them, and help us guide them in your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.