Trust and Obey

-

 

Obedience

Scripture: Philippians 2:7-8 (ESV)

. . . [Jesus] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Devotion:

          Today, we are going to consider obedience. This term sometimes makes those in our culture bristle at the thought of having to be obedient to anyone. Yet the scripture is full of examples of obedience. Even Jesus was obedient to his earthly parents in Luke 2:51 we find “51 Then [Jesus] went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” If Jesus was obedient to Mary and Joseph (thus obeying the commandment to “honor your father and mother) so, should we be obedient to both our earthly and heavenly parents.

          Still our world tells us we don’t need to obey God. We have become a culture disobedient to all authority. We have riots in our cities. We have even had a riot at our capitol back in January. Some children in our schools have even been told to disobey their parents. (As if children needed any encouragement in that direction.) This movement toward disobeying authority will continue, however, Christians should take a different stand.

          Living as a Christian means living a life of obedience. We are to obey our parents, teachers, pastors, and of course God. The only exception to our obedience is when someone tells us to disobey God. The Apostles disobeyed the religious leaders of their day. In the book of Acts, we read: “27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:27-29) ESV

          So clearly when the choice is to be obedient to God or humans, we go with obeying God. It should be obvious to us by now that we are under an obligation to obey whether we feel like it or not. This I know is a hard teaching to follow as the human heart wants to do what it wants to do regardless of whether it is the obedient thing to do or not. Rules seem to be made to be broken. Whether it is driving a little over the speed limit because we know the police will give us some leeway if they see us going 5 miles an hour over the posted limit all the way to cheating a little bit on our taxes.

          Our nature has been to disobey ever since Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. With a little prompting from enemy of our souls Eve and then Adam were enticed to break the only rule God had laid down for them. It took Jesus to come and live a completely obedient life for humankind to have a chance at living life of perfect obedience. Praise be to Jesus for our victory over sin and death through his obedience even to the cross.

 

Prayer

          Lord hear us when we pray our prayer of thanksgiving for giving us the gift of your true son Jesus to deliver us from bondage to disobedience and sin. Glory to His holy name and all praise to our God the great Trinity. Keep us from willful sin and deliver us into your wonderful kingdom of light. Help us to be faithful to you God. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapt...
Read more

The Hatred of the World

-
Scripture: John 15:18-20 (ESV) 18  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. Devotion:             This scripture is compelling. It explains what happened to Jesus and His disciples some 2,000 years ago. The message of God is rarely welcome news for the world. It calls out many of the culture's favorite practices for what they are: sin. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, humankind has been adamant about trying to hide or excuse their sin. Sin causes a barrier between humans and God that humanity cannot overcom...
Read more

Reflecting on Reformation Day

-
  On October 31st, millions of Christians around the world celebrate Reformation Day, a commemoration of a pivotal moment in church history. It marks the day in 1517 when Martin Luther, a German monk and scholar, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This act, challenging the practices and doctrines of the Catholic Church, ignited what we now know as the Protestant Reformation. The Courage to Stand for Truth Reformation Day calls us to reflect on the courage it takes to stand for truth. Martin Luther faced immense opposition and risked his life to speak against the corruption and abuses he saw within the church. His conviction was rooted in a deep understanding of scripture and a sincere desire to return to the teachings of Christ. As we remember Luther's bravery, let us examine our own lives. Are we willing to stand firm in our beliefs, even when it is difficult? Do we seek truth in God's word and let it guide our actions? Script...
Read more