God Is Calling

Genesis 12:1-9

He did as he was told.  I admire Abram for that.  He could have said, “No, I’m good,” but he didn’t.  He packed up and left.

Listen, Obey, Move and Pray was Abram’s motto.  God called; Abram listened and obeyed.  Why?  Because he knew God would fulfill His promise.  Was it easy?  No.  Could Abram have imagined the trials awaiting him?  No.  Did everything he do please God?  No.  Were there missteps along the way?  Yes, but through it all God’s plan was in place and he kept drawing Abram to Himself.

As I’m feeling pulled in a thousand directions and want to question just about everything that’s happening in my life, God is pulling me to Himself.  I look to Abram as an example.  God’s will for my life will be accomplished.

My personal devotion this past Wednesday was Hebrews 6:15, After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.  This fits nicely into what I’m writing for today because God knows what He’s doing every day of the week. 😊

Making hasty decisions and complaining is not the way to go.  God is calling me to be patient and surrender.  Previously I would have responded with, “Ugh! But it’s SO hard.”  Today, I’m realizing that waiting is a gift for which I want to be thankful.

Is it easy to wait?  No.  Are there trials ahead that I can’t see?  Yes.  Am I going to make super choices all the time?  Nope.  Am I going to take missteps?  Surely.  But I’ll keep reminding myself, like Abram, to Listen, Obey, Move and Pray and that will make all the difference.

“If you love me…”

Exodus 7:14-20   

Yesterday we read about Moses encountering God in the burning bush and today we read about Moses and Aaron encountering God through obedience. Moses and Aaron demonstrate obedience to God by confronting Pharaoh for the first in at least seven times in an effort to seek the release of the Jews from slavery.

Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love me you will obey what I command.” Obedience – sometimes this is a tough concept. We want to follow our own desires. We want God to do things our way. We want things to “make sense” in this world and in our lives. We read in Exodus that God actually hardened Pharaoh's heart as Moses and Aaron delivered their warnings about some of the plagues.

Clearly God has a bigger picture in mind. His perspective is eternal and He simply asks us, like Moses and Aaron, to be obedient. This is how Jesus said we could show our love for Him.

After the Jews release from Egypt God asked Moses, Aaron and the Jewish people to remain obedient as they made their journey to the Promised Land. In a similar manner, God asks us to be obedient as we make our journey to the “Promised Land”. He does this out of love, wanting what is best for us – for eternity. “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

Trust Issues

Faith. Belief.  These two words all come down to one thing. Trust.

Do you easily trust others?  I know I don’t.  I struggle relinquishing control to someone else.  I have lived much of my life following the motto, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

Why is it hard for us to trust others?  The obvious answer is, because they could fail us.

Is it hard for you to trust God?  Ouch! Is that a hard question to be honest about?  Trusting God can be hard because we can’t control the outcome.  We can know in our head that God wants the best for us, but trusting with our heart is not as easy.

Our scripture passage today says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

and also,

“However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” 

Abraham trusted God.  God said, pack up your stuff and your family and go to the place I will show you.  So Abraham trusted God and obeyed. 

I have found it easier to trust others the more I know them.  I trust my husband because we have been married for 18 years. The closer you are to someone, the more you know if they are trustworthy, and the easier it is to give them control.

The same goes for God. The closer we get to him.  The more we know about him.  The easier it is to trust him.  If he is a stranger to you, it only makes sense that you don’t trust him.

Corrie ten Boom said it wonderfully, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”  If you don’t know him yet, today’s a good day to start.  Trust me, it will be worth it.

1 John 2:3-14

We know God by Obeying His Commands

  

Stay out of the road!   Say please and thank you.    Use your manners!     Sit up straight.                                    Use your napkin.   Don’t hit!   Stay in bed.   Don’t play with your food!    Stop fighting!

Adults spew these and many other commands to kids constantly. Not only do they speak the words, but generally use direct and sometimes fierce intonation to get the child’s attention, to no avail. Over and over the reminders are communicated, and the results are the same. The kids continue doing exactly what they were told not to, or don’t do what they were asked to do.

Do all young people have bad memories? Are all kids testing? Are they so focused on themselves that they disregard the wishes of the adults in their lives? What is it?

In today’s passage John wrote to encourage believers, and remind them of God’s commands;

1 John2:7  “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.”

What is John referring to? He notes a few examples, but it is all about following God’s word and knowing God by living as He calls us to. He doesn’t change his message. He never has.

Verse 4 The man who says “I know him” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Verse 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.

Verse 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness.

Colossians 2:12-14 Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Last Sunday the message was about what God has given us-New Life.

Today let’s examine our own hearts and honestly look at the pages of our daily lives. Not the life of anyone else, just our own. Are we giving God what he has asked of us in return or are we still in need of constant reminders? If so, that's alright, we are all in various places in our faith walk.

  

1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Developing your faith is a lifelong process. What is your next step? Is God calling you to cross the threshold of faith and enter into His family? Is God calling you to grow in your understanding of who He is, or change the way you live your life? Is God calling you to step up and be a model for others?

      Read/listen to 1 John 2:3-14

The commanding officer of my soul

“Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name’ he said.... Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men!’” Acts 5:28-29

(To see today's entire text – Acts 5:27-32 – click here.)

Stop and think ... when is the last time you heard the word, “obey,” in conversation?

“Obey” is a tough notion for us, a concept progressively out of favor. Offensive ... humiliating ... oppressive ... that’s how our world sees it. Passé, really. Irrelevant. Ludicrous! For “obey” suggests that at least some aspect of our being is subject to the will of someone else; it leaves us something short of “I am the master of my fate...”¹  And ... we ... don't ... like it!

Instead, our human nature is a place where “I am the captain of my soul,”¹ and where “Feeling” ranks as first lieutenant. We rely on its counsel above all others, even when Feeling is openly insubordinate to our commanding officer, Truth.

There’s an interesting example in Mark 1:40-45. One day, Jesus cured a man from leprosy and then, curiously, “sent him away with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone.’” Instead, the man – understandably excited – “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.” Jesus had said “don't tell,” but this man told, his feelings dissuading him from the command of the One who had authority even over leprosy! And we might feel our way along to the leper’s justification! After all, spreading the news is a good thing, isn’t it? But there were lasting consequences to his disobedience that day: “As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.”

Peter and the apostles were also under orders, two sets of them, actually. Jesus had told them to go out and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them all he had commanded. The religious leader’s imperative, however, was the opposite, charging them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (see Acts 4:18). And now the apostles stood before the high priest and the Sanhedrin because they had obeyed the higher authority – the commanding officer – on the matter. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name...” the rulers complained. The apostles’ response? “We must obey God rather than men!” And their obedience had produced results, for the Sanhedrin even told them, “... you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching ...” (Not bad!)

Both the leper in the first instance and the apostles in the second were under commands from Jesus. And being human, they all had strong feelings ... they were all enthusiastic. The difference was that the apostles, at least in this case, obeyed, aligning their will and their passion under the authority of Jesus, who is Truth.

Likely, we’ve all experienced both scenarios, frustrated at times and buoyed at others. So how do we consistently subject our feelings to God's truth and his authority? We stay close to him, talking with him in prayer and listening to him through his word. Then when we recognize that familiar voice of Christ in us, ours is simply to say, "yes." Day by day; moment by moment.

For as Peter told the Sanhedrin, God gives his Holy Spirit to those who obey him. And that includes us.

¹ From "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley

Blessings Abound Joel 2:28-33

Today we are continuing in the book of Joel. This week we have seen God send trials to the people of Israel in order to get their attention. We discussed how through mourning our sin, abstaining from things that distract us from God, and prayer God can restore us and remove the trials he delivered.

I hope you understand that not all trials are from God. Some are from our own decisions and others are from Satan. In our passage this week we see that sometimes God does disrupt the flow of our lives when we stray from His path. We have also seen how when we repent, God is faithful to hear our prayer and remove the trial. Today’s verse shows us something else unique about God.

Not only has He restored the land to its once productive state, blessing the people of Israel once more, we also see that God sent a Spiritual blessing,

“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.”

Isn’t that just like God? We mess up and he draws us back to himself and instead of just leaving us where we were before we sinned he goes an extra step and blesses us further. We serve an amazing God.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Joel 2:28-33

Out of Egypt I called my Son -- Matthew 2:7-15

Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, "Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I'll join you at once in your worship." (Matthew 2:7-8)  Isn't this amazing to you?  Herod read and believed the Scriptures, or was he just taking precautions and protecting his throne.

This entire story is fascinating.  The scholars from the east were not fooled, especially after their dream instructing them not to report back to Herod.  Then Joseph was told by an angel to take the child and his mother and run.  Joseph obeyed.  The dream of the wise men, and then the angel in Joseph's dream were instruments of God used to fulfill God's will.  The fact the magi and Joseph complied saved the child's life.

How many times do I feel a nudge in a dream or a compulsion to do something counter to my usual behavior?  Thinking back I can identify a number of instances when God was orchestrating my steps.  I always have the option to disregard these nudges, but I don't have a peace about things if I exercise this option.  It is so exciting to recognize God's hand in my life; or is it my life in God's hand?  Works either way doesn't it.

To read the text for today go here.