Obedience or Preference (and other devotionals)

Obedience or Preference

Matthew 26:36-42

Every believer must choose whether he will live by the principle of obedience or follow his preferences. When a person commits to doing the Lord’s will, then every situation and decision is sifted through the standard of "God said it, so I’m going to do it—and that’s the end of it." He may complain, weep, or try to argue. But in the end he will be obedient, no matter what.

I recall being invited years ago to interview with a church in Atlanta. During the entire road trip, I told the Lord that I didn’t want to move. I fussed and carried on a good while, but I knew Atlanta would be my new home. I didn’t like the idea, but the alternative was unimaginable: there are few things more unpleasant than living with the nagging anxiety that you missed out on something good.

The Lord certainly understands our need to question, cry out, and petition Him for the strength to do what He asks. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we have a high priest who can sympathize with us. Jesus wasn’t excited or happy about the cross. He grieved over the coming separation from His Father. Nevertheless, He was committed to following God’s will (Matt. 26:39). No one took Christ’s life from Him; He laid it down (John 10:18).

Our lives are about fulfilling God’s purpose. Many people miss His awesome plan for them because they choose to follow their preferences. Obedience is sometimes hard, but the struggle and sacrifice are worth it. There is joy and peace for the believer who pleases the Lord and lives by His principles.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Do You Feel “Fogged In”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.” Psalm 116:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Imagine you are in a plane, ready for take-off on the runway. The pilot has come on the intercom and announced there’s a delay because of fog. You glance out your window. It looks so gloomy and dark. You wonder if the sun is shining.

The fog lifts enough for the control tower to give the pilot the green light, and the plane takes off. It’s still cloudy, but the plane starts climbing, climbing, climbing. Suddenly, the plane bursts through the clouds, and it is so gloriously bright that you have to blink your eyes. Now, you realize the sun has been there all the time.

That’s the way it is with Jehovah God, the Son of righteousness with healing in His wings (see Malachi 4:2-3). He is always loving, always giving. He is waiting for you to see Him now.

ACTION POINT:
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you today the true condition of the sky—above the clouds. Let Him speak to you about what is really there beyond the fog. Things are not always what they seem. And God has His hand upon you.

~Adrian Rogers~

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Praying for the Rain

For the past week we have been seeking to understand what causes a spiritual drought, and then how we can break that drought if indeed we are in one.

Here is what I want you to understand.  Even if you earnestly seek God and repent of sin in your life, or you shift your focus and say, "God, I'm putting Your house first, and I'm going to put other people before myself,"  or perhaps God leads you to do something of a personal nature, you still need to pray for the rain.

Do not just assume God's blessing will automatically fall.  You still need to ask for it.  Zechariah 10:1 teaches us this truth,

Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain.  The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.

I used to read that and wonder, "God, I don't understand.  If it is the time of the latter rain, if it is rainy season, why ask for rain?  Won't it just fall automatically?"  If it is rainy season, why pray for rain?"

Because you cannot assume that it is automatically going to fall.

In James 5:17-18 there is a story about Elijah from 1 Kings 18.  James gives us the very, very, very short version.  But it tells us something significant,

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

What caused the rain to stop?  His prayer.  What caused the rain to fall again?  His prayer.

Ask God today for the blessing of His rain in your life!

~Bayless Conley~

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For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).

The owner of the tenement which I have occupied for many years has given notice that he will furnish but little or nothing more for repairs. I am advised to be ready to move.

At first this was not a very welcome notice. The surroundings here are in many respects very pleasant, and were it not for the evidence of decay, I should consider the house good enough. But even a light wind causes it to tremble and totter, and all the braces are not sufficient to make it secure. So I am getting ready to move.

It is strange how quickly one's interest is transferred to the prospective home. I have been consulting maps of the new country and reading descriptions of its inhabitants. One who visited it has returned, and from him I learn that it is beautiful beyond description; language breaks down in attempting to tell of what he heard while there. He says that, in order to make an investment there, he has suffered the loss of all things that he owned here, and even rejoices in what others would call making a sacrifice. Another, whose love to me has been proven by the greatest possible test, is now there. He has sent me several clusters of the most delicious fruits. After tasting them, all food here seems insipid.

Two or three times I have been down by the border of the river that forms the boundary, and have wished myself among the company of those who were singing praises to the King on the other side. Many of my friends have moved there. Before leaving they spoke of my coming later. I have seen the smile upon their faces as they passed out of sight. Often I am asked to make some new investments here, but my answer in every case is, "I am getting ready to move."

The words often on Jesus' lips in His last days express vividly the idea, "going to the Father." We, too, who are Christ's people, have vision of something beyond the difficulties and disappointments of this life. We are journeying towards fulfillment, completion, expansion of life. We, too, are "going to the Father." Much is dim concerning our home-country, but two things are clear. It is home, "the Father's House." It is the nearer presence of the Lord. We are all wayfarers, but the believer knows it and accepts it. He is a traveller, not a settler.
--R. C. Gillie

The little birds trust God, for they go singing
From northern woods where autumn winds have blown,
With joyous faith their trackless pathway winging
To summer-lands of song, afar, unknown.

Let us go singing, then, and not go sighing:
Since we are sure our times are in His hand,
Why should we weep, and fear, and call it dying?
'Tis only flitting to a Summer-land.

~L. B. Cowman~

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Modeling Commitment

Today's reading: 1 Kings 15:9-24

After a few generations when we get to Asa (David's great great great grandson), we finally see a different attitude and heart toward God. Following in David's footsteps, Asa chooses to follow and serve God fully. A wise decision, but one that immediately puts the difficult task in front of him of ridding the country of false gods and idols. What impressed me so much about Asa was how he demonstrated top down leadership by stepping up and dealing with idol worship within his own family. That had to have been difficult, but it modeled to the people of Judah that he was absolutely committed to God.

What are some ways that you model your commitment to God at home? At work? At school? In your community? 

~Tami~

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From Every Sin

"He shall save His people from their sins"   (Matthew 1:21).

LORD, save me from my sins. By the name of Jesus I am encouraged thus to pray. Save me from my past sins, that the habit of them may not hold me captive. Save me from my constitutional sins, that I may not be the slave of my own weaknesses. Save me from the sins which are continually under my eye that I may not lose my horror of them. Save me from secret sins; sins unperceived by me from my want of light. Save me from sudden and surprising sins: let me not be carried off my feet by a rush of temptation. Save me, LORD, from every sin. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me. hou alone canst do this. I cannot snap my own chains or slay my own enemies. Thou knowest temptation, for Thou wast tempted. Thou knowest sin, for Thou didst bear the weight of it. Thou knowest how to succor me in my hour of conflict; Thou canst save me from sinning and save me when I have sinned. It is promised in Thy very name that Thou wilt do this, and I pray Thee let me this day verify the prophecy. Let me not give way to temper, or pride, or despondency, or any form of evil; but do Thou save me unto holiness of life, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me abundantly.

~Charles Spurgeon~