The Overwhelming Importance of OBEDIENCE in a Believer’s Life!

04 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 John 5:3.       For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).

Well friends, it’s a sunshiny, chilly, windy and white lazy-day Saturday! The snow’s not an awful lot, but enough to make life difficult if you choose to venture out. So, it’s as good a time as any to stay home…unless you really have to go out. Stay home, look out your window, and admire the bright sunshine reflecting off of the beautiful snow. And snow is definitely beautiful… that’s before it comes into contact with man. But that’s no surprise, since man spoils and destroys everything he touches. 

Anyway, enough with man’s negative touch, let’s get positive and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And as always, if we’re sincere in our prayer, then the peace and calmness of God soon begins filling our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. That’s the awesome power of sincere prayer! And hopefully, in this new year of 2025, we will all rise to a new level of sincerity in our prayer, since we’ve made it our New Year’s resolution to grow in spiritual maturity and gain a greater intimacy with our most wonderful God! And it all begins with sincerity of prayer and a faithful, willing and obedient heart. 

Yes friends, living for Christ is all about obedience! And what’s obedience eh? It’s basically compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority. Or, as another definition puts it: ‘Obedience is behavior that’s respectful and mindful of rules and laws.’ And that’s it; obedience is doing the appropriate thing in the appropriate manner, at the appropriate time. (smile) 

And according to one commentary, there are four basic kinds of obedience: ‘Obedience done out of fear of punishment. Learned obedience, formed out of habit taught by parents or society. Transactional obedience for the blessings, benefits, and rewards. Obedience performed as a responsibility of duty, obligation, and faith.’ And I guess our obedience to God can be a combination of the last three, because we are taught it by our parents, we do it to receive rewards and blessings, and it’s a responsibility of our faith. 

But enough with definitions, let’s see what the Lord’s Word says about obedience. And brother, there are indeed so many scriptures that speak about the subject, that we can only consider a few. However, let’s first note this important point; obedience is the key to unlocking the promises of God. Let’s never forget that! Unless we are obedient to God’s will, we will never unlock the promises and blessings He has in store for us. 

And it all begins very early on, as the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness to the Promised land, with Moses informing them thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:1-2) 

Oh my people, it could not be any clearer than that! And Moses goes on to list blessings from verse 3 to verse 14. However, he listed curses and misfortunes for disobedience from verse 15 to verse 68. Now that surely tells us how important obedience is in the Lord’s sight. And the basic commandments were given to them at the foot of Mt. Sinai when Moses came down with the two tablets of stone written on by the Lord, containing what we call The Ten Commandments, which we can find in Exodus 20:1-17. 

And if you look at them, they are not really hard to obey, as John tells us in his first epistle: ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).’ (1 John 5:3) But with our sinful and prideful nature, we take umbrage at obeying some of them. But that’s only to our own detriment. And if our society were to follow those same Ten Commandments today, it would be such a wonderful place. 

And please note that every time the Israelites veered from those commandments, they suffered terrible misfortune; wars, captivity, plagues, etc. etc. And when they came to their senses, repented and turned back to God, He blessed them again. This is just to say, that maybe, if we repent and turn back to God, He will bless us, and our world would not be as strife and disaster filled as it is. For there is absolutely no doubt that we have turned away from God, so far away, that we are attempting to totally remove Him for our society. Which anyone of faith knows is impossible! 

And Jesus also said it loud and clear to the disciples, and consequently to us: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) It’s as simple as that! And it’s obvious by our lack of obedience that we don’t LOVE Him! Meanwhile, Bruh Paul admonishes us in Romans 6, when he writes: ‘Know ye not, that to whom ye yield (present) yourselves servants to obey, his servants (slaves) ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.’ (Rom. 6:16) Yes, we’re either slaves to Satan which leads to eternal death, or obedient to the Lord, which leads to eternal life. 

And remember when Peter and the other apostles were imprisoned and beaten by the Jewish leaders and severely warned to stop preaching Christ crucified, what was their answer? ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ (Acts 5:29) Now that would be such a welcome sight in this society, if more of us would begin obeying God more than men. 

And there’s no better example of obedience that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Listen to Bruh Paul as he writes to the Philippians. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made of himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied himself of all his privileges): 

And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:5-11) 

Oh my fellow saints, Christ was the very example of obedience! Do you think He really wanted to go to the cross and experience that terrible ‘sufferation’ for our abominable sins? No! But because the Father desired it, He became obedient and did it. And yuh see the rewards He received for that obedience? A name higher than any other name, at which every knee must someday bow! In light of all that, why can’t we sacrifice a little more and be obedient to God’s commands eh? Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not His! Much LOVE!

…though he were a son…yet learned he obedience…by the things he suffered… (Heb. 5:8)  

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   3 January 2024 John 14:15.

03 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 14:15.        If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.

Well, at long last all the holiday celebrations are over and we can get back to reality; the reality of real life, of mundane, same old, same old days of working! And furthermore of working to pay all the bills we’ve incurred during the long time of festivities. (smile) I’m sure some of us will be moaning and groaning when we see the credit cards bills come in later this month, somewhat belatedly asking ourselves why we had to buy all that unnecessary stuff. But them’s the breaks my brethren, if you dance to the piper, then you’ve got to pay for his tunes. (smile) 

But not to worry, this is the year that we will all get wise and sensible, because we will all buckle down and live for Jesus. Yes, friends, we’ll put all of our efforts into living for Jesus, just getting more intimate with Him day by day. And that way we won’t be worried about our bills or any of the other things that might come against us, for in Jesus’ arms we’ll be safe and secure! He will guide us in the right way, through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us to be our Guide, Leader and Comforter. 

However, to accomplish that, we need to LISTEN to His guidance and then FOLLOW it! That’s what’s been holding us back all this time, for even when we hear the Spirit’s guidance most of us don’t follow it. So how do we expect to experience the abundant life that Christ died for us to have eh? Remember this whole Christian business is basically about obedience! You can believe, but if you don’t obey, then you’re rebellious and thus sinful! Remember Jesus’ warning words? ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) 

That’s oh so plain and straight forward my people! LOVE demands certain obligations! Even in our human relationships, when we claim to LOVE someone, there are things we must do for and to them. LOVE calls for sacrifice! Sacrifice like Jesus made on our behalf. And talking about obedience, Jesus again showed us the way. 

Listen to Bruh Paul in his letter to the Philippians ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, (emptied himself of all his godly privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8) 

Yes my fellow believers, Jesus came to earth as man, but didn’t invoke all His divine privileges, instead he gave them up and lived like the human being he’d become, like us, and was completely obedient to the Father, even to going to the cross that He had no real desire to do. but the Father required it of Him, and His great LOVE for the Father caused Him to do it. It’s the same way that He expects our great LOVE for Him to cause us to obey His desires. 

And furthermore, on the topic of Jesus’ obedience, hear how the author of Hebrews puts it. ‘Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.’ (Heb. 5:8-9) Yuh see that my fellow saints, though Jesus was God’s Son, He still learned the reality of the hard human way by the suffering He underwent, even to His sacrificial atoning death on the cross of Calvary, which gave Him the authority to become our Saviour and our giver of eternal life. 

And I like this explanation re Jesus’ suffering and obedience put forward by John Piper. “He learned obedience” means that Jesus moved from untested obedience into suffering, and then through suffering into tested and proven obedience. If you think about it, if you are good enough, you can learn a new task without failing. And the new task that Jesus had to learn every hour, especially at the end of his life was: Can I endure this suffering that I have never experienced before, this new obedience that I have never performed before in the history of the universe? Can I learn and do this perfectly without failing, without falling into unbelief and murmuring? 

And the answer of Hebrews is yes. He could and he did. He learned obedience in what he suffered, and he never, never, never failed once in the process of perfect learning, proven, tested obedience. In all of Jesus’s suffering, he was being tested. Would he add obedience to obedience until he had grown into the complete, perfect, tested man, that is, the man who had been fully and completely proven and who had responded with perfect obedience, so that he could be described as fully perfected, not meaning that he passed from sinfulness to sinlessness, but that he passed from untested obedience to fully tested obedience? 

And I think the answer to Chris’s question about what Jesus was moving toward is not merely that he was moving toward a completed, tested perfection, but that he was moving toward fulfilling a perfect salvation for us sinners. Remember Hebrews 2:10 goes like this: “It was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” 

Yes sir! Jesus became the perfect person to be the author of our salvation through His suffering and obedience though being sinless. And if there’s one thing we cannot say about Jesus is that He came to earth and lived the easy life that His godly privileges entitled Him to! No way! He abrogated, revoked, rescinded those things that would have given Him the easy life and chose to see the true reality of life on earth through His own eyes and servanthood. 

That’s why when we say we LOVE Him we shouldn’t be just paying lip service, but actually following His example of LOVE for the Father, doing what was required of Him. And please remember that Jesus will NEVER ask us to do more than He did, or not help us to do whatever He asks of us! That’s the very foundation of our Christian faith! and until we truly believe that and act upon it, our faith will be really worthless. 

Now, let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we endure to the very end with Jesus, then it’s been promised that that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask of imagine! So let’s plan to be there right at the very end nuh! That’s eternal wisdom! Much LOVE!

…LOVE is the greatest attribute…but it also calls for great sacrifice and total obedience…that’s just the nature of LOVE… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ                     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 December 2023 Luke 18:1.

05 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luke 18:1.       And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).

And then it was Tuesday…another Monday has gone flying into the annals of History; a day which most of us will forget as the excitement of Christmas Season overtakes us. But a strange and confusing thought just entered my head: most of our world is in sad and disastrous conflict, but nonetheless, we’re still able to celebrate Christmas with gifts, food, joy and all the other things that are associated with the season. And it doesn’t seem to matter either that a large portion of our world is finding it difficult to find shelter and food, in fact many are homeless and starving, but yet still we amplify our needs and create more waste than ever during this period. 

And I can’t help but wonder if this is the way to celebrate Christ’s birth with excessive celebrations when so many have nowhere to rest their weary heads and can’t put a nourishing bite of food in their mouths. Under those situations, I ask, would this be the way that Jesus wants us to celebrate His incarnate birth? Remember He came to serve, to serve the poor, the sick and the downtrodden, and to save the lost. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) 

In light of all that, how would He feel if He came to earth now and saw the many unfortunates that so dreadfully blot or darken our world, even in the supposed first world economies, but we who have more than enough are celebrating His birth like crazy? Truly I don’t know. And please note, I’m not casting aspersions or being judgemental or anything of the sort, I’m just throwing out a question that happened to fill my thoughts. (smile) And then again, would Jesus be thrilled with all the worldly things we do to celebrate His birth; the way it’s become a secular time instead of a religious occasion? Possibly not. 

All I’m saying here is that with so much sadness and misery in our world, many of us are still going over the top in celebrations, when we should be paying more attention to the poor, downtrodden and sick, the way that Jesus desires us to do. Oh yes, at this time of year, we make a fuss, a token action to salve our consciences, by trying to get gifts and food for some of the unfortunate ones, but what happens to then the rest of the year eh?  Doesn’t our consciences bother us for the other eleven months? Apparently not. 

Ah mih people, I guess the ole fella is just in a philosophical mood this morning, considering the chaotic state of our world with both numerous man-made and natural disasters ripping through it, like there was no tomorrow. And as I opened the Good Book just now, it opened up unto an interesting scripture. ‘And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) 

And I guess that’s exactly what we are called upon to do right now in these turbulent and calamitous times; pray, and not lose heart, don’t be discouraged, hold on steadily and strongly to our faith in Christ Jesus, because that’s the ONLY thing that will get us safely and securely through these raging storms of life!  Yes friends, without strong and sincere faith in Christ we’ll be lost. Tossed to and fro in the stormy sea of life, and eventually sink to the bottom in desperate agony, for there is no help to be had except in the company of Jesus. 

And He said it as simply and plainly as possible. ‘He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself (of my own authority); but the Father which sent me; he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so speak I.’ (John 12:44-50) 

Yuh see my fellow saints, Jesus wasn’t even acting on His own authority, but on the Father’s, who gave Him a commandment, a job to do, which He did with obedience and excellence, although it was a very tough row to hoe. The author of Hebrews tells us of Jesus: ‘Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, (in the Garden of Gethsemane) and was heard in that he feared (because of His godly fear); Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.’ (Heb. 5:7-9) 

Oh my people, yuh see that! Although Jesus was the Son of God, in His fleshly state He still had to learn obedience and did so from the things He suffered. The same thing goes for us; to be His follower, we need to obey Him, be obedient even to death, if necessary. Thankfully, He won’t ask many of us to give up our lives for Him, but theoretically we should be prepared to do so. 

Now, for those of us who are sincerely trying to be obedient to Christ’s word, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that proclamation, we must now go out and share the awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…the three basic actions of a believer…obedience…obedience…obedience… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ      

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 March 2020 Hebrews 5:8.

28 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 5:8.    ​Though he were a Son, yet  learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
 
Awright mih bredrin, it’s Saturday, so let’s get busy! And I hear a hoarse groan and sad chuckle, as they ask: ‘Busy doing what eh? The same boring things we’ve been doing for the last how long?’ And I have to answer: ‘I guess so. What else yuh going to do eh? Go out the street and walk around, go to work, go to the park or the supermarket? Yes and no to all of them!’ (smile) Ah friends, it’s indeed a sad time, but also a rather important time of learning; of learning to get along with ourselves, our families and the world around us. 

This time of isolation isn’t just for helping us to stay healthy, but also for learning the Lord’s most important attribute; that of LOVE! For it’s LOVE that truly keeps us going: LOVE for ourselves, our friends and families, the world, and most importantly for God! And I believe our LOVE tank was very near empty, especially in our reverence for God, that’s why we’ve found ourselves in this untenable situation. Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s proceed to consider the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

And the first one is certainly interesting: ‘If God gives you something you can do, why in God’s name wouldn’t you do it?’ Now that’s a very good question. And I’m being the devil’s advocate here, understanding the operative words to be ‘can do.’ (smile) If you are a believer and God gives you something you can do, why not do it eh? And I guess most of us have no real, sincere, justified answer. We might have a lot of excuses, but no good reason to not do His will. It’s not like He’s given you something that seems impossible. And even then, please remember that our wise and wonderful God, NEVER gives us anything to do without the wherewithal to do it. Matter fix! 

And this next quote is tied into the first: ‘You can’t fulfill your calling in your comfort zone!’ And that’s a fact! For our calling always requires us to get up off of our fat fannies and do something that takes some effort. You can’t just lie back and expect to do what is expected without some blood, sweat and tears. Please remember these reassuring, but also galvanizing words from Jesus: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Now when you add those marvellous words of our Lord and Saviour to the facts above, that God never gives us something to do without giving us the tools to do them through the awesome power of His Holy Spirit, then we should have no hesitation in getting up and doing what we’re called to do, since we have the assurance and strength of our omnipotent Triune Deity! That leads us into this next quote: ‘If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.’ That’s gospel truth my people! 

And we not talking about Jesus’ comment that what you put in you won’t defile you, but what comes out of you. (Matt. 15:17-20) But we’re referring to the dreams and desires and plans that the Lord has put in your personal portfolio. Yes, the Lord has a special and separate plan for each life He creates, and unless we fulfill that plan, we’re doomed to an unfulfilled life that could eventually include spiritual destruction and hellfire. That’s why it’s oh so important to know, and to hold on tightly to these words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) 

Oh friends, if we don’t know that scripture and believe it with every fibre of our being, then we have nothing to really serve as a proper foundation and give us the hope and faith to carry on regardless of whatever happens. And in effect, our lives would have been worthless. But when we accept the Lord promises and all that he has to offer then our lives blossom and good fruit is produced for His kingdom. For as the next quote tells us: ‘I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.’ 

And that’s more awesome gospel truth my believing brethren! We can only conquer this evil world when the fire in us burns brighter and hotter and longer than that of the world! And remember Jesus said that the world is full of tribulation but in Him we can find peace since he’s overcome hell death and the grave… And all His followers declared a loud and proud: ‘Thank You Jesus!’ And John reassures us of this fact when he reminds us: ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them (the spirits of the antichrist): because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) 

Mama Mia! That’s why the fire inside believers burns brighter than that that’s in the world: our Lord and Saviour, through his Holy Spirit dwells within us and He’s a million times stronger and hotter than Beelzebub who rules over the world! Thus we come to this last quote: ‘Grow through what you go through.’ And that’s the motto for the true believer. You can only grow when you go through something that flexes your muscles; physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. Without a testing of our strength and endurance, there is NO GROWTH! 

So for those of us who want to grow in faith and do great things for Christ without going through some rough and struggling times, forget it. Even Jesus, though he was the Son of God went through serious ‘sufferation.’ As Hebrews so plainly puts it: ‘Though he were a Son, yet  learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.’ (Heb. 5:8-9) Yes my people, we can only learn obedience by going through things that challenge our sinful fleshly nature. 

And remember that Jesus though God, was also fully man, so His man side had to learn by going through tough times. And that’s why now, since He knows and has experienced the same things we experience, He is fit and capable to sit beside the Father’s throne and advocate on our behalf. Yes, living a life for Jesus is not easy, but following His obedient example and with His strength and power, we can become good and solid Christians and make this evil world a better place! Much LOVE!

…only a few of us will suffer like Jesus…but ALL of us will suffer some…