| October Devotion |
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Happy Fall Beloved!
I trust you are all doing well. The last few months have been very busy for me with school
starting for the little ones again. We have been talking about Obedience. Being obedient
should not be difficult for us. It should actually come easy because obedience is an act of
love. BUT…our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. Why is it that the easiest thing to do,
the act of submission that prevents us from harm and making huge mistakes is often the
most difficult thing to do. Well, I believe there are two main reasons we find obedience so
difficult. The first is pride and the second is peer pressure.
Pride…is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as an unduly high opinion of oneself. When it
comes to living our lives, our pride screams:
• I know what is best for me.
• Don’t tell me what to do!
• Your not the boss of me!
• It’s my life, I’ll do what I please.
Pride prevents us from realizing that God simply wants the best for us. God can see the
future and He can see how that decision, or course of action we are about to make can
dramatically alter our lives. If you have a birds eye view, you see the lay of the land. You can
see ahead and you know what pitfalls there may be in the path ahead. When your vision is
limited, as ours is, you can only see a short distance ahead. Perhaps that is why the bible
warns “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV) and
Proverbs 18: 12 (NIV) says “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud…” The message is
clear our pride can be a destructive force in our lives.
Pride brings God’s judgment. In Psalm 119:21 (NIV) David says, “You rebuke the arrogant,
who are cursed and who stray from your commands.” James 4:6 (NIV) goes on to say that
“God opposes the proud.” The Greek translation of the word opposes here means, “to range
in battle against.” I don’t know about you but one is sure, I do not want to do battle with
God. This verse brings to mind the battles that Jesus had with the Pharisee’s. Their pride
would not allow them to see that Jesus was the Messiah… “…yet you refuse to come to me to
have life.” (John 5:40) Ultimately pride results in separation from God. Why? Prideful
people have trouble picturing themselves as a servant…and that is what we all are, servants of
the living God. My life is not my own it was bought with a price…for that I am grateful and
out of that love and gratitude comes a desire to my best to obey God. Go back to James 4:6
(NIV) which says, “God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble.” God in His love
gives us grace…He gives us favor. We can be sure that if He asks something of us, it is for
our best because we have His favor. I only wished I would have realized years ago that God’s
commands were not burdensome, but there to prevent the heavy burden of wrong choices.
The second reason that we have difficulty with obedience is peer pressure. 1 Corinthians 15:
33 (NIV) warns us…“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” Proverbs 24:1
(NIV) adds “Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot
violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.” There are times in my life when it was
more important for me to fit in than it was for me to obey. I admit that I went through a
stage where I wanted to be liked. So I became a people pleaser, and fell in with a crowd that I
know was not God’s best for me. As a result, I made some bad decisions. Now I am not
blaming those decisions on the people I was hanging around with, but I am saying they
influenced my choices, but the choice was still ultimately mine. If you have or are feeling the
pressure to do the “cool” or the “in” thing let me warn you…stop right now and pray that God
would give you the grace to make the right decision. Ask Him to show you His best for
situation you are facing. Don’t let your temporary desire to please people, overcome your
heart to please God. (Galatians 1:10)
Beloved, God loves you. He will never ask anything of you that He will not give you the
strength to do…including obey. If you are having trouble in this area, pray for grace, pray
that God will help you overcome any doubt or fear. And then:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all our ways
acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Psalm 3:5-6
Until next time – Love you guys - CJ
Lord God,
You are amazing! I’m so glad that you see our future and you know what is best for us. We
trust that you want only the best for us. I know this is a hard topic. I know that I fall so
short in this area. Lord, I pray that you would give me and everyone else struggling to live a
life of obedience the courage and grace to obey you. I pray for special areas of struggle that
you would show yourself powerful on behalf of your children. That we would grow in the area
of self-control. Lord you know that we are weak…strengthen us…we want to obey you…we
want to live a life that please you. We seek your help in doing so. Father we love you. In
Jesus name - Amen
I trust you are all doing well. The last few months have been very busy for me with school
starting for the little ones again. We have been talking about Obedience. Being obedient
should not be difficult for us. It should actually come easy because obedience is an act of
love. BUT…our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. Why is it that the easiest thing to do,
the act of submission that prevents us from harm and making huge mistakes is often the
most difficult thing to do. Well, I believe there are two main reasons we find obedience so
difficult. The first is pride and the second is peer pressure.
Pride…is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as an unduly high opinion of oneself. When it
comes to living our lives, our pride screams:
• I know what is best for me.
• Don’t tell me what to do!
• Your not the boss of me!
• It’s my life, I’ll do what I please.
Pride prevents us from realizing that God simply wants the best for us. God can see the
future and He can see how that decision, or course of action we are about to make can
dramatically alter our lives. If you have a birds eye view, you see the lay of the land. You can
see ahead and you know what pitfalls there may be in the path ahead. When your vision is
limited, as ours is, you can only see a short distance ahead. Perhaps that is why the bible
warns “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV) and
Proverbs 18: 12 (NIV) says “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud…” The message is
clear our pride can be a destructive force in our lives.
Pride brings God’s judgment. In Psalm 119:21 (NIV) David says, “You rebuke the arrogant,
who are cursed and who stray from your commands.” James 4:6 (NIV) goes on to say that
“God opposes the proud.” The Greek translation of the word opposes here means, “to range
in battle against.” I don’t know about you but one is sure, I do not want to do battle with
God. This verse brings to mind the battles that Jesus had with the Pharisee’s. Their pride
would not allow them to see that Jesus was the Messiah… “…yet you refuse to come to me to
have life.” (John 5:40) Ultimately pride results in separation from God. Why? Prideful
people have trouble picturing themselves as a servant…and that is what we all are, servants of
the living God. My life is not my own it was bought with a price…for that I am grateful and
out of that love and gratitude comes a desire to my best to obey God. Go back to James 4:6
(NIV) which says, “God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble.” God in His love
gives us grace…He gives us favor. We can be sure that if He asks something of us, it is for
our best because we have His favor. I only wished I would have realized years ago that God’s
commands were not burdensome, but there to prevent the heavy burden of wrong choices.
The second reason that we have difficulty with obedience is peer pressure. 1 Corinthians 15:
33 (NIV) warns us…“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” Proverbs 24:1
(NIV) adds “Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot
violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.” There are times in my life when it was
more important for me to fit in than it was for me to obey. I admit that I went through a
stage where I wanted to be liked. So I became a people pleaser, and fell in with a crowd that I
know was not God’s best for me. As a result, I made some bad decisions. Now I am not
blaming those decisions on the people I was hanging around with, but I am saying they
influenced my choices, but the choice was still ultimately mine. If you have or are feeling the
pressure to do the “cool” or the “in” thing let me warn you…stop right now and pray that God
would give you the grace to make the right decision. Ask Him to show you His best for
situation you are facing. Don’t let your temporary desire to please people, overcome your
heart to please God. (Galatians 1:10)
Beloved, God loves you. He will never ask anything of you that He will not give you the
strength to do…including obey. If you are having trouble in this area, pray for grace, pray
that God will help you overcome any doubt or fear. And then:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all our ways
acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Psalm 3:5-6
Until next time – Love you guys - CJ
Lord God,
You are amazing! I’m so glad that you see our future and you know what is best for us. We
trust that you want only the best for us. I know this is a hard topic. I know that I fall so
short in this area. Lord, I pray that you would give me and everyone else struggling to live a
life of obedience the courage and grace to obey you. I pray for special areas of struggle that
you would show yourself powerful on behalf of your children. That we would grow in the area
of self-control. Lord you know that we are weak…strengthen us…we want to obey you…we
want to live a life that please you. We seek your help in doing so. Father we love you. In
Jesus name - Amen
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