But
Peter and the apostles answered,
“We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts
5:29
Thoughts~
My long ago past is littered with pink slips of
disobedience. I understand how Paul feels when He talks about what a sinful
life he lived. Count me in, Paul! I’m right there with you. When I reflect on
how I lived, even though I was a believer,
I wonder how I survived those days where I did my own thing and ignored God’s
word. Yes, I was saved, but, did I trust the Lord? Did I follow Him? Did I obey
Him? Absolutely not. I was sowing my wild oats and God allowed me all the room
I wanted.
Even as I write this blog post, I am cringing at some
of the ways I ignored God. And I am so incredibly thankful for His forgiveness.
He is Holy and God hates sin. Again, GOD HATES SIN!
And as long as we continue sinning, He is often going to allow us the freedom to
sin because we are not robots wired to say yes. We have been given free will;
to choose Jesus as our Savior or reject Him. To say “Yes, God, I will obey You”
or “No, sorry Lord, my way is more fun. You are kind of old fashioned, you
know.”
Sin isn’t talked about much in many churches today. The
church staff worries that if too much sin is mentioned, people will not feel
good after the service is over. They worry about people being comfortable and
happy. They worry that the word “obey” turns people off. They worry about
numbers.
God doesn’t worry about numbers in church. He knows the true hearts of every single
person that is sitting in every single church pew or chair around the
world. He knows who is pretending to
love Him and who really does. He knows
who is there for free coffee, donuts and a fluff sermon and who is there to
grow in the word of God. He knows. He
sees. He forgives. And He wants us to stop sinning. He wants us to obey Him.
Action~
It’s important to listen to the word of God and know
that every single word was inspired by God. Not just some of it. There is no
compromising when it comes to God’s word. Trust me on this: Paul and I have
been there and it isn’t pretty.
Now is the time for you
to listen to God. The Holy Spirit is alive
in believer’s hearts and He will show you what needs to be changed in your
life. He will show you were you are not
obeying and where you are compromising. This may hurt your feelings but I wish
someone has talked to me a long time ago.
I wasted years of my life living apart from God even though I was saved.
I was a lukewarm Christian who did not care what God had to say. God since has
certainly used my story for His glory when I share my testimony, but those years
I would rather forget and still live with the consequences.
Ask yourself if you are obeying God or man.
Pray~
Father, I know what obedience is and I want to follow
You and not live by my own whims. Thank You for forgiving me for my
disobedience. Give me Your power and strength to live an abundant life. Give me
a new bounce to my step, a joyful love for Your word.
Trusting in Him,
Becky
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