Tag: obedience

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Four Passes Before a Shot

Daily Reading

Leviticus 8-10

Daily Thought

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1). I’m not sure what the fire was, but it was wrong. So God sent his own fire, not to consume the offering, but to consume the offerers, “and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord”  (Leviticus 10:2). God not only desires obedience, he demands it, especially from priests.

In the movie Hoosiers, Coach Dale had rules if you wanted to play basketball on his team. One was “Four passes before a shot.” By the end of the season, the discipline would make champions of the Hickory High basketball team, but early on, it made them boring, so one of the stars decided he knew better than the coach. He ignored the rule and started shooting instead of passing. He made some baskets. He got Hickory High back into the game. He excited the crowd. He infuriated the coach, and he got benched.

Near the end of the game, a Hickory high player fouled out, leaving four on the floor. “You need a fifth,” the referee informed the coach, and the disobedient star, the only player available, jumped up, ready to re-enter the game. Coach Dale sat him back down. “My team is on the floor.”

That’s what God said, with more emphasis (fire out of heaven and all that); “See those players who do what I say, they are my team.”

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.”  ~1Samuel 15:22

Daily Prayer

Lord God, thank You for Your Word. It lights my path, and shows me how to live. It teaches me Your ways.

God, I tell You I love You. Let me show You, as well, by obeying everything You have taught me, by not only reading Your Word, but doing it.

Amen

Daily Question

How can people tell you are on God’s team?

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Details

Daily Reading

Exodus 39-40

Daily Thought

Reading through Exodus would not take as long if Moses would stop repeating himself. He wrote God’s instructions, such as “make the ark of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, with four rings of gold and poles of acacia wood, to these exact dimensions” (Exodus 25:10-14), then he repeated the same instructions with the Israelite’s obedience, “We made the ark of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, with four rings of gold and poles of acacia wood, to these exact dimensions” (Exodus 37:1-5). Moses wrote how God wanted the tabernacle designed, then he wrote everything all over again when he described how they built it. All the details, over and over, repeating the same words. What God commanded and what the people did in response were the same. That is obedience.

Moses and the people of Israel were learning to obey God, down to the very details. “This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did” (Exodus 40:16). Moses wanted this emphasized to the Israelites (and to us), so he repeated the details, because the details are important.

Many centuries later, Jesus said, “”If you love me, you will keep my commandments”  (John 14:15). His final instructions to his disciples included, “make disciples …teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). One of his disciples, John, reminds us, “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1John 2:3). Right down to the details. 

Daily Prayer

My Lord my God, Your ways are so good. They take me the right direction in life. It baffles me why I don’t follow them always, because when I get off Your path, I find myself in trouble. The best advice is to obey You first. After that, I can tell me You my problems. Help me keep my eyes on You. Remind me that I belong to Your Kingdom, not to this world.

I pray, God, that I would shine Your glory into a dark world that needs the light. Like salt, that I would bring out the best and preserve goodness. To do this, Father, I must love Your Word and follow it. May I be as devoted to you as you are devoted to me already. May I delight in you as you delight in me already. May I love because you first loved me.

Amen

Daily Question

Can you love God without obeying God? Why or why not?

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Pride

Daily Reading

Genesis 8-11

Daily Thought

Debbie and I were staring into the sun watching our 7-year-old’s soccer game. I had a hat, Debbie didn’t. She wished she had one, though, and thought she left one in the car, so I hiked to the car and looked and found no hat. Taking off my hat, I returned to the sidelines, and put it on her head. She thanked me for getting her hat, and did not notice I was missing mine. She never noticed. Finally, after the game, we walked to the car and I opened her door, and as she got in, I took my hat off her head and put it back on mine. Now she noticed. 

God favors us when we do what is good regardless of the glory, but I wanted the recognition and was willing to trade God’s blessing for it. It is a sin called pride.

After God rescued the family of Noah from the Flood, God repeated the command he had given first to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). This was God’s plan for us, but again, we disobeyed. “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:4). We learned nothing from the Flood.

God created humanity and commanded us to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28; 9:1). He created us to worship Him and rule the world. But the people of Babel said, “No thanks. We’d rather stay in Babel and make a name for ourselves.” They wanted the recognition and they were willing to trade God’s favor for it. 

God made us in His image, reflecting His glory, but we prefer our own, and God’s image is dulled. We pay a terrible price for our pride.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, God of glory, You are so very much worthy of my devotion and praise. I see Your handiwork in creation, I sense Your majesty in myself made in Your image. But most of all, I see You in Your Son, Jesus Christ. The authority of heaven blended with the humility of grace. Born in a manger, died on a cross, You rule on the throne of heaven.

May I follow You so closely that Your ways become mine. To be first, be last. To serve rather than be served. To be a praise giver, not a getter. To love You and others.

Amen

Daily Question

What is an area of pride in your life that you know God isn’t happy with, and what can you do about it?

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Abba Father

Daily Reading

Romans 8-10

Daily Thought

I love when one of my children calls me “Daddy.” My boys started calling me “Dave.” They thought it was cute. All my kids call me “Dave” when I do something ridiculous, “Way to go, Dave.” I guess I deserve that. But “Daddy,” when I hear that word, I turn and smile and the one who said it has my undivided attention. 

“You have received the Spirit of adoption as children, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15). “Abba” is like calling God “Daddy.” My grandkids call me “Bapa.” Same thing. It is a special relationship, intimate, close.

The night before Jesus would go to the cross, he is in a garden in Jerusalem called Gethsemane, praying to his heavenly Father. We get to listen. “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). You can hear the intimacy. This isn’t “our Father who art in heaven,” this is “Daddy” and a deep sigh, and Jesus is ready to do whatever his Father says.

We can pray to God like that, too. We share the same intimacy as Jesus–“we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17)–like children with their daddy, that special, personal, unique relationship. That kind of relationship where you can run up to God and lift your arms up and get wrapped up in his. You are never interrupting, because nothing else is as important to your daddy. 

I never start prayer with, “Hey God, you got a minute.” Children don’t ask that. My children never considered my time because they know I always have time for them. 

That’s God. We talk to our Father with confidence because we know when we pray, he swipes all the paperwork to the side, turns his chair toward us, lifts us up on his lap, and he listens. And I am ready to do whatever he says.

Daily Prayer

Abba Father, You left Your throne and looked for me and found me and saved me and brought me into your family. I am Your child. I wasn’t even looking for You. You came to seek and to save the lost and that was me. Your love is amazing. 

I love this intimacy, that I can climb on Your lap and You are mine and I am Yours. You love me and I love You back and trust You and I am ready to do whatever You say.

Amen

Daily Question

What do you call your father and what does that indicate about your relationship with him?

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Do What You Can’t

Daily Reading

Acts 14-15

Daily Thought

Paul and Barnabas arrived at Iconium and spoke of Jesus in the synagogue and many believed, both Jew and Gentile, “but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds” (Acts 14:2) and the city became divided. Those against threatened to stone Paul and Barnabas, so the disciples fled to Lystra, where they spoke again of Jesus, and did miracles, too. The people began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes and worshiped them rather than the Savior they spoke of and the gospel of Jesus was drowned out by the people’s passion for their own Greek gods. The Iconium Jews, who had chased them out of their own city, caught up with them here and persuaded the crowd to stone Paul and so they did and dragged him out of the city and left him for dead, but he got right back up and went right back into the city. Like the Energizer Bunny, these disciples kept going and going, traveling from Derbe to Pisidia to Pamphylia to Attalia, finally to Antioch, where they ignored what the cities had done to them and “declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).

Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, is the Savior of the world, and the disciples took the message out of Israel to city and nation, one after another. Like David against Goliath, it never dawned on the disciples they were too small to win the world, so they kept going and people kept believing and the good news of Jesus Christ spread “from Jerusalem to all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). If you decide you cannot do something, you will be right every time, so leave those decisions to God and do whatever he says. You will be amazed what gets done. 

Daily Prayer

My God, may I go as long and as far as You lead, and keep going because You keep leading. Give me the passion and boldness to enter open doors and knock on closed ones. May I burn with the memory of what Your salvation did to my life and fan that flame so Your fire for this world never dies within me.

Keep me encouraged and enthusiastic, faithfully living and speaking grace and truth, and trusting You for changed lives. God, I will stop listening to what I think I cannot do; rather I will listen to what You say I can!

Amen

Daily Question

What should you be doing right now that you don’t think you can?

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Ties and Lies

Daily Reading

1Kings 21-22

Daily Thought

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel, went to war together against the Syrians. Before the battle, however, Jehoshaphat insisted on hearing from God, so Ahab called his 400 prophets, prophets who always told him what he wanted to hear, and they spoke as they always spoke, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king” (1Kings 22:6).

I coached my son’s T-ball team. The parents in charge decided not to keep score in this league. Every game would end in a tie. It will make the kids happy, they said. We played a game and we tied (they said). On the way home in the car, my son frowned, “We lost 8-3.” He knew the score. Every kid knew the score. Of every game. (So did the parents.) 

“So, why did they tell us we tied?” my son frowned. You know what made him sad? The lie, not the score.

Jehoshaphat knew the score. He knew the king’s prophets wanted the king happy. “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 

“Micaiah,” Ahab admitted, “but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” (1Kings 22:7-8). 

He was correct–“The Lord has declared disaster for you,” declared Micaiah (1Kings 22:23). 

When you hear the truth and it is not to your liking, you have two choices: change the truth or change your plans. Ahab preferred to change the truth, but he knew the score. Disaster! Still he decided to fight, “I will disguise myself and go into battle” (1Kings 22:30). Ahab believed the word of the Lord enough to disguise himself, but not enough to change his plans. 

“At evening he died.” ~1Kings 22:35 

Daily Prayer

My Lord and Savior, the Truth is I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I need You. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The world does not like the truth, preferring darkness over light, preferring to hear what they want to hear. We would rather hear that I’m okay and you’re okay, that everything will work out in the end. But it won’t. Telling the Truth is dangerous. You told it anyway, and You were crucified.

But death could not stop the Truth. You rose again, and offered salvation to all who follow You. The Truth sets me free from the power of sin and death. May I love Your Truth, stand for the Truth, desire Truth and share Truth.  I know the score. I am a sinner and I deserve death. I need a Savior. That is the Truth.

Amen

Daily Question

When is it okay, if ever, to change the truth so you can say what others want to hear?

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Obedience

Daily Reading

1Samuel 15-17

Daily Thought

Chapter 15 is the turning point in the life and reign of Saul, as Samuel declares, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (v 23). The chapter ends with tears and regret, “Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel” (v 35).

Saul’s last chance hinged on his obedience to a clear command, a command Saul heard and understood and disregarded. Saul’s own words convict him, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal” (vv 20-21). Saul is passing the blame to the people, but Saul is king, and it was he who kept “the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good” (v 9).

When God devoted the Amalekites to destruction, God meant everything. The Amalekites were a particularly wicked people, avowed enemies of Israel (see Deuteronomy 25:17-19). God’s covenant with Abraham to make him a great nation included the promise, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). The command to Saul was God keeping his promise to Israel. It was a just God dealing with a wicked and evil enemy.

Saul turned God’s justice into plunder for profit. Saul would destroy what was not worth keeping and keep the best. He knew exactly what God commanded, but he thought better and did less. The nation of Israel is called to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Saul bargained for a percentage, “I’ll give you 80%, God.” The 20% Saul kept was his way of showing who was really king. It exposed his heart, and Saul now spoke of the Lord as “your God” (1Samuel 15:21), not his.

Partial obedience is disobedience, and Saul served at God’s pleasure. God was no longer pleased, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1Samuel 15:22).

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, You are awesome. I use that word too often for other things and diminish the word. It belongs to You. I am in awe of Your creation, Your mighty power, Your majesty, Your holiness, and in the midst of all that, Your patience with me.

You are powerful and loving, strength under control, gentle and mighty. You are amazing, and it is You and You alone I worship and follow, fully and always.

Amen

Daily Question

Does God have 100% of your life? If not, how much and why less than 100%?

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A Rare Word

Daily Reading

1Samuel 1-3

Daily Thought

“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men”–God’s Word speaks bluntly–“they did not know the Lord” (1Samuel 2:12). A terrible resume for priests, and Hophni and Phinehas did terrible things for which they both would die on the same day and be replaced by “a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind” (1Samuel 2:35). God raises up this faithful priest, Samuel, in the next chapter.

Chapter 3 begins, “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (v 1); and ends, “and the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (v 21). The Hebrew reads literally, “the Lord appeared increasingly.” There is movement in Israel; God is beginning to visit again. What prompted this is found in the verses between 1 and 21–“Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (v 19). Samuel, yet a boy, displays a heart for God’s Word. He listens for it, he receives it, and he faithfully and fully passes it along to others. “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord” (v 20).

Daily Prayer

Eternal God, You have made me a temple of Your Spirit. You live in me! I pray my words, my actions, my every thought reflect Your character so fully that Your kingdom is made evident to the world, that You are praised because others glimpse heaven. Let not a Word you speak to me fall to the ground.

By Your grace and Your goodness, by Your righteousness and the Holy Spirit who indwells me, may I be filled with Your love. May I listen to Your words, know Your thoughts, follow Your heart, because hearing without doing is not listening. And so in my doing what You say, may others hear Your voice, think your thoughts, and give you their heart.

Amen

Daily Question

How can you best make God’s Word known by the way you live?

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Letting Go

Daily Reading

Deuteronomy 32-34

Daily Thought

Moses, at 120 years old, eyes undimmed and vigor unabated (Deuteronomy 34:7), climbs Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land. He led the people to the threshold, but he will not go in. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there” (Deuteronomy 34:4). Turning the page back to Numbers 20 reminds us why. Moses struck the rock at Maribah instead of speaking to the rock as God instructed him. Because of this, “because you did not believe in me,” God said, “you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them” (Numbers 20:12). After leading the children of Israel for 40 years toward the Promised Land, it is time for someone else to take over. 

Joe Gibbs, three-time Super Bowl champion coach of the Washington Redskins, describes a vital part of his job “as head coach is to be the guy who tells the veterans that their days are over.” Moses’s mission was the quest, not the conquest, and that is another reason God kept Moses from entering Canaan. The people needed a shepherd to guide them to the Land. That was Moses. Now they need a warrior to take the Land. At 120 years old, even with all his vigor, it was not Moses. There are times when letting go is better than leading on. A younger Joshua would take the Land. Moses needed to disappear so all eyes would look to Joshua.

Daily Thought

Wonderful God, Savior, King, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for salvation. Thank You for life everlasting, joy overflowing, grace overwhelming, peace beyond understanding. Thank you for all you have gifted to me. 

May I find my delight always in your desire, my passion in your purpose. May I be ready to lead, to follow, or to pass along to others, the privilege and responsibility of ministry. Your call, God. Anything.

Amen

Daily Question

When is it better to let someone else do a job you want to do?

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Benched

Daily Reading

Deuteronomy 30-31

Daily Thought

When words are repeated, they are often significant. In Deuteronomy 30, “heart” (vv 2, 6, 10, 14, 17), “soul” (vv 2, 6, 10), “command” or “commandment” (vv 2, 8, 10, 11, 16), “turn” or “return” (vv 2, 10, 17), and “life” (vv 15, 19, 20). The message is clear: When God’s people turn from their sins and return with all their heart and soul to God, obeying his commandments, they will enjoy life as only God can give. When they don’t, they won’t. The choice is theirs.

My junior high P.E, coach would watch the class playing dodgeball. At the end of each game, he’d call out several names, and those boys would step forward. “You boys are removed from the rest of the games,” he’d inform them. “You cheated. Go sit on the bench.”

The boys would often object, “You’re kicking me out of dodgeball?!”

“No, I’m not kicking you out. You’ve removed yourself.” countered Coach. “You made it clear you no longer desire to play when you broke the rules. I’m simply granting your wish.”

Daily Prayer

Lord God, Your ways are good. I have choices and I am baffled at how often I choose something other than You. It never works out. God, thank You for Your Word. May I keep it treasured in my heart, ready in my memory on any occasion, to guide me toward righteousness

Thank You for life, for making me alive again when I was born again by Your Son. May I listen, obey, and follow You, as Your Spirit speaks to me. May I always choose life in You.

Amen

Daily Question

Do you find that breaking the rules makes you more successful or less successful?