Obey: June 17, 2013

TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY JUNE 17, 2013

OBEY

DEFINITION:

To comply with the wishes, instruction or commands of; to follow; to respond readily; to submit or conform to.

SCRIPTURE:

Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. James 1:22.

If you obey my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commandments and remain in His love. John 15:9

But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in Him. I John 2:5-6.

What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

This is love that we walk according to His commandments. II John 1:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Obedience is the result of love and loyalty and they cannot be separated. Obedience to God is a demonstration of our love for Him. Obedience is doing what Christ has commanded us to do and living as He wants us to live. Jesus set the example for us. He was obedient to His father and obeyed His commands. By experience we know that obedience brings reward and disobedience has consequences.

We read in Numbers 20:7-12 that Moses struck the rock to get water rather than to just speak to the rock as God commanded him to do. Moses did not obey God and therefore forfeited his privilege of entering the promised land with the children of Israel, whom he had led for years. Think how painful it must have been for Moses after leading the Israelites out of Egypt and all through the wilderness for forty years and then not to be able to enter the promised land with them.

When we obey God, He uses ordinary people to do extra ordinary things. The disciples obeyed when Jesus said: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Mark 1:17. Jesus chose ordinary men to be His disciples and because of their obedience to Jesus they were enabled to do miraculous things.

Trusting and obeying the Lord brings to one's life true happiness. The noted author Philip Yancey wrote: "Obedience to God and only obedience offers the way out of futility." The way of obedience is the way of blessing. We must learn to obey.

Have you noticed that children never need to be taught to disobey?  Disobedience is a result of our sinful nature and each one of us --- parents, teenagers, adults and children --- need to learn to obey.

We learned as we were raising our children that the best way to teach obedience was to first set clearly the standards. Then when these standards were not honored and when we had given fair reminders, we would give an appropriate punishment such as taking away a privilege that was important to the child, for not obeying. The punishment had to have significance in the child's mind, so it had to be painful. We also learned that it did not help to yell or threaten; this only built up resentment and never had good results. When giving out punishment for not obeying it is very important to be consistent as well.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 1:7:

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

PRAYER

Help me this day to obey Your Word and to be faithful in studying Your Word so that I may do a better job of obeying Your commands. Enable me to first personally understand and then to help my children to understand the importance of being obedient to God's Word. Protect my children from being led astray by the temptations of Satan.