All in Obedience
Perhaps you’ve sung the song Holy Ground at some point. If so, did you feel like you were on holy ground? Sometimes I feel it more when I’m singing to the Lord, looking at the expansive ocean waters or a mountain range, or spending time with Jesus on my deck.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to only have God’s Word shared orally? No written scripture to study and memorize? What if no one had ever taken God’s words and written them down so that we have a physical Bible?
God calls people in every generation to proclaim His truth. Noah preached righteousness. Moses proclaimed God’s laws. Paul carried the gospel to the Gentiles. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Graham have boldly proclaimed the truth of Jesus to recent generations.
I have a friend who is gifted with thoughtfulness. Every time I see her, she has a little gift for me.
Remember when your mom said, If you ____ (fill in the blank), then I will____ (fill in the blank)? It depends on the if what the then would be. Then depends on what you did with the if. Joyful or painful! Blessing or curse.
I still remember that sweltering sunny day. As a child, picking strawberries was one of my favorite summer outings. I loved walking the aisles, eyeing the perfect berry and plucking it off the bush. As we began, I distinctly remember my mother’s instructions.No tasting the berries before we pay. That’s stealing.
Do you find yourself having self-control in some areas of your life, but others not so much? I know I do. Sometimes I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I go up and up feeling like I have made so much progress and then, bam, down I go at a much faster pace than I went up.
A loud thump on our front door shattered our peace and quiet as we relaxed one evening. We looked but could not find anything. Before the evening expired my husband had ordered a ring doorbell for our front porch.
With a ring doorbell a person gets messages on their phone to alert them of any movement picked up on the front porch camera. The message displayed: “There is motion at your front Door.”
What makes you feel ashamed? I hate making dumb mistakes, like smarting off without thinking before I speak. In the past, I made many choices that I’m ashamed of. And I still do today if I don’t set my heart on Jesus.
Well, Hosea did as God told him to and married Gomer. She conceived and bore him a son, a daughter, and another son (1:3). Then things went awry. Gomer became restless, in spite of the love of Hosea: “I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink” (2:5). She had totally forgotten who had rescued her, protected her, loved her, and supplied all her needs.
Ah, January—fun fact: “January was named for the Roman god Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways which symbolize beginnings and endings. Janus is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other with the ability to see into the future” (almanac.com). Time to put on our two faces of Janus this week and dig into the book of Hosea to build some godly wisdom for 2024.
As we waited in our spot by the curb for the annual Christmas parade, our two-and-a-half-year-old grandson grew impatient. I tried to tell him about all of the cool lights and sights the parade promised, but to no avail. I could not believe it when he came up with an excuse for why he would not enjoy the event.
While these words have meaning and benefit in our relationship with others, I hear God prompting me to be quick to listen to his voice through His word….to be eager to hear, believing that all is profitable to me and glorifies God. This speaks of a hunger that drives me to Scripture for satisfaction.
Have you ever noticed how God speaks in multiple ways when He is trying to get a point across to us? Often when I read scripture and God reveals a new truth, or reminds me of something He previously revealed and I have ignored, I begin to see the same truth in other ways.
Have you read a note to yourself from the past and later… it spoke to you in a new way?
This happens to me sometimes.
As I write to encourage others, months later the same message has a new meaning to me.
As a child, I remember the pastor referring to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. Since Casper-the-Friendly-Ghost was one of my favorite cartoons, it is not a stretch to understand why I considered the Holy Spirit to be a friendly version of Casper!
In John Chapter 2 we find the first miracle the Lord performed. They were faced with a situation they had no control over, and they needed help. Jesus’ mother instructed the servants with these words, “Whatever He says to you, do it”. Stop. Read it again. Let that sink in.
A much younger friend works out with me to help me improve my health. She regularly reminds me that I “pace myself” when I’m doing any given physical challenge. While she would like for me to exert myself fully throughout, instead I start slowly and gradually increase my effort. She says I hold back.
When our pastor started preaching from the book of Romans, we received stickers of a visual way to share Christ with others. I stuck mine in my Bible and promptly forgot about it. The day it fell out changed my life and eventually the life of someone else as well.
And so, as King Cyrus decreed: everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5). Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the building began with the altar so the morning and evening sacrifices could be offered and the sacred feasts celebrated. Next the foundation of the temple was completed with much fanfare. But then the enemy intervened, frustrating the work and eventually bringing it to a standstill (Ezra 3-4) for fifteen plus years.
