Romans 1:5-7 We Are Called!

5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 1:5-7 NIV

Because of Jesus' sacrifice, the power of God on just the chosen ones - Israel - is no more. We can all receive His grace which is an undeserved right to forgiveness and eternity with God. His love extends to all men, women, and children. We have all become His chosen. 

And when we accept the call to "obedience that comes from faith," we choose to step into the unknown each day for His glory. Our lives are no longer our own - but they are His. But this is only for a time. You see, the faith it takes to surrender each day will one day in heaven no longer be needed. "12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

The faith leading to obedience is only needed now while living in the middle of the chaos. In heaven, we will see Him whom we love and serve. We won't need faith; we will just be. 

But for now, we are all called to walk by faith. It's not a burden, but a privilege because we are among the called. And by that same faith we share with others this privilege of being called to the faith of the redeemed. 

Father, thank you for the provision of faith given to us all. Help me to walk in the obedience of that faith and share it with others until one day we can see you face to face. Your grace and peace covers me daily. So be it. 

Further Thoughts:

1. Why were the Israelites the chosen ones?
2. Why does Christ's sacrifice make us all chosen?
3. In the "obedience that comes from faith" how are we to obey?
4. Restate why we only need faith here and now before Jesus comes again. 

Judges 1-2:15 "He Means It, Part 1"

"I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars. Yet you have disobeyed me." Judges 2:1b-2a NIV

When God brought the Israelite people to the promised land, He told them to take the land and destroy the idols of those who live there. But they disobeyed. They allowed many of the Canaanites to remain there and over time, their way of life and their idol worship seeped into the lives of the Canaanites. The poison will always try to take over the healthy tissue and that is exactly what happened to the body of Israelites. By not obeying God's commands, they had allowed the evil He had commanded them to get rid of to become a part of their culture.

How often does God tell us to remove something from our lives and we don't do it? Maybe it's a bad habit; maybe it is spending time with someone who is a bad influence on us. Sometimes even innocuous activities can become an obstacle. We can allow watching or playing sports or participating in a hobby to become our obsession and distract us from where God wants us to focus. If He says to remove that habit, activity, or even thought process from our lives, we need to be obedient to that. We may feel like what we are doing is innocent and think that surely God would not ask me to give that up, but He does.

I am fascinated with the Amish. They are completely committed to simplicity, plainness, and devotion to God. They are huge on family and their community in helping one another daily. They live off the land and the distractions of the modern world are forbidden from their lives. Now one area they lack is being evangelistic about their love of God. They have completely isolated themselves from living out Matthew 28:19-20. However, we, in the world, have gone completely the other direction. How much have we allowed the world to infiltrate our lives and water-down the gospel? Have we compromised our testimony to the point of impotency? Do we "look" any different from the non-believers we live among and are supposed to be sharing Christ with?

Surely there is a happy middle ground between isolationism and compromise. Finding how to live "in the world and not of it" is a daily battle we must wage. This can only be accomplished through a constant communion with the Father and obedience to His directives. If he says something must be removed, then we need to remove it. If he says we are to go, then we need to go. God loves us and wants His very best for us. Therefore, if He says it, He means it. Our job is to obey. (Tomorrow, part 2, the consequences of disobedience.)

Further Thoughts:

1. Is there some area of your life that you have allowed the world to infiltrate and God is telling you to get rid of it?
2. What obstacles stand in the way of obedience? How do we overcome them?
3. Do you truly believe God's motivation for his commands in our lives is because He loves us or is He just an Almighty Tyrant? (Honestly think through this answer.)

Father, sometimes I don't understand why you require certain things from me. I feel strong enough in my faith in such a way that they will not interfere with my walk. But I want to live in complete obedience to You. So help me to let go of that which is hindering me from being everything You want me to be. I want to be your devoted servant and that can only happen through absolute obedience. I love you and thank you for loving me. Amen.

Hebrews 3:7-19 "No Hard Hearts"

Read Hebrews 3:7-19.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." NIV

I'm thinking if a sentence is given twice within 12 verses, we need to pay attention to what it says. The Hebrew people failed to do it, and paid dearly for their arrogance. They never saw the promised land. And yet, today so many people are still committing the same horrendous mistake -- choosing their own way over God's.

"Today" .....Yesterday is done. If you ignored His voice yesterday, ask forgiveness and move forward. Tomorrow isn't here yet. Don't worry about it. Today is the time to open your ears to the Lord's voice and obey. It may be something small or something life-changing -- but anytime He speaks, it's important. We can't simply ignore the voice of the Almighty God. My goodness, what arrogance! That's exactly what got the Israelites into trouble. Where did we become so self-sufficient as to think we know better than God? The audacity blows my mind and must make God very angry. Which makes me wonder.....how many blessings have we missed out on because of our disobedient moments? If the Israelites, who traveled through the desert for forty years in the end miss out on the Promise Land, then I must be missing out on something when I disobey. We serve a just God and sin does not go unpunished.

"do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion" -- Lord, forgive me for those times I have harden my heart against You. Holy Spirit, protect me from those desires. I never want to be rebellious against my Lord. You alone are the great I AM; I am not.

Further Thoughts:

1. Are you listening to the Lord every day? If no, why not?
2. If yes, what is He saying to you? Are you following His directions or living in rebellion?
3. Why do we choose rebellion?
4. How do we break the cycle? What heart change has to happen?
5. How do we stay committed to God?

Colossians 3:20-21 "Parenting With Respect"

Read Colossians 3:20-21.

"Children, obey your parents...." NIV

Ironic, once again, to be writing on this passage today when I have a deadline for our parenting book. I'm trying to set aside the writing project for time to be with the Lord first.

I really want to focus mostly on the "Children/obedience" combo. So much disobedience among our kids today. The "me" generation thinks they know best (also just a product of teenager hormones) and disregard the parent's guidance/rules/directions. They've become so handy with information that they think they've received the wisdom to go with it. Obedience teaches so much more than just doing what you were told. You learn order, authority, wisdom, reason, discipline, submission, humility. I could go on, but I won't because I need to give equal time to verse 21.

Parents often end up frustrating their child through traditional rules (the ones our parents had for us and we blindly establish in our own homes without really thinking through their validity.) We frustrate them with doing exactly what we told them not to do (i.e. we yell, "Stop yelling!") or we start seeing them as commodities/or liabilities instead of human beings.

Both mandates boil down to mutual respect. If a child respects the parent for being the authority that God has placed over them, then they will be obedient. (Of course the parent needs to be living respectably as well. More is caught than taught.) Then the parent needs to treat a child with respect. There is a difference between punishing and disciplining. Yelling, screaming and beating have very different results to calm, firm, and deliberate. Don't get me wrong, I believe in spanking. But it must be done with purpose, not anger. There's a reason for the verse, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." A spoiled child makes for a rebellious future teenager.

Create a family foundation of love and respect fulfilling God's mandates and establishing a peaceful home.

Further Thoughts:

1. Parenting can be a controversial subject - even among believers. Agree with me or disagree? Why? Do you have Scripture to support your viewpoint?
2. I was going to ask, "Does anything need to change in how you parent?" but everyone always has something that can be at the very least tweaked. What area is that for you?
3. Are you being a disobedient child? If yes, why? Is that pleasing to the Lord?
4. Who in the Bible demonstrated a healthy pattern of parenting? What can you emulate from their example?
   

Matthew 16:21-23 "His Way Only"

Read Matthew 16:21-23.

"You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." NIV

Peter cannot believe his ears when Jesus says that the religious leaders will have Him killed in Jerusalem. (Notice Peter doesn't seem to hear the part that Jesus will raise from the dead in three days.) Peter is always the one to jump into the middle of the fray, dukes up, ready to fight off anyone or anything that will hurt those he loves. It's an admirable quality really. He's very strong, very protective and extremely loyal. But he usually jumps before he thinks. His first thought is, "No way, we will protect the Lord. They are not going to take Him. They'll take us first."

But the clear evident ways our human minds want to work towards prosperity, health and preservation are not always the ways of God. He has a higher calling for all of our lives -- much higher than we can ever figure out in a logical or worldly way. Remember, we are born with a sinful nature that puts self first. In God's world, He is first. We desire wealth, health and long life; God desires full devotion at any cost. We serve a jealous God who will not tolerate anyone or anything in front of Him. If He speaks, no matter how "illogical" it appears to us, we must listen. Look at Moses. God tells him to throw his rod on the ground, and it became a hissing snake. Then God tells him to pick it up by the tail. We all know that if you pick up an angry snake by the tail, it will whip around and bite us. So why would God tell Moses to pick up the snake by the tail? Because we must learn to trust His higher ways over our own. And what does Moses do? He overcomes his fears and desires for self-preservation, picks up the snake, and it becomes a rod again.

Peter didn't want Jesus to die. None of us would. But God had a higher purpose, and no matter how illogical it sounded to man's ears and mind, it must happen as He ordained it to be. The eternal destiny of mankind depended on it and that rated so much higher than Peter's desire to preserve Christ's life. Peter had to learn that day to trust Jesus like never before. Well, he learned partially. There's still that whole denying knowing Jesus thing still to come. But he took a step in his training in being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Compete trust in Him.

What do you hold in your hand? Is there a rod that God is asking you to lay down? Do you need to pick up a snake by the tail? Does His leading seem totally illogical? At times it can. As long as it doesn't go against the nature of God and you have spent a lot of time in prayer, you are probably hearing Him correctly and need to obey. Times are only going to get more difficult, not easier. So when God speaks, He expects us to trust and obey Him immediately. The consequences of disobedience are going to reach far beyond just our own comfort or safety. Let go of the rod.

Further Thoughts:

1. Read the story of Moses' calling in the desert in Exodus 4.
2. What is God asking you to lay down or pick up? Fear is not of Him -- that is the enemy using the human desire for self-preservation. Trust wholly and obey completely. Our God is faithful to accomplish His purposes, and He wants to use you to do it.

Matthew 6:16-18 "Called to a Fast"

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash for face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." NIV

For the third time, Jesus addresses an act of righteousness that He assumes you are doing. It's not a suggestion, but a discipline to follow. But like giving to the needy and prayer, fasting is to be a very private act between you and God. Jesus, here, refers to some of the people's public displays demonstrating that they were fasting, i.e. ashes on their faces. That's why He told them to wash their faces. By fasting, we are not to be showing off to the world that we can go without food, but separating ourselves from the demands our body makes on us for food to focus on our Lord. In a simple way, fasting moves us from an earthbound demand to a spiritual freedom that allows us to place our focus on the Lord and His will in a given situation.

The three reasons for fasting were lamentation/penitence, mourning, and petition and often done as a group called to a fast. In a modern day, Christian usage, fasting is usually done as a private, personal directive for petition - asking God for direction, healing, salvation for another person, etc. You won't always get some supernatural revelation or miracle out of a fast -- at least not one that you will know in this life. But it is an act of obedience to the Master. And He "who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Further Thoughts:

1. Read here a wonderful description of fasting and relevant Scripture references.
2. God has been impressing on me to fast recently. What am I fasting for? Personal direction and my Mom's salvation. Is He speaking to you? (NOTE: I am borderline hypoglycemic and fasting is very difficult for me to do. I usually just drink a ton of juices to get through. But recently, I found a colon cleansing fast, The Lemonade Diet, that will take care of my bodily needs, but I still have hunger to remind me to hunger after the Lord. Just an idea you can look into if you have physical limitations to fasting.)

Matthew 2 "God Doesn't Make Mistakes"

Read Matthew 2.

"...And angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.....And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet...." NIV

I am taken in this passage with the number of prophesies fulfilled and the fact that God directed Joseph through dreams to get Jesus where he needed to be. I love that I serve a God that has everything under control. Even when things seem dire, He's got the plan worked out if I will only trust Him and obey. And He let us in on all of it ahead of time. (Well, not us, but the Jews at that time.)

Here are the prophesies:

• Micah 5:2 - Shepherd of Israel to come out of Bethlehem, Judah.
  
• Hosea 11:1 - The Messiah would end up in Egypt.
  
• Jeremiah 31:15 - The death of two-years-old and younger boys.

Herod didn't know what he was up against. He tried to be sneaky and using the magi find out where this opposition was. He tried to have Jesus killed. But God was one step ahead of him all the way.

And then there's Joseph. Just in these last two days I'm growing to really love and respect this guy. We always hear about Mary, but look at Joseph. He's the hero of the hour. He obeyed the dreams and saved the Savior. And those dreams made absolutely no sense. He's told to leave with his 2-year-old son and wife and travel about 130 miles into Egypt. I'm assuming they had donkeys, but that would be all. And that's just to get into Egypt. We are uncertain exactly where they went, so they probably traveled further than that. Then after another dream, Joseph takes them back to Israel. But in a third dream, he is warned not to go to Judah. Instead, they head for Galilee which puts Jesus in the city of Nazareth as the prophets told us it would be. Now, Nazareth was at least another 80 miles past Bethlehem. So to come back, Joseph, Mary, and the young Jesus traveled at least 210 miles by donkey. I don't like traveling 210 miles by car. What dedication and commitment to where the Lord was leading him.

I want to be like Joseph. I want to listen intently to the Lord's directions. I want to obey without hesitation or second guessing. I want to be in the very center of God's plans. Joseph was part of something so much bigger than himself, and he knew it. So he had to follow the Lord's leading. And God had it all planned to happen just as it did.

Lord, I know you have all my life under control. I don't want to miss a step of it. Speak to me, Lord. Tell me where I am to go and what I am to do. I want to be in the middle of your plan and never step out of it. Thank You for being trustworthy and holding me in the palm of Your hand. I love serving You.

Further Thoughts:

1. Do you trust God with your life? Are you walking in obedience. If not, why? List what's in the way. Then read and meditate on Proverbs 3:5-6.
2. Sometimes we face difficult roads. Jesus did. He knew that he would have to suffer and asked the Father if maybe it didn't have to be this way. But then what does Jesus say? Read Luke 22:42. Lord, help me to face difficulties with the same obedience to Your will.
3. Read Jeremiah 29:11-13. Thank God for His plans and surrender control of your life to Him.
   

Matthew 1:18-25 "Listen and Obey"

Read Matthew 1:18-25.

"...She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins...." NIV

I don't know that I have read about the birth of Jesus all that much outside of Christmas. But it's making my June feel cooler. :-)

I can't even imagine what Joseph was going through at the moment the angel appeared. Think about it today.... My husband, Jim, has an angel come to him in whatever form an angel appears and tells him that I am having a baby that will save the world from their sins. AND Jim knows it's not his baby. I'd have to sedate him.....and me.

How did Joseph handle that news? Well, we know he at first considered divorcing Mary. But after the angel arrived, he "did what the angel of the Lord commanded him...." Would I have been that sure? It says Joseph "woke up." Would I have just dismissed it all as a strange dream and proceeded with the divorce? Wouldn't I have looked at Mary with suspicion as her belly grew larger and larger? Joseph somehow knew that the Almighty was leading him and did as he was told -- on faith -- because the evidence before him was totally contrary to reality. His wife was to give birth to the promised Messiah. The Jews had been looking for the one to save their nation for so long. Could this finally be the moment? And why now, why Joseph and Mary? I'd love to read their blogs.

So how many times does God speak to me, and I just dismiss it as a strange dream or crazy thought? Or the idea is so far-fetched it couldn't be what He said to me. What have I missed being a part of because I didn't pay attention or even believe? I so want my heart in tune with the Holy Spirit that if an angel of the Lord appeared in this room right now, I'd fall down on my knees and do whatever He told me without reservation or doubt. Well, I don't expect an angel to appear. But I do know the Holy Spirit will counsel me throughout my life. I must listen and be prepared to obey.

I keep thinking of the times my child's ball would roll into the street, and she'd start to go after it. Because I had trained her to listen to my voice and obey, when I yelled "Stop!" she listened. I so want to know my Father's voice that when He tells me to stop or go, I automatically obey. Some would call that a responding robot with no free will. I call it an obedient servant who desires to do her Master's will.

Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Son that has saved me from my sins. Continue to teach me to listen to You. I don't want to miss out on what you have for me to do .... or be. Your servant is waiting.

Further Thoughts:

1. Read the prophesies of Christ's coming. (Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7)
2. Samuel learned to be in tune to God's voice. Read the beginning of his story in I Samuel 3 and see how God used his attentiveness for the entire nation of Israel.
3. What does Jesus say about the Holy Spirit's counsel? (Read John 14:15-31.)
4. Jesus often went away from the crowds to have quiet time with His Father. Take some time each day to sit quietly before the Father and listen. Begin now; He's waiting for you.

Ephesians 3:20-21

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." NIV

I was thinking on this verse and the story of Noah came to mind. God was very precise in the measurements of the ark. He laid out every corner, length and turn for Noah to follow. He never said, "Throw together a boat." God told Noah each cubit, the kind of wood to use, and the number of each kind of creature to bring into the ark. And Scripture says that, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." Then the flood came and God did immeasurably more than all Noah could have asked or imagined to save His family.

We serve a God of details. And in those detailed instructions, He expects us to be obedient. Then time and time again after we follow His instructions, He blesses us with the immeasurably more, and He has done it over and over again throughout history. How often do we want to skirt His instructions, improvise, and then we miss the immeasurably more. It's very simple, follow the instructions and live in the abundance of His provision.

He provided a way to salvation with very simple instructions -- confess your sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord. But the immeasurably more that follows that humble beginning is beyond comprehension. I love that I serve a God of details and immense generosity. He lavishes His love and care beyond all measure. He takes our humble, inadequate offerings of service and turns them into so much more than all we can ask or imagine. I serve a generous Master, and I will forever follow Him in the details.

Further Thoughts:

1. Read the story of Noah in Genesis 6:1-9:17.
2. What other Old Testament examples can you find of God being specific in the details and man receiving "immeasurably more" afterwards. (i.e. the Ark of the Covenant)
3. How is obedience and our Christian walk directly connected? Using a concordance, look up Scriptures on "obedience" and "obey."
4. Should our motivation to obedience be love for God or a desire for the immeasurably more? Loaded question, but think through how you live your life. Do you need to reevaluate your motivation?
5. What are some "details" that God is asking you to follow right now? How are you doing?
6. Give thanks to the Father for the immeasurably more you've already experienced in your life.