Obedience is Best

Word of God Day 5

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  James 1:22

“The word of God hidden in the heart is a stubborn voice to suppress.”
~ Billy Graham

 

• It’s time to meet with your Jesus! Oh, how He loves you and me! Pray today for God to speak to your heart, and help you to feel His love–the wide and long and high and deep love of Jesus (Ephesians 3:18)!
• Read James 1:22 and write it in your journal. This verse says that it is God’s will for us to not only read the Word of God, He wants us to obey! Is it because God is mean? Is God an overlord who simply wants us to jump when he says jump, or be at his beck and call? The real reason is that His love for us runs deeper than any ocean, and as our Father, He knows what is absolutely best for us, and we can trust Him with everything in our lives.
• Read Psalm 131:1-3. What a beautiful passage of Scripture! King David wrote this. I love how he says “I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.” Even though David was a busy man and powerful king, he saw himself as a child drawing close to his Father, content with the love of God.

 

Obedience is Best!

When I read the word of God, it helps me to understand the TRUTH of who I am. I am God’s daughter, a child to Him. He is the Great I Am, I am His little girl.

When He tells me to do something or not do something, it’s for my own benefit, just as I give my children rules and boundaries for their own good. If you can think of yourselves as a child with God, your relationship with Him will be happier. We are not perfect parents as God is, but we do truly love our children and want what is best for them like God does.

When our children obey what we tell them to do, it is for their own good. Even with our own human inadequacies, we care about our children and truly desire what’s best for them. We spend hours and hours teaching, loving, instructing, exhorting and of course praying for them. It’s our heart’s desire that our children obey us, and in doing so, they are happier and protected from temptation and danger.

Our relationship with God works the same way. You might be praying about a difficult situation, and when you read. your Bible, you read “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves,” (Romans 12:10) or, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up,” (James 4:10).

By the way, I hear these verses ALL the time when I read my Bible, so I think God may be trying to tell me something. God saying to me, “It’s not all about you Deb. You need to think about other people more than you think about yourself. Stop whining; you are SO blessed! Look at all of your blessings! Okay Deb, tell me five of your blessings that you are thankful for,” and it goes on and on.

I am being vulnerable right now because I want to make a point, God knows what is best for each one of us! You may hear His voice differently, but if you are listening, you certainly will hear Him.

We need to listen to what we read in Scripture, write it down, pray about it, and OBEY! We are always happier when we obey, and we receive the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Questions to Ponder

• If you journal, look back over your past few entries. Do you see a pattern in what God is speaking to you? Ask God to help you to understand what He is trying to tell you, and ask Him to give you the strength to obey what He is telling you to do.
• If you haven’t been keeping a journal, try to remember what Bible verses He has spoken to you the most lately. That is the God of the universe speaking to you! Obey what He tells you!
• When in doubt, obey the last thing that God told you to do!

Faith-Filled Ideas

Memorizing God’s Word will change your life! Just like today’s quote from Billy Graham says, when you hide God’s Word in your heart, you will be able to obey God easier because you will hear it when you need it, even without your Bible. Record James 1:22-25 on your phone voice recording app. Play this over and over until you learn this passage.
Talk to your children about how important it is for them to hide God’s Word in their heart so they can obey God and reap the rewards too! Let them take turns recording Psalm 119:11 on your phone. Talk about this verse together. When everyone has learned this verse, give them all a simple reward: play a fun game together, eat a piece of chocolate or candy, etc., or let them stay up 15 minutes past their bedtime. You do you! Whatever works for your family!

 

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**One more thing, don’t forget to subscribe to out weekly emails and/or print out the study at the beginning of the week. You can keep each week’s study in a 3 ring binder to stay organized. 

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Deb Weakly

9 Comments on “Obedience is Best”

  1. That’s a tough question, about temptation. The thing is temptation is so temping and desirable. It is really hard to avoid it. The only way that has worked for me is to admit that I want to fall into a particular temptation.for example- I love watching PBS masterpiece shows. They do a very good job at filming, casting and making costumes. And the stories they pick! I know that if I watch one show, an hour will be wasted of my day. I will keep thinking about the show all day and be so consumed by it I won’t be able to be present for my baby, husband, family.this may not be a problem for others but this is how Masterpiece affects me. The only way I can fight the temptation to watch a show is to tell those close to me that I am struggling. I call my husband and we pray together. Or I call a friend, if no one is available to pray with me I pray by myself and just admit to God my struggle.watching the shows is my way of abvoiding the present. God is so good to help me refocus my thoughts. I don’t always avoid temptation, even when God is right there helping me out. I have learned that this is a process. The more I lean on God the stronger I am next time.

    1. You are so wise Anna! I think temptation can be different for each of us. It is so wise to call a friend to pray and turn the feelings over to God. He cares about everything that concerns us and loves to give us strength to overcome. Thanks so much for sharing your heart!

  2. I sometimes have a cycle of growing closer to God for awhile, and then getting distracted or stepping back for awhile. I have learned (and sometimes struggled) to prevent that by remaining faithful even in the small things. It’s so much easier for me to follow God when it’s exciting or when I can see and feel His work. In those other times, I stay on task by being intentional. The most important thing is surrounding myself with godly people who encourage me (because I am an extrovert). I make it a priority to pray and discuss the Bible with friends,do Bible studies, and write my quiet times with God into my schedule.

    1. What great wisdom Heather! It’s SO easy to withdraw when you don’t feel close to God. Being with the body of Christ really does a LOT to encourage us in our faith! It helps me too!! 🙂

  3. I avoid temptation and obey God simply by reflection and being faithful over a long period of time. The fruits of the last ten years of my life are a result of my obedience. For me it is a cycle. I obey and remain faithful. He then answers and responds in abundance. I am not saying just to be “good” and then God will bless you. For me, it has become a joy and honor to obey God. I want his glory and magnificence to be revealed through my life and onto others. My life has been richer, more radical, more filled with passion, and more purposeful since I have been truly obeying Jesus.

    1. I love that, Rachel! God’s hand and the fruits of your efforts are obvious in your life. I admire you and am constantly being encouraged by you.

      1. Wow! Thank you so much Heather. YOU are also an encouragement to me. I love having friends like you who have some qualities that I don’t which I admire and can try to replicate. 🙂 Love you!!!!!

    2. I love this Rachel! That’s the best way- obedience over a long period of time. That’s such a great point! When it’s not really a choice to obey, but is a habit, it’s so much easier to obey. The “habit” of obedience. Great point!! Thanks for commenting!

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