Building Your faith – Part 7 – Obedience

Kevin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Part 1 of this mini-series on building your faith was about reading your Bible as a way to build your faith. Part 2 was about praying as a faith builder. Part 3 was about resolve and commitment. Part 4 took a look at endurance, another quality that is not in vogue much these days. Part 5 was about consistence and built a little on the prior post. And Part 6 took on the tough subject of Patience.

This time, let’s look at Obedience. Again, not an easy topic.

How do I build my faith?

Each day we live represents a new opportunity for us to be better than the day before. This is part of the “process” of Holiness. In order to seize the endless possibilities available for us in God, we must learn to obey the Word of God wholeheartedly. When we obey God we activate our faith and open a door for God’s power to be manifested in our lives.

But let’s be clear on one thing. Obedience is not a free pass to health, wealth and happiness. Obedience often has a cost. Consider the cost of obedience to God’s own Son.

God wants to bless us. He wants to help us build our faith muscles. But the prerequisite is always obedience.

Like the old song says;

Trust and obey.
For there’s no other way,
to be happy in Jesus.
But to trust and obey.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

Connecting the Dots

Kevin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:25:00 +0000

Sometimes, despite all our intelligence and experience, we find ourselves in a similar situation as those that we looked at this morning in Bible Study. We don’t seem to be able to connect the dots between our actions and the consequences of our actions.

Our passage was found in the 40th chapter of Isaiah. This section of Scripture begins a longer section where Isaiah directs some prophetic words for the Israelites as they are in the early period of the Babylonian captivity. The glory years of David and Solomon were a distant memory and now the Israelites lamented their situation. Why they were there is a long story filled with persistent rebellion and abandoning authentic worship for idols. Or maybe they got mad at God because He didn’t deliver what they wanted according to their schedules. Sound familiar?

Have you ever asked God, “Why me?” or “Why now?” Sometimes we aren’t very good at connecting our actions with the consequences that we experience. We repeatedly disobey and then question God when we find ourselves slap dab in the middle of the consequences of our disobedience.

Do you see the dots? Disobedience . . . . . Consequences.

Isaiah asks his audience to identify anything that was comparable to God. He specifically asks them if they can be compared to an idol made by a craftsman, covered in gold, and adorned with silver.

I don’t have any idols in my house. But idolatry is just a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is that the Israelites had lost focus on who God was. And, as such, they began to wander from God. Then the natural outcome of that began to show itself. They became more and more disobedient to God and to the prophet who God raised up during that time.

Maybe some of the Israelites thought God had forgotten them. We can relate to that feeling can’t we? When life is turned upside down by sickness, death, job loss or something like that we must be reminded that God indeed is in control and that He cares for us.

In Isaiah 40:18-31 God was disrespected by his chosen people. They ignored the obvious and chose to worship inanimate objects rather than the living God. In this passage, God seems appalled that the Israelites could experience all they had been through and yet turn to idols rather than the Creator. They knew the stories of the Exodus, the Red Sea, and David and Goliath. Yet they ignored him. And now they are whining because they are suffering the consequences of their actions.

Be honest . . . When was the last time you whined to God? What was going on and how did whining work for you? My guess is that it didn’t work so well for you.

He words of John echo through our deepest valleys . . . “For God so loved!” We can hear it on the mountain peaks and there is nowhere that we can go where we can escape this undeniable truth.

There really is no one like God. Scripture is one of the ways that He reveals himself. Nature is another. Evidence is all around us to prove that God is alive and well. And because He exists , we can be sure He is in control.

What is one situation that you need to give to God right now?

How is that situation affecting your life?

How long will you hold on to it and try to work it according to your own understanding?

What is keeping you from seeing God at work in your life?

Are you able to connect the dots between your own obedience and your current circumstances?

When we look at some of the writers of the Bible we see that they wrote more from experience than education. The Psalms reflect David’s ups and downs. The Apostle Paul wrote of his struggles with the old man and the new man. That is why we have the entire Bible. It is to be our source of wisdom and guidance in dealing with everyday life. God loves us that much and more!
Life appears to fall to pieces at times. It seems to be irreparable. But God is in control. He is working all things according to His plan for those who are His children.

How can you know?

Because God so loved the world. Because God so loved You. Because God so loved Me.

Obedience – Holiness of Heart & Life

Building Your faith – Part 7 – Obedience

Connecting the Dots