Category: Obedience

Is Obedience Exciting?

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The book of Romans begins with the apostle Paul sharing who he is in Jesus Christ.  Identity is a big deal in society today. There is a lot of confusion and hurt surrounding this topic.  Some of that confusion has made its way into the church.  We want to find our identity in our looks, our jobs, or our personalities rather than our identity in Jesus Christ. 

Identity in Christ means giving up my own identity. It requires obedience. It points only to God and ignores me (John 3:30). I think in an individualistic society we want too much of ourselves. I wonder if we find individualism more exciting than obeying Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Paul. Please help us to obey for the sake of Your name.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Thankful 3 Times in a Row

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I found Colossians 3:15-17 interesting as I was looking for verses about thankfulness – three verses in a row with a form of the word thankful.  The word in verses 15 and 17 is the word for gratitude.  Thankfulness in verse 16 is the word charis – grace.  I think gratitude is graceful.  A heart attitude of thankfulness will show outwardly as grace.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the many blessings you send.  Please help me to cultivate a heart of gratitude and show grace in my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

The Final Word

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God’s Word is so important.  This is communication directly from the hand and heart of Almighty God.  He loves us so much that He provided all we need for life (2 Peter 1:3).  Obeying God’s Word does not mean life will be easy.  However, working on obedience is like building a muscle.  The more we work, the stronger we become. 

I think we get tripped up by our feelings in this area.  We don’t feel good about obedience or things don’t turn out the way we hope.  We need to keep working on building obedience as God commands.  We will be rewarded.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to obey as You command.  Thank You for the rewards You provide.  Please help us to wait on You in our obedience.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.