Life is a Journey
Thoughts on LifeArchive for obedience
April 14 reading: 1 Samuel 15-16; 1 Chronicles 5; Matthew 1
Sorry, I’ve missed a couple of days of posting my Bible reading journal entries. So, two days posting today…
Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV) 22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Observations: Worship, giving, sacrifice and other religious practices, even when they are biblical and commanded by God – are incomplete and even unaccepted when obedience is missing. They decided they knew best, that some of the plunder was too good to surrender to the Lord. Partial obedience with rationalization is not obedience. All of our church activity is useless if we aren’t seeking to obey God.
Application: I must be ruthless about obedience! I every area – without rationalizing or compromising. To lead, preach, worship and live in partial obedience is foolish. I must obey in everything!
Prayer: Father, help me listen for your voice and obey as I hear! Help me be aware of the enemy’s schemes & lies. It does matter! Amen.
1 Samuel 6-7; Psalm 72; 2 Cor. 9
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:13 (NIV) Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
Observation: Interesting phrases: “service by which you proved yourselves” and “obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ.” The specific “service” & “obedience” that he refers to here is financial giving. So specifically this is about a demonstration of my faith & obedience to my Lord by giving. Does that mean that an unwillingness or failure to give financially demonstrates the opposite? It would seem to me that one should not avoid or ignore the specific context of this passage; however I think that it would be appropriate to also consider a wider application. It is a reasonable thing to prove myself through service & demonstrate my confession of Christ with obedience. An absence of service and obedience would seem to suggest at best a superficial faith and at worst lack of faith.
Application: I must seek to be faithfully giving as the Scripture commands and as God leads. One should not be independent of the other. I must also seek to live in such a way that my service to God and my obedience to God demonstrate a genuine faith.
Prayer: Father, remind me daily that you are worthy of all my service, all my obedience and all my giving. May my life be a living example. May I live in such a way to prove myself. Amen
