Tag: obedience

Obedience Day 2

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT ~ “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

Have you ever tried to make up for your disobedience by doing a good deed? Let me make this plain, you ignored God’s directions, and you tried to compensate by increasing your giving, your serving and by going to Sunday service more! Yes, these are good acts, but they don’t and cannot take the place of a surrendered heart to God! Psalm 51:16-17 (NIV) – “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

In this passage, Samuel confronts King Saul after he disobeys God’s direct command. John 14:15 (NIV) – “If you love me, keep my commands.” God told Saul to destroy everything, yet he used his mind and made an executive decision on his own, to spare the best livestock. And then he tried to justify his actions by claiming he would offer them as a sacrifice to God. (You can’t give God what you want Him to have, it’s what He wants you to give Him!) When God says get destroy something, He means it! 

Do you know what surrender means? Maybe that’s where the problem lies. Surrender means that you trust that God’s way is better than your own way. It means letting go of control, excuses, and anything that keeps you from fully obeying Him. No more sacrifices, no more substitutes, just choose to surrender! 

God used Samuel to make it clear to King Saul that He values obedience more than any offering you could ever give Him. Stop trying to give God a substitute in the place of your obedience by doing religious acts like King Saul! King Saul thought he could substitute obedience with sacrifice by sparing the best livestock and then wanted to give it God! (You can’t give God what He told you to get rid of and then call it good!) Luke 6:46 (NIV) – “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Samuel reminded him that God desired obedience, not sacrifices! 

You see when you offer God excuses or partial obedience, you have not surrendered fully to Him. God wants your hearts more than your ritual! True faith is walking in step with His Will, and not just performing an outward act of devotion. When God says step, you step and when He says stop you stop! If there is an area where you’ve been offering sacrifices and substitutes instead of surrendering, today is the day to repent and realign. Choose obedience, and trust that God’s way is always the best way! 

God is not looking for negotiations, He is calling for your total Surrender! There have been so many times that you have try to offer Him something else in place of what He actually asked you for! You can’t give Him more time in ministry and ignore His command to love and forgive others! You cannot increase your giving and refuse to step out in faith when He calls you into ministry. I know these substitutions may look good on the surface, but they don’t even close to being replacement for what God called you to do, obey! obedience is better than sacrifice! 

Stop trying to give God what you think will please Him instead of what He actually asked you for. He asked you to obey Him! Proverbs 21:3 (NIV) – “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Stop offering Him your time, talents, and money, if you are going to continue being disobedient! He desires, your obedience not your sacrifices and substitutions! He’s looking for you to surrender! Saul’s mistake was not just disobedience; it was the belief that a substitute could satisfy God. Take heed, it didn’t work then and it’s not going to work now! 

True obedience is not about doing what feels easy or good to you, and it’s not convenient, but it’s about yielding fully to God’s Will, even when it costs you something or someone. Are you holding onto something God has asked you to surrender? To let go of. And so instead of giving Him what He asked for, you offered Him a substitute instead of obedience? James 1:22 (NIV) – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” God doesn’t want your empty offerings; He desires your willing heart. Today, let go of your control, lay aside your excuses, and walk fully in surrendering to God as an act of love and obedience! 

Let’s Pray:

Father, Thank You for this beautiful day! I come before You with an open heart, making my declaration that I’m choosing to obey You. Father, I am asking You for strength to walk in complete obedience to Your Will. Father, forgive me for trying it my way, trying to offer you a sacrifice and substitute for what You really want from me. Father, teach me to trust You fully, even when obedience is hard for me to do. Father, remove pride, fear, and hesitation from me so that I can follow You completely. Father, I surrender my will, my desires, and my excuses. No more empty sacrifices, no more empty sacrifices and substitutions, I am giving You my full obedience! Father, help me to recognize Your voice clearly and to respond with a willing heart. Shape me into a vessel that honors You, not just in my actions, but in my daily surrender. May my life reflect true devotion, rooted in faith and trust in Your perfect plan! In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Blessings…

Love, Minister Jean

Jeremiah 5:21-22 AMP ~ “Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear. [22] Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back]; Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier]. [Is not such a God to be feared?]”

I’m still pondering and thinking about yesterday’s scripture, Romans 1:18-19;25, God made the Word plain and clear for you and me to see! And He spoke the Word clearly too! But are we really listening to what He is saying! Today, I want you to pull out your Bibles again and study the Word of God! Find and write out scriptures on the hearing and seeing God’s Word. And make sure that you are writing it on your heart, that you may believe the Word of God as you see it and hear it! Start listening to what Your Creator is saying to you! 

When I read this portion of the scripture, verse 22, I had to read it more than once, “For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree and a perpetual (never ending or changing) barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail (win) [against the sand ordained to hold them back]; Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier]. [Is not such a God to be feared?]” Who else but God, could do such a thing? No one else could, this has God’s Name and Hand all over it! Everything and everyone have a boundary! Stay within your limits, this is what’s best for your life!

Have you ever been talking to someone only to realize that they didn’t hear a word that you were saying? Jeremiah told the people that their eyes and ears did them no good because they refused to see or hear what God was saying to them in His Message. Even after He made it plain! The people still would not listen to what God said about His Promises to bless for obedience or the destruction that would come upon them for disobedience! When God speaks His Word through His Messengers, and you fail to hear it, you are only harming yourself when you fail to listen and obey. God will never change His Message to fit you, so if you are wanting to see or hear something different it’s not going to happen, His Word was the same yesterday, and it’s the same today and it will still be the same tomorrow, John 1:1!

So, what is your attitude when you come into God’s Presence? Do you go with fear and trembling, that is, awe and respect, for Him? I mean do you really understand the boundaries that He set for the roaring ocean and how He provides the rain. With all of that water, it still could not go past the sand! God stripped away all the benefits that the people had grown to expect from Him, so that they could recognize that they needed Him, this gave them another chance to turn back to Him, to realize that they can’t make it without Him! And God has to do this to you sometimes, strip you of your blessing to get your attention. Stop waiting until God removes your cherished resources before committing yourself to Him! He does not like doing this, but because of your willingness to be disobedient, He has to use what’s close to you to get your attention.

As I have read and reread these scriptures it has shown me just how important our time with Jesus Christ is. My time with God, and my communion with God through His Word, is not something I take for granted. Your time with God should not be taken for granted! Sometimes, you can approach God with so much pride, asking Him why this or why that? Just like when Job and His friends were trying to question God, and God asked Him where he was when He laid the foundation of the world, Job 38:4! God responded by using an analogy of a tempest sea to tell you about your lack of obedience. Pride can creep in when you refuse to admit to your sin. This is what was happening in Jeremiah’s time, Israel refused to admit their sins and to accept that God knows better, and He knows what better for you too! This is how God responded, “Do you not fear me? says the Lord; Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail, though they roar, they cannot pass over it.” All of nature reverence God! And this should be a sign to you to show you that you need to reverence Him too!

Due to Israel’s lack of repentance, they were now on the verge of God’s judgment and yet they still were not willing to listening. Just like us, we are still not listening to Him! Do you want to know why I say this, it’s because our lifestyle shows it, because we continue to live a two-faced lifestyle, just like them, they worshipped in the temple, while offering sacrifices to idols at the same time! Does this look and sound like something that you have done or are you doing it now? You go to church, but you don’t change anything in your life, you still rather serve the creation rather than the Creator! Because of this, God used a plain illustration of the ocean and the sand to get your attention. The water pounds against the sea, it rages, and yet, there is something incredibly plain and simple about the band of sand, that causes the sea to obediently stop each time they make contact with the boundary, with God! Do you obey when you come into contact with God? 

Look at how the sea stops at the sand every time, and yet you, being God’s child act like you have no limits no boundaries; you just want to do whatever you want, when and how you want to! But this sand, a malleable weak substance, which is no match for the sea, still marks a clear border to control it. Why can’t you be humble like the sea and obey the limits set by God for your life? Everything is obedient to God, the winds, the rain and the storms and yet He compares the obedience of the strong and mighty sea, with the rebellious character of His own children, (you and me) despite you being less powerful, but the sea, never breaks its boundaries, it obeys God at all times and in all its movements! But not you, the little man that God made from dust that He could crush at any time, will not be obedient! Why? Only you can answer this question.

You may think that God does not know what is best for you! But from the moment He created the universe, He had thought of you and your purpose! And He instilled wisdom within nature for you to hear and see and He makes is plain for you to understand and to know that it is Him that did these things! Listen to it, pay attention! Respect the boundaries that God has set before you, and in humility, obey His commandments, for it is God who established the whole world. When all has been said and done, this is the last word, you are to worship and reverence the one True God, and keep all of His commands, for this is what God expects of you. For God will judge every one of your actions, including what was done in secret, whether it be good or bad! Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. And just as the waves of the sea respect the band of sand laid out by your Creator, you should strive to be as humbly as they are and obey the Will and Way of God, your Creator! 

Let’s Pray:

Father, Thank You! Thank You for loving me in spite of me! Father You are Lord and Savior over my life, and I pray that daily that I will never lose my respect or reverence for You. Father, You are the One, True and Living God, and there is no one else like You. Father, You alone commanded the sea and the oceans, setting its boundaries, as You have set boundaries for me, Your child. Father, may I learn daily to follow Your guidance and the lessons on how to stay within my parameters that You have set before me. Father, I pray that my life will be acceptable to You, help me to walk in the pathway that you have created for me and for me to not get off track or distracted. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You every day that You allow me to have. Father, help me to be humble in all my ways and to reject pride at all times! I know that You know what’s best and better for me. Father, I trust You and I love You! Father, I seek to live all of my life for You and may all of the things that I desire bring Glory to You, for You are worthy of all my praise, worship, and reverence is unto You. In Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean