Daily Devotional For Sunday, February 2, 2025
Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I love knowing that people all over the world come together to worship and praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ collectively. It is the one time where billions of Christians from all over the world are united and in unison. Yes, some are more involved in a liturgical and/or ritualistic worship service. Yes, all these churches have their own style of music genre and worship styles. Variety is not necessarily a bad thing.
Have you noticed that when it comes to sin and disobedience to God, no one has to be taught this or trained how to do it. It is in our nature. None of us is born with the desire to obey God’s commands. It takes embarking upon a relationship with Jesus, then spiritual growth, and some hard lessons to realize that life is better when we do it God’s way. None of us will ever show perfect obedience in this lifetime, but we should still have it as our goal. What about you? Do you really intend to be obedient to the Lord? Or do you think your way is just as good or better than His?
Do you submit yourself to Him every day? Or do you do what seems right in your own eyes? Do you live with the awareness that He knows your every thought and deed? Or do you push the envelope and hope that He will not notice? Learning to be obedient is an important part of growing up in the Lord. It will be a lifelong challenge, but it’s a challenge that will bring great purpose and fulfillment. When God spoke through the prophet Samuel to send a message to King Saul, Saul intentionally chose to disobey and then attempted to lie about it.
It was such a gross sin and act of disobedience that it cost King Saul his kingship, his life and his sons’ lives in battle. Saul was told by God to kill all the Amalekites and take no spoil. Saul brought back not only the best of the spoils, but the king of the Amalekites, Agag. Right in front of Saul, Samuel beheaded Agag and pronounced God’s judgment on Saul. Saul got defensive and said he brought the spoil back to offer as sacrifices to the Lord. This was a lie. In his confrontation to King Saul, Samuel said this to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams” (NASB).
Bob Russell, former pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, tells this story of what drastic obedience is from a mother in his church:
A couple years ago I received a letter from a mother in our church who told the moving story of her 15-year-old daughter. The daughter had become increasingly rebellious, wore dark clothing, and ran with the wrong crowd. Finally, the mother discovered a folder in the girl's room with this note: "Leave this blankety-blank alone. This is my life."
With trembling hands the mother opened it. She found a series of the most disturbing letters she'd ever seen, and she is not naïve. One of the notes even had blood smeared around the edges. They discovered that this girl, even though she'd grown up in the church, was involved with witchcraft and the occult. The parents were devastated as they realized their daughter was rebellious beyond their ability to control her. So they took drastic action.
Within 24 hours, they whisked her away to her aunt. The aunt, a dedicated Christian, insisted the girl go through a program called Bondage Breakers. She took her niece with her to Precept Bible Studies. She home-schooled her. One day, this young girl devoted her life to Jesus Christ.
She was gone for three months, but she came back a new creature in Christ. Today she's active in youth group, and recently gave her testimony. Her mother wrote me: "Bob, encourage the people to be obedient to God even if it's embarrassing, even if it's drastic. We are thankful we did” (Source: Robert Russell, "When Teens Rebel," Preaching Today, #207).
What is sad today to me is how so many people who claim to be Christ followers or disciples of Jesus Christ compromise with the world to be accepted and loved. They deny their faith in Christ through compromise and accommodation. Then they wonder why God does not bless them or answer their prayers. They wonder why their spiritual lives seem empty and God aloof. I remind all of us when it comes to sin: “To obey is better than to sacrifice . . . through compromise. To obey is better than to sacrifice . . . one’s relationship to Christ.”
The Bible says this in Romans 6:6-7,
“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, (6) knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; (7) for he who has died is freed from sin” (NASB).
Notice Paul says that when we come to Christ, our old nature dies through spiritual crucifixion, so that now our body of sin is gone and thus we are freed from sin. The problem I see with many Christians is that once God causes their old nature to die, they do some “spiritual CPR” on it because they love their old nature more than the new nature God gives them. I like what Christian author Paul Tripp writes:
If you are willingly submitting to God, you do it right away and without delay. You don't say, "I'll start obeying God tomorrow." Delay is just one of many ways we seek to retain our autonomy and self-sovereignty. Here's how delay operates in our sex lives:
You're flirting with a woman at work and it has become a bit sexual. You know you shouldn't be doing it, but you sit down with her again in the lunch room and tell yourself that you'll cut it off tomorrow.
Your heart is pounding as you're surfing toward that porn site, hoping your wife doesn't wake up. You know you have no business being there, but to ease your guilt you tell yourself this is the last time. You're seventeen and you're in the local park at night with your girlfriend …. [You start to get involved sexually with your girlfriend.] You know that what you're doing is wrong for you and for her, but you couldn't resist one more time. You tell yourself you'll break it off with her in the next few days.
You're living with a woman who is not your wife and you've recently committed yourself to Christ. You know you should not be sleeping with your girlfriend, but you tell yourself it will be such a hassle to separate and find separate apartments. You'll deal with it, but you can't handle it right now.
You know you've gotten yourself hooked on a series you have no business watching. It leaves you thinking in ways that are not pure, but you tell yourself that you'll finish out the season and not watch the new season in the fall. When you delay, that is your response to God. Which is, you've eased your conscience when it actually needs to be troubled. Delay is really just disobedience in a tuxedo” (Source: Paul Tripp, Sex & Money, p. 120).
We learn to obey the Lord one step of obedience layered upon another.
Questions To Consider
- When it comes to your obedience to God in every area of your life, which areas are you like King Saul, sacrificing your obedience for acceptance and accommodation?
- Which areas of your life are you compromising your obedience to Jesus Christ, thus in some way denying Jesus to others in your life?
- How is “delay just disobedience in a tuxedo”?
- When we sin, we choose to harden our hearts to God. When have you done this and what did this sacrifice cost you spiritually?
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (2) May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, forgive me for when I have disobeyed You and ignored Your instruction. Grant me the eagerness to grow in knowing who You are and obeying Your Word. I want to love You and Your truth above all else, and increasingly learn to walk in obedience to You. Please help me not to sacrifice my obedience to You through compromise, pride and self-centeredness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly