Slideshow image

Scripture for the day: John 6:37-39 Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. Thought for the day: I want to talk about something most of us, myself included, would very often like to put on a shelf and ignore. Unfortunately for those of us bent on doing our own thing, this idea of willful obedience is something that needs to become second nature to those of us who claim the name of Jesus. I can almost see some who will read this cringe at the very word ‘obedience.’ “Oh no! He’s going to go all legalistic on us again!” No, rather than come up with a laundry list of do’s and don’ts, let’s look at the way Jesus lived out this need for obedience. You see, it was as important for Him as for us. First, obedience to the Father was a lifestyle. He didn’t look at specific instances and apply the principle of obedience to that particular item. For Jesus, obedience was a way of life, something that permeated every waking moment. This is why He could say, “I have come to do the will of Him who sent me.” Then, in another place, He said, "Whoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother or sister.” If we’re going to be a part of that family He spoke of in these passages, we are going to do so by making that same desire for obedience our own. Second, for Jesus, obedience was a joy. He did nothing begrudgingly, but reminded us that “I delight to do Your will, O God.” And He told his disciples, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me” (John 4:34). He was refreshed in His soul as He obeyed the commandments of the Father. There’s something about being right where you’re supposed to be, doing exactly what you know beyond a doubt you’re supposed to be doing, that brings joy to the soul and a smile to the face. Third, obedience to the Father led Jesus to wait on His will. Time after time we read of His finding a deserted place where He could spend time with the Father, waiting patiently for direction. Only when those times were completed did He move into the next step of His ministry. Just as obedience becomes a joy when we know we’re in His will, there is joy in taking the action we know we are directed to take. Fourth, for Jesus, obedience extended even to death. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). This is not to say we’re called to die (except to self). Rather, the call is to make our obedience so complete that even death is included. Only when we know we have nothing to lose (because we’ve already surrendered it to Him) will there be complete surrender of the will. Only with that complete surrender is the Holy Spirit enabled to bring the victory. Finally, for Jesus, obedience sprang from unwavering faith. He said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). The sooner you and I learn that voluntary surrender of our will depends on our faith that He will work in us everything He desires for us, the better we will understand that true obedience is God’s promise of the New Covenant. The promise is this: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Just as it was for Jesus, so it must be for us. He said, “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master” (Matthew 10:25a). Now go take on your world. - Bill