Skip to main content

An Obedient Heart

DATE - May 14th, 2022

TOPIC - An Obedient Heart

BIBLE TEXT - Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams.” - 1 Samuel 15:22





As the Lord had directed, Saul and the Israelite army attacked and defeated the Amalekites. But instead of killing every person and animal as God had commanded, Saul brought back Agag, the Amalekite king, and the best of their sheep and cattle. Then while Saul was trying to justify his disobedience, Samuel replied with the words in verse 22, truth that is just as important for us today as it was for people in the Old Testament: obeying the voice of the Lord, listening to him, and following His marching orders instead of our own are of far more value to God than the most expensive or grand sacrifice we could offer. 


When God tells us to go or to call that person or to do this humble task, then as the Nike commercial says, Just do it! Do it God’s way. Don’t lean on your own understanding or perception of the situation. Don’t wait to see the whole blueprint or figure everything out. Follow the light at your feet, and as you are faithful in the small things God asks of you, He will do the great thing.





PRAYER
LORD, work in me a heart of obedience so I can live a life that pleases you. It is so easy to try to rationalize disobedience or attempt to chart my own course. But you are holy and righteous, and you value my obedience above anything else I could ever give you. May my daily sacrifice to you be a humble and obedient heart that delights in your smile.

INSIGHT
There must be no debate. The moment you obey the light, the Son of God presses through you in that particular; but if you debate you grieve the Spirit of God.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I Know Him

Date - January 25th, 2022 Topic - I Know Him Bible Tex t - Then [Jesus] asked them, “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Matthew 16:15-16 How can people describe the ocean when they have not experienced it? How would they explain the waves that crash against the rocks or the shifting of the sand as the tide tugs at the shoreline? Are they able to put into words how the sand feels between their toes or describe the majesty of an endless blue horizon? Until they have taken a dip in the salty, white-frothed ocean, their descriptions would be limited. Perhaps that is why Jesus asked the disciples to define their faith in him on a personal level rather than rely on what others had to say about him. Jesus challenged them to base their definition of who he was on the reality of what they had seen, heard, and experienced about him.  Today, many stand in public platforms and attempt to define Jesus as a good man, a teach...

THINKING GOD’S WAY

JULY 9TH – CAPSULE 9  TOPIC: THINKING GOD’S WAY  BIBLE TEXT: EPHESIANS 4VS23 – Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. How you process information and arrive at conclusions must always be subject to the will of God. Listen, “……….be made new in the attitude of your minds”. When you first start thinking Gods way, it will feel strange to you. It may even feel like a “put-on”. But it’s not. It works like this: you have to  (a). Practice being nice until you automatically become nice.  (b). Practice going to church on Sunday, until going anywhere else seems strange to you.  (c). Practice giving to God until it be comes as natural to you as shopping at the mall.  (d). Practice speaking the truth until even the smallest lie tastes bad in your mouth.  (e). Practice speaking kindness until every cynical, negative word is purged from your vocabulary. Its all a matter of practice! But you ask, “ isn’t that hypocritical – feeling one way and speaking an...

IT RUBS OFF

AUGUST 9th - CAPSULE 9 TOPIC: IT RUBS OFF BIBLE TEXT: Exodus 34 vs. 29 – His face glowed from being in the presence of God. You can only talk convincingly about the God you know, the one you’ve spent time with. Any other God belongs in a theology book, and you will have a hard time selling Him. When Moses came down from the mountain, his face shone. He had been in God’s presence, and when you’ve been there it shows in the way you look, the way you walk and talk, the way you treat your family, the way you spend your money and the way you respond to hurting people. It rubs off!   Paul Cain says “most of us are as close to God as we want to be”. Think about it “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you” (James 4 vs. 8). How could you possibly be the same when you’ve been with Him? He transforms everything He touches. Listen – He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91 vs. 1). He didn’t say “visit” or...