Tag Archives: obedience

March 10
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“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”  (Mark 8:38, NLT)

In today’s reading, Jesus illustrates for us the following principle: The relationships and values that we esteem in this life are the relationships and values that we shall inherit in eternity.  In other words: If we are ashamed of Jesus and all that He stands for here in “time”; we shall forfeit Him for all of eternity because He will be ashamed of us in heaven’s eternity for us having been ashamed of Him during our time on earth.

The Christian disciple’s challenge in these “adulterous and sinful days” is to be faithful to Jesus and to His message in all that we say, and in all that we do.

This means that with joy, we love our enemies — all of them — as He did.  This means that with boldness, we seek reconciliation — always — as He did.  This means that with confidence, we pray for those who abuse us — as He did.

May we be as Paul declared to the Christians in Rome: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God to bring salvation to everyone that believes.”  (Romans 1:16a)  – Luther

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March 9
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“King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam.  He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, ‘I called you to curse my enemies!  Instead, you have blessed them three times.  Now get out of here!  Go back home!  I promised to reward you richly, but the LORD has kept you from your reward.’”   (Numbers 24:10-11, NLT)

There are times when obedience to God provokes the anger of powerful people.  Such is the case in today’s scripture reading.  King Balak “hired” Balaam for a job that Balaam could not perform and remain obedient to God.

Are we convinced that the gift of our heavenly Father are superior to any rewards offered by others?  Do we value the approval of our God above the accolades of kings of this world?

It is a rare man or woman who cannot be bossed; and cannot be bought by the “kings” of this world.  Are you one of them?  – Luther

(Note: The scripture above is a small portion of an account that, if read in full, will provide a more complete picture of the situation involving Balak and Balaam.  To read the whole story, begin with Numbers 22 and read through the end of Chapter 24.)

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March 1
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“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”  (Matthew 7:21, NLT)

When valued against actions, talk is cheap.

Jesus says that it is not just our confession, but it is through our obedience to God’s law that we realize the rule of God.  Furthermore, as we see in the two verses that follow (verses 23 and 24), it is not our successes that impress our heavenly Father; it is our faithfulness.

How different is that from what we see daily: Where good words are often divorced from good deeds?  Give God the lead today — and faithfully follow!  – Luther

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