Tag Archives: Obedience

2014 Day 158 – 2 Peter 2

07 Saturday Jun 2014

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There are some very harsh words in today’s reading. Peter is saying there will be a day when all will be made right. All the evil in this world, that seems to have control, will one day face condemnation. As believers, we have a responsibility to move forward and not backwards in our pursuit of righteousness. We all lose our way from time to time, but it is important that we not slide back into life without Christ. 2 Peter 2:20 says, If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. Ultimately, God wants us to grow in relationship with Him. If we focus our efforts on growing in closeness with God, there is little room for anything else.

2014 Day 156 – 2 Timothy 4

05 Thursday Jun 2014

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I love 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. My hope is when I reach the end of my life I can say the same thing. 

2014 Day 146 – Hebrews 8

26 Monday May 2014

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When God originally gave the law, it was meant to show right from wrong and to eliminate tribal knowledge from one person to the other. The law was meant to give a clear path to God’s expectations of each person’s life. But even in the law there would always be imperfection. No person can fulfill every aspect and command of the law perfectly. For this reason God provided a new covenant through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the perfect atonement for our sins, thus providing the perfection required by God in His eyes. In Hebrews 8:13 it says, By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. The “new” covenant is no longer established through a new set of rules, it lives inside of us through the Holy Spirit. God’s desire now turns into something we desire with all our hearts and minds.

2014 Day 144 – Hebrews 7

24 Saturday May 2014

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In this chapter, the author talks about Melchizedek, who was the original model for the High Priest. From that original priest all priest followed the law of self-cleansing in the eyes of God before the cleansing of the people they served. Jesus changed everything and in Hebrews 7:26 it says, Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. With Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice, the need for priestly cleansing became unnecessary, as did the need for continual sacrifices to cleanse us from our continual imperfection. God’s grace sets us free from the work of purification and we must always remember this, not out of obligation, but because His loves deserves our love and commitment in return.

2014 Day 143 – Hebrews 6

23 Friday May 2014

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It’s easy to feel forgotten by people who fail to recognize the work we do. But God does not forget or fail to recognize our hard work for Him. Hebrews 6:10 says, God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. God really is not unjust and will not forget. He loves us and loves sharing His plan and purpose with us when we are open to be used by Him.

2014 Day 141 – Hebrews 4

21 Wednesday May 2014

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We are never alone. God is always with us and nothing is ever a surprise to Him. When we struggle and need God, He is always aware and with us. Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. The same is true about our sin. None of it is hidden from Him and though we are forgiven by Jesus’ blood, we must still be mindful of the truth of who we really are. This is all meant to be a comfort to us and not meant to induce fear. Ultimately God wants what is best for us because He loves us more than we can ever know.

2014 Day 140 – Hebrews 3

20 Tuesday May 2014

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When we refuse to believe God and His promises, we slow turn away from Him. Hebrews 3:12 says, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Our relationship with God is the most important thing. Just like any other relationship in our lives, it takes work to maintain. If we are not spending deliberate time working on our relationship with God, the relationship suffers. We must commit ourselves to continuously working on building a closer relationship with God. Without that closeness we lose sight of His will in our lives.

2014 Day 130 – Titus 3

10 Saturday May 2014

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As we finish up the book of Titus, Paul reminds us of the importance of obedience for those in authority over us. We do not have to agree with everything they say, but we must recognize where their authority comes from and obey the final authoritative decisions made by our leaders. In Titus 3:1-2 Paul says, 1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. The second part of the passage hits home when Paul reminds us to slander no one. We have many examples of poor leaders both past and pesent, but slandering does not fix anything. Being peaceful and showing consideration does more to bring about change than harsh and hurtful words that stir up trouble.

2014 Day 128 – Titus 1

08 Thursday May 2014

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Today we begin reading the short book of Titus. As with the other books written by Paul, this is a letter and it is addressed to Titus, a greek. Titus was probably a convert through Paul’s ministry and had become Paul’s special envoy to the island of Crete. Titus was sent to Crete to organize and oversee the churches there and this letter told Titus how to do this job. The key verse describing Titus’ role is in verse 5, The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. The unfinished work Paul is referring to is appointing elders and establish correct teaching. 

2014 Day 127 – 1 Timothy 6

07 Wednesday May 2014

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Paul uses very clear words to describe what we as believers should not and then what we should do in 1 Timothy 6:11, But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. We should first of all flee from the things Paul talks about in the previous verses. He then clearly states what we should be pursuing with some very active verbs. Some people may feel the life of a believer is a passive existence that simply waits on God to act on our behalf. However, God expects us to have an active faith; one that pursues obedience for God with courage and doing what is right. Let us not wait on God to act, but actively seek His will and plan for our lives and our role in the life of others.