Tag Archives: Obedience

2013 Day 44 – Acts 10-12, Proverbs 11:1-15

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

In today’s reading the big thing that stood out to me was Peter’s reaction to Lord’s command to eat “unclean animals”. Peter’s response is in Acts 10:14, “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” This is what we try to do for God. We freely give the things that matter little to Him, but what He really wants is our obedience to His calling. We feel that as long as we give God something, then we are free to not give Him the things he really wants from us, which is a willingness to give anything and everything He asks for. He doesn’t want our silly sacrifices, He wants our entire sacrifice of obedience to Him. We must be open to it all.

2013 Day 42 – Acts 4-6, Proverbs 10:1-16

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

There is so much information to digest in today’s reading, but the big thing that stood out to me was Acts 5:41, The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. How powerful of a statement is that? May we all find ourselves worthy of suffering for the Name!

2013 Day 33 – Exodus 18-20, Proverbs 2

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Sorry for the late post, but its been one of those Saturdays where you start early and the next thing you know you are having a crappy day and you finally realize its because you failed to make your first priority time in God’s word. Now that I’m here, my day feels much better. Anyway…

In today’s reading, we are following Moses as he receives timely advice from his father-in-law. Moses has been attempting to be all things to the people of Israel and as Jethro observes, he steps in and suggests that Moses spread some of the burden of responsibility to other righteous and respected men of Israel. What stood out to me was, once Moses was able to get away from the day-to-day tactical aspects of his time, he was finally able to spend time with God to receive the Ten Commandments. This is an applicable example to me because it made me realize how much God will not trust me with more if I cannot take the time to lift myself out of urgent, yet not important, tasks and follow His leading to what really is important. God wants me to do the things that matter most, not just the things that fill up my time. My prayer today is for God to calm my spirit and reveal to me what matters most to Him so I can do that above all else.

2013 Day 31 – Francis Chan – Balance Beam

31 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Reflection

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Tomorrow we will resume our daily reading routine. But for now, I have one more “Reflection” post to share. I thought I’d share another one of my favorite Francis Chan clips from one of his talks. Francis Chan challenges us to really contemplate how much risk we take for God in our lives and how much effort we really make to impact the kingdom. I hope you enjoy this short clip. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

 

If you ever come across anything you’d like me to post on this blog, please fee free to contact me at dino.evangelista@gmail.com.

 

2013 Day 15 – Genesis 37-39, Psalm 13

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

I always love reading the story of Joseph. While I don’t think he handled his brothers in an honorable way, he was not lying when he talked about the future of his relationship with his brothers as it was revealed in his dream. Joseph was a man of integrity and honor, and while it sometimes got him into trouble, in the end, he was always willing to accept the consequences of doing what was right. Joseph is one of those men we can all model our lives after as long as we realize there are sometimes difficult choices we must make to maintain the level of character and integrity expected of us by God.

2013 Day 14 – Francis Chan – What Are You Living For?

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Reflection

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

If you know me, you know I’m a huge Francis Chan fan. For this week’s reflection day I decided to share one of my favorite videos. It’s only 4 minutes, 20 seconds long, but it’s a powerful video that illustrates our lives in the light of eternity and asks the question, “What are you living for?” I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments of this post.

2013 Day 11 – Genesis 27-29, Psalm 10

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Today’s reading always makes me wonder how deception and sin could turn into God’s perfect plan. As I read the story of Jacob, I kept thinking to myself how wrong he was with the decisions he made. Then I realized that in the end, none of the things he ended up possessing came without a heavy cost. After all, the deceiver became the deceived when it came to receiving his bride(s). And while this man became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, it did not come without great sacrifice and cost. Could it have been that the cost came because of the sins of the father? I have to believe that it did. For this reason I must always be careful with my actions and the downstream affect it will cause to my family. God’s grace is sufficient for me, but there are always consequences to the choices I make. I hope I always keep that in mind and work hard for the future of my family.

2013 Day 9 – Genesis 21-23, Psalm 8

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

Sorry for the delayed post today.

The main thing that stood out to me in today’s reading was Abraham and how he handled God’s command to sacrifice his son. God usually asks me to do much simpler commands and somehow I complain and fight Him on it all the way. Abraham was willing to follow through completely and without complaint. If it weren’t for the angle stepping in, Abraham would have followed through and I have to believe there would be no angle present if God knew Abraham didn’t have it in him. That type of obedience is the kind I want to have. The kind that doesn’t hesitate to just jump right in; knowing God will take care of the details. The other thing to keep in mind is that God did not ask Abraham to do something He wouldn’t be willing to do Himself. God sent His son and sacrificed Him for us. Shouldn’t we trust God to know His plan is perfect? If nothing else, we should trust that there is purpose in His plans through us and we should count it a blessing to be included in those plans.

2013 Day 2 – Genesis 3-5, Psalm 2

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

I have two observations from the reading this morning. The first one comes from Genesis 3:20, Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. I have read this passage on numerous occasions and this is the first time I realized that Adam had not name the womanuntil this point. It wasn’t until their fall that he named her Eve. Not really sure of the significance, but I found it fascinating.

My second observation comes from Genesis 4:7, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” This is a very simple truth, but it is the most difficult thing we face in our lives. Sin is not something that is difficult to find. You simply have to open your mind to evil and it comes willingly. With the help of the Holy Spirit we must master it. Evil in this world is easy to come by, it takes no special skills. But obedience takes discipline and faithfulness to follow God’s leading in our lives.

2012 Day 364 – Proverbs 29

29 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in Daily Reading

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

In today’s reading the first verse stood out to me, A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. Doing the same mistake over and over is an invitation to disaster. We must learn from our mistakes, accept God’s grace, then move on. But when we continue to do the same mistakes over and over, especially when we actively rebel against God, eventually we have to accept the consequences of our sin. God gives us grace freely, but His grace is not a free pass to do whatever we want.