Many Christians struggle with their personal devotional times, sometimes referred to as quiet times. We know that we should spend time with God reading His Word, praying, thanking and praising Him, but it just seems difficult right?Continue reading “Two books to help your devotional life…”
Sexuality and silence…
I recently went into a coffee shop to grab a coffee to go. But something was different that particular morning. As I ordered my coffee the barista leaned to grab the to-go cup, and in that moment I brought confusion into the situation.Continue reading “Sexuality and silence…”
Transforming
One of the big topics that many people are thinking about is transgenderism. This is a very complex and difficult discussion because it is about real people, many of whom have been hurt. Continue reading “Transforming”
God’s blueprint for the Christian life…
How should I live out my faith? What does a Christian look like? How should Christians behave and respond to God and other people? These are questions that many people are asking. People look for answers in books, or in advice from Christian ‘motivational speakers’, but Continue reading “God’s blueprint for the Christian life…”
Walking with Jesus on Campus
Summer has arrived! The sun is shining (depending on where you live in the world), kids have finished school and students have returned home. If you are a student, have been a student, are going to become a university student or if you have kids who are students you will know that university can be daunting. Continue reading “Walking with Jesus on Campus”
Bored of the ordinary?
Go to your nearest Christian bookshop and take a look at all the different books on the shelves. Big ones, little ones, heavy theological ones, devotional ones, and so on. But have you noticed Continue reading “Bored of the ordinary?”
Decisions made simple
We make countless decisions every single day, don’t we? These decisions can be very small things like what to have for breakfast or what to wear to work. But there are other decisionsContinue reading “Decisions made simple”
Where has the fear gone…
Have you noticed an increase in books about the credibility of the Bible? An increase in books about the ‘real meaning’ of the Bible? An increase in books and authors that try to change or reinterpret the hard truths of God’s Word?
I have and it worries me. Continue reading “Where has the fear gone…”
Final Word
There are many things in the world that worry me, make me ask questions and that make me want to teach people. One of those things is Continue reading “Final Word”
The path that’s hard but beautiful
How dare God ask that of me? Who is He is expect me to follow that outdated command? How on Earth can I live the life that the Bible tells me to?
If you’re like me you’ve definitely heard these questions and many more. Maybe you have even thought them yourself in the past or maybe they are currently running through your mind. But I want to take a few minutes to think about how obedience to God and His Word is wonderful and beautiful.
When non-Christians and even some Christians look at the Bible and some of its teachings they think that it is simply a rule book. They might say that it’s a book which demands so much of a person, and gives little or nothing in return. How on earth can we take a book that was written over thousands of years by different authors and base our lives upon it?
Because the Bible is far more than that, and the life that it calls us to is wonderful.
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself, his grand plan of salvation and the wonderful, detailed and complex story of how God would bring about that salvation. Therefore, the Bible isn’t just a random book! The Bible is God’s Word that’s revealed to mankind so that they can come to him and live for him.
But who is He to command obedience from people?
He is the one who created you. He is the one who knows every desire of your heart (good and bad). He is the one who understands the difficulties of life. He is the one who created humanity with a design and with a purpose.
So how does obedience look beautiful? It’s beautiful because when we obey God’s Word we are living the life that God wants for us.
It’s so easy to pull out the toddler tantrum and spit out our dummy because of the Bible’s commands and instructions are hard. But the wonderful news is that we are not alone! We don’t have to obey by our own strength! We don’t need to work our way to God for salvation, He came to the world (John 1).
Submitting to and obeying God is beautiful because we don’t do it as a way to earn our salvation. We don’t enjoy God to get in His good books and hopefully, maybe He’ll look on ya with favour. No!
We obey God because He is faithful, He is trustworthy, He is our Creator and He is the one who took us from death to life through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2). Everyday as Christians we are to grow in our salvation, meaning that we are to live it out to the best of our ability with God’s help and for His Glory.
Many of the commands in the Bible are difficult, many of them are looked upon by the world as strange and outdated. But I’d rather follow my Divine Heavenly Father who is unchanging, who is unswerving to His promises, who is so gracious and merciful that He would take my punishment for me on the cross!
I would rather serve and obey Him than a constantly shifting culture. I’d rather serve and obey Him than a world which rejects the Lordship of this Great God. I’d rather obey God than obey earthly people whose desires are based on the best outcome for themselves.
The Bible has some very tough commands for Christians, but God equips and enables us to serve, obey and mouthful anticipate Jesus’ future return!
So the next time you here someone say that obedience is a bad thing, point them to the gospel of Jesus Christ and say that to obey any other person than God is foolishness and a waste of time.
God has spoken, His people should understand it, believe it and live it out for the Glory of His Kingdom.
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