Developing your character

Did you know that God is interested in developing your character? Well, it is true. However, the only way that can be possible is through one very important factor. That one factor is mere obedience. We should obey what we already know to be God's will. Disobedience on the other hand, can be very risky and is costly. Obeying God requires stepping out of ourselves and having the faith to just do what we are told even if we don't understand it in the moment. Obedience is even more important than sacrifice. Affirmation comes after the obedience. Obedience indicates your faith in God.

Obedience is so important. It is overlooked, to say the least.
Let's look at the definition of the word obey:

"to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of"

We are taught to obey our parents, right? Why? Because they just want to have authority over someone and have a say in something? No! It is because your parents are supposed to have the best interest in your being and you are taught to obey them so that you will be safe and do what is best. Don't you think that is why God wants you to obey Him? He isn't trying to be mean or controlling.
He wants the best for you and He wants you to be happy and safe...the same thing any parent would want for their child(ren). 

Keith Green wrote this song and I think it speaks for itself:

"To obey is better than sacrifice

I don't need your money
I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My words
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all
La,la,la etc.

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire
Not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly
To give back to you
According to what you have done
According to what you have done
According to what you have done"

Obedience is better than sacrifice. Now, that is a pretty big deal! We are going to be judged by what we have done, meaning we are going to be judged according to our obedience!

1 John 5:21 says:

"Dear Children, keep away from ANYTHING that might take God's place in your hearts"

2 John 1:9 states:

"Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son."

Obedience is following God's Word, completely! Will we fail at that? Yes, we will. But...we are to aspire 100% with our whole heart, mind and body to fulfill God's commandments and His Word. As you read through the Bible we learn that obedience goes beyond just obeying the 12 Commandments. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us:
"Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever"

Our obedience speaks for itself. We are either all in or not in at all.
Two in a half men star Angus Jones spoke on his experience on finding God.
(Click here to watch his testimony)  I love how he says "your either hot or you're cold", "we need to pick our side now", "you need to be 100% or nothing at all", "if you're gonna be for the world be for the world, you're doing so much harm being half in and half out. You're harming yourself and those others, who might actually want to know the truth", "chose you this day whom you will follow"...this is so true! This world is going to be testing you and you will have to chose wisely.

You can't be half in and half out, that equates to being lukewarm.
So, the question that I will leave you with, is this: Are you all in or all out?

What has been the most difficult challenge in your life?

My most difficult challenge has been staying strong in obedience to God. 

The world around me is constantly saying don't obey God, that is dumb and it makes you look dumb and stupid. The world is constantly saying "you can only be happy if you serve yourself and do whatever it takes to make yourself happy no matter the cost".
I have made some major adjustments in my life over the past year and I know for a fact that I need to make some more changes because as I evaluate my lifestyle, I know that I am not doing EVERYTHING I can to obey God.  And when I make "radical" changes in my life my biggest challenge is staying strong and not slipping back and becoming discouraged by the world around me. Breaking from the world and it's traditions is not easy.  

Have you ever seen the movie "Christmas with the Kranks"? The Kranks did not want to celebrate Christmas, they wanted to abandon all the stress that came with following the normal traditions of the holiday. So, they decided to book a trip to take a cruise. The entire town was in an uproar because they were abandoning the "traditions" of Christmas. The Kranks were constantly having to support each other and be strong and not give in even although they were very tempted to give in on several occasions, even on just little things. This is a good example of how I feel a lot of the time. Having to stay strong and not give in, even to the smallest worldly things.

"Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. " - 1 John 2:15-17

I sometimes feel like "The Little Engine that could", telling myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" be strong and not give in to even the smallest of things. Even the smallest things matter: my attitude, what I read, what I watch, what I listen to, who I hang out with, etc.
I have to admit that even when trying to be strong in my obedience to God, it has also been a struggle because even my Christian peers make it difficult. I find myself "witnessing" to Christians and having to convince even them that I am not crazy for adjusting my life.
This concept seems so backwards to me. 

Can you see the difficulty?

"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching'. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." - John 14:23

 But, why is obedience to God so important, you ask?

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching".  - John 14:15, 24

This is so serious! He says: those who do not love Him will not obey His teachings. Does this challenge you at all? It sure does challenge me!

Here are some very important points that Blackaby & King give from their book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the will of God:

- Obedience is the outward expression of your love of God

- The reward for obedience and love is that He will reveal Himself to you.

- If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem.

- God is love. His will is always best.

- God is all knowing. His directions are always right. 

- God is all powerful. He can enable you to do His will. 

- If you love Him, you will obey Him!

In many ways, obedience is your moment of truth. What YOU DO WILL: Reveal what you believe about Him, Determine whether you will experience His mighty work in you and through you, and determine whether you will come to know Him more intimately.

You cannot believe and trust Him, unless you love Him. You cannot love Him, unless you know Him. 

Here are some points the Bible makes about Obedience:

"If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world.", "The LORD will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you." - Deut 28:1,8

"But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and laws I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: You will be cursed in your towns and in the country.",  "The LORD himself will send against you curses, confusion, and disillusionment in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and forsaking me. " - Deut 28:15-16, 20

"This is what I told them: 'Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Only do as I say, and all will be well!' " - Jeremiah 7:23

  "So why do you call me 'Lord,' when you won't obey me?  I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me.  It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built.  But anyone who listens and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins."  - Luke 6:46-49

"Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did." - 1 John 2:6

Obedience to God will be costly and I am up to that challenge. How about you? Responses are encouraged.

 

Something to think about

It really bothers me that people start setting up for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I think Christmas is idolized WAY TOO MUCH! Frankly,
I want to challenge Christians this year by saying "how many Christians celebrate Christmas any different from a non-believer?"
As Christians are not supposed to be "of this world"

"Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls"
-1 Peter 2:11

Something to think about.

We started celebrating Christmas a little different last year and will follow our new tradition this year. We actually sold our Christmas decor last year, most of it has nothing to do with the REAL meaning of Christmas anyway. Then the money we normally would have spent on buying gifts (STUFF) for our friends and family (who actually aren't in need of such things and are overall well off ) we took that money and purchased food and hygienic items and other such things and gave them to a homeless shelter so that those in actual need had what was necessary to survive. I actually talked to someone in our town who appeared to be homeless one night. He was riding his bike in a heavy snowfall, December night and I asked him if he had a place to stay and if he needed anything. Turns out he was not homeless, he just didn't have much. The part that struck me was that as I conversed with him he told me how he doesn't have much, but still tries to help out others bc he knows several homeless people. He said that several homeless people die every year and he personally knew people who have lost their lives because they couldn't survive the bitter cold in their homeless state.  When I got home that night, I walked in the front door of my home balling my eyes out. My husband was like "what's wrong, what happened?" I narrated the conversation I had with the man on his bike. We decided we would never celebrate Christmas the same way ever again.

The Christmas traditions of this world are not even biblical. Christians are supposed to take care of the widows and the poor, so does that mean homelessness should not exist?
What God are we following?