Partial Obedience

Bible reading:  Judges 1:19-36

Focus verse:   Hebrews 13:20-21  "Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will.  May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.  All glory to him forever and ever! Amen."

Back in Exodus 23: 23-33,  God gave the rules for entering and living in the promised land.  He said clearly that were not to make any agreements with the enemy or even allow them to live in the land or else they would cause them to sin and their worship of other gods would be a snare to them.  Now we read in Judges that they went into the land, but did not complete the command to totally drive out the people.  They lived with them.  They kept some as slaves.  The Danites (Dan line of the Israelites) never entered their land, but lived on the rugged edges of it.  There were consequences for this partial obedience.  They began to weaken and began serving Baal.

The Bible clearly tells us the things that we should do.  We may try to think in our own minds why we should not obey God completely, but only part of it.  You become an enemy of your own self when you talk yourself out of obeying God.   You miss out on His blessings and suffer consequences.  If you have disobeyed, then you should repent and begin obeying Him.

What is God telling you?  Obey it completely.  Even if you feel like you are alone in your obedience to God, continue in your trust in Him and obey.  He promises to equip you with all you need to do His will. 

Quote:  “Satan's cause is never more in danger than when a human being no longer desiring, but still intending to do God's will, looks around upon a world from which every trace of God seems to have vanished and asks why he has been forsaken, yet still obeys.”  ~C. S. Lewis

Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Fear God With a Fear that Keeps You Close

Bible Reading: Psalm 76

Memory verse: Psalm 111:10  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding..."
 
Fear God.  Some people struggle with that, but knowing His power, I fear.   Fear is what brings us to understand that we need a Savior.

Romans 3:23 tells us that we have fallen short of God's standard with our sin.
Romans 6:23 says that God's price for our sin is death.
Jesus paid that price (Romans 5:8) with His death on the cross and resurrection.
John 3:16 tells us that God loved us enough to send His Son Jesus so that if you CHOOSE to believe and follow Him then your soul will not perish, but have eternal life after the earthly death.   What will you choose?

Those who never choose to follow Him, should fear for their eternal judgement. But knowing His love, I have joined Him, love Him, accepted Jesus as my Savior and will follow Him.   Fear... respect... adore... worship... reverence... honor... glory... fear.  Yes, fear. Not a fear that keeps me away, but a fear that keeps me CLOSE to Him in obedience and trust.   I have begun to appreciate the kindness of God, but the also the fact that He is Just and He will rebuke and discipline when we sin.  There comes an earthly consequence to sin even as there is still eternal life for the believer.  We will strive to please Him, and when we fail, we should quickly return to Him in repentance.  Do not give up or lose heart.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

More verses to meditate on today:
Prov 8:13 (NIV) "To fear the Lord is to hate evil."
Prov 19:23 (NEB) "The fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil."
Prov 16:6 (NEB) ...the fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil.
Job 28:28 (NEB) ..."The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding."

Our Last Test

Scripture Reading: Titus 2:11-15

Focus Verses: Mark 13:32-33
 "No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows.  And since you don't know when they will happen, stay alert and keep watch."

When you were in school you had to take test.  Tests were given so that the teacher could see how well you studied the material.  Many times I knew well in advance when the test would be, but I would wait until the last day to study.  Our human nature is to put off until tomorrow what we should prepare for today.

The Bible tells us there is a test coming that all humanity will face.  Hebrews 9:27 says, "And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."  One day Jesus is coming back to the earth to judge, and to set up His earthly kingdom. Many people have heard that this event will happen one day, but have delayed in preparing for it.  The Bible says "broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many will go that way.  There are also many Christians that will be unprepared for that day.  They are failing to live in such a way that will result in rewards for their faithfulness.

If you have never accepted Christ as Lord and Savior in your life, so do today.  You don't want to be unprepared on that final day.  This is one test you want to make sure you are prepared for.  If you are prepared, let's give a warning to as many people as we can that there is still time today to prepare for this final test.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Kisumu Celebration June 7-9

June 7-9 Will Graham Celebration in Kisumu, Kenya. 

If you are in Kisumu or know anyone there, please tell them to make sure they attend this free event!  It is at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.

Will Graham, the grandson of Billy Graham,  will be preaching about Christian peace and harmony through Jesus Christ. If you are there, don't miss it.  If you can't attend, pray for the Kenyans who will attend that God would reach their hearts.

http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=9451

God's Concern for Detail

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:1-18

Focus Verse: Psalm 139:3  "You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.  Every moment you know where I am."

Any great accomplishment must have attention to detail.  Every artist know that the masterpiece they complete is made up of thousands of details.  God, as well, has given a lot of attention to the details of His creation.  Let's not forget that God knows how many hairs are on our heads as stated in Luke 12:7.

In our scripture reading today David recognizes that God knows where we are at every moment.  Sometime we may feel stressed with so many details in our lives.  But you can rest easy knowing that God never gets anxious about details.  He holds the whole galaxy of stars in his hand and controls every detail.  Yet he is concerned with every detail of your life and is there to help you.

For every problem we have, God has a solution.  Our biggest problem is sin but God has a solution for that, and His name is Jesus.  You can trust Him with whatever you are facing today.  Remember He loves you and wants to help you.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Kisumu Celebration Event

June 7-9 Will Graham Celebration in Kisumu, Kenya.  If you are in Kisumu or know anyone there, please tell them to make sure they attend this free event!  It is at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.
Will Graham, the grandson of Billy Graham,  will be preaching about Christian peace and harmony through Jesus Christ. If you are there, don't miss it.  If you can't attend, pray for the Kenyans who will attend that God would reach their hearts.

http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=9451