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

Obeying God and Doing His Purpose

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 7:23-26

Focus Verse: Jeremiah 6:16  "This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

God's chosen people, Israel, had a challenge with being obedient.  We also have a hard time with our obedience to God.  We know the good path, but do not always take it. 

I believe that every Christian has been given a purpose and a mission by God.  God has given us talent and gifts to fulfill that purpose.  Through our obedience in all areas of our lives we can fulfill that purpose and mission.  If we are disobedient we run the risk of the mission being given to someone else to fulfill.  If we repent, then God may choose to show mercy and give another chance, but we are not guaranteed a second chance at the mission.  God's work will be done, either by us or by someone else.  There have been people, churches, ministries, and nations that have missed out on a blessing because of disobedience. There are many Christians that will come to the end of life and say "I wonder what God could have done through me had I been obedient to Him?  That is a tragedy. 

When I am standing at the crossroads and given the choice to do right or wrong, God can give me the strength to do what is right and follow the ancient path every time!  I pray that I remain faithful.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

What is Evil?

Scripture reading: James 4:13-17

Focus verse: "that nation that turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would." Jeremiah 18:10

Mostly, when people think of evil, they think of things like murder, theft and lying. However, in Jeremiah 18:10 God is speaking to the people and says that a nation (or person) does evil by not obeying His voice. Simply put, disobedience is evil in God's sight. This means disobedience to His word, disobedience of parents, disobedience of authorities over us.

Then, James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that if we know the right thing to do, but don't do it, that is also sin. Some examples of knowing the right thing to do but not doing it could be taking care of someone in need, or studying God's Word every day, or praying about something we promised to pray about.

As you go through the day, see things that happen as opportunities to obey God's voice. In order to obey His voice, we have to know His word and what it says.

Spend time studying God's word and find ways to obey what He says. Then, when you know the right thing to do, do it! And in doing so, you will please God.

by Amy Warr
(friend of Mfangano and supporter of Interlocking Ministries)