What does obedience look like?

Original Sin, the original act of disobedience, the act that separated us from the relationship the Lord intended to have with us. It's one of the best known stories of the Bible. It is also the one that we have been trying to make up for ever since. We're all pretty familiar with what disobedience looks like, or are we? To understand disobedience we need to understand obedience. Let's take a look at obedience. Dictionary.com has three primary definitions for obedience: 

1. the state or quality of being obedient. (complying with or submissive to authority)
2. the act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance: Military service demands obedience from its members.
3. a sphere of authority or jurisdiction, especially ecclesiastical.

This is a good place to start but what does the Bible say about obedience? After all, if we're trying to please God we need to look at what He says about it. One shining example of faith in the Bible is Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 says: By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

 

I must admit, the story of Abraham and his faith is one of my favorites, but there are several other stories in the Bible where faith in God prompted obedience. Obedience that led to great blessings. Noah built the ark, Moses confronted Pharoh, David picked up 5 smooth stones, Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, Joseph took Mary to be his wife, the disciples lowered their nets, the list goes on and on.

 

Biblical obedience requires both faith and action. Because of Abraham's faith in God, he listened to what God said, trusted God and then acted on that trust. Because of his obedience, God blessed Abraham and Abraham was considered righteous. The same can be said for every person on the above list. Does this mean that if we are submitting to God’s commandments we are obeying Him? Technically, yes, however God is looking for obedience that springs out of faith. Let’s look at Matthew 19:16-26:  Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' " "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

 

The Rich Young Man was obeying the commandments but his obedience was not enough. Why? His obedience was not enough because it was not a result of faith in God. His obedience was not evidence of a life surrendered to God. If the Rich Young Man’s life had been surrendered to Jesus he would not have walked away sad. He would have walked away with great enthusiasm, making plans to disperse his wealth among the poor and needy all to bring glory to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His sadness only serves to illustrate that the god the Rich Young Man worshipped was, in fact, his wealth and possessions.

 

I have always maintained that it is more difficult to be a good Christian here in America than in other parts of the world, especially the parts where Christians are persecuted for their faith. No, I am not crazy or deluded. Yes, I get it that Christians in the Middle East or in China or India are actively persecuted for their faith every day. I am fully aware that they are beaten and imprisoned, even killed, for their faith. I get that, I do. Here's my point, those Christians hold onto their faith. They lean into Jesus and depend upon Him for their comfort and their salvation on a daily basis. They have a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Here in America we get up and go to church on Sunday morning (or Saturday evening in my case) and we sing a few songs and listen to our pastors preach soul-stirring sermons. Then we go home and live our little American lives. Most American "Christians" forget about God and Jesus and the Bible for 6 1/2 days of the week. They forget to pray, they forget to read their Bible and they forget to cultivate a relationship with God. They let idols into their lives, idols that pull them away from authentic Christian living. Idols that lead them away from obedience.

 

1 John 2:3-6 says: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

 

Okay, you have decided you want to obey Him. You want God's love and grace and mercy in your life. You want to authentically worship and adore God. How do you know what to do? What are His commands that we need to obey? I'm glad you asked. Here's my list. This list contains the things I believe are essential to an authentic Christian life. They are not all-inclusive, just the major items. Also, recognize that this list reflects my opinion. There may be others with a stronger walk that have a different opinion. 

1. First and foremost, pray. Speak with God daily. Let Him lead your life, help you with your decisions and support you in your grief. Thank Him for His blessings and share your joy with Him.
2. Read your Bible daily. There are several ways to do this. There are online reading plans and some Bibles are set up to be read in one or two years. There are smart phone apps and I'm sure even there is even software so you can read the Bible on an eReader. There are many ways to read your Bible. The idea here is to read it. Get to know God's love letter to you.
3. Join a small group Bible Study. Find other like-minded Christians and delve deep into God's word. The Bible is not an easy book to understand, the support of others , the perspective of others helps. I have learned volumes in my small group. Plus, we not only study the Bible together, we also pray with and for each other and provide accountability for each other.
4. Go on a mission trip. Start out with a short-term trip or two, some missions work can be done in just a few hours. Some other trips require a full day, even 2 or 3. There are week-long trips, 2 week trips, even trips lasting a month or more. Short term mission trips usually have the goal of filling short-term needs. Collecting and/or distributing food, building homes, feeding the homeless and hungry, planting flowers at a local school or even just taking a group of senior citizens out to enjoy the sunshine. The object of these trips is to show the world God's love. You are being His hands and His feet when you do these things.
5. If you are not able to set aside your life to go on a long-term, multiple year, for the rest of your life type mission trip find someone who is. Support them in any and all ways possible. That may be financial support. That may be helping them with logistics or family or the one hundred and one little details they need help with. Most importantly, that means pray for them.
6. Whether at home or away on the mission field remember that Jesus' final words to us call us to spread the gospel. "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." John Piper answers that verse with this quote, "Go, send or disobey." Yes, it really is that simple.

I have just returned from my 12th short-term mission trip to Mexico. I am searching for God's plan for the rest of my life. I am listening with an open heart. Whether I spend the rest of my life working short-term trips or find a calling for a longer trip, I will be obeying the call in my life to spread the news to all nations.

 

The weather was not cooperating, it was cold and rainy. Our bus got stuck in the mud Friday evening and we had to walk most of the 5K between the highway and the camp. The mud was thick and gooey. My footwear was not up to the walk so I did it in my bare feet. Diane did, too. We walked and talked with Tati (Taw-chee) on the way up the hill. Tati was one of the regular workers at Camp California. Diane was a frequent visitor. This was my first trip.

The bus bringing the children Saturday morning got stuck, too. A few of us took a car down the hill to walk up with them. We had two days with the children, to feed them, to teach them and, most importantly, to love on them. We swam with them, did arts and crafts with them and played with them. We took hundreds of pictures, smiled till our cheeks hurt and gave out hugs freely and indiscriminately. Now it was Sunday morning and we needed to head back down the hill with 75 kids in tow. The buses still couldn’t make it up the hill. We were going to have to walk them out. No problem.


As we were packing up our things at the camp we were told to pack a smaller case with only the necessities for the next day, maybe two. We were going to have to carry our small case with us and hope the rest of our belongings would be able to make their way to us soon. As usual, I over packed and my “small” case was quite heavy. As I slogged along in the mud my struggles with my case must have been quite apparent because it was not too long before I felt a small tug on my arm. There stood a young girl of about 11 or 12. She indicated to me that she wanted to help me carry my bag. I was positive my bag was too heavy for her. We debated about it back and forth, with gestures and signs because I spoke little Brazilian Portuguese and she spoke even less English. Finally we compromised. As we trudged down the trail together we traded the bag back and forth. Companionably, we held hands and tried to communicate with each other, laughter being the best language there is.


I think about Flavia quite often now that I am home from my mission trip to Brazil and Restoration Ministries. I wonder how she is doing, whether she has enough to eat, whether or not she is healthy and warm. I was able to visit Flavia’s home, I did not actually go inside but we stood in the street outside her home and visited briefly with her family. Flavia lives with her parents and four siblings in on of Sao Paulo’s favelas. Her life is not easy. Her life makes me realize how blessed I truly am.


Last week I received an email from our Pastor of Outreach and Extension at church. Translated that means Jeff is our Missions Pastor. Lakeside was hosting a Zone Latin America dessert and Tati was going to be speaking. The email was an invitation to have cheesecake as we learned about mission opportunities in Latin America. Of course I made plans to go, I wasn’t going to miss seeing Tati again for the world.


Frankly, I was a little disappointed in the turnout. Other than Pastor Jeff and myself there were two other people there. Mike and Jim are both heavily involved in missions at out church, I have served with both of them several times in Mexico, Jim went on the same trip to Brazil as I did, and both Mike and Jim have been to Brazil on trips I was unable to attend. I wasn’t disappointed with Mike and Jim, they were actually there to share about the Costa Rica trip they had just returned from. That is a story for another post. I was just hoping to see some new faces.


Tati is currently in the States on a fund-raising trip. She was commissioned by WorldVenture as an IPM (International Partner in Ministry) last December. She is here for five months looking for new contacts, individuals, small groups or churches, who would be willing to partner with her as a national missionary. Although she is attempting to raise support she is also sharing her testimony in the hopes that God will use it to touch people’s hearts and bless them. Jeff, Mike, Jim and I got to listen to Tati’s testimony last Monday evening. She has a beautiful story, full of hope and promise that she is willing to share with anyone. She is traveling around California and is even willing to travel to other states to share her testimony. If anyone is interested in hearing Tati’s testimony please leave a comment on this post and I can put you in touch with her.


So back to Flavia… Tati was using a book as a visual aide with her testimony. This gorgeous book has pictures of Tati and her family as well as pictures from Restoration Ministries. As she flipped through the book and commented on the pictures one picture in particular jumped out at me, a picture of Flavia. She is doing well and going each week to Restoration Ministries to do a Bible Study with Tati and a few other girls. (I am assuming someone else is filling in for Tati in her absence.) Flavia is 13 now and from her pictures is just as smiley and sweet-natured as she was when we spent our brief time together. Tati filled me in on a few brief details of Flavia’s life since my return home and gave me some ideas of what I can do for her.


That evening was such a blessing to me. It is my sincere hope that the evening will end up being a blessing to Flavia as well. You see, it is my belief that supporting Tati is supporting Restoration Ministries. Supporting Restoration Ministries is supporting the people they work with in the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Seeing Tati again reminded me of the strong faith and beautiful hope I saw reflected in the faces of those I visited with in Sao Paulo. I saw people live and carry on their daily lives in conditions we can barely imagine. I saw families living in homes we wouldn’t keep our pets in. I saw crime on the same streets where the children were playing. But most important to me is the faith and hope I saw shining in the faces of the people in Sao Paulo. I have said it before and I will say it again, I feel that being born and raised here in the United States, here in this land of plenty has put me at a distinct disadvantage. The people in the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as people in similar circumstances all over the world, have learned what it truly means to completely depend upon the Lord for his provision in EVERYTHING. I feel it is our responsibility as professed Christians to love on and support those who are doing God’s work in areas such as these. We are called to love. We are called to love sacrificially. What better way to show that love than to support those who are spreading His Word? What better way to show that love than to pray fervently for their work?


How will you reflect God’s love today?

Gratitude for Being Warm and Dry

tune into my new blog here

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

So I've been subscribed to several other blogs lately and most of them appear to be located on WordPress rather than on Blogger. So after much thought and a few recommendations I decided to switch from Blogger to WordPress. I have imported posts from 2 of my three blogs and they can now all be found here under the reflections title. Okay, right now that's mostly because I don't know how to seperate them out yet. Changes may come in the future, but they may not. After all, my on missions ramblings and my reflections on the Bible are all in the same ball park, aren't they? I mean, they are all my musings on God and how He works in my life and yours, right?

Flavia

The weather was not cooperating, it was cold and rainy. Our bus got stuck in the mud Friday evening and we had to walk most of the 5K between the highway and the camp. The mud was thick and gooey. My footwear was not up to the walk so I did it in my bare feet. Diane did, too. We walked and talked with Tati (Taw-chee) on the way up the hill. Tati was one of the regular workers at Camp California. Diane was a frequent visitor. This was my first trip.




The bus bringing the children Saturday morning got stuck, too. A few of us took a car down the hill to walk up with them. We had two days with the children, to feed them, to teach them and, most importantly, to love on them. We swam with them, did arts and crafts with them and played with them. We took hundreds of pictures, smiled till our cheeks hurt and gave out hugs freely and indiscriminately. Now it was Sunday morning and we needed to head back down the hill with 75 kids in tow. The buses still couldn’t make it up the hill. We were going to have to walk them out. No problem.



As we were packing up our things at the camp we were told to pack a smaller case with only the necessities for the next day, maybe two. We were going to have to carry our small case with us and hope the rest of our belongings would be able to make their way to us soon. As usual, I over packed and my “small” case was quite heavy. As I slogged along in the mud my struggles with my case must have been quite apparent because it was not too long before I felt a small tug on my arm. There stood a young girl of about 11 or 12. She indicated to me that she wanted to help me carry my bag. I was positive my bag was too heavy for her. We debated about it back and forth, with gestures and signs because I spoke little Brazilian Portuguese and she spoke even less English. Finally we compromised. As we trudged down the trail together we traded the bag back and forth. Companionably, we held hands and tried to communicate with each other, laughter being the best language there is.

I think about Flavia quite often now that I am home from my mission trip to Brazil and Restoration Ministries. I wonder how she is doing, whether she has enough to eat, whether or not she is healthy and warm. I was able to visit Flavia’s home, I did not actually go inside but we stood in the street outside her home and visited briefly with her family. Flavia lives with her parents and four siblings in on of Sao Paulo’s favelas. Her life is not easy. Her life makes me realize how blessed I truly am.



Last week I received an email from our Pastor of Outreach and Extension at church. Translated that means Jeff is our Missions Pastor. Lakeside was hosting a Zone Latin America dessert and Tati was going to be speaking. The email was an invitation to have cheesecake as we learned about mission opportunities in Latin America. Of course I made plans to go, I wasn’t going to miss seeing Tati again for the world.



Frankly, I was a little disappointed in the turnout. Other than Pastor Jeff and myself there were two other people there. Mike and Jim are both heavily involved in missions at out church, I have served with both of them several times in Mexico, Jim went on the same trip to Brazil as I did, and both Mike and Jim have been to Brazil on trips I was unable to attend. I wasn’t disappointed with Mike and Jim, they were actually there to share about the Costa Rica trip they had just returned from. That is a story for another post. I was just hoping to see some new faces.



Tati is currently in the States on a fund raising trip. She was commissioned by WorldVenture as an IPM (International Partner in Ministry) last December. She is here for five months looking for new contacts, individuals, small groups or churches, who would be willing to partner with her as a national missionary. Although she is attempting to raise support she is also sharing her testimony in the hopes that God will use it to touch people’s hearts and bless them. Jeff, Mike, Jim and I got to listen to Tati’s testimony last Monday evening. She has a beautiful story, full of hope and promise that she is willing to share with anyone. She is traveling around California and is even willing to travel to other states to share her testimony. If anyone is interested in hearing Tati’s testimony please leave a comment on this post and I can put you in touch with her.



So back to Flavia… Tati was using a book as a visual aid with her testimony. This gorgeous book has pictures of Tati and her family as well as pictures from Restoration Ministries. As she flipped through the book and commented on the pictures one picture in particular jumped out at me, a picture of Flavia. She is doing well and going each week to Restoration Ministries to do a Bible Study with Tati and a few other girls. (I am assuming someone else is filling in for Tati in her absence.)  Flavia is 13 now and from her pictures is just as smiley and sweet natured as she was when we spent our brief time together. Tati filled me in on a few brief details of Flavia’s life since my return home and gave me some ideas of what I can do for her.



That evening was such a blessing to me. It is my sincere hope that the evening will end up being a blessing to Flavia as well. You see, it is my belief that supporting Tati is supporting Restoration Ministries. Supporting Restoration Ministries is supporting the people they work with in the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Seeing Tati again reminded me of the strong faith and beautiful hope I saw reflected in the faces of those I visited with in Sao Paulo. I saw people live and carry on their daily lives in conditions we can barely imagine. I saw families living in homes we wouldn’t keep our pets in. I saw crime on the same streets where the children were playing. But most important to me is the faith and hope I saw shining in the faces of the people in Sao Paulo. I have said it before and I will say it again, I feel that being born and raised here in the United States, here in this land of plenty has put me at a distinct disadvantage. The people in the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as people in similar circumstances all over the world, have learned what it truly means to completely depend upon the Lord for his provision in EVERYTHING. I feel it is our responsibility as professed Christians to love on and support those who are doing God’s work in areas such as these. We are called to love. We are called to love sacrificially. What better way to show that love than to support those who are spreading His Word? What better way to show that love than to pray fervently for their work?

How will you reflect God's love today?

sleepless in Loomis

So I've not been keeping up with my writing at all.  I feel guilty about it.  I can't figure out why I feel guilty about it, it must be the Catholic upbringing.

It's coming up on time for another trip to Mexico.  I was just reflecting on my last trip.  I was miserable.  I had just broken off a relationship with a man I was head over heels for and still crying over him.  However, I didn't want anyone to see how miserable I was over some guy who'd treated me so miserably.  I was so busy hiding my pain I forgot to lean on the Lord for my solace and comfort.  Once I remembered that I got over him really quick, the guy not the Lord.

Once I got back on my feet I did some introspection and am not sure I like what I saw.

I read a variety of blogs, some of them I follow rather "religiously."  One I really enjoy is written by a gentleman named Spence Kennedy.  You can find him here: Siren Voices.  Spence writes real posts, descriptions of little slices of his life, completely awesome writing.  Anyways, in his most recent post Spence writes of how he began to feel very sick while  riding a train home.  And to quote him upon arriving home, "An atheist, I thank God with every fibre of my being that I am home, miraculously brought back here, away from the train of despair, to this blessed place where I can be myself and do whatever I need to recover."   The little piece I found so amazing was actually not written by Spence but was in one of the comments to this post.  Jacksofbuxton said, "A friend of mine, a doctor, once told me that when serious illness strikes atheists find God and people of faith temporarily lose theirs." 

I was stricken, is that how I live my life?  Do I choose to walk with God only when my life is going well?  Some of my past behavior certainly supports that theory, but some of it definitely does not.  The important thing is... how am I going to live my life in the future?  Will I choose to walk in companionship to the Lord or will I choose to go my own way?  I stand at a crossroads, but then, in reality, every moment of every day is a crossroads.  Some days the choice of which path to take is easy, other days it is the most difficult decision of my life.  Lately, it has been difficult.  But Jesus never promised us easy, He only promised to walk with us.  So today I am going to be like a young child, I am going to run up alongside of Him, grasp his hand and follow Him down that path. 

Tati, one of my friends from Restoration Ministries in Brazil will be at Lakeside's 11:00 a.m. service on Sunday.  I am not sure I will be able to raise enough support to make it to Brazil again this summer but maybe if I start now I can go again next...