Day Two: Obeying God

Obedience is an excruciating decision we make all day long. The alarm rings: get up or hit snooze? Drive the speed limit or 5 mph over? Then come children, and we get to teach obedience. I remember the defiant look in my toddler’s eyes the first time she grabbed the TV remote. She made a calculated decision to disobey, and I knew we were in trouble.

God knew humans were trouble from the start, and he sent prophets to tell them. Jonah preached repentance to Assyria, but he obeyed under protest (after spending three days in a fish’s belly). Hosea married a prostitute. And Isaiah walked around barefoot and naked for three years. What made these guys obey?

· What makes you obey a hard command from God?

Good parents teach children there are consequences for disobedience. At the end of Moses’ life, he relayed this concept to the children of Israel, detailing God’s blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Unfortunately, the rest of Scripture shows that neither punishment nor blessing motivated Israel toward long-term obedience.

New Testament Obedience

Jesus Christ provided for us the ultimate example of obedience. He was up early to pray and was always about His Father’s business. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, He made the wrenching decision to obey His Father unto death. 

· Why did Jesus obey the Father?

Love is a long-term motivator. Jesus described it as the “glue” that would bind the disciples to Him and the Father after He was taken from them.

OT and NT Collide

Though it’s true we are made righteous by faith in Christ’s shed blood, James reminds us that Abraham’s obedience proved his faith. Isaiah also proved faithful by obedience as did others in both Old and New Testament stories. The thread stitching together the Testaments is obedience based on a relationship with God. Loving the God who loves you makes obeying Him easier. We can trust Him now because of His faithfulness back then.

· In what ways has God been faithful to you in the past?

· What step of obedience is asking you to take now? 

Fuel for the Soul:

· Isaiah 20:2-4

· Mark 14:32-36

· James 2:18-23

· 1 John 2:5–6