It's All About Obedience. But Why?


When you get down to it, There’s a God who created us and desires a relationship with us, but the functionality of that relationship hinges on OBEDIENCE on our part. Here is where the cart and horse thing comes into play: when your obedience to the commands of God as spelled out in His Holy Word is a legalistic means to an end in order to expect God’s blessings and to escape damnation, your RELATIONSHIP with God will not be at all be what He desires for you. In this condition, you are really still in control of your life and destiny, or so you think and act. Yet, when you have a RELATIONSHIP with God based upon the love He has shown you, in which you understand that He gave His Son to save you from death and destruction and has delivered you, then your OBEDIENCE becomes your greatest desire because there is no greater way to show your love to Him!  In this condition, you have given up your rights and you are not in control of your own destiny— God is in control of your life and your death. Only in that position can you truly know what it is to have a RELATIONSHIP with the Father.

 

 It’s a little bit like the different kinds of relationships that can exist between an earthly parent and a teenager.  Some teens obey their parent’s rules very reluctantly and begrudgingly. They are strong-willed and defiant, and they definitely want to maintain control of their own lives. Others are much more obedient, but have found security and happiness in submission to authority and would never want to do anything that would displease their parents. 

 How would you describe your RELATIONSHIP with God the Father? Do you feel there are rules you have to obey but would rather not? Or do you feel you get to obey the Father and desire nothing else but to please Him? The answer to finding a powerful and daily RELATIONSHIP with God has everything to do with our daily submission to Him and His commands. This is why Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” So what does this have to do with music? You have been commanded by our God to sing! Over and over we see this in the Bible:

“Let us sing psalms of praise to him.” Psalm 95:2

“I will praise God’s name with singing.” Psalm 69:30

“Sing joyfully about his glorious acts. “Psalm 107:22

“Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him!” 1 Chronicles 16:9

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth.” 1 Chronicles 16:23

“Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing.” Psalm 100:2

 

 So how are you going to obey this command? Out of duty and compulsion? May your singing be done out of love and praise for the God who has saved you!  Sing everyday.  But especially add your voice to singing in worship--either from the pew or (Insert  shameless plug:) from the CHOIR LOFT!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Live in Fear, Live in Prayer!

Image
This week is the 13th anniversary of 9/11 when America came under attack by an un-named army from an un-named nation.  There are still many unanswered questions about that day, but we do know that there is an evil Satanic presence beyond our comprehension at work in this world, and it is capable of the most heinous atrocities imaginable.   Many of us wonder every September if there will be another attempt at such a catastrophic attack upon our soil at this anniversary, or when ISIS will claim another genocidal victory.  Most of us will agree that it is not a matter of IF, but simply a matter of WHEN we will be targeted again, and we can only wonder WHERE it will occur. So, do I live in fear? Well, in a word, "No!"  I live in prayer!  There are those who say they don't live in fear, but apart from our God, I would propose that in actuality they are living in denial with a false sense of security be...
Read more

A First Blog Post for 2016

Image
Here I raise mine ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I've come!  These familiar words are from the hymn "Come. Thou Fount of Every Blessing" written by Robert Robinson in 1758.   I guess what has been surprising to me through the years is that this single phrase has been used to declare why we should not sing the old hymns because singing "Christianeze" words that the world doesn't understand does not help evangelize the lost and only turns off the modern generation.   Well, did it ever occur to anybody that if you come across a word you don't understand, it might be a good idea to look it up or even ask someone what it means?   Good grief, you can Google it and find the answer in about one minute! This phrase was penned because the author knew his Bible enough to know the word "ebenezer".   It is found in 1 Samuel 7 where the prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the ...
Read more

Mothers and the Life Within

Image
Have you ever seen a pregnant woman holding a "My Body My Choice" sign?  I searched for one to no avail. Today is Mother's Day in America!  What better day to write and pray about the sanctity of human life inside a mother-to-be? Countless pro-life articles have been written to try and combat the pro-abortion policies of the liberal left.  The technological advances over the past 50 years have no doubt played a part in the shift of belief about when life begins.  Improvements in ultrasound and facts surrounding the development of a baby in the womb have steadily supported the inhuman violence inflicted upon the unborn as being the killing of a human soul.   The "my body my choice my rights" argument has lost its punch as it has become more evident that the rights of one of the two (or more) bodies involved in this issue are being ignored. I would like to add yet another Biblical stance as to why the baby in the womb should be protected as a soul having life...
Read more