John 8:31b-32 “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’" (NIV)
What comes first – the chicken or the egg? You may want God’s blessings in your life, but are you living in disobedience? You may want to experience more of God, but are you obeying His teachings? In essence, the truth calls you to obedience, but your obedience calls on God to set you free through your obedience to the truth. Christians express their worship of God in many ways, but they seldom emphasize that the action word for devotion is…obedience! Please look how these Scriptures point you to fruitfulness, satisfaction, and closeness to God through obedience:
· John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (NIV)
Psalm 17:15 “In righteousness I will see Your face.” (NIV)
· Psalm 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face.”
· Psalm 85:13 “Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.” (NIV)
· Proverbs 10:16 “The wages of the righteous bring them life.” (NIV)
· Isaiah 32:17 “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.” (NIV)
It is not enough to praise God and tell Him how much you love Him; let your faith be realized by your call to action to be obedient. Your call to action results in God’s call to come to action in you. When you are not hearing God, missing His work, or not seeing His life lived out through you, look into the mirror for areas of disobedience. God is anxious to respond to your call to action through obedience, so that He can do great and wonderful things in you.
James 1:22-25 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.” (NIV)