Obedience is better…

1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV — So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”

Here we see Samuel answering King Saul.

God had spoken directly to Samuel and the instruction was clear, King Saul was to go and wipe out the enemy.

But King Saul decided God’s command wasn’t the best way and proceeded to keep back the best animals.

When questioned by Samuel his response shows his heart.

Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

He had not obeyed, but instead done what he thought was best.

Samuel wasn’t going to allow even the king to transgress the command of the Lord.

1 Samuel 15:14 NKJV — But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

And when called to account King Saul doesn’t humble himself.

1 Samuel 15:15 NKJV — And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

It is here Samuel speaks the verse which can be applied to every heart:

“…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22b

God wants our hearts to be so devoted to Him that obedience is our first choice.

The Lord expands this idea by speaking through the prophet Hosea.

Hosea 6:6 NKJV — For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

To be a follower of God, one is to reflect God in their own lives, their attitudes and actions.

God is merciful and He wants us to be merciful as well.

God is loving and He wants us to be loving.

God teaches us through His Word, because through it we are given the instruction on how to live as He designed us and He wants us to follow and teach others.

God became flesh and dwelt among us to teach us and to give us an example for our everyday.

He wants us to follow Him.

Matthew 12:7 NKJV — “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Matthew 9:13 KJV — But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

May we each one be inspired to obedience and mercy as well as sacrifice.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your example to each one of us. Thank You for loving us so deeply that You paid the price for our sins. Lord Jesus, please help me to learn from Your Word each day. To understand the truths of scripture. Please help me to obey Your Word, to walk in mercy and knowledge of You. Lord, You do not want hollow service which has no substance. You want true devotion of the innermost. I want to give You that, every day. Please help me to do so, whatever it costs. Thank You, Jesus. I love You. Amen.

Complete surrender

It was dark and cold.

I pushed a wheelbarrow in front of me, trying to contain the emotion which threatened to bubble over into a froth of rage and anguish.

My heart was so hurt and my mind kept screaming at the Lord, “Why?! Why are You letting this happen? This isn’t what I want…!”

And I hope I never forget what happened next.

Why are you angry?

The words were a whisper in my heart, but they blew away the self-absorption I’d been focus on.

I stopped filling the wheelbarrow with fire wood

and cried.

Tears of surrender.

This was years ago, but the affect of seeing myself from God’s perspective has been a lasting one.

Because the truth of why I was outside in the dark and rain gathering firewood was me.

I hadn’t realized this, but it was because all I was seeing was my own needs, my own priorities, my own opinions on life.

But in that moment God showed me I was suffering due to my choices.

I had not surrendered anything before Him, instead I was trying to fix it, to manipulate or work harder to get what I thought was needed.

Instead, what was needed was for me to place it all in His hands and trust Him with the results.

How our lives have changed since that moment!

And I’m so glad.

Although, I’m still learning complete surrender, (I expect it’s a life long lesson in learning) I have found such peace.

No, I can’t say everything is always good, infact life had been hard and didn’t get easier, but I could live in the difficult with a completely different outlook.

And that is what complete surrender is about.

It’s living life unto Jesus Christ alone, without personal stipulations.

It’s a servant who lives for what their Master gives or tells each day, without concern as to the future or personal sacrifice.

When the master is Jesus, the service is a pleasure of daily learning and serving the greatest, gentlest, most caring Master of all time.

Every person serves a master of one sort or another.

It could be self, a job, a hobby, a status, an addiction, the list is long, but only one master is worthy of our service and He is such an incredible master.

Matthew 11:28+30 NKJV — “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Do you know why His yoke is light?

It’s because He carried it Himself, all the way to Calvary.

All we have to do is follow.

Complete surrender to Jesus is the best decision I’ve ever made and I plan on making everyday for the rest of my life.

I pray you have found freedom in this choice as well.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for salvation. Thank You for that moment in the woods which got ahold of my heart and taught me how I was struggling to do life on my terms. Thank You for setting me free from that and for showing me how much better it is to live in Your will. Thank You for speaking so clearly to me. Thank You for forgiving me for the years I tried to serve You “my way”. Lord, even now I realize it wouldn’t take much for me to slide backwards into doing things in my own strength. Please keep me from that. Please keep my feet firmly in Your will. Please keep pride far from me, that I might not sin against You. Lord Jesus, You alone are worthy of all praise, all honor, all glory, and I love You so much! Thank You for saving me. Thank You for first loving me. Amen.c

On an upswing

It’s Tuesday,

and I cooked dinner.

Anne helped and we are actually going to sit down to a homemade meal.

It might sound simple or routine, but we’ve been lacking, because I’ve been too ill to make them.

There have been plenty of meals made by the girls or my hubby, but not by me.

And I’m so thankful for the ability to make this one.

The girls asked me if I’ve enjoyed the break from routine.

“Are you at least glad you’ve not been doing dishes, laundry, and cooking all the time?”

No.

I smiled and explained that all though those things can become monotonous I would rather be doing them then sitting in my room next to the air purifier.

They seemed to understand,

at least a little.

I’m sure for them it’s just work.

I used to feel the same way and at times I still look at it in that light.

But being able to serve my family by household chores really is a blessing.

I’m enjoying the ability to fulfill one chore today.

Praise the Lord for the ability to serve my family!