Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Continuing to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction, we will consider the second song of Worship inspiration, which is Obedience.

Today’s scripture, Jeremiah 7:23 (NLT) says…
[23] This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’

Consider…
Yesterday we found the following aspects of Worship, in a Google search…

• Honoring God’s worth
• Giving your heart
• Following God’s Word
• Living in obedience
• Worshiping in spirit
• Engaging in various practices

We reviewed honoring God’s worth based on Who He says He is, which is The One and only true God. We worship the LORD (YHWH) because is God alone.

God Himself declared in Isaiah 44:6 (ERV)…
[6] The LORD is the king of Israel. The LORD All-Powerful is the one who will set Israel free. And he says, “I am the only God. There are no other gods. I am the Beginning and the End.

And we’re commanded in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NLT)…
[4] “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. [5] And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Many of us recognize and call on the LORD’s name. Yet Jesus challenges in Luke 6:46 (NKJV)…“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

And He emphasizes in Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)…
[21] “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. [22] On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ [23] But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Notice our admission into heaven requires obedience, not a name drop.

Which brings us to today’s focus, Worship through obedience.

Looking back at the aspects of worship listed from yesterday, it occurs to me that ‘Honoring God’s worth’ and ‘Giving your heart’ are pretty easy. Even ‘Following God’s Word’ seems relatively doable.

Speaking of ‘following God’s word’ seeming doable, I’m reminded of the story of the rich man in Matthew 19:16-22 (NLT)…
[16] Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” [17] “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” [18] “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. [19] Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’” [20] “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” [21] Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [22] But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Notice in verse 20 the man acknowledged following God’s word. I think that’s true with many of too, we follow rules we’re told to follow in the Bible. However, notice the pivot point in verse 21…
go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me

Jesus told the man, and us…

• Let go of what’s important to you
• Embrace what’s important to God
• Don’t just follow the rules, follow the Ruler

…said another way, Jesus was saying move from following rules to following me.

As we read in verse 22, the man said no.

That man’s response, and our pending choice leads me back to what I believe is the most challenging aspect of Worship, ‘Living in obedience’.

Recall the aspect and explanation said…

• Living in obedience: Worship is a comprehensive concept that extends beyond religious rituals to include a life of obedience and devotion to God. This can mean living in a way that reflects God’s values in your daily life.

That explanation aligns perfectly with lyrics in today’s song by Lindy Cofer…

I pour out all my worship
With my life, my everything
My tears they fall before You
From what Your love has done to me

I see Your yes to me in Your nail-pierced hands
I will love You, Lord, and walk in Your commands
This is more than words, more than a song
It’s my life laid down, there’s action involved
More than words, more than a song
It’s my life laid down

I will love You with my yes, and with my obedience
I will love You with my yes, Jesus
I will love You with my yes, and with my obedience
I will love You with my yes, Jesus

And I lay down my own will
To take up Yours and Yours alone
I lay down reputation, oh yes
I live for You and You alone, ohh, oh-oh-ohhh

I see Your yes to me in Your nail-pierced hands
I will love You, Lord, and walk in Your commands
This is more than words, more than a song
It’s my life laid down, there’s action involved
More than words, more than a song
It’s my life laid down

I will love You with my yes, and with my obedience
I will love You with my yes, Jesus
I will love You with my yes, and with my obedience
I will love You with my yes, Jesus, hey

What a wonderful theme song to live by.

God wants us to love Him with our yes and obedience!

Writing this post today made me wonder what’s the difference between rule following and obedience. Thank God that a Google search returned…

Rule following is the act of adhering to a set of regulations, while obedience is the act of doing what one is told by an authority figure, often out of respect or a belief in the rightness of the command. The key difference lies in motivation: following rules can be a more detached act based on external requirements, whereas obedience stems from a deeper-seated willingness to comply with a specific command or authority.

That description reveals rule following or obedience demonstrates our detachment or attachment to God.

Of course there’s no way I can talk about obedience without referencing 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT) which emphasizes…
[22] But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

The LORD isn’t impressed by rule followers, but He is pleased with obedient children.

That’s why 1 Peter 1:14-17 (NLT) emphasizes…
[14] So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. [15] But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. [16] For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” [17] And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”

As I meditate on being an obedient child, I am reminded of Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT) which tells us…
[5] You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Notice Christ’s attitude was one of humility and obedience. I believe that’s because they go hand in hand. You cannot be obedient without being humble, and you can’t be truly obedient without being humble.

Perhaps we struggle with having Christ’s attitude because of confusion about ownership. We think we own our lives and bodies…

• It’s my life
• It’s my body

…but God emphatically says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)…
[19] Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

You see when you own a house, you can do what you want with it, without seeking anyone else’s permission. However, when you’re renting or living in someone else’s home, you need permission to do what you want and must comply with the Homeowners expectations.

We must recognize we’re merely tenants and own nothing, not even the breath in our bodies. When we truly understand this, we can begin to ‘live in obedience’ to our Landlord’s commands and expectations.

Today’s song also reminds me that obedience is an expression of love. The Holy Spirit affirmed this with John 15:9-12 (NLT) where Jesus said…
[9] “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. [10] When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. [11] I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! [12] This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

I listed all of those verses so that no one would be tempted to run back to following the rules of God rather than lovingly obeying Him.

You see ‘living in obedience’ is living in love. 1 John 4:16 (NLT) emphasizes…
[16] We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

And one chapter earlier in 1 John 3:16-18 (NLT) we’re told…
[16] We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? [18] Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Contrary to all the rule following narratives, God says ‘living in obedience’ is living and operating in His love.

Ironically, if we humbly and obediently love like Jesus, we will comprehensively be following all the rules we want to check the box on. Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT) confirms…
[37] Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

So today, commit to love God with your yes and obedience, by loving everyone everywhere unconditionally and unfailingly like He loves us.

Today’s song is…
Obedience

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)