​What does obedience have to do with faith?
Everything.
In God’s Word, the Bible, Abraham is remembered as a man of tremendous faith (Romans 4:13-22, Hebrews 11:8-11). He believed God. He also obeyed God (Genesis 22:1-18). Let’s look at Abraham’s faith and obedience.
THE TEST
 

1. God tested Abraham. He called Abraham’s name. Abraham replied, “Here am I.” (Verse 1). Abraham was familiar with the voice of the Lord. He worshipped regularly.

 

1. “Take now” your only son Isaac, who you love, to Mt. Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.” (Verse 2). The angel of the Lord said “now”. Not later. Not if or when you feel like it. Take your boy now.  

 
 I preached on this passage when my son was six. Heartfelt tears streamed down my face as I described what Abraham did. I asked myself:  Would I have sacrificed Adam who I love with all my heart? Would I have had faith and obeyed the Lord?
 

1. “Abraham, early in the morning, arose and went to the place God told him.” (Verse 3). He got up, took his only son, wood and fire for the altar No questions. No hesitation. No explanation. Simply arose and went. That is faith and obedience.

 

1. Three-day journey. I wonder what Isaac was thinking and dear old Dad too. The Word tells us. Abraham told the servants to stay put.” I and the lad will go yonder, and we will worship and return to you.” (Verses 4-5).

 
NOTE: WE, I AND ISAAC, WILL WORSHIP AND RETURN. THAT IS A FAITH STATEMENT! “The two of them walked on together.” (Verse 6). I can see father and son walking by faith to obey God.
 

1. Isaac did have a question for dear old Dad. “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Verse 7). Abraham’s reply” God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burn offering my son.” (Verse 8).

 
Oh my! Abraham had faith to trust God for the sacrificial lamb. Isaac had faith in his father who trusted in the Lord. So, they kept on walking together to the place of sacrifice. Continuing onward, walking together in faith and obedience.
 

1. Read carefully and reverently verses 9-18. Abraham put Isaac on the wood on the altar. Isaac did not question his father. (I think I might have been tempted to!).

 
Abraham raised the knife to slay his only son. The angel of the Lord (The Lord) stopped Abraham. I know now you fear, reverence God, since you did not withhold your only son from Me.
 
The Lord then spoke a blessing over Abraham that his family would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
 
 Why the blessing on Abraham and his posterity? “Because you obeyed My voice” Verse 18).
 
WOW! BEYOND WOW! What a scene for time and eternity. A godly, faithful man was willing to sacrifice his only son in obedience to the Lord. This is a prophetic picture of the future when a Father in heaven would indeed sacrifice His only Son Jesus, the Lamb of God, for our sins.
Abraham believed then obeyed. Obedience was the proof of his personal faith in the Lord.
Let’s get real. Anyone can say I believe. It is quite another thing to back up belief with obedience. If we won’t obey, I wonder if we really believe in Jesus?
Obedience is an act of trust.
Believe in Jesus? Then obey Him. What He tells you to do, do it. If you love the Lord, do not just say you will do what He asks. DO IT! Without question or doubt, do what He tells you to do. Now. Promptly. Not later.
When Jesus says “Come”, I simply come. When He says “Let go”, I let go. When He says “Trust in God in this matter” I do trust.
“By the discipline of obedience I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is.” Oswald Chambers.
If you and I say we love Jesus, let us walk by faith and obey His Word in all things great and small, as a daily demonstration of our love for Him.
“Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.”
“And Samuel said “Has the Lord as much 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.’ I Samuel 15:22
A Word For Your Week: Obedience is proof of faith.

​Thankfulness.
 
A woman boarded a bus. Every seat was occupied. She was tired and carrying several packages. Noticing her plight, a man stood and graciously offered his seat. She sat down and promptly fainted. Upon being revived, she looked at the man who had given up his seat and said, “Thank you sir” whereupon he promptly fainted!
 
“Thank you” is so rare today. You may feel like fainting when someone says “thank you” to you, but God will never faint when you give thanks to Him.
 
The Thanksgiving holiday 2022 is just around the corner. I need not tell you that 2022 has been and continues to be an incredibly challenging season in our lives. Because of the ups and downs of 2022, it is vital to focus our faith and be thankful to the One who is worthy of our praise and gratitude.
 
David wrote in Psalm 92:1-2 “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High; to declare Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2
 
The Psalmist declares that it is GOOD to give thanks to the Lord. Gratitude to God is a good thing! When we arise in the morning praise for His loving-kindness should be on our lips. Retiring at night, our last conscious act before slipping off to sleep should be to thank Him for His faithfulness.
 
Indeed, it is good to give thanks to the Lord.
 
Someone said “He who forgets the language of gratitude can never be on speaking terms with happiness.” Excellent thought. Thankful people are secure, happy people. A thankful heart is a healthy heart. A grateful mind is a great mind. Gratitude is a sign of a life lived well.
 
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
 
 I believe that if a person is not thankful for what he has, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he is going to get. Gratitude is an attitude that we cultivate daily. I have discovered that gratitude is a great antidote for anxiety, despair, depression, discontent, jealousy, envy and a grumbling spirit. When tempted to be ungrateful, be grateful, and see what happens in your heart!
 
Reflect on these benefits of a thankful heart.
 
·      Thankfulness guards against a complaining spirit.
·      Thankfulness insulates us from bitterness.
·      Thankfulness opens up opportunities for creative ideas to flow.
·      Thankfulness inspires and encourages those around us.
·      Thankfulness pleases God and silences Satan.
 
I agree with David that it is good to give thanks to the Lord.
 
Why not set aside some undistracted time to get alone with the Lord? Praise Him from a grateful heart for the following things this Thanksgiving.
           
Ø  If your sins are forgiven and you have the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ…GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have a committed, caring, faithful husband or wife… GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have a happy, healthy, family and home life…GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you attend a good Christian church which serves as a spiritual home for you and your family…GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you walk in health and wholeness and do not suffer from sickness or illness …GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have been spared tragedy and calamity by God’s protecting hand…GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have an excellent job that you enjoy where you feel you make a difference…GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your belly…. GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have people who love you, believe in you, support you and encourage you...GIVE THANKS!
 
Ø  If you have a future and hope in God, believing that you can do all things through Jesus Christ who is your strength… then GIVE THANKS!
 
Remember to say thank you to the Lord, especially when you are under stress or pressure. Giving thanks to God in the middle of a crisis calms our spirit, brings peace to our heart and restores our perspective that the Lord is with me, for me and working on my behalf.
 
How about you? Are you going to experience a thankful Thanksgiving?
 
What about after Thanksgiving? I encourage you to develop a spirit and discipline of what I call thanks-living. Every day give God thanks for the good things in your life that come from His gracious, generous hand.  
           
Psalm 107:1-2. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loving-kindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…”
 
A Word For Your Week The more you are thankful to God for what you have, the more you will have to thank God for.

​Sometimes God seems silent.
Frustration can set in when we have prayed to the Father and heaven seems to be out to lunch.
I have been there, done that, and have the T-shirt. You probably have a frustration T-shirt too.
So, what are you and I to do? Let us look to God’s Word, the Holy Bible, to see what happened to some righteous folks who struggled with Jesus’ silence.
The Silent Setting      
I encourage you to personally study and meditate on John 11:1-46.
When Jesus traveled to Bethany, He stayed with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. He loved them and they loved Him. (Verses 1-5)
Jesus was away when Lazarus fell seriously ill. The sisters sent for Jesus to come right away.  The Lord replied through a messenger the illness was not unto death, but for the glory of God and His Son. (Verses 4-10). Jesus traveled to Judea for ministry for two days. (Verses 9-10).
 Silence from Jesus.
The sisters were very concerned that Jesus did not answer their request immediately. They believed Jesus had power to heal Lazarus. They yearned to hear from Him that He would come. Eventually He did. Upon His arrival four days later, they both declared “If you had been here, our brother would not have died” (Verses 21 and 32). Their broken hearts were grieving because their beloved brother lie dead in a tomb and Jesus had not come to raise him up from the sick bed.
Jesus did the following: He assured them Lazarus’s death was not final. He wept with the sisters and crowd. He taught about resurrection life and belief in Him as the Savior. Then He calmly, confidently and powerfully called Lazarus forth from the grave!!! Lazarus’s grave clothes were removed. Brother Lazarus was fully alive and reunited with Martha and Mary. (Verses 11-46).
MIRACLE OF MIRACLES!!! Lazarus was raised from the dead! People were astonished. Many believed in Jesus, and of course, some doubted Him.
LESSON FOR YOU AND ME: God’s silence does not mean He is not answering our prayers.
Whether a silent season is short or long, Jesus hears and answers our prayers (Matthew 7:7-8). He responds on His terms and time, not ours. His time is the right time. The Lord’s timing is always the right on time. His timing is always better than yours or mine. Why? Because He is God and we are not!!!
In his devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, for October 11th, Oswald Chambers comments about God’s silence.
“If God has given you a silence, praise Him. He is bringing you into the great run of His promises. The manifestation of the answer in time is a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. Timing is.”
“If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for glorifying of the Father, He will give you the first sign of HIs intimacy—silence.”
“Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking for a visible answer? God will give you the blessings you ask if you will not go any further without them; but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into a marvelous understanding of Himself.”
Mr. Chambers thoughts are worth thinking about and applying to our silent situations.
What Not To Do During Silent Seasons

• Refuse to push the panic button. Panic opens the door of doubt.
• Renounce worry and wondering if you asked for the right thing.
• Resist the temptation to question your faith. Keep your belief simple and strong.
• Reject advice from people who do not manage silent seasons well.
• Let me say it again. Do not focus on feelings when heaven seems out to lunch. Keep focused on the Word of God.

What To Do During Silent Seasons.

• Remember how God answered previous silent seasons.
• Rejoice that God is at work on your behalf. Jesus always answer prayer.
• Be still. Quiet. Rest in the Lord. Trust God that He knows what He is doing.
• Praise and thank God for the good answers to your prayers that are on the way.
• While you wait for the answer to your prayer happily do the will of God before you.

Lazarus, Martha and Mary experienced a miracle! A glorious resurrection of a brother and assurance for two sisters that Jesus’ silence was purposeful. Jesus was right on time when He raised Lazarus from the dead!
The next time God seems silent, keep silent and still. While you wait for His response, try not to wiggle. Trust Jesus for His best for your life. He is answering your prayer!
Silence is golden when God is answering prayer.
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
A Word For Your Week: Trust God for the silent seasons.

​Sometimes life can rain on our parade.
 
The Apostle Paul obeyed the Lord’s leading and preached in Europe, Opposition raised its ugly head. Paul and his faithful gospel sidekick Silas suddenly find themselves incarcerated behind bars in a Philippian jail.
 
Acts 16:22-34 describes the rain on their parade. Beaten with rods, many harsh blows were mercilessly inflicted on their bare backs. Shocked and bleeding from their flesh-tearing wounds, they were then thrown into the inner prison with their feet locked in the stocks. Not the best ministry day.
 
Midnight rolls around. Most prisoners in their painful predicament would be licking their wounds, cursing men and God, and trying to sleep it off.
 
Not Paul and Silas.
 
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”  Acts 16:25
 
They were singing in the rain. Praying and praising their Creator instead of crying. Worshipping instead of whining! Singing instead of sighing. Rejoicing in jail. Amazing!
 
It is important to note as they sang hymns of praise and fellow prisoners listened to them (verse 25). They sang loud enough to be heard. No shame there! No muted or muffled vocal music. They sang boldly from their hearts so they could be heard.
 
Paul and Silas could not keep silent about God.
 
SUDDENLY, their prayer and praise service elicited a supernatural response. “A great earthquake” shook the prison foundation, thrust open the doors, and every prisoner’s chains fell off (verse 26)! The jailer was so shook up that he drew his sword to take his life (verse 27). Paul assured the jail keeper everyone was present and accounted for. Deeply moved and in awe of what he was witnessing, the jailer brought the prisoners out and asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Verses 28-30).
 
Paul preached (after midnight!) the good news, the jailer and his entire family was saved and the jailer fed Paul and Silas in his home and “rejoiced greatly” (verses 31-34)
 
A MIRACLE AT MIDNIGHT! God’s servants were miraculously delivered, imprisoned souls heard the Gospel, and a jailer and his whole family were converted! No small stir in Philippi. Not a bad ministry day after all!
           
How could all of this have happened?
 
PAUL AND SILAS WERE SINGING IN THE RAIN!
 
When life rains on your parade, what is your typical response? Pit-party or prayer? Suck your thumb or sing God’s praises?
 
Paul and Silas’s midnight praise party teaches us three things.
 
1. Our body may be imprisoned, but our spirit is always free.
2. Our body may be wracked with pain, but our spirit can still sing.
3. Shackles cannot keep God’s songbirds from singing!
 
For Paul and Silas, even though it was cloudy and gloomy in their prison cell, the Son was shining brightly inside their hearts.
 
So, I ask you today: Is your parade being rained on? Has life turned upside down? Have your plans fallen through? Has someone you counted on left you holding the bag? Have you suffered an unexpected setback? Is your heart hurting because you have lost someone or something? Has a hope been dashed? An expectation unrealized? A desire unmet?
 
When dark gray storm clouds roll over your life, thunder booms, lightning flashes and rain dumps on your parade, do you feel like saying rain, rain go away…and please do not come back another day?
 
Our natural feelings will resist praising God in a challenging time. To our natural man praising God in the rain DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. Singing when hurting seems so ridiculous. If we are to be honest, sometimes we would rather cancel the parade rather than sing in the rain!
 
But faith is not to be ruled by feelings.
 
Paul and Silas were men of faith. They trusted God when it was raining on their parade. When it is raining on our parade, our spiritual man must rise up, overrule the natural feelings and make the decision to sing with faith.
 
When rain is pouring down, as Christians, you and I need to stop ringing our hands in worry and fear and start singing and raise our hands in faith to praise our Lord and Savior.
 
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
 
 You never know who might be watching when rain pours into your life. The prisoners, jailer and his entire family were positively influenced by Paul and Silas’s midnight song service. And God is watching how you handle adversity too. Are you in the habit of singing in the rain? Who knows who may come to Christ because you sang in the rain!
 
When the rain is falling, raise your hands, open your mouth and praise the Lord! Then expect a miracle!
 
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.”                                         Psalm 34:1-3
 
A Word For Your Week: Singing God’s praises paves the way for deliverance from difficulties.
 

​Is it possible that one thing can keep people from coming to Christ and serving Him? Or can one thing keep a Christian from becoming increasingly like Jesus?
The above are possible. You and I can fall short in our relationship with the Lord if one thing trips us up in our faith walk.
In Luke 18:18-23 Jesus is confronted by a rich young ruler.
The wealthy man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded, “You know the commandments.” The inquirer replied, “All these things (commandments) I have kept from my youth.”
I am sure the rich young ruler felt rather good about his response. In his mind he gave himself a nice pat on the back! In essence Jesus, I have kept the requirements of the Law, so I must be ready for eternity. Interesting, if he were so sure that keeping the commandments would get earn him a pass to heaven, why did he ask Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus laid it on the line what he must do. “One thing you still lack; sell all your possessions, distribute them to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me.”
I would like to have seen this guy’s face when Jesus laid this truth bomb on him. Verse 23 tells us “And when he had heard these things, he became extremely sad, for he was extremely rich.” Jesus answered his question. His response: sadness. Why? Because he had a lot of stuff and money but would not part from it.
Observations

• There is nothing wrong with being rich.
• The young man of means asked the right question we all must ask: What about eternal life? How do I get it?
• He erroneously thought being a good religious boy would be his ticket to paradise.
• Jesus said one thing, just one thing, was keeping his heart from Christ: his possessions
• Jesus’ words made him sad, not glad. Too bad young man. You had the opportunity of a lifetime to receive the free gift of eternal life by coming to Jesus and following Him.
• The wealthy man’s material goods and money which he possessed, possessed him.
• Jesus did not want his possessions. He wanted his heart. Oh my, rich man, give up what enslaves you to receive the free gift of eternal life.
• His stuff stood in the way of salvation.
• Jesus, in verses 24-30, then taught the disciples who had to be in shock at the rich ruler’s sorrowful exit, what it takes to follow Him and go to heaven. The main point of His discourse to the curious, confused disciples: WHOLEHEARTED BELIEF IN JESUS IS THE WAY TO HEAVEN.

This is hard-hitting truth. One thing can keep unsaved people out of heaven and professing Christians from maturing in Christ. Not a bunch of things. ONE THING. One thing like unforgiven sin. Material possessions. Money. Lust of the flesh. Immorality. Relationships. Power positions. Popularity. Legalistic religion. You can add some other one thing to this list.
Oswald Chambers wrote “One thing you lack.” The only “good thing” from Jesus Christ’s point of view is union with Himself and nothing in between.” Well said!
The Apostle Paul used the words one thing in Philippians 3:13-14.
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid of it yet, BUT ONE THING I DO, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul was once Saul, a legalistic Pharisee of the Law, a persecutor of Christians, a blasphemer of the Lord… a lost soul who came to faith in Jesus on the Damascus Road in Acts 9. He surrendered his life to Christ, believing in Jesus and receiving Him as his Lord and Savior.
What he believed as a legalistic, self-righteous, Christ-hating Saul was his one thing that kept him from eternal life. After receiving the love, mercy and grace of God, Paul’s one thing became forgetting his unsaved past and now reaching for his future, pressing on to the upward call of God in Christ. No sadness in former that Pharisee!!!!!!!
I love Paul’s one thing! It should be ours also.
So, let’s get serious. Examine ourselves (I Corinthians 11:28, Psalm 139:23-24). Has the Holy Spirit been pinpointing and convicting you of one thing that keeps you from progressing in your relationship with Jesus?
Take a hard look at your heart. Be honest with yourself. Answer the following questions. Find freedom from any one thing that is holding you back from a victorious, joyful, powerful, useful and fruitful mature life in Christ.

1. What is “one thing” that is separating you from wholeheartedly following and serving Jesus? ____________________________________________________________.
2. What do you plan to do about this “one thing”? ________________________
3. 1. How will you keep that “one thing” from creeping back into our heart, hindering you from becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ? _________________

 

1. How will others know that your “one thing” is no longer an issue in your life?
2. 1. How will you celebrate and rejoice that your “one thing” no longer hinders your spiritual life? _______________________________________________________.

Decide to let go of anything (one thing) that keeps you from going forward in faith. Then, decide to forget the past and reach forward to experience the abundant and eternal life the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased for you through His Atoning sacrifice on the Cross.
My fellow Christians, choose “One thing I do” as Paul did. What a wonderful way to start and live every day!
A Word For Your Week: Never let one single thing separate you from Jesus.