Throwing Grapes and Moving Mountains

Blessings of Obedience

Romans 6:16-18

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Genesis 17:1b

I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless.

Obedience. What picture does that word conjure up in your mind? Is it one of gritting the teeth and toughing out that which you would rather not do? Is it an image of outward reluctant action? Or is it a vision of a joyful dance and opportunity to engage with the divine? Your perception of obedience is merely a picture of how you view God! Is He your task master or the lover of your soul?

Our response to God’s prompting in a perfect world would always be “Yes” and “Amen". Yet all too often the pull of sin and the call of holiness set up a war in the spirit. When God calls we often analyze it, turn it over and dissect it. We impose the parameters of human understanding upon the divine missive, and in doing so we lose the opportunity to glimpse the grandeur of heaven. As we link our darkened understanding to the movement of the Spirit, we in essence are trying to once again get God to fit in our box! God does not call us to understand, but simply to trust and obey. Are we willing submit to His Lordship and follow His leading? Our understanding of our God and His Kingdom grows exponentially through the process of obedience! He is Almighty – so why do we question the movement of His Spirit?

When we disobey, that portion of our spirit becomes like dead wood. It is unable to hear or respond to the Spirit’s urging through the self-inflicted damage caused by ignoring God’s guidance and directions. The more we disobey the more our spirit becomes darkened in its understanding and hampered in its ability to discern what is holy and good. Lacking this understanding we revert to that which we know, see and understand. Our lives become once again mired in an earth-bound focus and we lose the opportunity to dance to the cadence of heaven. It is so easy to live just for today. We become immersed in all those issues that vie for our attention, and in the process lose the vision of how the puzzle pieces of our lives are building our spiritual house. The most mundane things of life shape and impact our future. We build our lives moment by moment and brick by brick. Each decision we make either leads us further into the freedom of Christ or the bondage of sin.

God calls us to be trustworthy. Obedience is God’s measuring tool for our level of trust. The more we trust Him the more it will become natural to follow and obey. When we obey without trust, we are following orders as a slave would follow his master’s directions. It becomes mere action with no heart involvement. When we obey because we trust God our joy is multiplied beyond reason. It is as if in the action of obedience we catch a deeper picture of how very much our God loves us! As our perception of God’s love grows we realize that we are indeed sons and daughters who are heirs of His kingdom. As sons and daughters we must walk according to the “rules of the house”! These rules are for our freedom and benefit. They are for our protection and direction. Our level of obedience acts as the key to unlock the hold sin has on our spirits and sets us free to worship, adore and reverence the King! Each decision we make either frees us to dance in His courts or wounds us and binds our feet. Praise God for the blood of Christ! When we stumble and fall all we need to do is call on the blood for our purification and cleansing. His blood breaks the ties that have bound our feet and frees us once again to dance with Him. He frees us to be God’s tuning forks. Decision by decision our sensitivity to His Spirit grows or diminishes. We are called to be so sensitive to a touch of His hand that as He moves we vibrate with the glory of heaven. Are we vibrating?

Psalm 34:4-7

I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them.