Part 3 of 4, Chap. 6 in FOR HIS GLORY
To Obey or Not to Obey?
As we saw in Chapter 1, the source we draw from to satisfy our soul-hunger reveals our choice of a god.
That shapes our moment-by-moment decisions, which determine the degree of the richness of God’s Kingdom we experience and how effective we are in our witness. Our choices literally open and close doors to Life for ourselves and others.
We can obey or ignore Jesus’ mandates to share the Gospel, to forgive, or to be generous. We alone decide if we will love others as He has loved us (John 13:34-35), and take up our cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23-26).
However, to “believe in the Name of Jesus” demands that we receive Him as Savior AND surrender control of our life to Him as Lord. That is not optional.
As we mature in Christ then, He will call us to go deeper and deeper in humble surrender to His mission and His lifestyle in ways that separate us from the world, and even from many who also profess to be Christ-followers. Yes it will. Painful, but true!
I have never known the intimacy with Jesus that I do now, nor have I ever been so strongly called to go deeper. To obey or not to obey, sometimes in excruciating, soul-piercing ways, is the burning question.
Pushed Away
Many who are “lost” have been pushed away from God by the very ones who now judge them. They have rejected our hypocrisy and superficiality more than they have rejected God Himself.
Some on the fringes of the institutional church don’t get more serious because what they see inside is too fake for them.
When we choose moment-by-moment in ways that demonstrate our commitment to Lord Jesus, many who are presently outside of the Kingdom will see our transformed life and will want in too. Some are looking for that even now, to confirm God’s tugging in their heart.
Ken Stoltzfus
Kidron, Ohio USA
May 2, 2022
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