OBEDIENCE

Today’s Scripture
“…if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God…all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you…”  (Deuteronomy 28:1–2, NKJV)

The Commanded Blessing
When you honor God with your life, keeping Him in first place, He puts something on you called a “commanded blessing.” The commanded blessing is like a magnet. It attracts the right people, good breaks, contracts, ideas, resources, and influence. You don’t have to go after these things, trying to make something happen in your own strength, your own talent, hoping that life works out. All you have to do is keep honoring God, and the right people will find you. The right opportunities will come across your path. The favor, the wisdom, and the vindication will track you down.

Out of nowhere, a good break comes. Suddenly, your health improves. Out of the blue, you’re able to pay your house off. Unexpectedly, a dream comes to pass. That’s not a coincidence. That’s the commanded blessing on your life. Why? You’ve become a magnet for God’s goodness.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the power of Your commanded blessing. Thank You for Your promise that as I honor You, blessings are headed my way, tracking me down and overtaking me. I believe that I have become a magnet for Your goodness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Ken’s Thoughts,
Finally, after a year of writing these notes, we get to the core of all the issues, Obedience.   In Adam’s disobedience all hell was let loose upon this earth with all it’s lies.   But in our true & loving obedience to Christ Jesus we have the potential of a new beginning in righteousness.  So when we make Christ Jesus LORD, as a True Christian (and yes there are fakes.)  we start on the road to learning HIS TRUTH so we can also learn Obedience.   Each of us that has named the name of Christ Jesus has voluntarily entered into a loving school of obedience.  If you are not in a school to learn HIS WORD and are leaning to be Obedient to HIS word you should better check out if you are in the right class room or not.  The carnal nature want’s total freedom from any and all authority.  The New Testament is a textbook of learning in humility how to come under GOD’S authority in love.   If you are a loose cannon on the deck you can only expect to put a hole in the bottom of your boat and go for a swim.  There is a Divine order of authority in the Kingdom of God, Children are to obey their parents, wives their husbands, husbands the word of God and the Elders, Elders the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit to obey Jesus and Jesus to obey the Heavenly Father.  And you will find this order all the way through the New Testament without exception.  So if you have no real place of learning obedience it may be that you are not in the right class room.  And of course out of obedience to the Will of God, comes HIS BLESSINGS.   So let’s spend a little time  with the scriptures that support this concept.  Of course it would be difficult to obey the Commandments of our LORD, Christ Jesus if you did not know what HE wants you to be obedient as to what to do.  So knowing HIS vision for you is imperative. So to start with, Obedience is not top down through fear, it is from the bottom up through love & choice.  GOD never uses fear or manipulation or bribes to change us into obedience.  We can only become obedient because we lean to love and trust God and really want to have HIS blessings in our life.

So let’s start with Children.   And  HE said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. Matt. 18:3.  And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]—in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state]. Luke 1:17.    So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.  Eph.4:14.   Children, obey your parents in the Lord [as His representatives], for this is just and right. Eph.6:1.   Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord. Eph.6:4.   Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Col.3:20.
 
Wives:  In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives, When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him—to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband]. Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes; 1 Peter 3.  Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord.  Eph.5:22.   As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.  Eph 5:24   Wives, be subject to your husbands [subordinate and adapt yourselves to them], as is right and fitting and your proper duty in the Lord. Col 3:18.   You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God..  James 4:4

Husbands:  In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God’s unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.]
1 Pet.3:7.   Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]. And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance. But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity [of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among saints (God’s consecrated people) Eph 5   Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, Eph.5:25.   Husbands, love your wives [be affectionate and sympathetic with them] and do not be harsh or bitter or resentful toward them.  Col 3:19.   More on obedience later…  Elders, Holy Spirit, Jesus,  Father but you know that this is supposed to be true already.  Only some Elders are really not Elders at all but are counterfeits.  So we will share more later on how to know these counterfeits.