Category: Obedience

  • Those Little Doubts

    Christians often live their lives with an open question towards God. Sometimes we openly verbalize it, and other times it hovers in the background. That question is “God, show me your plan.”  I don’t think it’s a conscious thing, but we’re treating God as a fortune teller or oracle of some kind. It’s true that God is outside of time and sees it all, but that doesn’t mean we need to know all the answers.  Those questions reveal the secret little doubts that we can sometimes harbor.  

    We know God will come through for others and truly believe that. Yet, we listen to the whispers of the enemy or our own self-doubts and doubt that we are worthy of Him coming through for us.

    There are some verses from the Bible that most of us have memorized:

    Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

    Trust in Yahweh with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
    In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.     Proverbs 3:6-6

    Those verses are easy to recite and, in some ways, easy to believe, but much harder to live out in practice. We want to see where our footsteps will land rather than trusting God to guide us. Those nagging little doubts about our worthiness hold us back.

    Of course, based on our own merits, none of us is worthy. That’s why we needed Jesus in the first place. As believers, we are co-heirs with Christ, worthy not because of our own merit but because of who He is. God sees us with the imputed righteousness of Christ.

    There is a story in three of the four gospels of a man who wants Jesus to heal his Son. Jesus asked the man if he believed, and the reply is how we sometimes feel.

    Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:24

    Can we relate?

    James calls us to be doers of the word, not just hearers. Jesus calls us to obey His commands. That takes faith. Our faith calls us to step past our little doubts.

    What if instead of treating God as our personal oracle, or listening to those little doubts, we simply started living life as His Word and Spirit call us? What if we strove for lives of simple trust or obedience? 

    How would that change the way we live?

    Some simple self-examination and prayer might be in order. Where are we not trusting Him? Where are we wanting to move in certainty rather than faith? What’s holding us back from simple obedience?

    God will not fail us.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    When we say no to God

    SUMMARY

    I unpack why we quietly treat God like a fortune teller, demanding to see the plan instead of trusting Him with it. Real faith isn’t about certainty; it’s about obedience even while the doubts are still talking.

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  • Beautiful But Deadly: What the Bible Says About Adultery

    Siberian Iris - Beautiful but deadly

    There are several stands of this Siberian Iris in our backyard. For a short time, they display beautiful purple bearded flowers like these. The rest of the season, its long, tall green leaves provide visual interest in the landscape. Unlike some of the flowering plants we grow, no part of this iris species is edible. They can be toxic to pets and cause severe abdominal issues for the human folk. They could be labeled beautiful but deadly.

    The Bible speaks of many things that could fit the label beautiful but deadly, including many forms of sin. Our world largely ignores the warnings. Often, the warnings are not only ignored, but the issue is at best winked at and at its most outlandish, celebrated as both normal and desirable.

    While that could apply to many sins, this morning I’m thinking of adultery. It comes in many forms, but it makes the list of the Ten Commandments.

    You shall not commit adultery. Exodus  20:14

    Almost 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs speak against it.

    My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
    Incline your ear to my discernment;
    That you may keep discretion
    And that your lips may guard knowledge.
    For the lips of a strange woman drip honey
    And smoother than oil is her speech;
    But her end is bitter as wormwood,
    Sharp as a two-edged sword.
    Her feet go down to death,
    Her steps take hold of Sheol. Proverbs 5:1-5

    Depending on how you count, there are between 50 and 80 verses that speak against adultery in the Bible. Some commentators take the count even higher, to over 100.

    Adultery isn’t just a sin issue and rebellion against God. It’s a covenant issue, breaking the covenant of marriage between husband and wife. It isn’t a gender issue; both genders break the covenant, although women report doing so at a slightly lower ratio.

    Popular culture tells us it’s fun, freeing and might even be good for marriages. God says don’t do it.

    The attraction may be beautiful, but beware. Remember, it is beautiful but deadly.

    Keep your covenant. 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    General Revelation: Why No One Can Claim They Didn’t Know

    SUMMARY

    Like the beautiful but toxic Siberian Iris, adultery is an attractive sin that Scripture repeatedly and clearly warns against — a covenant-breaking choice that culture celebrates but God forbids.

    KEY POINTS

    The Bible addresses adultery extensively, from the Ten Commandments to nearly 9 chapters of Proverbs, with somewhere between 50 and 100+ verses speaking directly against it

    Adultery is fundamentally a covenant issue — a breaking of the marriage bond — not merely a moral infraction or a gender-specific failure

    While popular culture frames adultery as liberating or even beneficial, God’s consistent message across both Testaments is unambiguous: keep your covenant

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