I’m learning afresh of my requirement to OBEY GOD. (NOTE: I changed the wording from: NEED to obey God to REQUIREMENT to obey God!)

It sounds easy….right? Just walk in His footsteps, live right, be kind to others….you know the drill. I only wish that FOR ME it were that easy!

Yes, the gift of salvation may be given to us with very SIMPLE requirements, but FOR ME the daily “faith walk” sure is not easy. For me, the road seems difficult. I get pinched and squeezed and smashed…all in an effort, I know, to make me more like Christ. Could it be that, for whatever reason, I am called to more (a higher degree of purity, a more disciplined life, a deeper devotion) than others…or maybe it’s that I just ‘hear’ the call more clearly. I actually think we are all called to MUCH MORE than who we currently are and to what we are currently doing, but this writing is aimed at ME today!

I confess that I have been willingly disobedient far too often and it saddens me and causes a struggle within my soul. I often ask myself,” Just WHEN am I going to stop ‘playing around’ as a Christian and how many times am I going to (re)commit to seriously and genuinely following what God desires for me and to His instructions for me”? Daily, I wrestle with my flesh. At times I succumb to the temptations of sin and it throws me off track or causes me to veer off The Way of the Master. When I speak of this degree of calling and my desire to serve God in a more pleasing way, many people tell me, “I’m too hard on myself”. Yet, in my heart, I KNOW that it is not I who is setting the standard or doing the calling; it is my Father, God.

If you have read this blog lately, you know I am reading 2 Chronicles; another account of the history of the kings of Judah and Israel. Included in the history are the highlights of the life of each king. Some were good kings, most were evil. Disobedience seems to have come fairly easy for most. (Not unlike us today!) The consequences of sin and evil are exposed in 2 Chronicles. We may not break out with a case of leprosy, as King Uzziah of Judah did, but according to God’s Word, there will be consequences. The cost of sin sometimes is paid with devastating results not just for ourselves, but for others and those we love.

How critical it is to GET CLEAN and STAY CLEAN. God hates sin, and ANY degree of sin separates us from Him. Were it not for the sacrifice that Jesus paid, we would still be standing in our condemnation to hell. I am SO THANKFUL to Jesus who has washed me clean! It is now up to ME to remain IN CHRIST and to not mess up, dirty up or screw up the purpose for which He has called me! Yes, there is forgiveness for our sins, but I do not want to waste even one moment of serving and loving God as He desires! I don’t want God’s work and Kingdom to suffer because of my negligence, disobedience, selfishness, or idleness.

Today I am renewing my intent to go deeper and stay stronger in the power of the Holy Spirit and to walk faithfully as Jesus teaches!