Hi, Zane.
Yesterday we spent the day with Kaden and Nicholas, taking a drive down the Oregon coast to Newport. The two dogs were allowed to come along. They had a great time chasing balls on a sand beach, even out into the ocean surf. On the Newport water front, we were able to walk out onto a pier to where a bunch of noisy sea lions had piled themselves onto some adjacent floating docks. I’ll try adding a photo. The dogs had never beheld any creatures like that before.
It was good to have you and Jessica join us at church today—then for lunch. What a surprise to learn of Jessica’s relationship to friends in our little community church. Even though you’ve been exposed to this devotional already, I’ll follow through with sending it along anyway, since several others have been following along with these posts.
Blessings. Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.
There are definitely some human risks involved in obeying God. You can easily get yourself hated, persecuted, flogged, despised, and even killed by obeying God. But when your lights come on to see the big picture, that’s really no big deal. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). And Paul said something that continues to be mind-boggling to the world: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). What?! “Gain?” Yup! This kind of risk is all part of the program that sets the people of God apart from the rest of the pack. In fact, Church history proves that the people of God actually thrive amidst persecution and suffering.
Throughout our earthly pilgrimage, we would be well advised to more regularly turn this statement into a personal question and ask, “Am I obeying God or men?” Sometimes the cords of culture, custom, tradition, and other forms of social pressure can pull very strong to push us off course and discourage our being people who OBEY GOD. Please keep repeating this rule of the Kingdom and keep it fresh in your heart: “We must OBEY GOD rather than men!”
Bear in mind who these “men” were who were demanding the apostles’ obedience—they were the very ones claiming to speak for God and represent Him. Talk about irony! They were the religious elite. Beware, folks! Religious tyranny that rules by fear and force is certainly nothing new. It’s still very much with us today. And it’s still very evil!
In this matter, it’s best we focus on the benefits rather than the risks of obeying God. Notice that these apostles were returning home following their flogging “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (v. 41). The joy of the Lord for them was not only a benefit but also their source of strength, destined to ultimately propel them into eternal rejoicing. That’s a pretty great benefit. And always remember this: The temporal risks of OBEYING GOD are nothing compared to the consequences of NOT obeying God.