Devotional: A Faith that Obeys God

Good morning! On Sunday, we read through a lot of scriptures. One main point of reading through these scriptures is to equip you with biblical knowledge to help, challenge, and refine your personal walk and relationship with our Lord. We can’t know His expectations for us, His bride, unless we spend time with Him. Sitting in His Word is one of the core principles needed to develop a deeper relationship with our Lord. As we take time to enter His presence, we encourage you to listen, obey, do, and walk with our Lord in a close, intimate relationship!

We learned about relationship patterns found in God’s word that produced obedient faith. We learned that Hearing(Shama), Keeping(Shamar), Doing(Asah), and Walking(Halak) are the biblical fruit of those who were in a faithful, obedient covenant relationship with God! We learned these four words are located throughout the Old Testament, and the concept of this theme was lived out and preached by Jesus perfectly in the New Testament. Noah had this fruit! Abraham had this fruit! Jesus had this fruit! 

Are you displaying covenant relationship fruit by how you hear, keep, do, and walk in obedience with our Lord?

We learned that Noah built an ark in the fear of the Lord. The ark was meant to save Noah and his family from God’s judgment due to the wickedness of the people’s hearts! We learned that Christ is now the ark that saves us from the Judgement is Christ. Our faith in Him gives us access to the ark. When we believe in Jesus, through faith, He changes our hearts to be more like His heart.

Have you stepped(Yalak) into the ark of Christ by accepting Him as Lord?

We learned that Abraham was called to go to a land he did not know! Abraham left everything he had known to follow where the LORD was leading him to go (The Promise Land, his inheritance)! He took that first step of faith in the direction God called him to go! Abraham showed the same covenant relationship patterns that Noah did, and God prospered Abraham as a result. As God tested Abraham to kill his son, Abraham heard God(Shama), guarded what God had instructed him(Shamar), by doing what God had instructed him(Asah), and the result/fruit was that he was walking (Halak) with the LORD in faithful, obedient covenant relationship! This was a moment when Abraham showed his faith by obeying God and trusting what the LORD said through his actions! We see that the Lord provided a ram in the bush as a substitution for Abraham’s son, as a result of his faithful obedience.

What precious thing do you have that needs to be laid on the altar to be killed?

Is it hate, unforgiveness, offence, lust, unmet expectations, fears, anxiety, worry, doubt, laziness, a lack of trust, or idols?

God has provided The arc and the ram! Follow the way and instruction of our Lord by walking in a faithful, obedient covenant relationship. Repent of the things done in your flesh, your strength, your will, and your way, and lay them on the altar. Lay it on the Cross. Surrender as you hear the Holy Spirit instructing you! Don’t withhold grace from others because Jesus didn’t withhold grace from you! Forgive and show mercy because that is what Jesus did for you! Humble yourself under Christ’s authority, and as you walk with Him, you will renew your strength! Your faithful obedience to His commands shows you are in a covenant relationship with Him! It shows your internal fruit of faith externally by who you are and what you do!

At The Water’s Edge, we also desire to cultivate a culture that depends on God. We depend on God day by day in all circumstances. A discipline that is often forsaken is the practice of fasting. On Sunday, we walked through some practical applications of the discipline of fasting and how it drives us into dependence on Him. What is something that you are going through that you can surrender to the Lord, and instead of doing that thing, you can meditate on His scriptures or pray? We intentionally deny ourselves so that we can receive what He has. His perspective, His understanding, and intimacy with Him.

Prayer:

“Father, reveal to me where I am in my walk with you. Thank you for the opportunity to take that first step in my walk, but I want more. I desire to grow in christ likeness, and I cannot do that if I do not live out the pattern displayed in scripture. Open my eyes to hear you, empower me to walk with you, Father. 

As I fast from something this week, Lord, show yourself to me. Lord, I am sorry for desiring to do things my way and not recognizing that You are King. Let your will be done in my life, Lord.”

-AMEN-