Cruise-Control Obedience
2009-06-24

Why does the A/C on the van pick the hottest day of the year so far to bail on me?? *whimper*


Here's a prayer request for today from the PPT site.

Jeff's van air conditioner.

Just kidding. Well, not really, but it's not on the PPT site.

Here's a real one.

Rising unemployment. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says President Obama expects the nation will reach 10 percent unemployment within the next few months. The current unemployment rate reached a 25-year high of 9.4 percent in May.

There are always several requests to choose from and I pick what I think to be most important. I think the economy and unemployment rate is one of the most important things we can pray about for our country right now.



Psalm for today: 78:1-4

1-4 Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you.
I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb;
I'll let you in on the sweet old truths,
Stories we heard from our fathers,
counsel we learned at our mother's knee.
We're not keeping this to ourselves,
we're passing it along to the next generation�
God's fame and fortune,
the marvelous things he has done.
(The Message)

"However high the majesty of the Word of God may be, this does not prevent the benefits or advantages of it from reaching even to the unlearned and to babes."

"It was the will of God that these things should be published from age to age without interruption; so that being transmitted from father to child in each family, they might reach even the last family of man, so that they might celebrate the praises of Jehovah in the wonderful works which he has done."

(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms



Tabletalk Magazine

"The Price of a Man"
Luke 4:1-13

4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, �If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.� 4 And Jesus answered him, �It is written, �Man shall not live by bread alone.�� 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, �To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.� 8 And Jesus answered him, �It is written,

��You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.��

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, �If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

��He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,�

11 and

��On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.��

12 And Jesus answered him, �It is said, �You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.�� 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)

Jesus never violated his conscience, nor did he surrender his integrity. Satan asked him for worship, but Jesus did not give in, because he was commited to his Father's glory.

"God considered us so valuable that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price to redeem us. Do we also esteem our souls so highly that we would never sell them for a price that would make us abandon the Savior?"



Holiness Day by Day

"Cruise Control or Race Car?"
1 John 5:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (ESV)

If we are supposed to love the Lord with all of our being, as Jesus said is the greatest commandment, it stands to reason that we are supposed to obey him with all our being as well.

"Most of us believers practice what I call a 'cruise-control' approach to obedience. We press the pedal of obedience until we've brought our behavior up to a certain level or speed, which is most often determined by the behavior standard of other Christians around us. We want to comfortably blend in."

"By contrast consider race-car drivers. They wouldn't think of using cruise control. They're not interested in blending in with those around them. They want to win the race. They're driving with all their heart, soul, and mind."

Ok. Ouch. That really hurts. Seriously. There is so much wisdom and truth in that, and it shames me to say that I have been right there in that "cruise-control" mode for most of my life.

Am I truly interested in winning the race?? I should be. Not that it's a competition and I want to be better than everyone else when it comes to obedience. That's where this analogy falls apart. I don't want to beat you. But I also don't want to just cruise along, satisfying the status quo. My obedience level should not be dictated by anyone around me. It should be dictated by God and his Word. I need to strive for holiness.



God help me. This reading today has pierced my soul. I pray for strength. But you've already given me strength. Well, then, help me figure out where I put it, because I can't find it at the moment. Lord, help me obey with all my being. Take me off of cruise control. Let me not be satisfied by comparing myself to others. Let me compare myself only to your standard, given to us in Scripture.


I'm going to be thinking about his one for a while.

Grace and peace, friends.



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