In This Issue:
I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
A Better Work
Standing on the Inside
Obey God
A Child’s Song
Volume: 963 June 24, 2024
Theme: Obedience
I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
Bill Brinkworth
The strong winds of a rainstorm pushed over a large 10’ by 10’ entranceway to my garden. On it hung the foliage of two seedless grape plants. The growth was massive, totaling at least 300 pounds. There the plant support lay after the storm, a tangled mess of plant and split oak posts.
When I built it, I knew I was using the wrong materials. I figured termites would appear out of nowhere and gobble the structure, but I did not want to spend the money at the time to buy the right timber and build it right. The future of the plants was not important to me at the time. However, the little creatures did find a meal, and it took a wind to emphasize the damage they had done.
Looking at the jumbled mess, I thought, “I should have done it right the first time. I ended up spending the money anyway.”
People go through life making similar discoveries. They learn the biblical way to live when they are younger. They heard testimony after testimony of how people learned about life the hard by making bad decisions that made their life not come out the way they wanted.
When hearing the testimonies, the young listeners vowed not to mess up their lives the same way. They purposed to be a good Christian, follow God’s commandments as closely as possible, and stay far from sin.
Often, when going through their teenage years, they fell for similar distractions and soon found their lives also in a tangled mess. With multiple marriages in their past, a habit of smoking, broken relations with families, legal problems, wrong decisions after wrong decisions, or other damage done by involvement in sin, they one day realized that they should have done their lives right the first time. They should have lived as God commanded in His Word because any other way does not work!
After purchasing pressure-treated lumber and rebuilding the arbor correctly, my next task was sorting out the mangled vines to salvage as much developing fruit as possible. Patiently, I went through each vine and, to my surprise, learned something else.
I realized that the plants were mostly vines and little fruit. I cut away much of the unproductive vines, disturbing one little toad, and one by one, cut away what did not have any fruit and put what was left on its new support. What now remained was at least one-third of what originally had been growing.
One may learn a similar lesson after getting to a point where one wants to start all over again and live the way God says to in His Word. It may be realized that a previous life-style was unproductive and even a waste of time before living God’s way.
Activities and things dumped for unscriptural living are often later seen as unimportant and hardly worth the priority given to them. That new car we had to have and the second job we needed to pay for it was not worth the time we missed seeing our children grow up and raising them properly. A fine house was a “must,” but it forced both parents to work, forcing the children to be raised by someone else with standards that were not the mother’s and father’s.
Church services that could have helped were missed because sports games were placed at a higher value. Now, we cannot even remember who played who or where the games were. All those things and other vain activities are now seen as a waste of our time and, in the long run, did not satisfy or help us.
Learn the lesson I learned from my collapsed grape arbor. We only have one life, and it needs to be lived the right way.
The world has no clue what the right way is. They try to fill their spiritual emptiness with activity and things. Those things are a temporary cover-up of real needs.
We are created to serve God, and His leadership is the only way we will ever have joy and fulfillment. Live your life according to the way His Word guides. God has raised billions of children, and when they do it His way, they will do it the right way the first time.
“Don’t pray to give God instructions — just report for duty!”
— Author Unknown
A Better Work
C. H. Spurgeon
“The ship is on fire!” was shouted. The bales of cotton were pouring black, horrible smoke. Safety was in question.
Passengers and crew were in extreme danger, but a capable captain was in command. He told those around him, “If you behave yourselves, I think I can get all to safety. All will be spared if you follow my instructions!”
If they trusted the captain, they would do as he ordered. No sailor or engineer would refuse to work the pumps or prepare the boats, neither would any passenger disobey any rule.
Because of confidence in their leader, they obeyed him at once. They believed his orders were wise, so they kept them. Neither their fear nor rashness would lead them to rush to and fro contrary to his bidding. When the boats were lowered and brought one by one to the ship’s side, those who were to fill them waited their turn in firm reliance upon the captain’s impartiality and prudence.
They got into the boats or waited on board, for they considered his orders were dictated by better judgment. Each man and woman firmly believed in the superior officer. Discipline was maintained.
Obedience to God’s commandments also proves genuine faith and trust in the Lord. There is no trust where there is no obedience.
Some say they trust Christ but do what they like. The faith which saves and is genuine is a faith that obeys.
“The acid test and proof of faith is obedience.” — Author Unknown
Standing on the Inside
Walter Knight
A mother repeatedly told her little boy to sit down. The boy continued to stand, disobeying his mother.
Finally, the mother went to him and plopped him down in a chair. Fuming, the boy said, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!”
How displeasing to God is our only outward obedience to His commandments, when inside we are very rebellious to Him.
“Obeying God may not be the easiest way, but it is the wisest.”
— Author Unknown
Implicit obedience is our first duty to God and one for which nothing else will compensate.
If a child at school is told to solve a math problem and copies an answer instead, the effort of cheating will not increase his mathematical ability. Likewise, we should obey God and do what he requires of us. Shortcuts cheat us from doing or learning what we should. God’s way is always the best.
A guide through an unknown country must be followed without question, or his followers will be lost. A captain commanding the direction of a vessel up a river must be obeyed by the pilot, or the ship will run aground. A soldier in battle must fight when and where he is ordered. When the conflict is over, he may see how following his commander’s orders got their side a victory. The farmer must also obey God’s natural laws of the seasons to have a bountiful harvest.
We must all obey God’s spiritual laws to reap happiness here and hereafter.
“Following God’s directions are the only way to get safely Home.”
A child’s Sunday school song teaches an important truth:
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily.
Action is the key — do it immediately, joy you will receive.
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
We want to live pure; we want to live clean.
We want to do our best.
Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest.
Walking in the light, keep our attitudes right,
On the narrow way.
For if you believe the Word you receive, You always will obey!