“Obedience is the very best way to show you believe and love God.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 25, 2022
So God said to Noah…Make yourself an ark of cypress wood…Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Genesis 6:1,7
Our culture talks of a dream job, a dream house, a dream car or a dream vacation. But, what about a dream family? Not a perfect family, but a family who learns over time to love and fear God by obeying Him and serving others. A flawed group of individuals who say, “In this family: we do second chances, we do grace, we do real, we do prayers, we do mistakes, we do I’m sorry, we do forgiveness really well, we do hugs, we do love, we do family to death do us part.” Maybe a worthy goal for you is to intentionally invest in your family in a way that makes God smile and so in life’s journey you are able to celebrate a flawed, but flourishing family—a dream family.
Noah was an imperfect man who learned to listen to the Lord on behalf of what was best for his family. Obedience was first in a series of lessons God instructed Noah to follow with his family and for the benefit of his family. Build a structure to protect your family from an upcoming storm like you have never experienced; the Lord made very clear every detail from the dimensions and what materials to use in the construction of the ark. No doubt, Noah engaged his three sons in this epic project that would protect his family, provide for them and allow them to flourish.
“May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children” (Psalm 115:14).
Obey God. These words resonated in our home as our girls grew from infants, children, teens and young adults. We were blessed to have churches and pastors, Charles Stanley and his son Andy who taught how the truth of obedience to the Lord is applied in everyday life. We even had a little jingle we sang as a family, “Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe, doing actually what the Lord commands and doing it happily, action is the key do it immediately and joy you will receive.” Not a rigid religious requirement, but behavior that flowed out of a Jesus love relationship. Love is the best accountability, not wanting to let down who you love. Our family is still a work in progress, but to see the fruit of flourishing is indeed, the greatest joy.
What do you need to do today, so along the way your family can flourish by joyfully obeying God? Maybe start by modeling humility by asking your spouse and child to forgive you for an angry outburst or resentful attitude. Or restart bedtime reading from a children’s Bible. Like an orchard of fruit trees, a dream family takes years of care, nurturing and trusting God for flourishing fruit. He is faithful, so you stay faithful. And always be aware, a dream family is not a trophy to be displayed on a wall of pride with self-grandeur. Rather it’s a living sacrifice, humbly placed each day with a heart of grateful praise on the altar of trust in Almighty God.
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, lead me to love my family in a way that grows within each one a heart of happy obedience to you, through Christ’s love and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Consider one of these children’s Bibles to regularly read and discuss as a family.
Related Reading
Daniel 7:27; Psalm 119:88, 167; John 14:23-24; 1 John 2:5
Worship Resource
David & Nicole Binion ft. MSDN: Yes (Obedience)
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