Obedience

We must obey God rather than man. Sometimes that is a hard one. It shouldn't be, but the truth is that we often desire to please other people more than we desire to please God. Obedience comes from a heart that longs to please God ONLY. If we do not desire to obey Him in ALL things, we will certainly end up pleasing man-thus making man god in our lives for that moment.
Acts tells us that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey. We know that the Holy Spirit is given to believers at the point of conversion. But the proof of conversion would be obedience.
I have been spending a lot of time thinking about conversion. It's picture is found in Romands 12:1-2. In view of the mercy of God-because we understand the mercy of God and all He has done for us, we lay ourselves on the altar as a Consecration offering to God-for God. He consumes all of what we are and calls us to NOT be conformed to the world but to be conformed to the image of His beloved Son. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, proving the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect.
Salvation is here...Isaiah 46 says. But it is not found in simple statements of faith, confessions of lips or acknowledgements of truth. For many praise Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him, serving Him from rote and tradition. Salvation is found in NO other. But salvation does NOT look like the easy gospel that is preached to so many, deceiving them, lulling them into a false sense of security.

Salvation (according to Scripture) is
Consecration-being set apart by God and for God and totally consumed by Him alone.
Non-conformation to the world, but conformation to Jesus and His cross.
Transformation-CHANGE through the power of the Word

All of these things are marked by OBEDIENCE.
Obedience is state of the heart, not just a way to walk. It is a heart that screams-I must obey God, rather than man! It is a heart consumed by God and the Holy Spirit, who CAUSES you to walk in HIS ways. It is being transformed into HIS likeness instead of being pressed into the mold of the world.
Salvation is here....NOW WALK in these things.


ALL FOR YOU