Monday, April 19, 2010

April 19, 2010

Acts 16:4-5: As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

This doesn't initially strike me as a powerful verse, but I know there are no wasted words in the Bible. The more I reflect on it, the more I appreciate it. Of all the messages Paul and Silas could have delivered in their traveling, the one that was chosen was obedience. I was thinking yesterday about the pressures of raising good kids, and all the different lessons I'm going to have to teach them someday about right and wrong. Then I realized that all it boils down to is obeying the Spirit over the flesh. God understands that our mortal flesh has a certain response system that has been influenced by our brainwashed society. It is not a sin to be tempted, nor is it a sin to feel any emotional response. What God seeks is that we choose to obey Him rather than obeying the desires of our flesh.
This was also brought up in a different form last night. The way my mind had formed it was emotion vs. commitment. There are a million different forms of temptation that can play on my emotions and attempt to interrupt my commitment to Zach, Carson, God, whomever. Although there is instant gratification in satisfying my emotional wants, it just doesn't hold up to the joy of knowing that I've honored a commitment I've made. Obeying our commitments is where we find stability, maturity and wisdom. It goes against all we want, but provides for us all we need.

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