trbccoffeebreak

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one who you obey, either of sin, which leads to death or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ” Romans 6:16 (ESV)

Ever lose your fave recipe? I have too many times to count. This past week, I searched diligently for my oatmeal, almond butter cookie recipe. We love it – perfect combo and very healthy too – tastes delish. I searched thru drawers and piles of recipes before taking to the internet. None of the ones I found came even close. The ingredients were off. The procedure wasn’t right. I wanted my recipe; I could taste those cookies melting in my mouth. Giving up, I finally settled for another one.

Got up Saturday morning to take my vitamins and guess what I found folded up in my drawer? My cookie recipe! I was so excited! No settling for this girl, I mixed up a batch and it’s chilling in the fridge right now – can’t wait to bake them.

While my fave recipe involved delish cookies, God has a recipe for successful living – it’s called obedience. That’s right – nothing else will do. There is no substitute for doing what God has told us to do. It’s easy to try to do life our way and skip His wisdom, but settling for my will versus His will definitely leave a bad aftertaste.

Obeying the voice of God may seem simple and familiar, but over the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing on a Bible verse each week. Amazing how those verses have propelled me to examine my obedience. Do I intentionally listen and obey His voice? Total confession here – no! One particular day, I said something “gossip” at work that wasn’t edifying or encouraging yet I totally dismissed it. Next morning I’m reading over my verse for the week and knew I’d missed the mark.

Perfection will never be our seal in this world. We are constantly battling our fleshly desires, yet God never asks for perfection but a seeking after His holiness – a desire within us to obey His voice. A daily pursuit of prayer, Bible Study, obedience and growth.

Love His grace for those moments when we fail to follow His recipe. But don’t want to settle there and excuse away the things we know displease our God. The end result never serves us well. So sweet friends, I’m praying we heed His words and obey His voice even if it’s a habit we’ve excused before. Choosing not to settle. Choosing to please Him because obedience is His fave response.

“Sweet Jesus, how we need You to help us resist the urge to disobey. To stand strong and walk boldly in obedience knowing You lead us to abundance.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life