After a great weekend in Bear Valley I feel refreshed and ready to take on whatever this week brings. Sunday night we picked up the keys to our new apartment, Monday at work we began the countdown toward our big October 15th deadline, and today the carpets in our new place are being cleaned. Our new apartment is privately owned by a nice retired Chinese man and so the protocol that one might think standard is not for us in this new place. It is obvious that the previous tenants enjoyed more than just a splash of color, as the walls scream bright orange, red, purple, blue, green and yellow. I’ll admit that it seems a little more like Toon Town than home at this point.
After a long talk with my mom reviewing the how-to’s of proper painting I was determined to tame my new kitchen (which is red on one side and yellow on the other). Don’t picture a pretty pale yellow; this is not the soft color of a post-it note, but rather the blaring yellow of an Awana team or yield sign. Last night I was excited to see how much nicer one wall looked with a smooth coat of semi-gloss white paint. Just one wall gave me hope that the rest of our new place could be brought under my palate control before we move in, three weeks from Saturday.
This weekend was a wonderful time of fellowship and conviction as Bobby spoke to the group from 1 Corinthians 15:58 about living for Jesus as a way of life. I was especially challenged when we talked about heaven and how everyone there is doing the will of the Father, glorifying and worshipping Him. Bobby challenged us to think about how we can be doing God’s will now, living on earth like we are in heaven. I was reminded how the essence of faith is inseparable from the call to obedience.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21
“And the world is passing away, and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
1 John 2:17
I had a chance to talk with some girls in my small group about why it is so important to live faith, not just talk about it. Not only does it set an example that is accurate to the claim, but as one lives in obedience it is evidence that his faith does indeed exist. We realized that this confronts two main things in the life of a believer: the way I act and the things that I say. Bobby showed us that everything we do and say should always be for the glorifying purpose of obeying God’s will to edify each other and evangelize the lost.
My group made note of the need to be separate from the world and taking obedience and spiritual growth very seriously. We can hold on to the hope that God will grow us in these areas by giving us the strength and grace to obey.
“…Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who works in you both to will
and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13
It is very hopeful to remember that God did not save us and then abandon us to do good works. I have heard people say that salvation was God’s part and sanctification is our part. I’m glad that this is not the case. He began a good work in me and He is the one who will complete it to the end. My part is to be walking in obedience to God’s will, just as Jesus set the example to do so in Matthew 6:9
“Your kingdom come.
Your will be done.”
I became very convicted about this as the weekend transpired. I notice that I so often am just concerned about my will being done. I want to be happy, fulfilled, respected, well-rested…you name it. Aren’t we best at looking out for our own interests? Sometimes we even think that we deserve the good things that we are given. We sang a song that said this line over and over, “You are worthy, You are worthy.” The Lord grabbed me as I sang and made me evaluate my heart. So often my life does not say that He is worthy because I’m too busy thinking that I am the one who is worthy. I came away with a sobering but freeing reality. He is the only one who is worthy. He is the only one who is good. He is the only God.
Who is like You?
There’s no one like You
In all the heavens and the earth
You are the only God