The Joy Treasure Book Club- A Book about Obedience

I have been reading a small book in size packed with BIG truths about obedience.

It's called "A Life of Obedience: Learning to Trust His Time, His Place, His Will" by Andrew Murray. It has 105 pages and is published by Bethany House. Murray was born in 1828 in South Africa. I love reading books authored by people long ago. I find it fascinating to see how closely I can still relate to their timeless message about God's holy word. I am encouraged by how they apply God's truth to the christian walk. It is a fabulous read and it's a book that doesn't just leave you satisfied, but spiritually challenged.

Here is a treasure I gleaned from page 19:

"John uses strong statements:"He who says,'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1John 2:4). Obedience is the hallmark of Christian character. He says, "And whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight"(3:22). Obedience is the secret of a good conscience and of the confidence that God hears us. The obedience that keeps His commandments becomes the outward expression of our love for God. We may ask ourselves,"Does obedience take that place in my heart and life?" Have we given obedience the place of authority that God intends it to have: the motivation of our every action and our boldness to approach Him? If we yield ourselves to the searching of God's Spirit, we may find that we have not given implicit obedience the importance it deserves in our life, and that this is the cause of our failure in prayer and in our work. The deeper blessings of God's grace and the full enjoyment of God's love and nearness have been beyond our reach simply because obedience was never given the importance God gives it-the starting point and the goal of our Christian life."

Good stuff!

I love the end of the paragraph,"the starting point and the goal of our Christian life." Obedience is how the believer comes to Christ. It becomes the primary pursuit when walking with God. Obeying God pleases Him and if we never give it a thought, do we really love God like we say we do? When was the last time you asked yourself, "God am I obeying you? What do you want me to do?

Is obedience to God your goal in life, or is it just an afterthought?

I want to hear from you what you think about obedience.