A Life of Obedience

John 8:28-29 "So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me -- he has not deserted me. For I always do those things that are pleasing to him."

God knows who we really are—sinners by nature and practice. Before salvation, we were actively rebelling against His authority and pursuing our own way. Yet He loved us so much that He sent His Son to sacrifice His life in payment for the sin debt we owed (John 3:16). God’s love for us is a compelling reason to obey Him in all things.

Christ demonstrated what a life of obedience looks like. He regularly withdrew from the crowds to spend time in prayer and thereby discover God’s will. Jesus sought to please His Father in everything He did—and wanted the world to recognize that to obey demonstrates love (John 14:31).

Both the Old and New Testaments provide examples of this principle. David lived an imperfect life, but God knew the king was wholeheartedly committed to Him (1 Kings 15:5). David declared, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). And the apostle Paul was single-minded for Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14). However, before his conversion, he persecuted Jewish believers (1 Cor. 15:9).

These two men experienced God’s forgiving love firsthand, which motivated them to actively pursue His will. And our heavenly Father knows that none of us can live perfectly, so He wants His children to let the Holy Spirit help them obey.


A life of obedience requires a mind that is focused on the Lord and His plan, a heart committed to following Him, and a will that is surrendered to His authority. It consists of many daily decisions to deny self, resist temptation, and choose His way. How strong is your desire to carry out His will?

Reasons to Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths."


We often find it easy to trust the Lord when circumstances are pleasant. In difficult times, though, resting in Him can be challenging. Yet that is precisely what God told David to do "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall deliver you" (Ps. 50:15).

As we saw yesterday, trusting the Lord is possible because of His love for us. In the Bible, we see this divine love clearly demonstrated through the Father's character, the Savior's atoning death, and the believer's adoption as a child of God.

Another reason we can rely upon our heavenly Father is His infinite wisdom (Rom. 11:33). He always knows what is best for us, and His judgments are perfect. We don't understand all that goes into God's plan—compared to the full, clear view He has of our lives, we see just a limited picture of reality. Therefore, what He chooses for us may not make sense at the time.

We can also depend upon the Lord because He is sovereign. In other words, whatever He—in His wisdom and love—chooses to do, He is able to accomplish. Nothing stands in the way of our God. He is in complete control of all things; even Satan must obtain His permission before taking action (Job 1:9-12).

We understandably dislike adversity intensely and may feel tempted to ask, "Why, Lord?" Yet by recognizing that God acts in love, wisdom, and sovereignty, we can know that He's allowed the situation and has our long-term best in mind. So we can replace "why?" with gratitude and trust.

Giving Jesus First Place

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

When Christ has first place in our lives, we will experience many blessings. These include a . . .

Quiet spirit. As we turn our attention to the Lord and meditate on His Word, He “leads us beside quiet waters,” where we find rest for our soul (Ps. 23:2). TheHoly Spirit will help us shut out the “noise” of worldly distractions so He can provide assurance of our Father’s love and support. With a quieted heart and mind, we will be able to discern what God is saying to us.

Stronger faith. Studying the Scriptures will enlarge our view of God and give us insight and direction. Reading how the Lord has helped others, we will gain confidence that He is at our side, enabling us to meet life’s demands. Our faith will grow as we follow His direction and watch how He works on our behalf.

Purified heart. Like a mirror, the Bible reflects back to us who we truly are and reveals where we need to change. When we confess our sin, God promises to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Prepared mind. We don’t know what’s in our tomorrows, but God does. He wants to prepare us for the future—both the joyous times and the hard ones. Through the Holy Spirit’s ministry, we will be equipped for whatever life brings (2 Peter 1:3).

Paul’s life demonstrates what it means to give Jesus first place. Because the apostle made Christ the Lord of his life (Gal. 2:20), he knew joy amidst trials and received the strength to face turmoil and difficulty. These blessings will also be ours when we make relationship with Jesus our highest goal.

Called to Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT) "We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

Many Christians don't realize that they are in a battle. We have an Enemy who opposes us in every way—his purpose is to prevent us from becoming who God wants us to be and achieving what He'd have us do. The Devil frustrates our plans, confuses our minds, and brings feelings of anxiety and despair. But he doesn't stop there; he also stirs up disunity in our relationships and churches.

There are several things that Christians should understand about this combat:

The battle is real, even if we can't see it. The difficulty, pain, and discouragement Satan causes are genuine. His temptations are not imaginary; they overwhelm and lure us away from the Lord.

The battle is spiritual. Our struggle is not with one another but with invisible forces of wickedness. Although the conflict is waged in the spiritual realm, it impacts every part of us—our mind, will, emotions, desires, and even our bodies.

The battle is tough. The Adversary fights dirty, and the encounter is "up close and personal." Our confrontation with the forces of evil is like spiritual hand-to-hand combat and flesh-to-flesh wrestling. He has a host of demonic beings who work unceasingly, even when we sleep. As long as we are on earth, the war will continue.

Although the Enemy is strong, there isn't reason to fear—he's no match for Christ, who lives within us. We've been entrusted with Jesus' divine power over the Evil One. However, we can access the Son's authority only by submitting to His lordship and walking in obedience to His Spirit.

Guía para aprender a perdonar

Guía práctica para uno de los llamados más difíciles de la vida por James Cain

Traición. Rechazo. Condena. Nadie pide ese trato, pero pocos están a salvo de recibir algunas heridas en la vida. Las circunstancias que requieren de perdón no están, por lo general, en nuestros planes. Pero, para obedecer fielmente a Cristo, tenemos que aprender a decir: “Te perdono”. La siguiente “guía” no es exhaustiva. Pero los consejos, las citas y los relatos recogidos aquí proporcionarán orientación en cuanto a la difícil orden del Señor de perdonar, no importa cuál sea la ofensa.

Mientras observaba a mis hijos jugar en un parque cerca de nuestra casa, se desarrolló un curioso drama entre dos mujeres y sus hijos.

Una mujer sostenía la mano de su hijo. La otra, más alterada, agarraba el codo del suyo. Ambos niños estaban con el ceño fruncido, con el mentón hacia fuera y las manos metidas en los bolsillos.

“Él dijo que lo sentía”, dijo la segunda madre. “Ahora dile tú: ‘Te perdono’, y dense la mano”. Ninguno de los dos se miraba a los ojos. Durante el silencio, la frustrada mamá comenzó a amenazar alteradamente a su hijo hasta que éste pronunció una o dos palabras. Aliviada, esta mamá los envió de nuevo al parque, y luego se lamentó con su amiga sobre la dificultad de llegar a los corazones de sus hijos. “Sé que el necesitaba hacerlo”, suspiró, “pero si no lo hizo de corazón, ¿qué sentido tiene?”

Era una pregunta válida. Después de todo, el “te perdono” que dijo su hijo era tan sincero como el “lo siento” de la respuesta del otro. Este incidente me recordó que saber que hay que perdonar no es la parte difícil; perdonar de verdad, sí que lo es. El punto, después de todo, es la reconciliación —la comunión restaurada y la herida sanada— que resulta de la práctica de esta disciplina. Al final, el perdón cambia más a quien perdona que al perdonado.

Esto es así, porque el perdón nos obliga a reconocer nuestra impotencia, y a confiar en la justicia de Dios. El niño que se resistía a perdonar sabía instintivamente que la debilidad no es, por lo general, considerada una virtud. Buscar la venganza nos hace sentir fuertes. Perdonar, por el contrario, reconoce que es posible que no recibamos la “justicia” que pensamos que merecíamos.

El cambio también se debe a que el perdón crea un espacio para la comunión restaurada. Renunciar a nuestro reclamo contra el ofensor nos lleva de la debilidad a la fortaleza, ya que invitamos a la paz del Espíritu Santo a restaurar nuestra relación con Dios y el prójimo. Negar el perdón, en cambio, rompe la comunión no solo con nuestro adversario, sino también con nuestro Padre celestial (Mr 11.25).

Un rato después, mientras mis hijos y yo dejábamos el parque, vi que los niños estaban jugando otra vez. Sonreían y reían como si nada hubiera sucedido. Aunque el proceso no siempre se vuelve tan fácil, el perdonar —y recibir perdón— había hecho un espacio para su amistad.

La mayoría de las personas sufren heridas mucho más profundas que las del caso del parque. Los obstáculos para perdonar serán mucho más grandes, y el costo mucho más alto. Pero el punto sigue siendo el mismo: cuando perdonamos, hacemos posible que una relación se renueve, si no con la persona que perdonamos, entonces con la Persona que nos ha perdonado.

Consejo no. 1: Perdone y recuerde

Por lo general, ponemos juntas las palabras “perdonar” y “olvidar”, pero para perdonar de verdad, tenemos que recordar. El apóstol Pablo dice que nuestro deber de perdonar a los demás depende de recordar el perdón que recibimos de Dios. “De la manera que Cristo os perdonó”, escribe, “así también hacedlo vosotros” (Col 3.13). No solo debemos recordar que Dios nos perdona, sino también imitar cómo Él lo hace: con misericordia, con generosidad, y por completo.

Podemos sentirnos tentados a mantener un “registro de agravios”, pero el amor impide eso (1 Co 13.5). El mundo incrédulo tiende a alimentar rencores contra quienes nos han causado algún mal, pero como seguidores de Cristo, perdonamos con generosidad sin esperar nada a cambio.

Aplicación: Perdone por completo, haga borrón y cuenta nueva. Perdonar no significa olvidar la ofensa. Después de todo, usted es humano, y no puede olvidar totalmente. Peor aun, pretender que nunca sucedió nada malo, impide que haya sanidad. Cuando recuerde la falta cometida contra usted, véala como una oportunidad para recordar la gracia de Dios para con usted, y por medio de usted para con el ofensor.

Consejo no. 2: No se limite a decir unas simples palabras

Desde la perspectiva cristiana, el perdón requiere mucho más de nosotros que unas breves palabras. El escritor Thomas Watson dio una respuesta sorprendente a la pregunta: ¿Qué es el perdón? Él escribió: “Perdonamos cuando luchamos contra todo pensamiento de venganza; cuando no pensamos hacer ninguna mala jugada a nuestros enemigos, sino que les deseamos lo mejor, nos afligimos por sus calamidades, oramos por ellos, buscamos la reconciliación con ellos, y nos mostramos listos todo el tiempo para aliviarlos”. En otras palabras, el perdón requiere de una acción misericordiosa interior antes de que podamos llevar a cabo una acción misericordiosa exterior (véase el consejo no. 4). Gran parte de este trabajo interior puede hacerse sin el conocimiento del ofensor. La frase de Watson “luchar contra”, reconoce lo extenuante que puede llegar a ser el perdón, exigiéndonos que nos opongamos de forma activa y enérgica a la inclinación natural de agredir física o verbalmente a la otra persona, o de retirarle nuestro afecto.

Aplicación: Evite atacar a los demás o apartarse de ellos, y busque oportunidades para celebrar los triunfos de su ofensor. No se alegre cuando esta persona sufra, sino acompáñela en su aflicción. Trate de “aliviar” sinceramente a esa persona, y busque el momento adecuado para la reconciliación. Todo este trabajo del corazón le permitirá a usted, cuando llegue el momento, ofrecer un perdón auténtico.

No Condemnation in Christ

Mark 16:5-7 (NLT) 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,[a] who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

Peter was devastated when he realized he'd denied Christ not once but three times, as Jesus had foretold (Luke 22:61-62). This was the man who just hours earlier had bravely vowed to die for his Lord (v. 33). I doubt he ever forgot the horror of such utter failure. He probably spent the next few days suffocating under a weight of guilt.

Maybe you know exactly how heavy that burden feels. The weight of your sin goes everywhere with you, dragging your heart into a pit of despair. God's disfavor seems to bear down on you. In a word, you feel condemned. However, for all who have trusted in Jesus' atoning death on their behalf, the feeling of condemnation is just that—a feeling. It isn't the truth.

The truth is that believers are not condemned for iniquity, no matter how terrible or habitual their transgression may be (Rom. 8:1). Condemnation is reserved for the unbeliever who is declared guilty of sin and punished (John 3:36). We may judge ourselves harshly because our actions and motives fall short of a holy standard. But God sees only the righteousness of Christ, which clothes us the moment we say yes to His sacrifice on our behalf. No one can do enough good to merit his own salvation. Jesus alone removes the believer's sin and "guilty" verdict.

God understands our heart's burdens—even self-inflicted ones. That is why the Lord sent Peter a message to let him know that he was not condemned, and the Messiah who loved him was waiting in Galilee. All believers should personalize the truth that there is no condemnation in Christ.

Wait Upon the Lord

Psalm 40:1 "I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry."

Practicing patience is hard work! This is especially true when we are waiting upon the Lord, who keeps to His own timetable. But believers who trust God to deliver are richly rewarded with the desires of their heart.

A person's willingness to wait reveals the value of what he or she desires. Imagine, for example, a young woman who yearns for a husband. She must decide whether to place greater importance upon a) getting married or b) waiting patiently for a mate chosen by God. If her priority is the former, she may accept an offer that is less than the Lord's best for her. The fellow in question might be a good Christian but not a man suited for this particular young lady.

No one goes wrong waiting for the Lord to send His best in His perfect timing. Of course, believers don't receive everything they request. At times God simply says no. In other cases, He adjusts our desire to match His own. In our humanness, we can't possibly know all the details of a situation. So we ask for what we think we need, based on our limited information. A submissive heart accepts the omnipotent Father's gentle redirection. When the awaited object of desire comes, it may not look like what the believer originally requested, but it will be exactly what he or she needs.

Waiting patiently on the Lord is an awesome witness. When He responds, others see the reality of God, His faithfulness, and the wisdom of our commitment. In addition, our own faith is strengthened. Fools rush to seize their prize. But wise believers know that blessing will come in God's good time.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2009 All Rights Reserved.

Developing Patience

Colossians 3:12-14 "So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience ; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone ; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity."

On any given day, we may encounter frustrating people and situations, such as the slow driver, mischievous child, or uncooperative co-worker. We may feel like lashing out, but God wants us to stay calm and be patient with everyone (1 Thess. 5:14).

Why should we want to develop patience?

• Our calling. Though once alienated from the Lord, we have been made part of His family through Jesus’ shed blood. As God’s children, we’re called to live a life worthy of Him—one that is characterized by humility, gentleness, and patience (Eph. 4:1-3).

• Biblical teaching. Scripture tells us to be tolerant of one another, bearing each other’s burdens, and responding with kindness.

• Jesus’ example. The Lord demonstrated patience toward Peter’s impetuous actions, the crowd’s demands, and the leaders’ false accusations. We are to cultivate an attitude of composure.

• Healthy relationships. Our impatience can hurt others and close off dialogue. Responding calmly gives room for the other person to confess wrongdoing, explain his attitude, and make changes.

• God’s approval. The apostle Paul wrote that we are to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction (Rom. 12:12 niv). When we quietly endure our suffering, we find favor with the Lord (1 Pet. 2:20).

The Holy Spirit is conforming us to Christ’s image. As we cooperate with Him, He will develop in us the ability to persevere—without becoming agitated—when waiting or provoked. A calm demeanor in times of delay or adversity can be a powerful witness to the transforming work of God.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

Libremos nuestras batallas de rodillas

PASAJE CLAVE: Mateo 26.36-40 LECTURAS DE APOYO: 1 Reyes 19.15-19 Salmo 47.8 Isaías 40.31 Daniel 6.10 Hechos 1.8
Romanos 8.28, 37 Filipenses 2.8 Hebreos 5.7

Las batallas que confrontamos

Es innegable que todos confrontamos batallas que consisten en luchas de distinta índole.
Algunas de ellas son externas, como las de nuestras finanzas, nuestro trabajo o nuestra salud. Otras son luchas con enemigos internos como el enojo, el rencor o nuestra incapacidad. Todo eso surte efectos adversos en nuestra relación personal con Dios, lo que nos lleva a preguntarnos: ¿Cómo podemos ganarlas? Aunque no nos demos cuenta de lo que representan, ellas son parte de la guerra espiritual que confrontamos, por lo que debemos estar firmes en nuestras convicciones, renovar nuestra mente y resistir al diablo y sus embates. ¿Cómo es posible lograrlo? Siguiendo el principio de vida que dice: Libremos nuestras batallas de rodillas y siempre obtendremos la victoria.

Implicaciones de este principio

¿Qué quiere decir? Simplemente que tenemos el privilegio de acercarnos a Dios para presentarle nuestras peticiones como las percibamos en esos momentos. En lugar de hacer una oración rápida antes de salir cada mañana o en la noche poco antes de dormir, debemos invertir tiempo buscando el rostro del Señor y escuchando su respuesta. Surgen, entonces dos preguntas: ¿Por qué debemos librarlas de rodillas? ¿Cómo lo hacemos? El Señor Jesús es el modelo perfecto de esto. En Mateo 26.36-39 vemos que la noche anterior a su crucifixión Él sabía lo que le esperaba y que en el Huerto de Getsemaní “comenzó a entristecerse y angustiarse en gran manera” (v. 37) delante de tres de sus discípulos; que “se postró sobre su rostro, orando y diciendo: ‘Padre mío, si es posible, pase de mí esta copa; pero no sea como yo quiero, sino como tú’” (v. 39). Pero no era que se rehusara a hacerlo, pues lo sabía desde mucho antes y ahora estaba dispuesto a hacerse “obediente hasta la muerte, y muerte de cruz” (Fil 2.8), sino que, sabiendo que en la cruz estaría separado de su Padre—aunque por poco tiempo—preguntaba si podría hacerlo de otra manera. Esa fue la lucha que Él libró contra Satanás y la ganó de rodillas clamando al Padre. (He 5.7)