Quotes about Obedience

Having been faced with a dried-up brook—a closed door if there ever was one—Elijah needed a window. He got it: The Lord told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon where a widow would look after him. The ravens and the brook, then, were to be succeeded by a Gentile widow about a hundred miles away. Zarephath was outside Israel in Gentile territory. It turns out that God had been at work behind the scenes: "I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.

A huge difference between "in season" and "out of season" is this: "In season" is when God pleases you; "out of season" is when you have a golden opportunity to please God. You may think you are pleasing God when He shows up "in season," but, closer to the truth, He is pleasing you. When He hides His face, you should seize such a time with both hands. You

Too often, however, we "honor" God by creating our own law, making ourselves more pious than Him. God says, "Don't eat," and we say, "Don't touch." God says, "Give ten percent," and we say, "Give twenty percent." Like the Pharisees before us, we add to God's law, then expect Him to pat us on the back. This problem of seeking a piety greater than God's, however, gets no uglier than when we apply it to ourselves.

Blessed Holy Spirit, I am so comforted by the knowledge that You do what the Father tells You to say and do—just as Jesus did. I love knowing that when I am led by the Holy Spirit, I am simultaneously being led by the Father. I only pray, let me miss nothing You would say to me. In Jesus's name, amen.

if you are true to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will have to do things that humble you, make you appear as a wimp, and do things that nobody will admire.

We should never let material things get ahead of God or become so important in our lives that we can't walk away from them if He tells us to. Anything you own that has a hold on you is a problem.

Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well.

We see insurmountable multitudes obeying, in opposition to their strongest passions, the restraints of a power which they scarcely perceive, and the crimes of a single individual marked and punished at the distance of half the earth.

An obedient man is free when in prison," Quan said. "A disobedient man is imprisoned when free.

Delaying giving as a strategy for future kingdom building is risky. We could hold on to assets out of fear of letting go or unwillingness to surrender control to the Lord. As long as money lies within our grasp, there's not only the danger that we'll lose the assets, but also that we'll change our minds or be seduced by the status, prestige, and recognition of controlling (or having our name attached to the distribution of) what belongs to God.

A steward manages assets for the owner's benefit. The steward carries no sense of entitlement to the assets he manages. It's his job to find out what the owner wants done with his assets, then carry out his will.

Shouldn't we just admit the obvious--that the New Testament call to discipleship, compassion, and giving leaves no room for the way many of us are thinking and living? Is it time to get beyond the theoretical stance of 'I'd be willing to give up anything if God asked me to,' and start actually giving up things in order to do what He's commanded us?