Following and Obeying

Who are you obeying and who are you following?  Think about this, before you answer that question.  Jesus said in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  Verse 14 says, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,”  Then going back to verses 4-5 it says,  “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus related his body of believers to sheep for good reason.  Sheep follow, they do not lead, the shepherd leads.  To obey is to submit, to bow down to, to give in to and yield to, to be ruled by and take orders from.  What kind of sheep are you?  

Are you yielding to Jesus by submitting or are you calling the shots?  

Are you letting Jesus rule your life or are you doing your own thing?  

Are you giving the orders or taking the orders?  

Are you bowing down to Jesus or are you bowing down to the idols

     you treasure in your life?  

Are you putting the Lord first in your life or are you just fitting Him in

when you need something from Him or when you have nothing else to do?

Are you studying His Word or is your Bible collecting dust on the  

     shelf?

Is your desire to be more like Jesus or do you fantasize more on

    movie or T.V. stars, or sports players or someone else that you

    would like to emulate or be just like?

If you are a Christian believer you should want to be like your Savior and Lord.  You should strive to follow and obey Him and to emulate Him and what He taught and the life He lived.  The Ten Commandments are taught in God’s Word, how close are you following them and the numerous other things that Jesus taught in His Word?  If you are part of Jesus’ flock, how close are you following Him?  Do you think of Jesus as your co-pilot?  If you do, you have a problem because Jesus needs to be the pilot.  

You need to follow His instructions and obey them, any other way you may crash and burn.  Following and obeying Jesus is not always easy but it needs to be our first priority.  John 14:15 says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” in the NAS Bible when He was talking to His disciples.  Following Jesus was not meant to be a walk in the park, taking up your cross and denying yourself may include pain and suffering, trials and hardships and even persecution but if it does, it means that the Lord has counted you worthy to suffer for Him, if you didn’t bring these things on yourself, so you can praise the Lord!  

The Bible says in Acts 5:38-41, “So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.  They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  The apostles were flogged, which meant they received the forty lashes minus one and they still left rejoicing for they were counted worthy to suffer for their Savior.  

Sometimes even when believers do the right thing they still suffer!  But, in the end, they will not be forgotten and will be greatly rewarded, praise the Lord!  So, if you are not committed to following and obeying the Lord, then this walk isn’t for you, but before you decide think about the alternative, don’t end up crashing and burning, make the right choice.  God bless and have a great day.