Easter 2013

Woke up this morning thinking of the lyrics, “set me free … none but Jesus.”  I wasn’t quite ready to get up, so I thought I’d just text these lyrics to myself and go back to sleep.  The thought came that if I did that, that would be all I got; but if I would just wake up enough to write these words down, I would be given more.  Thankfully, I made the decision to grab a pencil, find some paper, and write.  Just after I jotted down the lyrics, the question came, “How can [I] be disobedient in any [thing / way] when [I] consider the price paid to ransom me?” 

Because I had been so personally focused on the crucifixion of Christ after attending a Good Friday service, the question loomed large.  I wondered what area of disobedience the question was addressing, and immediately got an answer.  I thought of all the fearful thoughts and feelings I had about obedience in this regard, and realized how trivial they were in the face of Jesus’ obedience and sacrifice.  I repented and asked the Lord’s forgiveness, resolving to obey as soon as I got up.  Then I heard Christy Nockels’ voice singing “Grace Flows Down” in my head.  I turned over in the bed and my hand landed on a journal given me by a friend.  So, another directive: the online devotional blogging may be over, but my personal journaling has to be stepped up a notch.  Ok.

I thought of the phrase, “obedience is better than sacrifice” from 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NKJV):

²² So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”

(The NCV rendering of verse 23 begins: “Disobedience is as bad as the sin of sorcery.  Pride is as bad as the sin of worshiping idols.”)

And I thought about the greatest obedience (that of Jesus) that led to the greatest sacrifice (Jesus’ crucifixion)…

So I didn’t go to church today, on Easter / Resurrection Sunday.  Instead, I was honoring the ransom paid for me by obeying the voice of my Lord.

LORD, please help me remember this lesson and live it, through Your grace, every day of my life. Thank You for Your all-consuming love for me…

… and my journey with Him continues …