Proving Your Loyalty and Obedience
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and
said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here
I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get
thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning,
and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son,
and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place
of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes,
and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here
with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to
you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his
hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the
wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which
God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in
order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And
Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the
angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham:
and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son
from me.”
(Genesis 22:1-12)
Today’s Morsel: When we become
born again of the water and the spirit, there will come a time in our walk with
God, that He will test our obedience to Him to see where our loyalty lies. In
John 6:53-71, He tested His disciples' loyalty. “Then Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and
drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh
is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent
me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat
manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These
things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of
his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can
hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said
unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend
up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said,
Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given
unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words
of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son
of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one
of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was
that should betray him, being one of the twelve.” (John 6:53-71) Many
went back and walked no longer with Jesus. Their loyalty and
obedience was quickly shown.
When Abraham was tested with Isaac, he did not waver
in his loyalty and obedience. Scripture simply says, “By faith Abraham, when he
was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up
his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure.” (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Let me encourage you today, the next time God asks you
to do something that seems impossible for you to do, it may just be a test of
your loyalty and obedience. Always know that God does not tempt us to do
anything evil such as committing suicide, jump off a building, standing on a
railroad track when the train is coming, or doing something stupid and
bazaar. God doesn’t test your loyalty and obedience to Him in a way that
will harm you. God never tempts, rather he tests us. He tries us and
tests our hearts.
Sing: I trust in God, wherever I may
be, upon the land or on the roaring seas. For come what may from day to
day, my heavenly Father, watches over, over, me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me. Upon the land,
or on the raging seas. For come what may, from day to day, my heavenly
Father watches over, over me.
Thought For Today: “So when they had
dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more
than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He
saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)
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