Wednesday, March 9, 2011

If I know it than I better show it!


"I will obey your principals. Please don't give up on me!" Psalm 119:8

This verse has brought a lot of humor to my home today. I began REALLY packing today and as I packed, Dax INSISTED on UN-packing, pulling the tape, tangling the tape, on and on and on. So after I warned him, yelled at him, and threatened him, I SPANKED him (yes sir-ee I did!) and right after he received it he looked at me and said, "I don't do it again mommy." 

Guess what? 

HE DID IT AGAIN! As I reached for the ole trusty spoon, he started crying and yelling, "I sorry mommy, I don't do it, no spank me, no spank me." It was right there it that moment the last verse popped in my head. Please don't give up on me! (Yes I spanked him anyway)

I know he is a child learning to obey, so this verse has a whole different meaning to him, and yes I believe even at 2 he can understand the word of God.

As for me I wonder…I wonder how often I have done that very thing to the Lord, begged to be spared from a consequence I SO deserved. Oh, wait ONE G-A-Z-I-L-L-I-O-N times! And yet I am no longer a child learning to obey. 

I can remember some past experiences when I knew full well what I was doing was wrong, yet even through facing the consequence, preceded to do it again! O Lord if my children are a product of me spare them Lord. Let them lean on You, look to You, and follow Your example. I know we are sinful Lord but keep them from choosing sin over obedience.

Today as I grow closer to the Lord and seek to obey Him, my heart and soul cry this verse out in a whole new way. A way that hunger’s to please Jesus not just with my words or actions, but with parts of me that only He can make function.

I desire such obedience that when I stand before the Most Holy God, my Father, I will see His face light up because of the joy His heart feels as He looks upon me, His chosen child.

When my boys reach the point of spankings and they begin pleading with me, which interprets in my language, “I know mommy, I know what I did was wrong, yet I did it anyway.”  is the same interpretation the Lord gets when we fail to obey His principals. It is one thing for us to say “I will obey your principals." and it is a whole other thing to actually obey His principals.

I have a precious girlfriend of mine who always says, “I know, I know.” Actually I have several people in my own family who are always saying I know, I know and for some reason my response is always the same, “Stop telling me you know, if you know than show me you know.“  

Jesus doesn’t want to hear us say we know. We know Lord we need to stop living in this sin. We know Lord we need to start going to church, join a church, and serve in the church. We know we shouldn’t drink and do drugs. We know we shouldn’t speak like that. We know we shouldn’t gossip, lie, cheat, steal, have affairs, murder, be full of anger, bitterness, pride, greed. WE KNOW, we know!

Well for me, if I dare to say I know, than my actions, words, thoughts, and behavior better start showing that I know.

Prayer: Lord pull us out of the rut of the I knows and place us into active obedience of Your word. Amen