{"id":6799,"date":"2025-07-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6799"},"modified":"2025-06-13T19:56:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T00:56:18","slug":"obey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6799","title":{"rendered":"Obey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive. We call them \u201cdirty words.\u201d Unfortunately, many of us think the word obey is a dirty word. We don\u2019t want anyone telling us what to do. While it\u2019s true we want our children or perhaps employees to obey us, we don\u2019t relish the idea of us obeying anybody else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Bible clearly states a Christian life should be one of obedience.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book of Leviticus is full of detailed procedures, rules, and rituals the Israelites were expected to obey to show they were God\u2019s \u201ctreasured possessions\u2026and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6).\u201d These guidelines were purposely designed for Old Covenant times.  However, times change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus came to establish a New Covenant, things would be different. No longer were godly people identified by their rules and rituals. Their identity would be in Christ. Jesus did not come with a list of regulations. He came with His teachings and the law of love, which we are encouraged to follow (Romans 6:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another word for obedience in the New Testament is the Greek word \u201chypakouo\u201d which means to listen or harken. Another word for commandments might be instructions. Therefore, we need to pay attention to Christ\u2019s instructions and heed what He says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Old Testament times, the Israelites were recognized by their rules and rituals. In New Testament times, Christians are recognized by their love for one another (John 1:35) and by obeying Christ\u2019s commandments (1 John 5:2-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of Christ\u2019s instructions are for our benefit and it is to our advantage to obey them. Christ does not demand obedience. It is a choice we make. We don\u2019t obey so God will be good to us. We obey because God has been good to us. Our obedience is a response to what God has done for us. It shows God that we love Him and that we know He only wants the best for us (John 14:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next time we hear the word obey, instead of thinking it\u2019s an objectionable four-letter word, why not equate it with another four-letter word? LOVE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you love Me, keep My commandments\u201d ~John 14:15<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026 The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive. We call them \u201cdirty words.\u201d Unfortunately, many of us think the word obey is a dirty word. We … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6801,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799\/revisions\/6801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}