Second Fiddle To Obedience

# 215 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 15:22 Then 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. (1 Sam 15:22) Samuel asks Saul a rhetorical question to which the answer is no. The Lord does not have as great of delight in a worship service as he does in children who obey and heed. You may have the finest pipe organ, the grandest liturgy, the most amazing choir, a phenomenal soloist, a worship team that seems to usher you into the very presence of the Lord week after week after week, but as good as all that stuff may be, it always plays second fiddle to obedience. In this day and age where people seem to be searching different churches to find the greatest worship experience, perhaps we should let this passage sink in. If you have found a church with a great worship experience, congratulations, you have found a church with the second best thing. The real question is how are you and your church doing with obedience. Which is the higher priority? Worship or a desire to be compliant to God's Word? Oh come on Duane, that's legalism! That's Christianity with nothing but rules. Well, it may seem like that, and it certainly can turn into that if one is not careful. But let's be clear here. The kind of obedience that God seeks is the kind that flows from grace and gratitude from what He has done for us through Jesus Christ. It is not obedience to earn salvation, but rather obedience from thankfulness for salvation. We love Him because He first loved us, and Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments, that is, we will treasure them, and if we treasure them, we will desire to obey them. Living a life that says “Lord, Lord, is more important than just saying “Lord, Lord.”