He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground....
- Isaiah 53:2
...nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.
- Luke 22:42
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
“Honor your father and mother,”
which is the first commandment with promise:
“that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
- Ephesians 6:1, 2
Although He was a son,
He learned obedience through what he suffered.
And being made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey him,
being designated by God
a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
- Hebrews 5:-10
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.
- Hebrews 12:11
Then Mary said,
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord!
Let it be to me according to your word.”
- Luke 1:38
On my way to the airport last Tuesday morning, I received a call from my friend Rosemarie.
She asked me if I could come back to Manila on Saturday for a day to gather the intercessors, a day of prayer with her and a few other friends. She has a special need and wanted us to "storm" the heavens and wage war on the enemy.
I was aware of her need, and in my heart I knew this was the right move. But Saturday was only four days away.
Quickly, I made a mental survey of the days ahead of me. There was an important writing assignment that I needed to work on as soon as I got back to Bacolod. Another very important event was the jubilee thanksgiving celebration of my sister-in-law Sue, scheduled for whole day of Friday.
I shot an arrow prayer up to heaven composed of these five words: Is this from You, Lord?
Even before I heard any tangible reply from God, there already was a sense of peace in my heart, and I found myself telling Rosemarie on the phone, "Yes, Rosemarie, I will make myself available to be with you on Saturday."
I arrived back in Manila early yesterday morning, but I'll be flying back to Bacolod in a few days. My coming back here was simply an act of obedience to God... being ready in season, and out of season... being ready to obey.
It's still all about obedience.
Obedience to God's call is required of any one who aims for spiritual breakthroughs and divine promotions. There really is no other way.
Yet, the more I think about obedience, the more I realize how tricky it can be. One needs godly discernment as a safeguard against saying "Yes" to something that may look good, but is actually not an assignment from God.
Jesus will always be my model for one who knew and understood the times and the seasons, so that He always knew when something was from His Father, and when it was not.
This passage below, taken from Isaiah 53:1-3, is such an amazing passage. It paints a contrasting picture... and to me, it speaks of the true nature of obedience.
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
In my own life, obedience was always learned the hard way. And as I think of this passage, I ask the Spirit to let these thoughts sink into my heart: "Jesus the Son of God had to learn obedience as a man, through the things He suffered."
Obedience is not easy to learn.
It is learned through suffering... and pain.
A tender shoot... a rugged root...
These words paint a graphic picture of humility. In my heart, I cannot separate humility and obedience. Somehow, they are connected. True obedience is always rooted in humility.
And true humility actually comes not from weakness, but hidden strength!
Jesus, for a season, willingly masked His glorious, majestic nature. He embraced brokenness...
A man of suffering... familiar with pain.
And yet, to anyone who has been trained to obey, there waits a harvest of righteousness and peace.
So much power in these words... it will provide me with so much meat to chew on in the days to come!
Today we celebrate the third month of my grandson Elijah's life. He has fully recovered; he is strong, full of laughter and joy. God has indeed answered our prayers. And I truly want to thank you dear blogging friends for having been with us in this season of our life.
Join me dear friends and loved ones as I offer this prayer of blessing for Elijah, whom I have named Full of Hope:
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
and like a root out of dry ground....
- Isaiah 53:2
...nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.
- Luke 22:42
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
“Honor your father and mother,”
which is the first commandment with promise:
“that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
- Ephesians 6:1, 2
Although He was a son,
He learned obedience through what he suffered.
And being made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey him,
being designated by God
a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
- Hebrews 5:-10
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.
- Hebrews 12:11
Then Mary said,
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord!
Let it be to me according to your word.”
- Luke 1:38
On my way to the airport last Tuesday morning, I received a call from my friend Rosemarie.
She asked me if I could come back to Manila on Saturday for a day to gather the intercessors, a day of prayer with her and a few other friends. She has a special need and wanted us to "storm" the heavens and wage war on the enemy.
I was aware of her need, and in my heart I knew this was the right move. But Saturday was only four days away.
Quickly, I made a mental survey of the days ahead of me. There was an important writing assignment that I needed to work on as soon as I got back to Bacolod. Another very important event was the jubilee thanksgiving celebration of my sister-in-law Sue, scheduled for whole day of Friday.
I shot an arrow prayer up to heaven composed of these five words: Is this from You, Lord?
Even before I heard any tangible reply from God, there already was a sense of peace in my heart, and I found myself telling Rosemarie on the phone, "Yes, Rosemarie, I will make myself available to be with you on Saturday."
I arrived back in Manila early yesterday morning, but I'll be flying back to Bacolod in a few days. My coming back here was simply an act of obedience to God... being ready in season, and out of season... being ready to obey.
It's still all about obedience.
Obedience to God's call is required of any one who aims for spiritual breakthroughs and divine promotions. There really is no other way.
Yet, the more I think about obedience, the more I realize how tricky it can be. One needs godly discernment as a safeguard against saying "Yes" to something that may look good, but is actually not an assignment from God.
Jesus will always be my model for one who knew and understood the times and the seasons, so that He always knew when something was from His Father, and when it was not.
This passage below, taken from Isaiah 53:1-3, is such an amazing passage. It paints a contrasting picture... and to me, it speaks of the true nature of obedience.
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
In my own life, obedience was always learned the hard way. And as I think of this passage, I ask the Spirit to let these thoughts sink into my heart: "Jesus the Son of God had to learn obedience as a man, through the things He suffered."
Obedience is not easy to learn.
It is learned through suffering... and pain.
A tender shoot... a rugged root...
These words paint a graphic picture of humility. In my heart, I cannot separate humility and obedience. Somehow, they are connected. True obedience is always rooted in humility.
And true humility actually comes not from weakness, but hidden strength!
Jesus, for a season, willingly masked His glorious, majestic nature. He embraced brokenness...
A man of suffering... familiar with pain.
And yet, to anyone who has been trained to obey, there waits a harvest of righteousness and peace.
So much power in these words... it will provide me with so much meat to chew on in the days to come!
Today we celebrate the third month of my grandson Elijah's life. He has fully recovered; he is strong, full of laughter and joy. God has indeed answered our prayers. And I truly want to thank you dear blogging friends for having been with us in this season of our life.
Join me dear friends and loved ones as I offer this prayer of blessing for Elijah, whom I have named Full of Hope:
My dear grandson Elijah,
I bless you today with a heart that will be ready for the seeds of obedience to be planted.
A soft heart, a humble heart, ready for the tender shoots of obedience to sprout, and to grow.
A heart that will learn to to obey, not grudgingly, or even out of fear... but in joy, out of love.
How tender the heart that willingly obeys! I pray that you will be nurtured by your parents to have such a heart.
Oh, dear Elijah... I know it will not be easy to learn to obey. May you be trained and be lovingly and faithfully disciplined to know how to obey.
I declare and I decree that you will grow up to be a man trained to obey at an early age.
As you obey and honor your parents and those in authority over you, the Bible has this two-fold promise:
- it will go well with you
- you will live long in the land
May these promises be yours as your heart grows in true obedience.
I bless you with discernment, that will enable you to distinguish what is from God and what is not from Him.
I praise God for obedience that will soften your heart to seek God's truth always.
I speak to your spirit that it will hunger to be fed with the Bread from heaven, God's word.
You will never desire to win the applause of men, but only live with this one goal: to please your Father in heaven.
As you grow in levels of obedience, may you experience increasing levels of joy in your life.
Obedience will keep you from eternal ruin, my dear grandson.
I bless you with an obedient heart today.
Much love always,
Nana
Below are photos of "tender shoots" growing in my father's garden in our Manila home.
I bless you today with a heart that will be ready for the seeds of obedience to be planted.
A soft heart, a humble heart, ready for the tender shoots of obedience to sprout, and to grow.
A heart that will learn to to obey, not grudgingly, or even out of fear... but in joy, out of love.
How tender the heart that willingly obeys! I pray that you will be nurtured by your parents to have such a heart.
Oh, dear Elijah... I know it will not be easy to learn to obey. May you be trained and be lovingly and faithfully disciplined to know how to obey.
I declare and I decree that you will grow up to be a man trained to obey at an early age.
As you obey and honor your parents and those in authority over you, the Bible has this two-fold promise:
- it will go well with you
- you will live long in the land
May these promises be yours as your heart grows in true obedience.
I bless you with discernment, that will enable you to distinguish what is from God and what is not from Him.
I praise God for obedience that will soften your heart to seek God's truth always.
I speak to your spirit that it will hunger to be fed with the Bread from heaven, God's word.
You will never desire to win the applause of men, but only live with this one goal: to please your Father in heaven.
As you grow in levels of obedience, may you experience increasing levels of joy in your life.
Obedience will keep you from eternal ruin, my dear grandson.
I bless you with an obedient heart today.
Much love always,
Nana
Below are photos of "tender shoots" growing in my father's garden in our Manila home.
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
13 comments:
Such a very beautiful prayer for an adorable baby! He is just SO cute, Lidj! That smile is precious...
I loved the beauty of your pictures - and, as always, the eloquence of your words.
GOD BLESS!
Ironically, just a few hours ago, Randy and I had to discipline Olivia. It seems of late she is becoming quite the sassy one. Always has a word to talk back. Well, she got sassy one too many times today and Randy finally laid down the law....and took away her television privilege. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper. She was so broken hearted - and honestly, I believe I was more broken hearted than she. It pains me so to see her disobedience and I know that there needs to be consequences in order for her to learn.... How much more does our Father in heaven grieve at our disobedience? ...thanks for this post Lidj....and that prayer you prayer for your beautiful grandson, Elijah!
I came by to visit after you visited me at Grateful Heart. Your blog is beautiful, Lidg, and there is a lot of wisdom here. If Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered, how much more do we need to learn obedience by what we go through. Thank you for this message.
Dear Lidj,
Your blog posts are always so thorough worked, full of fitting references and cross references to the Scripture.
Reading your blogs is so rewarding and enlightening.
I'd be happy to buy a book, made of your collected blog posts.
Needless to say; I am neither humble nor obiedent of nature.
How often have I been fighting against authorities , family, teachers, even church leaders.
I have been, and to some extent still am "a pain in the a..".
Reading you is like hearing the sound of my father's voice.
He did practice the Scripture, and I know it often was not easy for him to do so.
The life he lived was the best sermon to me, to all who knew him.
A mighty prayer also for your grandson Full of Hope.
How great and thriving he's looking, the tiny sprout we learned to know three months ago.
I've often wondered if you have got the gift of prophecy.
You talk with such an authority, I feel I must have been given you from above.
If I am right, I pray that God must give you strength to carry on with your mission. It is not an easy task, but " I can do anything through Him who makes me strong", Paul said.
Bless you for being obedient, and God be with you in the meetings in Manilla.
From Felisol
I know God will continue to bless your life, provide all your needs, and send and retrieve you for His glory and the advancement of His Kingdom.
I think I've told you we have a newly adopted grandson, also named Elijah. I am the one FULL of HOPE for both his present and future. I echo your prayer with a big AMEN for your and my Elijahs.
Lidj,
You'll never know how much your heart felt comment on my blog meant to me tonight. I believe you you must have been inspired because it touched my soul. I can't even begin to tell you thank you enough. Thank you so very much for thinking of me and for the words you expressed.
Love always,
Your Sister in Christ
Full of Hope has the cutest kissable cheeks!!!
Enjoy him..... he is precious.
Wishing you well..... hugs to you!
Love,
Lis
Elijah is so very precious! I loved agreeing with you in that prayer for him and I know he will be a mighty man of God. Look at his Nana! The photos are wonderful, my friend.
Hi Lidj, Elijah is a doll . . too cute! That's a great pic of Elijah and Nana . . pretty blue top. Yes, there is a reward (blessing) for obedience. My middle son, is so gifted but yet is so full of humility. Does not like to me to praise so much for his gift. I admire that of him so much . . he is truly blessed. Happy Sweets Day! Sandy:O)
Sometimes we get caught up in the busyness of this world that we need to be reminded how much it is needed to pray for our children but much more to bless them. Your grandson is beautiful!
You're right sister Lidj, that in anything that comes our way, it's so important to always ask for His gift of discernment. Especially that things from our enemies can pretend that it is in the light when actually it's not. His discernment had saved me from those wrong decisions. Discernment, coupled with His divine wisdom keeps us away from those roads that we're not supposed to be walking on.
Thank you sister Lidj for always inspiring us with your obedient heart. You are such a blessing to us here and much more to me. You have shown your eagerness to be there to encourage us and to quickly pray for us, whether in person or by the Spirit. I treasure your friendship and next week, I am taking my first step to fight back at those who falsely accused me at work and I am not responding by flesh but fighting in the Spirit. May the Lord be glorified and yes, may His will be done, not mine. God bless you sister Lidj and your whole family. Love to you.
Dearest Sweet Lidj,
I feel I am to say this to you.
It is from your beloved...(not me)
Happy Valentines Day Princess...
I am ever close, my hand holds yours. In the stillness of the night, I am near.
xxxx Always to you. xxxx
He is beautiful and Full of Hope indeed!!!
Praise God for this recovery of strength! A little smiling Mighty Warrior for God's kingdom.
I loved all the Scriptures from this post but especially the first one from Isaiah 53 which becomes more precious every day as we pray together for the salvation of all of Israel and God's chosen people!
I am awaiting the birth of my baby girl granddaughter [only my second girl out of 9] so far - and there's still one more #10 on the way! Baby Girl is due at any moment! Each life is precious in the sight of our Lord!
Choosing JOY in this season,
Stephanie
I saw your name on Ken's blog comments and I have enjoyed reading some of your posts this morning. Thank you for your testimony and prayers. You are a blessing.
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