Jan 23, 20192 min
"This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised."
Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
Supermarkets are filled with all kinds of instant products--instant pudding, instant coffee, instant soup, instant potatoes and so much more. We seem to want everything instantly these days. Unfortunately, no supermarket stocks instant obedience.
Throughout his years of walking with the Lord, Abraham learned that the best type of obedience was instant obedience. When God declared circumcision to be the sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, this desert potentate lost no time in seeing that every male in his household was circumcised. Nor did he exclude himself. It was not a matter of "I direct; you perform." At the age of 99, Abraham subjected himself to the same temporary discomfort as everyone else. Doing God's will knows no rank or privileges.
This same instant obedience should be a part of our walk today. To become a Christian is relatively simple; to live like one is another matter. We become a Christian by repentant faith; we live as a Christian only as we obey Christ's commands. The extent of that commitment is measured by the speed with which we obey. The Holy Spirit says through the writer of Hebrews, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness" (Heb. 3:7-8).
If the Lord has been speaking to you about a matter of obedience, stop delaying. The blessing you receive by doing God's will is directly proportional to the speed with which you begin to do it.
Salvation is through faith; maturity is through obedience.