Decide & Act

All Obedience Requires A Decision followed by Action

Day #3 of our reading through the New Testament begins with a turning point and one of the most important statements in Luke, "Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." (pg. 25, Luke 9:51).   Other Bibles translate the phrase this way: "He was determined to go to Jerusalem" (NASB) and "He set his face to go to Jerusalem." (ESV).  Why the dramatic language?  Because Jerusalem was the place where Jesus would suffer and die AND it was the place God's mission required Him to go. 
Jesus couldn't simply dream of going to Jerusalem, He couldn't talk about visiting Jerusalem some day, He could not hope to go there in the future.  If He was going to obey the will of God, if He was going to do what His heavenly Father sent Him to do, Jesus needed to actually make the decision and then act on it.

All obedience requires a decision followed by action.  To put off the decision is really a decision to disobey.  Have you decided to follow Jesus?  If so, then what actions have you taken since deciding?  Are you listening to the will of Jesus found in the New Testament and acting in obedience no matter where it may lead?  Are you getting help to do this from a small group studying God's word in your church?  If you are not intentionally and actively obeying the will of Christ, whose will are you obeying?

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. - John 6:38 (NIV) 

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