What does God want from us? Obedience

Exodus 4:10-17

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

From childhood, we were taught obedience. We learned who had authority over us and we were to listen to them. By the time we were in our teenage years, we began to push the boundaries and rebelled against parents and teachers. Why? Because we felt we were wise enough. We did not need people to tell us what to do.

What is obedience to God?

When God first created the first human beings, Adam and Eve, mankind and God lived in perfect love and harmony. It was until Adam and Eve challenged God’s authority and disobeyed Him that broke the love relationship between God (the Creator) and mankind (the created beings).

Since then, all of us find it hard to put obedience into practice.

Obedience to God means we obey His commandments and His law. Obedience to God means we will listen to Him.  Actually, obedience comes from the Latin word, meaning “to hear”. When we obey God, we are listening to what He is saying and we put into practice what He requires of us. Obedience also means that we trust in God for who He is and acknowledge Who He is: the Creator God, the Almighty and Sovereign God. Obedience means we acknowledge God is the Lord of our lives and He is in control of our lives.

Disobedience is disregarding God for who He is. That was what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they chose to disobey God. They thought that they were smart enough and did not need to obey Him.

Who God is?

He is God our Creator. Because He is our Creator, He knows us perfectly. He knows what is the best for us. He has a special plan and a purpose for us one of us.  

God enables us

God knows He is giving Moses a difficult task. But Moses will not be alone. God is with Moses.

God said to Moses, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” God enables us when He calls us.

God provides for what we need

When Moses told God he couldn’t deliver what God wanted him to, God provided resources for him. God said, “14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

The work God has given us to do is not a small task. But God provides for what we need, be it resources or people. We will not be alone. We need help from other people. We can not carry out God’s plan alone because it will not an insignificant task. God will provide resource sfor all that we need to do what He is calling us to do.

Although I am blogging this article, there are others helping me in setting up the blog and proof-reading my article.  

How do we obey God?

  • We obey God by showing Him how thankful we are for what He has done for us, individually. God has sent His one and only precious Son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for our sins to save us from sin and death. Obeying God means we are so thankful for saving us from sin and death.
  • We obey God by the way we live. We are living testimonies of God’s goodness and grace. We are all paid with the blood of Jesus on the Cross for us. Our lives should be different now because of what He has done. We believe in a living God, there should be changes in our lives compared to us before knowing Jesus Christ.
  • We obey God in prayers and attending church service. We also celebrate what He has done through Holy Communion with fellow believers. When we come together to worship God, we are dedicating this time to worship God alone. We are echoing God’s Word through the psalmist to, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The joy of Obedience

Moses thought he knew his limit. He was making excuses to God that he was not eloquent to do what God requires of him. He was slow of speech and tongue.  

When God calls us for a task, it may not be our talents or natural giftings or something we are born with. It may not be something that comes easily to us. Sometimes God calls us to use the gifts He has already given us, or sometimes He may ask us to trust in Him and step out of our comfort zone. Whatever it is, if God is calling us, will we be able to step forward and trust that God will provide for all that we need?

God promises to be with Moses. God promises Moses that He will teach him what to do. God also gives Aaron, Moses’ own brother to help him. Moses is not alone in this journey.  

What is God calling you to do? It will be out of your comfort zone. It will not be comfortable. But will you still choose to obey Him? We may feel we are incapable. However, when we are weak, we are made strong in Christ. God’s power is displayed in our weaknesses.

When God calls me to serve Him as a pastor, I obeyed. There is nothing I can boast. There is nothing I have that I can boast: I don’t have property I can boast, I don’t have any skillsets I can boast.  

But I can boast in God’s goodness. I can boast in God’s faithfulness. I can boast that God never short- changed me for giving me life to serve Him. I can boast in God’s love. I have a healthy family and I have friends who love me. All these are the wonderful gifts and blessings from God.

If we love God, obedience is a delight. We are able to respond with joy because we love God. Jesus Christ is the perfect example for us about obedience.

Philippians 2:5-11, (New International Version)
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, obeyed God although it was not easy to do so. Jesus was so stressed that He even sweat blood. But He obeyed God, His Heavenly Father and He humbled Himself to do God’s will to save the entire wicked human race so that we can be reconciled to God again.

We are created for a relationship with God. Obedience means we respond to God’s love by putting into action. How much do you love God is reflected on your obedience to God. When we obey God, we are on the path of life that God wants to bless us with. He is a good and loving God who wants nothing but the best for us, and this comes in the form of obedience to Him and His Word.  

Act Justly, Love Mercy & Walk Humbly with your God

In ancient Judah, Micah was a popular name for boys. In Hebrew, Micah is spelled, Mika, which is a question: “Who is like Yahweh?”. Who is like God? He is incomparable. There is no one like God. This name is an exclamation of praise, “an expression of adoration and wonder at the incomparable God of Israel”.

Micah was a prophet from a small agricultural town southwest of Jerusalem. He was a contemporary of prophets Isaiah and Hosea. Isaiah spoke to the urban elite, but Micah spoke to the people in the suburbs.

Micah called God’s people to listen to Him. Micah repeatedly said to God’s people, “Listen, you leaders,” “Listen to what the Lord says,” and “Listen, you peoples”. He was calling God’s people to pay attention to what he would be saying. Micah’s prophecy was mainly for the capital cities of Judah and Israel, Jerusalem, and Samaria respectively. Their leaders practiced and tolerated false doctrine and that led to a false understanding of the character of God.

As a result, there were injustices towards the poor people. There were mistreatment of women and children, unjust business practices, and exploitation of the poor, many of whom were in rural areas, like Micah. The rich were living in luxury while the poor people had to suffer to pay for extravagances for those in power.

God’s people did not see their sins. They thought that everything was fine, and that God should be happy with them. So, through prophet Micah, God was giving His people a wake-up call. God’s people should not assume that God would be happy with them if they did not show any commitment to worship God, to love Him and to serve Him. In fact, it was quite the opposite: punishment from God would be coming upon them because of their sinfulness.

Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

These are the requirements God wanted us to have. These are not suggestions, or options we can pick and choose. We are to incorporate these 3 things in our daily lifestyle. It should be a part of us as God’s people.

During Micah’s time, he was living in a culture with idolatry and immorality. The people of God did not worship God wholeheartedly and they were rebellious against Him. Today you may be living in a culture like that. In your workplace, the environment you are in may not be godly.  

But let us remember that as God’s people, we are required to do these 3 things: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

“Do justly” means: Put justice into practice. When we are able to, we are to step in and help the weaker people and protect them from the oppressors.

“Love Mercy” What is mercy? Mercy is an action. Someone described Mercy as “not getting what we deserve”. It means we are to forgive someone or give them what they don’t deserve, that is showing mercy.

“Do justly” and “love mercy”, are commands regarding other human beings.

The next requirement, “walk humbly” is directed to God.

“Walk humbly with God” means surrendering ourselves to God. In Hebrew, “walk humbly” means, “the lowering of oneself”, or “to make oneself lower than another”. It is about the way we live our lives before God. It is also about our relationship with God. Our relationship with God will spill over to our relationships with others. If we are close with God, we will love others and show them kindness and love.  

Like the leaders during Micah’s time and the Pharisees during Jesus’ time, they were focused on performing rituals and outwards religious duties well that they had neglected the most important thing, which is, the relationship with God. They did everything right outwardly, but their hearts were far from God. God did not want outward rituals but a close and deep friendship with Him.  

We are only humans. We can not live up to God’s requirements without His help. May we lean upon His strength and wisdom as we strive to glorify Him in every facet of our lives.  

Remember, the name Micah means, ‘who is like God?’ It is a declaration of praise and adoration. Because of who God is, we want our lifestyle to be different: we want to glorify Him.  We want to obey His commandments. We want to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

What does the Lord require of us?

花儿也在成长 The flowers are Growing too

Intrigued by this sign when I was walking along a housing estate in Beijing:
花儿也在成长，请勿扔垃圾哦 (the flowers are growing too, please do not litter).

We too are work in progress. It is important to have supportive friends who are genuine as they encourage us in our journey of life. Through the ups and downs, they stand by us.

Negative friends, on the other hand, will stump our growth or derail us from the purpose God has called us to be.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” —Proverbs 27:17

As we walk with God daily, may we too, be an encourager and stand by our friends as they step into God’s destiny for them.

Train Up A Child in a Way He should Go

At the church’s prayer meeting recently, we were praying for the Sunday School ministry.

For those of us blessed to be in the Sunday School when we were children, even now that we are adults, we can vividly remember the Bible stories we have heard, the children songs we sung and the crafts we did during the lessons.

As a child, I looked forward to the Arts and Craft time. It was fun bringing colours to the Bible characters printed on a white piece of paper. And how delightful it was ro play games together with friends.

Children are in their formative years. The Sunday School teachers play an important task of bringing the Gospel to them. They are also vessels of God’s love to these children and their parents. How impactful are Sunday School teachers!

While the teachers’ roles are important in the faith formation of the children, the most crucial role is played by the parents. May the parents reinforce the lessons at home by talking with the children what they have learned, and help the children to memorise Bible verses and songs they have learned.

It takes a village to raise a child. Let us work together to pass on our faith to the next generation who God has entrusted us with.

Love one another

How do others know that we are followers of Jesus Christ?


By the way we love. Jesus has set us the example of love and humility. We are to love others as He has loved us. His nature is love.

It is not easy; we can’t give what we don’t have. since God is love, it is His Spirit that flows in and through us to others. We can only love others through God’s love.

Respect is not given but earned

Being a leader isn’t a popularity contest. Oftentimes, the leader has to make tough decisions by basing on the big picture and personal convictions that this decision will best benefit everyone. And a real leader can’t please everyone.

A leader without respect from those under him/her isn’t really a leader at all (by title, yes, but that’s about it).

Respect is not given; respect has to be earned. Respect is earned by living with integrity and caring for others.

The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer

At this start of the New Year, many Methodist churches will be renewing their covenant using the covenant John Wesley wrote:

“Beloved in Christ,
let us again claim for ourselves
this covenant which God has made with his people,
and take upon us the yoke of Christ.
This means that we are content
that he appoint us our place and work,
and that he himself be our reward.

Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material interests,
others are contrary to both;

At this start of the New Year, many churches will be renewing their covenant. Ponder these words from that service—

Beloved in Christ,
let us again claim for ourselves
this covenant which God has made with his people,
and take upon us the yoke of Christ.
This means that we are content
that he appoint us our place and work,
and that he himself be our reward.

Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material interests,
others are contrary to both;

in some we may please Christ
and please ourselves;
in others we cannot please Christ except by denying
ourselves.

Yet the power to do all these things is given to us
in Christ, who strengthens us.

Therefore let us make this covenant of God our own.
Let us give ourselves to him,
trusting in his promises and relying on his grace.”

Have a blessed 2024, dear friends!