Obedience. I Had To Choose.
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
“Now it shall be, if
you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments
which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the
nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1, NASU)
Back in 1984, the founder
and owner of the Canon USA dealership I served with for seven years (1980-1987)
in Lansing, Michigan had just sold a copier/printer. Nothing unusual about
that. He was a great salesman, and was using very effectively the talents he
had been given.
Along with his dear
wife, who had become a real friend after she hired me to be the Office Manager,
together they had taken over the small Midwest business from his father-in-law
a few years earlier. Both had seen the company’s growth shoot up, working hard
to achieve the American dream. Going from 15 employees to 50 on staff during those
years I was with them, new machines, a new building, and increased prosperity
were had by many. These were exciting times to be in the office machine business.
On the day he brought me documentation
to invoice those who bought a made-in-Japan Canon printer, with their office located in Kalamazoo, I briefly scanned
it, and stopped. From the knowledge I had, this was a medical clinic that did
abortions. I did not want to be part of it.
From the start of my
employment, coming from what the co-owner first called a “cult” when I spoke of
the church (Shiloh Fellowship in East Lansing, Michigan, same town as the
Michigan State Spartans), in my interview five years earlier, I had proclaimed myself
as a Bible-believing, active Christian. Standing on principles and beliefs that
I had walked in thus far my first 30 years on earth, I had to make a decision.
Would I be part of this, go along with the task my job required, or would I say
something?
As for me, I had to
obey my Lord Jesus. Follow Him, and you will see the land of the living.
I repeat the verse
quoted above, as it was one of the foundational Scriptures that I had learned
to stand on.
“Now it shall be, if
you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments
which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the
nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1, NASU)
When I left this wonderful
Michigan company, after exactly seven years to the day on Monday, August 1,
1987, to move my family to Fort Lauderdale (being hired by David Selby to serve
with Derek Prince Ministries), it was one of the hardest decisions I had ever done
in my life. The co-owners had offered me the only Vice-President position I
knew of in the company at that time, prior to my leaving, to persuade me to stay. But I was going
on, in my call, and in obedience to the Lord.
My love for the two
owners and the staff, many whom I had personally hired from the church, had
grown tremendously. On that last day, I remember sitting in the co-owner’s
office, crying with deep sobs because I felt I had not been a strong enough
witness to the people there, leading them to the Lord I knew and loved. Her
comment back to me was something like this, “Steve, you don’t know what an impact
you had here, but your life was a testimony and a witness. Thank you.”
My obedience to follow
the call of the Lord for full-time Christian ministry work was the strong
compass guiding my heart. Sometimes He will ask you to do things you don’t
fully comprehend, but looking back later, you will understand the why and how
of it all.
To this day, over 30
years later after my departure, these friends and I still occasionally send Christmas
cards to each other. My cards are sent to beautiful California, where they have
relocated after retirement.
In Deuteronomy
28:1-14, NASU, the Lord God of Israel says to the people, through Moses (Moshe),
“1. Now it shall be, if
you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments
which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the
nations of the earth.
2 "All these
blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 "Blessed shall
you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 "Blessed shall
be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring
of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 "Blessed shall
be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 "Blessed shall
you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 "The Lord shall
cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will
come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.
8 "The Lord will
command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand
to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
9 " The Lord will
establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the
commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
10 "So all the
peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and
they will be afraid of you.
11 " The Lord
will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the
offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which
the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12 "The Lord will
open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its
season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many
nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 " The Lord
will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you
will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God,
which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside
from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left,
to go after other gods to serve them.”
Obedience will get you
farther than sacrifice. King Saul found that out when the Prophet Samuel
confronted him, described in the Torah writings found in 1 Samuel 15:22-23.
“Then Samuel said, “Do you think all God wants
are sacrifices — empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain
listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing
what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting
self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead
ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship.”
(THE MESSAGE Bible)
Calling ourselves Christians
will bring us before situations where we must take a stand. Today, stand up for
what you believe in. Stand with conviction, honesty and truth. You may be surprised
at the long-term end results.
Most important of all,
standing in obedience to the One who saved you, called you, and now sends you
into the world around you, to share His goodness, life and light, is top priority.
Obeying Yeshua (Jesus)
will require much from each of us. But Who else, and what else, are we to live
for, if not for the Creator of all?
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People,
Inc.
P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share
this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can
easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
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– Thank you very much.)
Please share Now
Think On This with your friends.
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Now Think On This - In
the Year of our Lord 06.13.17 - #293 – “Obedience” – Tuesday, 4:44 am
All previous editions
of Now Think On This can be found on this
Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most
grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You
can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
