Luke 11:28 (NIV)
I recognized her the instant she walked up to my house. She was quite familiar to me; in fact, she was quite familiar to every person in my town who had ever had a garage sale.
Although she didn’t realize it, she was called the “Would Ya Take Less” lady. The reason? No matter what price you had on anything at your sale, she always ALWAYS asked if you would take less for every item she wanted.
It didn’t matter the price. An item could be marked as low as a quarter and she would ask if you would take ten cents for it.
That put you in a quandary. If you said “no” you would appear to be greedy. If you said “yes,” that opened up everything in your entire garage sale to her question again and again. Always trying for a deal, always looking for a bargain. That was the “Would Ya Take Less” lady.
As I was preparing for yet another garage sale, the “Would Ya Take Less” lady came to mind. And I wondered: do I ever do that with God? Do I ever offer Him less than what He is asking? Do you?
For example, in Mark 12:31 Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. What is our response? “Absolutely, Lord, I’ll do my best” or do we say “Lord, have you seen what I have to put up with next door? How about I just try to tolerate them?”
God states clearly in Exodus 20:14 that we are not to commit adultery. Do we honor His command concerning marriage or do we think “I know God wants me to be happy and I’m not. So I won’t leave my marriage but I’ll look for happiness somewhere else.”
In Ephesians 4:26 the writer Paul says that we should not let the sun go down while we are angry; in other words, apologize quickly and work out the situation. So do we apologize to our spouse for what was said or compromise God’s word by deciding to apologize – but not for a day or two?
Maybe we don’t actually ask God if we can bargain and give Him less than what He is asking but isn’t that really what we are doing?
We feel the nudging in our hearts. We know without a doubt what the Lord wants us to do. And yet we try to bargain with Him, as if we are the ones in control and God is simply giving us suggestions.
What if Jesus did that same kind of bargaining with us? II Corinthians 5:15 says that Jesus “died for all.” But what if He were to say to us: “I know Scripture says I died for everyone but I’m not too crazy about the depressed or angry or poor so let’s just change it to say I died for some.” Would that be okay with you?
Would ya take less, God? May we never ever ask that question of the One who gave absolutely everything for all of us on the cross.
Father, I know that I am guilty of wanting to do things my way instead of your way. Forgive me for picking and choosing the parts of your Word that I want to follow. Help me to give you my all and nothing less. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up
Reflect
· Can you think of a time when you knew exactly what God’s Word said but you tried to bargain with Him instead of obeying?
Application
· Journal decisions in the last week that you have made and write Scripture beside each one that shows whether or not you are in God’s will.
· If you are doing less than what the Lord has commanded or ignoring His Word, repent before Him and begin again to be obedient.
Power Verses
· Luke 11:28 (NIV) “He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”
· James 1:22 (NIV) “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
· John 14:23 (NIV) “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
· John 14:15 (NIV) “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
· Psalm 119:105 (NIV) “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing and information about her books, check out her blog Encouragement from the War Room.)
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