On Sunday in our final Episode of our \u201cThrill of Hope\u201d Advent series<\/a>, we spent time connecting with a key theme that is highlighted in the Christmas story: regular people (like you and me) stepping into God\u2019s plan through obedience to His invitation and instructions. We keyed in on Joseph because his story consistently shows him stepping into what God instructed and rerouting his own life to engage with God\u2019s plan (to literally change the world).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Joseph, obedience wasn\u2019t a moment, it was an alignment that changed the trajectory and purpose of his entire life. His obedience went far beyond a quick action. Everything he chose had huge ramifications! Stay engaged to a girl who is pregnant. Adopt a son that isn\u2019t yours. Uproot your family and move away from everything you know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a moment and reflect on the nitty gritty of his choices. They weren\u2019t easy or simple. Obedience made his life messy and was costly. But the opportunity to join in the grand story God designed for his life was so worth it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph\u2019s obedience wasn\u2019t static, it was dynamic. It wasn\u2019t to please God, it was to participate with Him. Obedience to God didn\u2019t guarantee Joseph safety, comfort, or even stability, but it did guarantee his life wouldn\u2019t be wasted pursuing things that didn\u2019t matter in the eternal scheme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The kind of obedience that is described in the Christmas story isn\u2019t a formula\u2026it\u2019s an unfolding.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We find the ultimate example of that in Jesus. Read this and see not only the example but also the story you are invited into when you bend your knee and will to his love and his purposes for your life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The God of OBEDIENCE, who can ask it of us <\/strong><\/em>because WE FIRST SAW IT IN HIM<\/strong><\/em>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had: Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal\u2019s death on a cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the Christmas story!<\/strong><\/em> Ask God to highlight someone to encourage today and follow through with it right now! Practice obedience that invites you into His unfolding story and watch how it impacts others!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Joseph, obedience wasn\u2019t a moment, it was an alignment that changed the trajectory and purpose of his entire life. His obedience went far beyond a quick action. Everything he chose had huge ramifications! Stay engaged to a girl who is pregnant. Adopt a son that isn\u2019t yours. Uproot your family and move away from everything you know!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":53252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":113,"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[107,108,118,119,120],"class_list":["post-53249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotional","tag-advent","tag-christmas","tag-devotional","tag-freedom","tag-obedience",""],"blockli_fields":{"post_type":"","post_action":"","post_type_icon":"","background_image":""},"bb_bookmark":{"bookmark_id":0,"is_bookmarked":false,"bookmark_date":0},"app_bookmark":{"bookmark_id":0,"is_bookmarked":false,"bookmark_date":0},"comments_count":"0","content_native":[{"type":"core\/heading","render":" On Sunday in our final Episode of our \u201cThrill of Hope\u201d Advent series<\/a>, we spent time connecting with a key theme that is highlighted in the Christmas story: regular people (like you and me) stepping into God's plan through obedience to His invitation and instructions. We keyed in on Joseph because his story consistently shows him stepping into what God instructed and rerouting his own life to engage with God\u2019s plan (to literally change the world).<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"On Sunday in our final Episode of our \u201cThrill of Hope\u201d Advent series<\/a>, we spent time connecting with a key theme that is highlighted in the Christmas story: regular people (like you and me) stepping into God's plan through obedience to His invitation and instructions. We keyed in on Joseph because his story consistently shows him stepping into what God instructed and rerouting his own life to engage with God\u2019s plan (to literally change the world)."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" For Joseph, obedience wasn\u2019t a moment, it was an alignment that changed the trajectory and purpose of his entire life. His obedience went far beyond a quick action. Everything he chose had huge ramifications! Stay engaged to a girl who is pregnant. Adopt a son that isn\u2019t yours. Uproot your family and move away from everything you know!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"For Joseph, obedience wasn\u2019t a moment, it was an alignment that changed the trajectory and purpose of his entire life. His obedience went far beyond a quick action. Everything he chose had huge ramifications! Stay engaged to a girl who is pregnant. Adopt a son that isn\u2019t yours. Uproot your family and move away from everything you know!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" Take a moment and reflect on the nitty gritty of his choices. They weren\u2019t easy or simple. Obedience made his life messy and was costly. But the opportunity to join in the grand story God designed for his life was so worth it!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Take a moment and reflect on the nitty gritty of his choices. They weren\u2019t easy or simple. Obedience made his life messy and was costly. But the opportunity to join in the grand story God designed for his life was so worth it!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" Joseph\u2019s obedience wasn\u2019t static, it was dynamic. It wasn\u2019t to please God, it was to participate with Him. Obedience to God didn\u2019t guarantee Joseph safety, comfort, or even stability, but it did guarantee his life wouldn\u2019t be wasted pursuing things that didn\u2019t matter in the eternal scheme!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Joseph\u2019s obedience wasn\u2019t static, it was dynamic. It wasn\u2019t to please God, it was to participate with Him. Obedience to God didn\u2019t guarantee Joseph safety, comfort, or even stability, but it did guarantee his life wouldn\u2019t be wasted pursuing things that didn\u2019t matter in the eternal scheme!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" The kind of obedience that is described in the Christmas story isn\u2019t a formula...it\u2019s an unfolding.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"The kind of obedience that is described in the Christmas story isn\u2019t a formula...it\u2019s an unfolding.<\/strong><\/em>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" We find the ultimate example of that in Jesus. Read this and see not only the example but also the story you are invited into when you bend your knee and will to his love and his purposes for your life!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"We find the ultimate example of that in Jesus. Read this and see not only the example but also the story you are invited into when you bend your knee and will to his love and his purposes for your life!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" The God of OBEDIENCE, who can ask it of us <\/strong><\/em>because WE FIRST SAW IT IN HIM<\/strong><\/em>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"The God of OBEDIENCE, who can ask it of us <\/strong><\/em>because WE FIRST SAW IT IN HIM<\/strong><\/em>!<\/strong><\/em>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" \u201cYou must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had: Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal\u2019s death on a cross.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"\u201cYou must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had: Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal\u2019s death on a cross."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":" That\u2019s the Christmas story!<\/strong><\/em> Ask God to highlight someone to encourage today and follow through with it right now! Practice obedience that invites you into His unfolding story and watch how it impacts others!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Ask God to highlight someone to encourage today and follow through with it right now! Practice obedience that invites you into His unfolding story and watch how it impacts others!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}}],"app_access":{"can_access":true,"restrict_message":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwrv.org\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Obedience that don\u2019t lead to bondage, but unleashes freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAdvent Activation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advent Reading<\/h2>","content":"Advent Reading","data":[],"style":{"align":"left","parent_style":{},"header":"h2","fontSize":"27px"}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"
Obedience that don\u2019t lead to bondage, but unleashes freedom.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"That\u2019s the Christmas story!<\/strong><\/em>
Obedience that don\u2019t lead to bondage, but unleashes freedom."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/heading","render":"Advent Activation<\/h2>","content":"Advent Activation","data":[],"style":{"align":"left","parent_style":{},"header":"h2","fontSize":"27px"}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"