DEVOTIONAL

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Author’s Note Page 2

Lesson 1: Devotional Page 3

Lesson 2: Devotional Page 4

Lesson 3: Devotional Page 5

Lesson 4: Devotional Page 6

Lesson 5: Devotional Page 7

Lesson 6: Devotional Page 8

Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton Page 1

 AUTHOR’S NOTE
Hi, my friend!
Wish you knew how to make Bible study more meaningful for everyone from teens
down to elementary age kids—without wanting to pull your hair out?
Don’t stress and scramble to prepare for family devotions. This 6-week Bible study
guide will make it easy to study the keyword “obedience” from Scripture together.
And you won’t watch teens get bored or little ones get lost. This keyword study
includes a variety of resources for all ages, so every single member of the family can
get involved!
1. Start by simply reading the short comments in the Obedience: Devotional out loud
together.
2. Then you and your teens can dig much deeper with the guided study for each
verse in the Obedience: Study Workbook.
3. Younger kids will enjoy the fun, hands-on activities in the Obedience: Activities
Guide, which are designed to effortlessly help kids discover new truths from the
key Scriptures.
4. And finally, print the verse cards in the Obedience: Printables booklet and let kids
decorate as desired, then post around the house as reminders of biblical truth.
Throughout this series, you’ll discover directly from the Bible:
• The perfect example of obedience
• Why we should be obedient
• How to be obedient
Plus you’ll learn techniques & tricks that will equip you to do future study on your own,
and help your kids discover more biblical truths, as well. So let’s get started!

Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton Page 2

 LESSON 1: DEVOTIONAL
How often do we absorb the mindset and
mantras of the world around us—maybe
without even realizing it?
The world says, “Be strong. Be assertive.
Be independent.”
And there is a place for those traits! There
are instances in the Bible where those
things are spoken of highly.
But when I look throughout the rest of
Scripture, I also see a contrasting trait and
a different example:
I see Jesus Christ, stepping down from the
most exalted position to be born in the
frailest of forms, among the coarsest of
people. I see the Creator and Sustainer of
the universe, allowing nails to be driven
into His hands. And I see Him handing over
His heart, His will, His very life.
Here is a Person who was truly strong—
and yet He humbled Himself, even to the
point of death. Perhaps I should say that
He was strong enough to humble Himself.
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
His example floors me.
I can come up with enough fleshly
ambition and zeal to thrill any human. But
can I actually humble myself? Can I take
the low place?
Humility is a trait that is sorely lacking in
many of us today. Like it or not, we’ve
absorbed that worldly ideology and added
it to our own fleshly inclinations. And so
here we are, busy promoting self and
seeking our own will.
But there is a better way. It’s the way
Jesus took. And it’s the way I want to take,
too.
I may be surrounded by a people and a
culture that tells me to advance myself.
But I choose the way I see in the Bible. I
choose the way of obedience, of
submission, and of humility. I choose, not
self, but the Savior.
What about you? Which will you choose
today?
Page 3
 LESSON 2: DEVOTIONAL
Do you ever feel defeated by all the
things you’re supposed to do?
You know all the good things you ought to
do. And yet, if you’re like me, you may feel
that you’re still not doing enough.
And now you’ve got this Obedience study,
and you’re supposed to be memorizing
and studying and doing all these cool
activities together—oh yes, and also
becoming more obedient in your own life,
too.
And you may be sitting here thinking you
will never, ever be good enough.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but
actually, it’s true—you never will be good
enough. The Bible says, “There is NONE
righteous” (Rom. 3:10 NKJV, emphasis
mine).
Do you know what “righteous” means? It
means “holy” or “good.” So Romans 3:10
says, in essence, that no one is ever good
enough.
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
In fact, thanks to Adam and the sin nature
that he passed down to us, we start life
with the odds already stacked against us.
No matter how much we try to be good
and obedient, we will never fully succeed.
We’re basically hopeless—a lost cause.
Except there is a “but!” And it’s the most
wonderful “but” in history:
“But now the righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed … even the
righteousness of God, through faith in
Jesus Christ” (Rom. 3:21-22 NKJV)
There’s only ONE way we can ever be
“good,” and it is through Jesus Christ
alone.
Before we can even begin to think about
trying to be obedient, we need to first
place our confidence in Jesus Christ.
Only through Jesus can we ever hope to
please the Father.
Turn to Him today!
Page 4
 LESSON 3: DEVOTIONAL
Why do parents want children to be
obedient? Is it because they are mean? Do
they want to make their kids’ lives
miserable?
Of course not! Good parents ask their
children to obey because it is good for the
children!
Maybe a mother seems like she just wants
to spoil all her kid’s fun when she tells him
to stay out of the street. But when a big
truck comes careening around the corner
at 50 miles an hour, it’s obvious why the
mother wanted the child to stay out of the
street. It wasn’t to be controlling or mean
or to ruin the child’s fun. It was for the
child’s good—to keep him safe!
So when God asks you to do things that
seem hard, remember: A good parent
demands obedience for the good of the
child. And God is a GOOD Father.
To be like obedient children to Him, we
must leave behind our “former lusts” and
live holy lives (1 Peter 1:14-15 NKJV).
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
Quit our old ways of living and doing
things, and adopt a whole new lifestyle
instead? That seems like a tall order! But
what He asks us to do, He will enable us to
do, too.
And He only asks us to make this drastic
change because it is the best thing possible
for us.
What’s more, He hasn’t just given us a
theoretical command to follow. Instead
He has given us a living, breathing
example of this holy life. He has given us
Jesus Christ.
So how do we live as holy, obedient
children to God?
We fix our eyes on Jesus, the “author and
finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). We leave
behind the ways of this world and are
transformed by “the renewing of your
mind” (Rom. 12:2). And we put our
confidence in God’s promise that “He who
calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1
Thess. 1:24).
Page 5
 LESSON 4: DEVOTIONAL
You always have a choice—even when you
feel like you don’t—because not choosing
one thing, often, is choosing another.
For example, if you don’t choose to do
laundry, you do choose overwhelming
piles of dirty clothes. If you don’t choose
to drink enough water, you do choose
dehydration. If you don’t choose to
exercise, you do choose to be unfit.
How many “choices” are you making every
day, by default? Wouldn’t you rather be
intentional about the choices you’re
making? Wouldn’t you rather choose
WELL?
That’s what Paul is talking about in this
verse. He’s saying that this is one of those
“either/or” choices.
If you choose to serve your sinful, selfish
self, then you automatically choose not to
obey the Lord.
But if you choose obedience to the Word
of God, then you inherently choose
against sin.
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
If I’m honest, I choose many times every
day to please myself—and, by default, to
disobey and displease my Lord.
But I don’t want to be a slave to sin! I want
to be freed from the power of sin in my
life.
That means I must present myself to serve
the Lord.
I must submit myself to Him.
I must OBEY.
The only way to avoid the “default choice”
of sin is to intentionally choose to serve
the Lord instead.
Yes, I know—at times it feels like sin has a
grip on you. You feel like you can never
escape its power in your life. Even when
you want to do well, you fail.
That’s because you are a slave to sin!
Instead, choose today to obey the Lord—
and God promises you will experience the
result of righteousness in your life.
So choose well!
Page 6
 LESSON 5: DEVOTIONAL
So you want to choose God, rather than
self? You want to choose obedience,
rather than sin?
That’s great. But how, practically
speaking, do you do that?
Romans 6:17 gives us a hint. It says that
the Romans obeyed “that form of
doctrine to which [they] were delivered”
(NKJV). That is to say, they obeyed what
they were taught.
And, because they did, they were freed
from slavery to sin and became “slaves” to
righteousness & holiness instead (Rom.
6:18-19 NKJV).
Perhaps that’s why Paul says later in the
book, “...be transformed by the renewing
of your mind...” (Rom. 12:2 NKJV).
Obedience begins in our minds. What we
fill our minds with will influence how we
act. So if you want to be obedient, you
need to fill your mind with the things of
the Lord.
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
Do daily Bible reading. Post Scripture
around the house. Play God-honoring
music or listen to sermons in the car.
There are many ways you can saturate
your mind with God’s truth—even if
you’re busy.
And when you experience transformation
in your mind, it will affect your heart, too.
Notice that Paul says the Romans obeyed
“from the heart” the teachings that they
heard. When you expose yourself to truth,
it will cause a change in your heart
attitude, too.
So if you want to choose obedience,
rather than sin, begin today by “renewing
your mind” (Rom. 12:2 NKJV).
Intentionally expose yourself to God’s
Word throughout your day.
You’ll see it will change your thinking,
which will change your heart—and that
will lead to obedience and transformation
in your life!
Page 7
 LESSON 6: DEVOTIONAL
Do you love God? If you do, where’s the
proof?
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My
commandments” (John 14:15 NKJV).
And we know that God values obedience
more than worship: “Has the Lord as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as
in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel
15:22 NKJV).
So if you love God, there will be evidence
in your life. Your actions will prove it.
If you love God, then you will obey.
That might be contrary to what you think
shows your love for God. I’ll be honest; I
have this mentality that service and
sacrifice and giving and doing show my
love for God.
I get myself busy, busy, busy doing—doing
whatever it is that I think will
demonstrate my love toward God.
Obedience Copyright © 2021 BibleBaton
But that isn’t necessarily what God
desires.
God desires OBEDIENCE.
God desires for me to give up my own
ideas and to seek His will for me, instead.
True love isn’t self-seeking. True love
seeks to please another. So if we really do
love God, then we’ll do what He desires.
We will do what He says. We will OBEY.
2 John 1:6 says it so clearly: “This is love,
that we walk according to His
commandments” (NKJV).
Let’s quit doing all the things that we
think we should be doing. Instead, let’s
take a look in the Scriptures at who God is,
what He desires, and what He’s
commanded us to do.
And then let’s do those things that He has
given for us to do. Let’s show our true love
for God by walking in the way He has for
us.
Let’s live in OBEDIENCE.
Page 8
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