July 3, 2019 IT’S IN THE DOING
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”
Luke 11:28 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
In our busy lives, it is easy to lose sight of simplicity; we seem tend to make things more complicated than they really are. This can hold true in our relationship with God. There are 66 books in the bible; seminaries exist for the purpose of teaching God’s word; countless books are written with the goal of explaining the scriptures; and countless sermons on the word of God are preached week by week. To complicate, there are varying, conflicting interpretations of the word of God, and as a result, there is not a unified, consistent message presented to the public. All of this can lead to a disconnect, or confusion, and a somewhat pessimistic attitude that says “Everyone has their own opinions-so who knows what is true or who is right.” Don’t get me wrong; the bible is an amazing book that is inspired by God; one can spend a life time studying and learning new insights things from Gods word. Now, for the subject of this blog. Every believer has a desire to have a viable, healthy, and enjoyable relationship with God and a desire to experience Him personally. This is where our human nature can get in the way-we may think it must be complicated to have such a relationship with God and that it requires much effort on our part. Wrong. The liberating theme found throughout the scriptures, the common thread and a plain simple truth is that taking to heart and obeying what God says in His word is the doorway to the relationship we desire to have with God. The ‘trick’ is; if we see keeping His commandments as something we must do in order to please Him or to gain His approval, we miss the point; obeying His word brings about good fruit when our obeying is based on our love for Him. Obeying His word should be a by-product of our love for Him. We can say that it simply boils down to being who God says to be and doing what God says to do! Again, we should be about studying God’s word-but do so with the intent to apply what we learn. There is a trap-we can become content with just learning new truth and yet not be changed. There is a principle that holds true; when we obey what God says, He shows us more. You can rightly say that the more we obey because we love Him, the more of Him we experience. So, read the New Testament, and when you see a command, do it! Reading the ‘one another’ commands and putting them into practice is a good starting place. Do you want Jesus and the Father to come to you and make their abode with you? If so, love Jesus and the Father, and obey their commands-their commands have your best interest at heart.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
July 3, 2019 IT’S IN THE DOING
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”
Luke 11:28 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
In our busy lives, it is easy to lose sight of simplicity; we seem tend to make things more complicated than they really are. This can hold true in our relationship with God. There are 66 books in the bible; seminaries exist for the purpose of teaching God’s word; countless books are written with the goal of explaining the scriptures; and countless sermons on the word of God are preached week by week. To complicate, there are varying, conflicting interpretations of the word of God, and as a result, there is not a unified, consistent message presented to the public. All of this can lead to a disconnect, or confusion, and a somewhat pessimistic attitude that says “Everyone has their own opinions-so who knows what is true or who is right.” Don’t get me wrong; the bible is an amazing book that is inspired by God; one can spend a life time studying and learning new insights things from Gods word. Now, for the subject of this blog. Every believer has a desire to have a viable, healthy, and enjoyable relationship with God and a desire to experience Him personally. This is where our human nature can get in the way-we may think it must be complicated to have such a relationship with God and that it requires much effort on our part. Wrong. The liberating theme found throughout the scriptures, the common thread and a plain simple truth is that taking to heart and obeying what God says in His word is the doorway to the relationship we desire to have with God. The ‘trick’ is; if we see keeping His commandments as something we must do in order to please Him or to gain His approval, we miss the point; obeying His word brings about good fruit when our obeying is based on our love for Him. Obeying His word should be a by-product of our love for Him. We can say that it simply boils down to being who God says to be and doing what God says to do! Again, we should be about studying God’s word-but do so with the intent to apply what we learn. There is a trap-we can become content with just learning new truth and yet not be changed. There is a principle that holds true; when we obey what God says, He shows us more. You can rightly say that the more we obey because we love Him, the more of Him we experience. So, read the New Testament, and when you see a command, do it! Reading the ‘one another’ commands and putting them into practice is a good starting place. Do you want Jesus and the Father to come to you and make their abode with you? If so, love Jesus and the Father, and obey their commands-their commands have your best interest at heart.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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