Obey God so that you truly learn from the Bible

There are people who read the Bible and benefit from it, but then again there are people who read the Bible but don’t truly learn it. Because of the dullness of heart due to their love of what is impure and rebellious, there are those who deprive themselves of the blessings and deliverance that comes from the Lord God. Never be such a person that you read the Bible but don’t truly understand not learn from it. Therefore cut off all disobedience to God from your flesh. Crucify your flesh O brother, crucify your flesh O sister, crucify your flesh O you who dwell in the land of the living, so that you receive true healing that comes from Jesus Christ.

Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 12:2)

For the heart of this people has grown dull, and they barely hear with the ears, and they have closed their eyes, lest ever they should see with the eyes, and they should hear with the ears, and they should understand with the heart, and should turn, and I will heal them.’ (Matthew 13:15)

 

 

O you who call your self by the name of Christ, make your calling worthy of the Holy Name that comes from the above. Hear the Lord your God with gladness of heart, so that you bear good fruit in plenty. Do not be like those who follow the darkness because they are ashamed to live in the light of God because they love the darkness and hate the light. So be willing to receive the Word of God with the fully intent do as God wills you to do and live.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:42-45)

Obey God so that you truly learn from the Bible, for then your blessing will be surely assured by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Its a blessing to both read the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in it, in all your thoughts, words and deeds.

With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive.For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears,and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:14-16)

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Parable by Jesus)

Jesus gave us the parable of Wise and Foolish Builders in Matthew 7:24-27 in which he said the following:

“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell;and great was the fall of it.”

 

Jesus in the above parable wants us to understand the importance of both hearing his words and also acting on them. There are people who only hear the words of Jesus but do not act on it. Then we have people who both hear and act on the Word of God. Now, both of these types of people will keep building their life and achievements.

And they will face challenges and tough times as well. Only those who have acted on the words of the Lord Jesus will prevail and those who do not act, will suffer great losses. The most dangerous of such losses is when a person loses his or her soul to the Evil One at the time of death because of not abiding by the Word of God in their thoughts, words and actions.

 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

 

Wise and foolish builder; Icon fresco from Hilandari Monastery, Mount Athos

Thought provoking

Walk with the Lord Jesus

When you are scared,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.
When you get over whelmed,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.

When in need of comfort,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.
When in need of wisdom,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.

When desiring holiness,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.
When desiring patience,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.

When faced with trials,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.
When faced with temptations,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.

When it’s the time to grow,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.
When it’s the time to renew,
Walk with the Lord Jesus.

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Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Amen

Faithfully obey

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. (Deuteronomy 28:1)

There are a good number of people who want the blessings of God but want to avoid obeying the Lord too. The question is not the capacity of God nor the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be a blessing to you. Rather it’s about your personal accountability to the Lord God. Some foolish people feel entitled to every blessing mentioned in the Bible but ask them if they give time to prayer and what do they pray about then don’t be surprised with their answer. They’d say that they pray for a car or house or some material thing all the time. However the part of prayer where they are to thank God and ask of his mercy turns out to be alarmingly lacking. You’d also notice they make hardly any prayers for the peace of Jerusalem nor for the Gospel reaching the lost and unsaved. Obviously, they won’t ask for the grace of God to do everything that God has commanded them to do. Don’t be like these self obsessed people. Rather be a true obedient worshipper of God. And yes, to obey you need to know what the Lord God has said. For this very reason make sure you actually read the Bible and pray that Jesus Christ leads you by the Holy Spirit into all truth. Don’t focus too much on prosperity but rather to the Lord God to whom belongs all wholesome and life giving prosperity.

Christ be with you!

Amen

Reflection: Righteous living and soul winning

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)

For that believe in Christ Jesus, they know their righteousness is from him alone, by faith in him. They conduct their lives so in a manner pleasing to the Lord Jesus and refrain from evil. These do not bear bad fruit but rather good fruit, for they are of God to whom belongs the tree of life. Such are these people that they don’t keep the Lord of all goodness all to themselves but speak of his mercy to those who are in darkness. The righteous don’t take pride in their holiness but commend all things to God. They gain back people to the Creator of all by offering his grace and knowledge of salvation. Blessed are those who respond to them favourably by accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For if in they continue in the way of life then they will receive  the crown of glory in heaven from God in the presence of the holy angels.

Reflection: Receive God’s commandments

The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. (Proverbs 10:8)

To receive God’s commandments is no small thing. Many fools reject it out right. And they get their due reward; eternal judgment and damnation. The wise are not like them. They choose to receive God’s commandments with eagerness to glorify him. These who are in Christ will receive the joys of eternal life and the crown of glory.

Head and not the tail

You shall be the head and not the tail,
You were not baptized to fail.
The blessings of the covenant old,
obtained by Christ for us we’re told.

Have true faith and let it show,
By God, be above and not below.
Do not fear when the Enemy assails,
The Church against Hell’s gates prevails.

Resist the Devil and let him flee,
Revel not in falsehood and vain glee.
Obey Jesus the Savior in full measure,
For he’s better than any earthly treasure.

God grant that you don’t have to borrow,
Let there be hope for every tomorrow.
Every blessing promised to Abraham pure,
By faith we receive in Christ Jesus to endure.

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That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:14)

My thoughts when writing the above poem:

As per Deuteronomy 28 there are blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. No one has a lived a pure and perfect and sinless life as Jesus Christ has done. Depending on following the Law, we also get subject to its curses if we break it. This is where faith in Jesus comes in. For it gives you not only the courage to be really above all temptation and evil of the world, it also let’s you inherit the blessings he obtained for you which were promised to Abraham by God. No wonder it said in the Scriptures “The righteous shall live by faith”.