“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land” (Isa 1:19; NKJV). What a promise, obey God and be blessed. Let’s look at a few obedient people in the Bible. God told Abraham to leave his home and travel thousands of miles to Canaan and that he would give rise to a great nation and be blessed
(Gen 12:1-5). Abraham obeyed and all of God’s promises came to be. From Abraham came the people of Israel and Jesus Christ. King David started out as a lowly shepherd boy but God chose him to be king of Israel (1 Sam 16:12-13). David was not perfect but he walked in obedience to God and was perhaps the mightiest king of Israel.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul persecuted the early church (Acts 7:58; 8:3) but God had a plan for him. God got Paul’s attention in a dramatic encounter (Acts 9:3-19) and he went on in obedience to play a major role in establishing the early church, writing a significant portion of the New Testament. Jesus demonstrated the ultimate act of obedience to his heavenly Father, dying on a cross so we could be forgiven and have salvation (Phil 2:8).
As we walk in obedience to God’s word we too will be blessed (Luke 11:28). The apostle John quoted Jesus saying that as we keep on obeying God’s word both he and the Father would make their home with us (John 14:23). When, in obedience to God, we ask Jesus to be Lord of our lives (Rom 19:9-10) he comes to live in us and give us eternal life (John 8:51). Wow! who would not want to walk in absolute obedience to our heavenly Father?
The Amplified Bible describes wisdom as, “comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God”. The book of Proverbs talks much about wisdom, in fact Proverbs 1:2 says that the Proverbs were written in order to teach people about wisdom. Prov 1:5 states that those who are already wise will
become even wiser. Furthermore, Prov 9:10 tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (as already mentioned in an earlier blog). Proverbs chapter 4 really stresses the importance of getting wisdom, saying that if we do that it will cause us to be promoted and honored, along with many other benefits. In Proverbs chapters 8 and 9 we learn that wisdom will give us long life, cause us to speak excellent things and find us favor with God. It is better than money and jewels but using wisdom can cause us to become rich.
In the New Testament (Matt 7:24-26), Jesus tells us that the wise person builds his house on the rock (he hears and obeys the teaching of the Lord). Also, James says that humility and wisdom are actually tied together and will result in good works. “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13; NLT). From these scriptures we learn the importance of wisdom and if you feel like you need more wisdom in your life James 1:5 says we can ask God for it and He will give it liberally!
At the beginning of a New Year, it’s good to ask ourselves what does God have for us, how does he want us to grow and to change and what does he want us to do? As Christians we are born again spiritually (John 3:3-7), filled with the Holy Spirit, the power of God (1 Cor 6:19) and we are his children
(John 1:12). God has an amazing plan for each of our lives (Jer 29:11). It’s only as we walk in all God has for us that we will find true purpose, fulfillment and peace. We all obviously need to hear from God. There are 3 main ways God speaks directly to us.
As we prayerfully study the Bible the Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes to God’s word that will guide us, grow us, encourage us and even discipline us (John 16: 10-15; Ps 1:1-3). God can also speak to us by his “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12b) in our hearts as he did to Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-12; NKJV). In addition, God can communicate with us by an inner witness or unction. The Holy Spirit will interact with our spirit with a sense, a thought, words or a scripture to encourage, direct, chasten and mature us (Rom 8:16;9:1). How do we know we are hearing from God? Quiet yourself with God and listen. If it is God’s wisdom in that inner witness or “still small voice”, it will line up with his word and come with a real peace and assurance (James 3:17).
If we want to have all of God in 2024, we need to let him have all of us! Let God speak to you and show you his way for you this next year; it will be glorious!
“For truly I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of cold water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward” (Mark 9:41; ESV). It doesn’t get much simpler than that! To do something as simple as giving someone a drink of water brings us a reward.
Jesus Himself led a simple life; He spent time with ordinary people, ate with them, taught them and helped them. There was nothing complicated about His life. Jesus chose uneducated fishermen to be His disciples and being a Christian doesn’t require us to be educated, accomplished or special in any way.
God requires us to obey His commandments but 1 John 5:3 tells us that they are not burdensome, in other words, they are easy to follow. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could tell mountains (our problems) to move. Simple faith!
Prayer is simple too – it’s just having a conversation with God; we don’t have to use King James English, or say long repetitive prayers but just a heart to heart with God (Matt 6:7-13). Simple! Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thess 5:16-18 to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks.” There’s nothing complicated about that!
Let’s follow this advice and keep it simple!
Do you ever stop and ask yourself; how does God see me? Well, the Bible is very clear on this question. Sin in our lives caused us to die spiritually and separated us from God. He saw us as sinners. As sinners our lives come under the evil and destructive plans of satan, such as sickness, poverty and disease. Christ redeemed us or paid that awful price for our sins by His sacrifice on a cross winning God’s forgiveness for us all (Col 1:14). If we repent of sin and ask God’s forgiveness, believe in Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives (Rom 10:9) we are born again spiritually (John 3:3-7; Eph 2:1). We become new creations (2 Cor 5:17) and our fellowship with God is restored. We become His children (1 John 3:1), Christians. We are justified (Rom 4:25) or made just as if we had never sinned, sanctified, set apart for God and made holy in God’s eyes (1 Cor 6:11). In addition, God sees us Christians as righteous, having right standing with Him (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus calls us His friends (John 15:15) and His workmanship (Eph 2:10). The Greek word translated “workmanship” has the sense of a poem, a work of art, a new creation produced by our creator, God. Finally, the apostle Peter refers to God’s people as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9a; NKJV). This is who we are as Christians, this is how God sees us and don’t allow anyone to tell you any differently!