Obedience
~To Save a Life-(Part 2) in His Word 10-5-2020
We are
a blessed people, even though we are not Israel, we Christians are God’s
children just the same. Even the poorest of the poor have a God who is waiting
to give them what they need if they but ask.
Instead
of asking for help from God too many times we try to do things ourselves; we put
what we want over what God may want, because it is too difficult to follow His
will in our lives. It is only difficult
because we choose to make it so.
He
gives us directions and promises for doing them right we get blessed with
peace, wholeness, and joy. Abundance is also promised for worshiping Him. The abundance is not physical abundance, but
more a spiritual one. We will have abundant joy, peace, love, etc., when we
draw near to Him and give Him Honor and praise.
We can
see the example Jesus gave us to follow in Matthew 19.
Someone
came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have
eternal life?”
“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus
replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you
want to receive eternal life, keep[g] the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked.
And
Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must
not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love
your neighbor as yourself.”
“I’ve
obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
Jesus told him, “If you want to be (saved) go
and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But
when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Matthew
19:16-22
It’s
really a bit of a heavy thing when you realize what you are choosing to do if
you have a lot of stuff. Recently our pastor shared how he had, as a young man,
given up his hundreds of dollars’ worth of records and things that did not portray
his life with Christ anymore. It
reminded me of the day I realized what was important to me was not the stuff I have
but the Lord and the people He has given me to love.
The
lives we can pour into, as they say, as we mentor and encourage one another are
worth far more than a fancy new car or even a mansion to me.
If I
could save, or rather encourage someone to the saving realization of the Love of
Christ Jesus and help them to figure out the truth of the Gospel; that would be
my part in saving a life!
“Do
not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones
in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God. You must keep my
Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
“If
you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the
seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field
will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape
harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain.
You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land.”
“I will give you peace in the land, and you
will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild
animals and keep your enemies out of your land …” Leviticus 26:1-6
Coffee
cups and dolls will break, but the people who gave them to us will live on in
our memories. That is what we need to recall, what is important.
The
most important thing is to be obedient to love God, and in loving Him to love
our neighbor as we in turn, love ourselves.
First,
we must believe, then we will receive His blessings. I am talking about the
blessings that count, not things; the blessings of eternal life, of love
unconditional and a life with a personal Savior listening to our every prayer
or hearts cry. A God who is presently and constantly present at any moment that
we cry out. He is here, and because He saved a life, your life, He is here for
you.
Take
some time today to think about what things you have that are getting in the way
of you reading the Word of God daily in an intended way. I say intended because
sometimes we just grab it and glance over it randomly, but the Word of God is
not just meant to be a snack, but a full meal!
If you
need a starting place there are many places to get a Bible Study going. Today
more than ever there are online studies, there are even some here on my blog
site that are great for starting out to read the Word daily with an intentional
fashion. That is why I wrote them, so people who are not used to reading the Bible
every day, will get into the habit of doing so.
Though
my daily reads are more of an appetite builder, the Bible studies become more of
a meal. I am not trying to sell my work right now I am trying to sell you n the
idea of reading for feeding on the Word of God.
Then
you can grow and gain knowledge and get closer to God so that you can help someone
to realize you want to save their life with Him.
The
best way to do this is to live a life of worship, by living according to His
will.
Heavenly Father, We lift one another up today, that You would guide our steps
and our words that we would be able to lead people to You, that Living Water
that they would drink from it and be one more life saved. Help us to be good
witnesses to Your goodness, and Your love, and to bring the people a reason to
follow after You and Worship you today with their lives as we do with ours, in
Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional
Reading: Matthew 19:1-30, Matthew 24:1-51 and John 4:1-54