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This morning I want to continue with our metaphor of climbing hills, and this one is the Hill of Obedience. This is an important hill to climb because without it, climbing the hills of faith, love and hope is pointless. Ask yourself: What does God require of me?
And the answer is found in Matthew 5:21-23: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'!" We must learn to recognize the difference in saying and doing.
There are so many people today who claim to be Christians, but who don't reflect the characteristics most often applied to Christians by God's word. These are the same people who are offended if you so much as imply that their attitude or behavior is surprisingly the opposite. This group has grown bigger and louder over the last few decades.
But James 2:24 speaks the truth: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." SAYING you're a Christian and BEING a Christian can be two different ways of living your life. If you say you're a Christian, but you don't OBEY God rather than your own worldly thoughts, desires and ideas, you aren't pleasing to God. It isn't me saying this...it's God's word.
And now that we're seeing how necessary it is to obey God, let's see how our obedience brings salvation. Beginning in James 5:8-9, you can read:
"...though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him...."
What did Christ suffer? He suffered the betrayal, pain, anguish, and sorrow of the cross for our sakes. How does the suffering of Christ compare to your suffering? Perhaps in our culture today we balk at a word like obey. And even if we don't balk at it, do we ignore it because we can? Who is going to say that you're being disobedient? And if a fellow church member, neighbor, or family member tells you that you're wrong, what is your response? It's important for us to understand the sincere and earnest nature of obedience whether we always maintain it or not.
Romans 8:16 gives us the assurance of salvation if we obey God:
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."Does that mean doing our own thing? Does that mean deciding how we feel about a matter and ignoring the destruction we leave in our wake? Does that mean being unkind when we've decided the person before us is in the wrong? Are you the one suffering, or do you cause suffering in others? Do you create a more stable environment or a less stable one?
These are questions for you to ponder. Only you can know your heart and mind, therefore, only you can answer the questions. I have no doubt that those around you would be willing to put in their two cents, but that might throw you off balance. It is important for us to think about spiritual things as the world is coming unglued. God is showing us His power. Who controls the world and everything in it? We should give time to acknowledging the power of God and praying for His mercy. We should make sure that our obedience is full and complete. And we should take time to examine our hearts, so that we can know whether our lives are obedient. Do it for yourself! Do it for your loved ones! Do it for your country! Do it so that you may be pleasing to God!
I hope you've had a good week and will have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings...Mimi
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