Obeying the Word

Sometimes it seems that the men, women, and children that God created and procreated have all forgotten how good it is, to know and utilize the word “obey.” To obey is a proper and eternal response to all righteous requests. There are times that we do not want to obey but it is still necessary for us to follow instructions. Everyone knows that we must tell a child not to put his hand into a fire. Some of them will obey and be happy but others decide to disobey and receive a painful burn. It is not that simple to obey the Word of God because life is very complex. But if we want to qualify as a member of God’s elite family we must learn to obey.  Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Heb 5:8-9 (NLT). People like to say “I believe in Jesus” and they proceed to live their life any way they choose. What would have happened if Jesus had not obeyed the Father and had simply lived anyway He wanted?

Jesus is willing to be our source of eternal salvation only when we obey the word of God. Maybe we should explain that every single human on this earth is born with their own death and eternal punishment to be paid. Because of our sinful ways we can never live around God who is perfect. Most Americans know that Jesus came to earth and provided a solution for our redemption. It seems that they do not know that in order to be part of God’s eternity they must deny themselves (pick up their cross) and learn to obey the Lord. Every human is born with a chance to live in eternity forever if we are willing to obey God’s Word. Of course, many people say that they don’t obey anybody but they are actually wrong. The Scriptures say; Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16 (NLT). If these people could only see that they are already obeying their sinful nature maybe they would see the need to reject their present evil master.

There is one big reason why many people do not live a life dedicated to God. It is because all humans are born with a naturally bad way of thinking. The Scripture says; The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless! Psalms 94:11 (NLT) This may seem offensive to some people but it is true. The New Testament spells it out for us; Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  Eph 4:17-19 Our natural thinking is never going to be Godly. This is why Paul said; Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:21-24 (NLT) If we want to join God some day it is necessary to put on the new nature which will allow us to successfully obey the Word of God.

Today we have a choice to obey the Savior. This will not always be the case; at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:10-11 (NLT) Someday it will be compulsory to confess that Jesus is our Lord because it is true. There will be no reward if we are forced to say it. We must love God and confess our Lord now.  Jesus is the Word of God therefore he is the one we must obey; So the Word became human and made his home among us… And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14. One time Jesus told his disciples; “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 Jesus is the only way that any human can find eternal salvation. Jesus told his disciples; the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest Mark 4:20 (NLT) To accept God’s word means that we will obey words of Jesus as our Lord.

After we have heard the Word of the Gospel and obeyed our call, we will begin to learn about trusting or having faith as most call it. Trusting is necessary so that our obedience can be wholehearted because we learn that everything He asks of us is right.  This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith (trusting) that a righteous person has (eternal) life.” Romans 1:17 (NLT) We can begin to see how that all the elements of salvation must work together. Our salvation is not about doing just one element but everything in our life must fit together in its proper place.  We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Eph 2:21-22 It may be difficult to believe but we are being put together so that we may become a suitable part of the body of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the bottom line for people who do know God but they do not obey Him, is exactly the same as it is for people who never accepted God at all. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 2 Thess 1:7-9 (NLT) The only divine punishment for eternity is to suffer torment and the only way to escape this terrible situation is to obey every part of God’s Word. This means that our natural thinking must be changed and that can only be done by the Spirit of Jesus. God will give us the greatest hope in the universe if we will surrender our thinking to Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT) If you want to be saved let God change you into the type of person that can live with Him in eternity. Living with God is why we must obey the Word and in addition we will receive the greatest reward ever imagined by a human.

Engimatic Courage

Courage is very hard for most people to explain. It actually is a part of the human spirit but we usually define it with our conduct. The puzzling thing is how people surprise us with an action that is sometimes different from their normal behavior. For example, a quiet man “falls in love” and suddenly he will bravely defend his love even if it is something that is totally contrary to his former philosophy. During a disaster people will do inconceivable deeds and later wonder how they did such a thing. Courage takes many different forms which makes it seem mysterious. It is interesting that the original Greek New Testament does not use the word courage. (some translations may use it) Everything about our life after salvation has its source in God which means that a Christians courage comes from Jesus. This is the reason our courage is talked about differently in the Bible. One time Jesus explained it this way; Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NLT) We can see here that our answer is found in the courage that Jesus had while he was on this earth.

One sure sign that we have godly courage is shown by our cheerfulness. The world will make comments like “how can they be cheerful at a time like this?” It is because of the inexplicable joy of the Spirit inside of us. We gained great confidence when our guilt was removed by Jesus which causes us to bubble over with happiness.  For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. Heb 13:5-6 (NLT) Our friendship with God has great value and because we feel His greatness in our soul we should boast about our Savior. As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” 2 Cor 10:17 Our heart is strong when we think of our position in Christ. We can actually feel the strength of the arrangement God has made with us.

Some verses tell us that boldness to speak the Word of God is part of the courage that the Spirit gives us. Although we are given courageous attributes as gifts we are still responsible to hang-on to our courage; But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage (boldness) and remain confident in our hope in Christ. Heb 3:6 Just as cheerfulness and boldness show our courage it also is seen in other things like our hope, peace, fullness, love and rejoicing. Living with Jesus gives us a courageous life and someday it will lead to heaven. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Heb 3:14 (NLT) Remember to be faithful and courageous as we identify with the Lord. Stay cheerful because someday our spirit will take possession of all that God has promised.