The requirements of the Lord are many in this scripture. The prerequisites He has laid out are strict, fundamental, but necessary. If we want to see God moving in this world…we need to fulfill our part in this scripture first. For it says, “Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We do our part…then He’ll do His.
Tag: spirituality
Luke 10:29 ” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ “
This question stemmed from an expert of the Law who had asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life, and where could it be found in the Law. Jesus recited Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18…basically saying, love God and love your neighbor. But the man wasn’t satisfied with the answer, and wanted Jesus to be more specific as to just who ” his neighbor” was. In other words, he was asking – what is the bare minimum requirement of who represents “my neighbor”. In most of our minds,” our neighbors”, are anyone in close proximity to us…either by blood or bond. But Jesus wants us to realize that “our neighbors” go far beyond mutual ties of kinship or nation. Our love and concern for one another should be pro-active…not passive or stingy, and should extend far from our imagined boundaries of just who “our neighbors” are.
Hebrews 12:7 ” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?”
Discipline is earnest correction which leads to education. As parents, we always wish our kids wouldn’t have to learn things the hard way. So training and instruction is for their benefit, not us just trying to be mean. The same goes for our Heavenly Father. We learn much from adversity…we discover just how strong we are, and are able to realize the true depth of God’s love and mercy for us . Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” Remember that our loving and ever watchful Heavenly Father is wanting only the best for us when hardships head our way.
James 1:19-20 ” My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
The next time you’re in a heated debate, take notice of your body language. Are your arms tightly crossed over your chest? You’re being defensive and resistive to the person and words that are being spoken to you. Are you shaking your head ” No “as someone is speaking to you? You’re not listening, but rather formulating what you want to say in response as soon as that person takes their next breath. This scripture shows that the art of communication is listening deliberately, speaking carefully, and not allowing knee-jerk reactionary anger to prevail.
Psalm 25:4-5 “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.”
Make Yourself known to me, Lord. Instruct me in Your ways… for only You are the source of all truth. As it says in Job 34:32, ” Teach me what I can not see.” For my hope and my life is in You. Amen.
Mark 4:16-17 ” Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word they quickly fall away.”
In these verses from the Parable of the Sower we see the Word of God being sown over rocky ground. The plants spring up, but because they have no adequate root system, they die off quickly. In the Amplified Version of the Bible it gives us insight into this shallow faith. It states in Mark 4:17, ” And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.” So how can we pray for this person? They have to go deeper. In I Timothy 3:9 it talks about keeping ahold of the deep truths of the faith…the divine secrets, revealed truths, and revelations from God. To move from shallow faith to a vibrant and intimate relationship with the Lord, a person has to go deeper with God…allowing Him to speak to them through the Scriptures, revealing important truths to them. And with these new revelations, they are then able to send roots of trust down deep.
John 4:13-14 ” Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ “
We’ve all been very thirsty. An interesting note about the human body…hunger pangs will eventually subside, but thirst will never go away, for our bodies need water to operation and maintain homeostasis, (a stable and normal condition of all systems within the body.) In this Scripture, Jesus is offering the Samaritan woman the kind of water that will not only satisfy immediately, but will become an Artesian well within her. Like a spring rising up with a new and constant supply of fresh water, this living water fills and quenches our thirst unlike anything the world can offer.
Philippians 1:27-28 ” I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.”
Declaring the Gospel to those around us can be scary. We’re afraid of rejection…afraid of adversity…afraid of failure, so hence, we say nothing. My favorite excuse is, “Someone else will share the Good News with that person…someone like the Pastor, or someone else more experienced than me.” But there may not be a “someone else” in that person’s life. For you may be the only one that will ever share the Gospel, or ever say the words, “Jesus loves you” to that person. I Corinthians 16:13 says, …” we are to stand firm; be men (and women) of courage; and be strong when contending for the faith.” So how do we overcome the fear of sharing our faith with others? First realize, you can never fail, even if you don’t see immediate results. What you’re doing is planting seed that needs to be watered…maybe by someone else… and maybe an entirely different person will be there to see the harvest. Secondly, it’s not about you and your abilities or lack there of. For your dependence should be on the Lord Jesus Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit to show you the way. So with them in your corner, don’t be afraid, you can do it!
Joshua 22:5 ” But be very careful to keep the commandments and the Law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”
It’s your first day of work at a new job, and how do you spend most of it? Reading and signing paperwork. There are contracts, job descriptions, and policies and procedures to review and sign. But as a Believer, you also have a job description for the work the Lord wants you to be doing here on earth. This scripture shows us we are responsible to so well represent the Lord, that if someone looks at us, they will only see the love of Jesus shining forth. Our relationship with God should be such, that our faith is never doubted…our love for Him never questioned…our worship of Him, uncompromising and pure. Yes, our obligation to the Lord is great…but not in any comparison to the reward.
Mark 7:14-15 ” Again, Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, ‘Listen to Me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.’ “
The long-held Jewish Law was being turned upside down by Jesus in this scripture. He was in a way giving the crowd an Anatomy and Physiology lesson in explaining that nothing they could ingest would ever defile their hearts…their inner self. Rather, Jesus explained to them that it was what came out of a man…in word and deed…that degraded and profaned him.
Safetypinlove 