God says, “If only
they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would
go well with them and their descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 5:29 GNT).
The Apostle John said, “We
know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands” (1
John 2:3), and “Those who say they live
in God should live their lives as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6 NLT).
God wants us to revere and respect Him. He wants us to obey Him. When we don’t we hurt ourselves. Run a red light and you’ll get a ticket, or
worse have an accident and be physically hurt.
God’s rules and commands are for our benefit. They’re for our good, to prevent us from
hurting ourselves or penalizing ourselves. When God tells us to obey His commands, He
doesn’t mean that we must perform for Him with a 4.0 grade average to be loved
by Him. He’s saying that we must learn
to be obedient to His commands. Go all
out in doing what He says, but realize that your salvation is not based on your
performance. Obeying God is loving
Him. Obeying God is trusting Him.
The Amplified translation of Deuteronomy 5:29 puts it this
way: “Oh, that they had such a [mind and]
heart in them …” Cultivate a
heart that reveres and respects God and what He says. Have a heart for His ways and His
instruction.
Influence your mind to influence your feelings to influence
your will to influence your actions.
Posts
I know that I have been guilty of trying to be a perfectionist. An A in obedience isn't good enough...somehow I need to be an A+. How sad when I think about it. God already created me "good enough" to have a relationship with him and yet I've wasted time living for him by thinking at times I'm not good enough, talented enough or experienced enough. It's so easy to slip into unhealthy and disobedient patterns in our lives when we start to believe that we are the ones that are in control. That explains a lot about my life and how feeling out of control led me to do nothing at all most of the time. Father God, forgive me for my arrogance in thinking I can improve on your perfect plan in my life. Help me to know the guardrails I need to put in place so that I don't wander into dangerous territory. I pray that I will continue to influence my mind by your love, forgiveness, mercy and wisdom so that my feelings will be in align with the actions you would have me take. I thank you Father for always being there for me and continuing to love & bless me even in times of my ignorance and disobedience. You are the Great I Am and I am your child. May I always remember that and give you the love and respect you always deserve. All these things I pray and ask in your precious son's name...Jesus. Amen
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