hearing – Page 2 – Praying Pint

13.t. “On that day there shall be a fountain opened to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Isaiah 59:19-21   So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives.  “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.  “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Joel 2:28-29     “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Acts 2:33  Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Titus 3:5-6    he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

Who will turn to Jesus, the pierced One. His head was pierced with thorns, His hands and feet were pierced with nails, and a spear pierced His side. When we see Jesus crucified – understanding why He went to the cross and what He accomplished there – we are drawn to Him in humble repentance. They/we will look on Him whom they pierced. They will realize that they did it or would have done it and that they bear responsibility – not sole responsibility, but responsibility nonetheless – for the crucifixion of their Savior. Sin and sinfulness must be put away. Sin cannot be excused, condoned, or compromised with. We first must look to Jesus, then in the light of His holiness, grace, and mercy we mourn for our sins and repent. It is in this first act of looking to Jesus that our heart becomes tender, our conscience aware, and our sinfulness exposed. A fountain of grace, mercy, and love is overflowing and is never-ending this side of eternity. Now is the time to look to Jesus, look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Come to the fountain, drink richly from it, and live to honor and glorify the author and finisher of our salvation.

12.k. “Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”

Habakkuk 3:2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Psalms 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

Jeremiah 36:1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the LORD,so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the LORD’s house you shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the LORD, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house. In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house. When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials.And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

And so it is with man. Intentional choices are made to acknowledge or defy God and His awesome wonders, powers, warnings, and promises. We can respond; “His word speaks to me and shows me His glory. His creation reveals His majesty. His grace, mercy, and love give me the reason for faith, hope, and steadfast obedience. His Son gives me redemption, forgiveness, and salvation. His Holy Spirit gives me strength. His promises give me hope, joy, and refuge.” Or, we can respond with pride, self-reliance, self-assurance, defiance, rejection, and no fear/respect for God and what His Holy Word proclaims. Every individual makes an intentional choice in regard to God. Some to eternal life and most to eternal damnation. Habakkuk and David and Jehoiakim, in the scriptures above, reveal their hearts and intentional choice. What choice are you making today?

4.i. “To keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Nehemiah 13:1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

Psalms 119:9    How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Proverbs 6:23    For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

James 1:27   Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

“As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.” Do you ever wonder what the state of mind is in those who hear and act on God’s word? We know from earlier in Nehemiah the people were floundering in their walk with God. A small number (40,000 – 50,000) had been allowed to return to their homeland. Jerusalem was in ruin and the people were spread out in other towns and villages of Judah. They all did what seemed right to them at the time. They were harassed by the surrounding people, they had to establish new fields for grain, pastures for flocks, homes to live in. They had to repopulate. In all of this activity, they seemed to have gotten caught up in, this led to them forgetting about serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God. Then Ezra the scribe and priest was sent and what he saw and heard about, he called out the sin of the people. He read the Book of the Law to them and had it explained so that the people had an understanding of what it meant to honor, follow, and obey. Their heart, mind, and soul were open to hearing the word and they confessed their sin and committed to retiring to honoring, serving, following, and obeying God’s Law. We must remember that there had been 70 years of captivity so many of these people returning were second and third generation from those who initially rejected God’s Law. In captivity there would have been no temple worship, no reading from God’s word, and much exposure to foreign gods and practices. It can be understood why they did what seemed right in their own eyes because they were void of God’s Word.

What is our excuse? What possible reason do we have? We have not been forced into captivity or had the Word of God removed from us. We have not been forced to live apart from God’s temple or forced to stop worshiping God. And yet, we choose to live as we have been. We neglect God’s Word, we are complacent at best in our service, and our heart, mind, and soul are deaf to the leading His Word would give us. When our heart, mind, and soul, has chosen to be in captivity of the influence of the world we will only be able to do what seems right in our own eyes. We will only be doing what seems right by the standards and expectations of the culture we live in. To break the chains of captivity our heart, soul, and mind must change. An intentional choice must be made in our hearts to seek and desire God’s word with the single purpose of honoring, serving, glorifying, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ. We must want to hear God’s Word speak into our life for this single purpose above all of the things this world has to offer. In this heart, mind, and soul-deep commitment we will find that when we hear God’s Word leading us we will immediately act on it accordingly.

185. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 Kings 18:26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Psalms 11:1   In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain,

Psalms 125:1-2    Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

Matthew 27:43    He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Luke 23:35   And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

When we face trials and troubles, chaos and confusion, and anxiousness and worries where do we turn for peace within the storm. We see the flashes of lightning and the roar of thunder within our problem and want to run into the saving arms of Jesus. As we take steps toward Him and as we are putting more and more of our faith, trust and reliance on Him, there are those who mock this thinking. They may or may not come right out and say that this problem is bigger than what faith needs and then give you all of the worldly ways to find help apart from Jesus. They have no basis in their heart, mind, and soul for faith. It makes no sense to them. They see leaning on and in the arms of Jesus as a weakness.

But to those who trust in Jesus, they will never be forsaken, never be left alone, never be powerless, and will never be afraid. “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” They will close their eyes, ears, and mind to what the world is offering a solution. They will seek the Lord their God and trust in Him alone, “for He is able to do more than they ask and much more than they can imagine.”

How does faith like this come about? It is in and through the word of God. The more we desire it, seek it, listen to it, and want it speaking into our lives each and every day, we will grow in our understanding and knowledge of the Grace, Mercy, and Love of our Heavenly Father. It is intentionally daily choosing to desire, seek, and want to be led by Jesus Christ and live in such a way that we serve, honor, glorify, listen to, follow, obey, rely on, and trust in Him alone.

You do not want to wait until the storm clouds are upon you to decide to find wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God through His word. The time to build and grow your faith is now. Choose to be in His word each day and be led by Him. Choose to listen to His guiding. Choose to follow and obey His leading. Choose to rely on and trust in Him. Choose the narrow path that leads to Jesus Christ, relies on Jesus Christ, waits on Jesus Christ, trusts in Jesus Christ, and lives to honor Jesus Christ.

58. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Deuteronomy 29:4   But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.

Proverbs 20:12    The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both.

Isaiah 6:9-10    And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 63:17   O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants

Matthew 13:11-15     And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

  For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

John 8:43    Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

2 Corinthians 3:15    Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

Ephesians 4:18    They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12     and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

James 1:13-17     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

2 Timothy 2:25    correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Ezekiel 36:26   And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

There is quite a bit said in these verses that show the heart of man. God knows the heart, mind, and soul of each person. He knows those who do/will and do not/will not desire and seek Him. He knows those who will believe and those who will not. He knows. It appears to say that God will send a delusion and a hardening of the heart, ears, and eyes to those whose heart and mind and soul are dull to things of God. It also says that God will give a new heart and new spirit to those who truly seek and desire Him.

I get a bit lost in how these two outcomes are applied to people. If I were to look at my conversion and what it took to bring me to my knees before Jesus Christ, it was only by the grace and mercy of God that my eyes, heart, ears, and mind were opened to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for forgiveness and repentance. I would easily have been one who’s heart was like that of stone, whose eyes and ears were shut to things of God. Yet God opened them and gave me a new heart. He gave me understanding and pulled the veil from my eyes. He opened my deaf ears. He softened my heart of stone. He put a new spirit within me.

I know I deserved to be alienated and left in my ignorance for I was living in the pleasure of my sin giving no thought about God. “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It is the time to recognize neglect of His word and that complacency that has filled our hearts. Confess, repent, seek, desire, and run to Him for the time is short for us to serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey Jesus, the author, creator, awesome, mighty, powerful, loving, and steadfast redeemer of our soul.

26. God knows our thoughts and intents

Numbers 14:26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

Psalms 139:2    You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

Psalm 94:11 The Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Psalm 139:4   Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

2 Corinthians 10:5   We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

God knows our thoughts and intents. He knows the word on our tongue before it is spoken. He looks and searches our heart. God will give every man according to his ways. Scripture begs us to examine ourselves in and through His word. It tells us to take our thoughts captive. Thoughts not in line with the fruits of the Spirit need to be taken captive and discarded immediately. Think about this for awhile. It is not easy when we have been wronged, hurt, sick, lost someone, felt alone, felt neglected, felt cheated, treated unfairly, cut-off while driving, rumored about, slandered, without a job or income, etc…….

Thoughts come and they can be stepping stones to separation from God’s peace, refuge, rest, strength, courage, and hope. If these thoughts are taken captive and recognized for what they are we can easily discard them and confess them to God. We can even ask Him to remove these thoughts from our head.

Examine your thoughts today and see if they reflect the love of Jesus Christ.

Do all things without grumbling

Exodus 16:1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Psalms 106:7     Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

Psalms 106:13     But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.

Psalms 106:25    They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.

1Corinthians 10:9  We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

Numbers 14:27-30     “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.  Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:  your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me,  not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Philippians 2:14     Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

I don’t know what is worse, to not believe there is a God, or to know there is a Powerful, Mighty, Limitless, Creator – “God” and grumble about His care, purpose, plan, and love for those who are called by His name. One denies God exists and the other denies His omniscient and omnipresence in and through His creation. One gives no thought and the other denies His faithfulness and steadfast love.

For those who deny God exists there is not much hope outside of God softening their heart to Him and giving them one more chance to receive Him. For those who believe that God exists and they grumble through life, blaming God, and discounting God, this is very sad state of mind to be in.

We all have moments in our life where we question “why” are the trials that hit us not stopped by God. Scripture tells us that God allows some trials and troubles to come our way to test our heart. It is not as though God does not already know but rather to show us the state of our heart, our faith, our trust and our reliance in the awesome hands of God.

We do well to learn from those in the past and not repeat the same humanistic views. We do well to lean not onto our own understanding but through prayer and thanksgiving let our requests be known to God. Relying on Him, trusting in Him, clinging to Him – this is where hope and faith grow and mature.

Whatever it is you are facing – place it in God’s hands and allow Him to work His perfect plan through it all.

Ask for the ancient paths

“For we who have believed enter that rest”

Psalms 95:11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Numbers 14:23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Deuteronomy 1:34-35 “And the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore, ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers,

Hebrews 3:18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Hosea 4:4-11 And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding.

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

The contrast of those who willingly disobey and those who choose to follow Jesus Christ is clear. The line in the sand, as it were, is the choice – either ‘We will not walk in it.’ or “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” and again in “Come to me,” / “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me“. God promises rest for those who come to Him, ask, and seek to learn from Him. Likewise He promises the opposite for those who choose not to. This is either all in or all out. There is no in between. Be mindful of the choice being made – it has an eternal consequence.

Abide in Me

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,”

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,”

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Luke 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Acts 11:23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Colossians 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

1 John 2:24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

2 John 1:9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Complacency, neglect and lacking fruit in our lives is a direct result of us not abiding in Christ. Coming to the knowledge of salvation and forgiveness of sin through Christ is the beginning of our new life. This new life is to continually bear much good fruit. This fruit ought to be seen by others as a testimony to what Christ has done in our life. Jesus said for us to abide in Him and we will bear fruit. We can not bear fruit on our own. It may seem like we can and do but it is clear from scripture that apart from abiding in Christ this fruit is not good. Paul says we ought to examine and test ourselves. Examine and test against what? The only way is to spend time in scripture. God’s word is able to discern thoughts and intents of our heart and mind. Apart from His word how can this happen. Just because we don’t read and have Holy Spirit speak conviction into our heart and mind, does not mean we are not responsible or accountable. In fact many times we are reminded that being lukewarm is a very bad bad state of living to be in. What are the fruits of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” I am sure there are those who have what they consider all of these but apart from Christ we will never understand them in the proper context. In His word we understand these and they come alive. They are whispered into our life and we find them honoring God and not us. We find it is through His steadfast love we and leading we experience these in a whole new way. We find our life has purpose beyond that which we can see and touch. We see this fruit have an impact not only in our lives but in the lives of others as the Holy Spirit leads us. I am convinced that abiding requires staying in His word and a heart deep desire to humbly serve, honer, follow, and obey.

Mind set on this world

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”

John 8:43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

John 8:47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Isaiah 44:18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

Hosea 14:9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Micah 4:12 But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan,

Isaiah 6:9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

Romans 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 John 3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God,

1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

In these scripture we see there are those who hear, listen, and seek God. There are also those who do not. It is important to know that the people who were not listening we God’s chosen, the Israelites. These are the ones who had seen the hand of God first hand or had heard first hand what God had done and what He expected. These were people who either chose to honor, serve, obey and follow God or Not. I fear we take to lightly this life and walk with God. We become complacent and neglect our walk with Him until something in this life overcomes our ability to cope and then we run to Him. This should not be the way our life of service to God is lived out. Give thought to: What does it mean to seek God with your whole heart, mind and soul? What does a life look like that humbly serves, honors, obeys, and follows God? Our walk with and service to God is not to be taken lightly. Spend time in His word. Seek to know and understand Him and His purpose for you.