If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the
doctrine… —John 7:17
{CHAMBERS} “The golden rule to follow to obtain
spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of
obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity
must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings
of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things
seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of
disobedience somewhere in my life. […] The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of
self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even
thought of before. When Jesus drives
something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you
will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug
your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will
know why you are not growing spiritually.”
{ELGIN} I was on a mission yesterday morning. I had to get tags for my wife’s car. We decided that we would get a Desert Storm
veteran’s tag, her idea actually. I had
a Vietnam tag on my vehicle already. A
reminder of other chapters in my life, days gone by. When I walked into the Veteran’s office to
get the affidavit to verify to the tag clerk that I was indeed in the Gulf War,
I saw a friend, Bob, whom I had not seen for over 10 years. We chatted for a few minutes and then he was
called to get his paperwork. As he was
leaving, I told him, “Bob, there are no coincidences, God had us meet for a
reason.” Time will tell what exactly that
reason was. So I was called to the
office director’s office. I noticed a
plaque on his wall that spoke of prayer.
He asked me “So you know Bob?”
That was the opening to a 40 minute conversation about God’s calling,
our obedience to the call, spiritual problems in our country, and the commonality
of how God was working in each of our lives and the message He had given each
of us, the director and me, that is. Now,
this entire episode occurred, on the surface, because I needed to get a Gulf
War license plate. But that was not
really the purpose. I could sense the
prompting of the Spirit as I talked with my new found friend and co-laborer.
So what does this have to do with obtaining
spiritual understanding. If your heart
is not right before God. If you are not
willing to obey when God prompts you to act, you will miss what God has for
you. Don’t live your life in spiritual
isolation. Living in a way where you are
totally obsessed with you and what pleases you, letting fear and not faith
control you as you live out your new life in Christ. Your life is not your own. God has so much more for you than living life of sin management. Don’t be like the one who buried his talent
in the ground which yielded nothing, but be like the one who lived by faith and
saw a “spiritual” increase as a result of his faithfulness and obedience. (Matthew 25:14-30) Life is full of wonderful,
spiritual opportunities … but you will miss them if you choose not to look for
them
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