To Believe
Good Morning Friends,
A Monk was ask how it was like to live in a monastery and specifically about the vows. His response was interesting. He said that poverty was a snap. Celibacy was manageable, but obedience was a real booger. It makes one wonder about the connection between obedience and prayer… what it really means To Believe.
Scripture:
And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:18-19 (NASB)
Message: What does it mean to accept Jesus? Certainly it cannot be as simple as a onetime declaration of faith. When I got married I pledged to love, honor, cherish and obey. The belief that it would be reciprocated was sacramental. To believe in the Christian sense is of course to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. But is to believe also to acknowledge that the Bible is God’s word? Does to believe mean that you must join a church? In contemporary culture, to believe is to identify yourself as a Christian on a government census. Is nothing more required? Friends, are you blessed or busted in your belief? When I got married I told my wife I loved her. That was not a one and done event. If we do not keep saying and doing things in obedience and love there is a danger of the hardening of the heart. Friends, there is a danger in unbelief. There is a danger in quitting before the finish line. And for those unfortunates who have rejected Jesus, well they may literally have Hell to pay. But for the everyday living of it, the monk was right. It is a booger to obey and that means it is difficult to trust and then that means it is difficult to believe, and that means it is difficult to pray and love. The interesting thing is that in obedience to God our faith is strengthened as so too our prayers. And as our obedience strengthens so too our trust and belief. Here we learn the power of love. Here we learn how to communicate in the language of love on a cold morning by bringing our spouse some hot tea.
Pray we understand that obedience is a condition for effective prayer. Pray we learn the truth that prayer and obedience and belief go together. Pray we have a sincere and honest heart. Pray we realize that there is no hardship in obedience only love and that this is worth believing.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 