JOTS FROM OLD JAKE
HEARING!
Thursday, Jul. 12, 2007 - 3:40 a.m.
I have read the bible through several times in my lifetime. Most of those times was just reading words and not really hearing what was being said. Sure I believed in what I thought it was saying. After I was filled with the Holy Spirit and learned to pray and ask for the word to come alive in me and also asking for wisdom, the words started to make sense to me. Not all at once but each time I go back and read the Spirit quickens some new thought to my mind.
Then there were times I read things that were really obviously easy to understand but I still didn�t grasp what was being said� one simple example of that is the ten commandments. I know that they were rules sent down via Moses to the children of Israel and for that matter is the basis of most law and order in many countries including this one. But I put a different spin on them when meditating on the verse below. This is Jesus talking:
Mark 12:30 KJV) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Jesus is telling the folks who were in earshot of Him that God Commanded them to Love God! How do you command someone to love you. That hits tilt on my logical scale. But that is what He did.
When you put the full perspective on what was expected of us in the grinder and logic settles out� what God is commanding us to do is what would give us life more abundantly.
A lawyer was quizzing Jesus about the law and trying to trip Him up. Jesus turned the table around and asked him what the first commandment was�
Luke 10:27 (KJV) And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
We command our children to look both ways before crossing a street. The reason we do this is for their own safety and benefit. We don�t let them run out in front of a car and get smacked down so they can learn by their own doing. We know that some things can be learned by making mistakes but there are some mistakes that can be fatal. It is the same with our relationship with our Lord. If we are obedient to His commands, things will be much more pleasant for us. We are no longer under the law since Jesus died for our sins. We are now under grace. However, the same benefitual advantage still exists for keeping within that law. We don�t think of it as being obedient to the law. We desire to fit within the confines of the law out of our love for our Lord. We become like the God we worship and those are the things He does.
Anyway back to hearing� by hearing the word of God, we become more intimate with Him. The more we become intimae with Him the more we Love Him� The more we Love Him the more we become like Him. Soon we are close to living totally within the law without realizing we are doing so. That is because hearing the Word of God is a faith builder.
Verse for today:
Psalms 9:9 (NIV) The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Ulterior thought:
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch Liberty
is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
May You Be Blessed by the Holy Spirit to Overflowing!
Bye for Now!
