A Father's Counsel
We all should value the counsel we receive from our fathers. I know there are times when a father does not give godly counsel, but many times the father has come to know the truth from his experience, and he desires to lead his son or daughter in the right way, so they miss the pain and problems. This is especially true when the counsel comes from a godly father who has a close relationship with the Lord, like David had.(I Chronicles 28:19) I believe we could all profit from meditating on what David told his son, Solomon.
It is vital for us to "know" God, not just give the Sunday School answers to the questions when we are asked. Knowing God is entering a sincere relationship with the Lord after He comes to us and reveals Himself to us, so that we repent of our ways, and we surrender to Him in faith. Then, we know Him, because He saves us from our sins and begins a new life in us. The Spirit lives in us, so that we know the Lord from the heart.
Once we know the Lord, we serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind, not out of duty or compulsion. It is crazy to think that God would be pleased with anyone who just goes through the motions of serving Him, but it does not comes from loyalty and willingness, because we love Him. We all must know that God understands why we do what we do and knows the intent of our thoughts. We can't hide anything from Him, even if we could hide it from our parents.
Finally, we all need to know that we must seek the Lord. He is under no obligation to follow us around. We follow Him and that takes effort. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith. We can't earn salvation, and we grow spiritually by continuing to trust Him daily, but it is up to us to seek Him by listening to the Spirit and obeying. He will not force us to follow, but He will allow us to leave if that is what we choose. We will not lose our salvation, but we will not enjoy His blessing either. Being cast off is a serious situation for any person.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 29 and II Chronicles 1-2.
It is vital for us to "know" God, not just give the Sunday School answers to the questions when we are asked. Knowing God is entering a sincere relationship with the Lord after He comes to us and reveals Himself to us, so that we repent of our ways, and we surrender to Him in faith. Then, we know Him, because He saves us from our sins and begins a new life in us. The Spirit lives in us, so that we know the Lord from the heart.
Once we know the Lord, we serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind, not out of duty or compulsion. It is crazy to think that God would be pleased with anyone who just goes through the motions of serving Him, but it does not comes from loyalty and willingness, because we love Him. We all must know that God understands why we do what we do and knows the intent of our thoughts. We can't hide anything from Him, even if we could hide it from our parents.
Finally, we all need to know that we must seek the Lord. He is under no obligation to follow us around. We follow Him and that takes effort. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith. We can't earn salvation, and we grow spiritually by continuing to trust Him daily, but it is up to us to seek Him by listening to the Spirit and obeying. He will not force us to follow, but He will allow us to leave if that is what we choose. We will not lose our salvation, but we will not enjoy His blessing either. Being cast off is a serious situation for any person.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 29 and II Chronicles 1-2.