God’s Authority
According to the terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. Deuteronomy 17:11 NASB
Turn aside – It all comes down to choosing whom to follow. Not every circumstance will have a clear resolution in the text. Not every option will be meticulously revealed. In the end, you will have to choose what to do based on some authority. In the end, most of us put ourselves in the place of authority. Since Luther declared that the individual believer acts as his or her own priest, we have attempted to do away with a hierarchy. We believe that the Spirit is equally available to all and that God’s moral government is a flat organization. The behavioral result is chaos. Purporting to do what God tells each one of us to do, we do what we want and use the Spirit to justify ourselves.
But Moses (and the Sinai revelation) had a different approach. When you find yourself in a situation where “the case is too baffling to you,” you are instructed to go to the priest who serves the Lord and let him decide. Furthermore, once he gives you the decision, you are not to turn to the left or to the right. You must do exactly as he says.
The Hebrew text is quite strong. The root is sur, a word often associated with the idolatry of turning away from the instructions of YHWH. In its positive sense, strictly following the commands and ordinances of YHWH means turning neither to the right or left. Notice the next verse in this passage. The man who does not follow precisely the decision of the priest is to be killed. Deviation is a very serious matter.
It seems to me that this should cause us considerable concern. Heschel points out the obvious problem. “The problem, then, that cries for a solution is not everything or nothing, total disregard or obedience to the law; the problem is authentic or forged, genuine or artificial observance. The problem is not how much but how to observe. The problem is whether we obey or whether we merely play with the word of God.”[1]
Personally I find this a very stressful verse. It reiterates once again my deepest anxiety about real obedience. I know that I play with the words of God. I can find any number of excuses for my lack of strict adherence. But rationalizations are pointless. Either the Bible is God’s word for me or it is not. I am not free to pick and choose from a revelation that comes from the King of the universe. What argument will I use to explain away my real behavior? Is what God says true? Then why do I not comply? Do I really think that Yeshua’s atonement covers willful disregard? It seems to me that I am more likely to hear, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” than I am to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Playing with the word of God is a capital offense.
Topical Index: sur, turn aside, authority, hierarchy, excuse, Deuteronomy 17:11
So, where can I go, what can I do, how do I proceed to understand exactly how to direct my steps according to what my Lord explicitly says. So many times I flail around like a fish flopping on a dry dock.
Is it a tight wire act? A little to the left or right and a fall becomes me.
Working on Shabbat is one example. So many conflicting definitions of work. So many variations and versions of work to consider. Just pick one? Best judgment? I have no priest or rabbi/sage to discern subtleties for me when I am genuinely stumped. Is it creative work? Is it exertion work? Is it maintenance work?
What about socializing with family during the ‘reason for the season?’
I need an understanding of the Torah commandments as they oblige me today, right now, in this western Greek world I’m living in.
Shalom Shalom Michael,
We have learned that spending the day trying not to do certain things makes for a fruitless pointless day. So in order to not be focused on the don’t dos, I spend Fri. preparing for all the things I wish to do with the Father. Food is prepared and ready to warm up, Books are set out and ready to be used, instruments and songs are chosen ready to be sung, prayers are chosen, etc…………….. This preparation goes on all week but the stage is set on Fri.
We are part of a network of fellowships but I have my little tricks to keep My husband and myself on track all day. Different linen and dishes remind me that it’s Shabbat. Different clothes, food, decorations, etc……….. all remind me that this day is set apart to enjoy the Father and each other in messiah. We don’t discuss anything but the goodness, love, provision, kindness, and of course word of YHVH and if we do digress we quickly remind each other “it’s Shabbat” and we all refocus. It takes some practice and effort but quickly transforms the day into a positive and delightful experience with little opportunity to think about work.
I hear you Michael.
I think for me, we live in a fallen creation. And we’re in a exile state.
Personally, if I have to work on a Sabbath, I’ll donate everything I profit on that day.
Sometimes it just isn’t possible to avoid the reality of our employer. In exile, or the diaspora, we are made to do things we wouldn’t normally do if we were in the land and had our High Priest, Yeshua, running the show.
As a rule though, I absolutely don’t work on the Sabbath nor do I take a job that would require me to so. But, some people don’t have that luxury.
I’m blessed to be able to have a profession that allows me to plan for the Sabbath and feast days. Bless His name!
All of this to be thoroughly examined in “Hitch Hiker’s Guide to Babylon.” Someday soon, I hope.
Hi Michael
I have the same issues. However to the pesent time I have decided that no work means no work that has any renumeration attached. I also dont do creative things (I am an artist) nor do I work in the garden on Shabbat. I do visit people – you never know they may have a need or you may say something that makes them think! However I do not in anyway celebrate any of the ‘seasonal’ holidays. This is been a great test and my extended family (siblings etc) took it very badly – but after 10 years they finally accepted it and it jut passes without any words. I love how Michael Rood puts it when he is challenged about the 25th December – ‘I dont worship you, I worship YHVH and his festivals’!!
Nevertheles, at times I am in a great quanderry about other details – like kindle no fire on shabbat….etc. and I am still learning in this respect. I used to churn inside – like you Skip – wondering if I was truly honouring his commandments. But I went to prayer and I poured out my heart to the Father and I felt him show me to honour all that I can and let him bring about the situation to fulfill my obligations to the rest. Here in Ethiopia it is difficult to do many things and with constant electricity cuts, car problems not fixable, security a constant problem (more and more so these days) I had to thank Him for taking this heaviness off me and showing me the above.
One thing I can tell you is that previously when I broke shabbat with work He let me know very clearly what I had done…and it cost! Also I had to repent. However each time I am pulled up short I learn something – His word is final but also his mercy endures forever. He sees my heart in wanting to be Torah observant and so he is gentle and yet specific! We have to remember we are all on the same path in different circumstanecs and each of us will be shown where we must change or make a decision about changing our behaviour. The question is are we listening and do we act when we hear? Thankfully TW’s help us to see some of these challenges and interact with each other to stay on the path.
I have good internet today so thought I would add my two penth worth!
Be interested to read others experience/walk.
Christine
We need clarification. Isn’t this how we get oral Torah and volumes of commentary and fence laws and other heavy burdens? I have read about keeping kosher at a site called Judaism 101. You need two dishwashers, two sinks, two sets of pots and pans, two sets of utensils. You can’t set anything on the stove top without defiling it. You can’t shop at regular grocery stores, eat at restaurants, or even at someones home who is less kosher than you. The site even states, half kiddingly, that you become your own judge and anyone more kosher than you is a fanatic, while anyone less kosher is an apostate. And the only reason for all of it is to separate jews from gentiles. I am also partway through a book on Mikvah. According to the author, you shouldn’t even hold your wife’s hand for twelve days of the month.” The mikvah itself cannot be a bathtub or whirlpool or Jacuzzi. It must be built into the ground or as a essential part of the building. It must contain a minimum of two hundred gallons of rainwater that was gathered and siphoned into the mikvah pool in accordance with a highly specific set of regulations. In extreme cases where the acquisition of rainwater is impossible, ice or snow originating from a natural source may be used to fill the mikvah. As with the rainwater, an intricate set of laws surrounds its transport and handling.” I am also reading a jewish commentary on the New Testament that says these rules don’t apply to gentiles and that even for believing (messianic) jews, fellowship with gentile believers takes precedence over keeping kosher. But neither should we try to make jews be gentiles. So if I go to eat at Peter’s house, I shouldn’t pack a ham sandwich, and if Peter comes to my house, he shouldn’t pack a lamb sandwich. How do you guys determine these things for yourselves? Do you follow Halachah?
If you’re reading David Stern’s commentary, I think he misses the point on Acts 10. And two dishwashers isn’t biblical. It’s just careful. Fences are sometimes needed when there is the possibility of falling over a cliff. I don’t think you want fences when you like to wandering in fields of wild flowers.
So, yes, you need to decide and let God put you back on the path if you decide wrong. How will He do that? Well, whatever He decides to do won’t make any difference if you are willing to listen.
Want to follow all the expansion of Torah in the Talmud? Pick a rabbi and follow him. Want to work it out for yourself? Find a community and dialogue.
Brett,
For what it is worth, I will add a few comments to what Skip said below.
I notice that there is much confusion about what is required of us as the followers of Yahshua who populate the Messianic community.
The issue of the Kosher laws is a good example to use in learning a little about how to handle this. The question we always have to ask ourselves as we study “kosher” is: Is this found in Torah? Is this requirement to keep two sets of cookware etc found there? As you probably well know it is not. I am not very familiar with what is in Talmud, but I suspect that it is there that we find all these supplemental kosher requirements. I am very comfortable is saying that I feel no requirement to keep Talmud. If others want to do so that is their business.
We can be confident in what I am saying here because we notice God instructed Moses to tell us not to add to Torah:
“And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you. 2 YOU SHALL NOT ADD to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deut. 4:1-2)
YHVH is telling all generations that HIS WORD is sufficient to guide us and to bring us blessing and to be an example to the people around us. In fact, a few verses later in chapter 4 we find God telling us that the observing of Israel keeping His Torah will be a WOW experience for the people around them! Lets read it:
” Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deut.4:6-8)
So we see that it is unwise to add or subtract from God’s Word. He is wiser than we are!!! The rabbis were greatly mistaken in adding to God’s WORD – even though they may have had the best of intentions. And we also find Yahshua castigated them for doing so!
To me the term “Oral Torah” is a misnomer. Really the term lacks wisdom and common sense and practicality. I mean – what if we had an oral set of civil laws in the USA? Would it be wise and practical? Human experience shows it would be chaotic, with judges making whimsical decisions at will!
And that is what YHVH is teaching us in Deuteronomy chapter 4, which is, that God’s statutes and commandments are sufficient for us – nothing more and nothing less!
Two very interesting comments. It seems we are certainly in the same boat!
As I was reading, I jokingly thought, ” Well, maybe YHWH lays out all this such that it so devours us and occupies us so completely in our minds that we just do not have the time, energy or wherewithal to actively sin! We are too busy focusing on dissecting and implementing our obligations to Him we simply have no time or attention, let alone response, to the beast crouching at the door!
Yet, I see how easy it is for that beast to divert my attention from the important stuff.
It is my opinion (and I will quote Proverbs 16:25 before I give you my opinion, There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.) that rather than looking at what man has said about what the Bible says, we should look at what God says. Don’t boil a kid in its mother’s milk is not the same thing as don’t eat any meat and dairy together. I’m pretty sure that if God has meant for us to not eat any meat and dairy together He would have said, “don’t eat any meat and dairy together”. This also reminds me of another time in history where fences were put around food that caused serious problems for all of humanity. When God said, “don’t eat the fruit” He did not say “and don’t even touch it”. By adding the “don’t even touch it” warning, once the fruit was touched and there were no consequences (because it wasn’t part of the command) eating it became easier. If nothing happened when I touched it, then probably nothing will happen if I eat it either.
Living in the country on a farm, many more of the commands apply to me, like not castrating animals, leaving my fields fallow every 7 years, gathering fruit off of new fruit trees, I bake bread (in large quantities) and am learning about the Challah. I was thinking that perhaps I would burn it on a rocket stove out back, but should I use rocks or bricks to build the rocket stove?
I’m pretty sure that the main reason that Daniel ate the way he ate in captivity was because he couldn’t be sure if the meat was Kosher or not, or that the bread and wine had been prepared properly. Easier to simply eat vegetables and drink water.
Trying to obey all of the “fences” put up is akin to straining Gnats while eating camels. (a verse I never understood until I started looking at the 613 commandments)
My opinion is that we should look at what God has said and try to stay within those boundaries without making more stuff up that causes others to stumble. Mostly God wants us to live lives focused on Him. That glorify Him. While it is easy to get caught up in the doing of things, the being busy trying to please the Lord, that is not a relationship. As a parent, I would much rather spend time snuggling my kids than have them working their tails off to meet a bunch of regulations, like cleaning their rooms meticulously everyday. My kids often fail to meet up to the standards I have set for them, they try and I still love them. I choose to believe that God looks at us the same way, after all look at David, a man after God’s own heart.
Jill,
I agree with your later comments about God wanting us wanting us to stay as close to him as we know how. I believe that it is sin for us to stress ourselves out according to Paul’s teaching in (Romans 14).
I am sometimes amazed to find that many believers take scripture literally, but fail to realize that they don’t live in fields of wheat, nor do they not celebrate the feast but only acknowledge their favorite verse.
Thanks for your honest thoughts, I am new here to this blog.
Well said Jill. Thank you 🙂
Someone once said to me that if what I am trying to do/not do regarding keeping Torah causes a bunch of chaos (personal) then I need to stop and rethink. Chaos is not of God.
You said something of interest to me that somehow I have missed. Where is the reference to the castration of animals?
Thanks
Skip
On occasion, I feel you needlessly overcomplicate things! And today is perhaps one of those days…..
“It all comes down to choosing whom to follow.”
I am not sure who you mean by “whom”. I have learned painfully not to follow any man. Today, we do not have the luxury of having a Moses or a priest walking the earth to give us clarification but we sure do have THE WORD! – in a myriad of translations and in original Hebrew and Greek texts. And we do have the luxury of a mindboggling amount of resource materials in this information age – many available for free on the internet and in libraries etc., The real problem is many of us are lazy – leaving it to others to do our homework for us. Or worse yet, we do not have the passion to get into the WORD that we should have in searching the Scriptures as the brethren in Beroea did (Acts 17:11). Most of the time, if we use the “in a multitude of counsel there is wisdom” principle, we find many of the answers we are seeking to sticky questions. It is not to difficult to discern those in the Christian community who are gifted teachers in whatever we are seeking. So we can pick their “brains”. I have found that arena to be a very useful resource. “Since Luther declared that the individual believer acts as his or her own priest, we have attempted to do away with a hierarchy.”
I am hardly a rabid fan of Luther, but we surely owe him a debt of gratitude for the many contributions he made in the breaking of the control of the Catholic church and in making the WORD available to the masses. I am one who takes much joy in the concept of “the priesthood of all believers”. To me the concept of “lording it over others” in hierarchical structures as found in various religions and civil governments is evil. History shows it inevitably leads to abuse of power and abuse of people. To me, this goes all the way back to Nimrod and Babylon. It is of HaSatan.
“We believe that the Spirit is equally available to all and that God’s moral government is a flat organization. The behavioral result is chaos.”
Clearly, the Spirit is not available equally to all, not is it given to all in the same degree. Paul tells us that even the “called out ones” have only a down payment or earnest of the Spirit. We will not see the full blown power of God’s Spirit until Messiah returns to reign for 1000 years. At that point God’s Spirit will cover the planet “as the waters cover the deep”. Perhaps, if we all ask the Father earnestly for more of the Spirit of Yahshua be poured out on our Messianic communities we can avoid the “behavioral chaos” you allude to. Neither is a true Spirit led Messianic community a “flat” structure. Hopefully,we all in our Messianic community humbly bow our knee to Our Leader, Our Lord and Master – Yahshua Messiah. As I see it Skip, He is the Priest we look to for answers.
He tells us to seek and we shall find. If our heart is right with Him, He provides the answers.
I submit this as an answer in part to the question you posed today.
Thanks for the extended response. Of course, I should have made my (almost) rhetorical suggestion plain. We must choose to follow Yeshua. That entails, as far as I am concerned, a full appreciation for his Jewish worldview, his first century rabbinic approach to Scripture, his ubiquitous endorsement of Torah and the absolute necessity of searching out what he said. I think it also means that there is but one HEAD and none of us are it. So I see the true organization of the community of the faithful as flat. One head, many hands. None more or less important than the others.
As for Luther, yes, I suppose we can be grateful that God used him to break some of the bonds of the Holy Roman Empire, but Luther did enormous damage, most of it unacknowledged by the Church. He set in motion the sequence that resulted in the “Final Solution.” His view of atonement continues to plague any dialogue between Jews and Christians. He might have had a relationship with God but it was colored by a severe anti-Semitism and an entrenched replacement theology. On the whole, I am amazed that God could use the man at all. But then I am amazed that God uses me. I am sure I have just as many faults as Luther.
You are absolutely right. We must be Berean. So few of us are really willing to look deeply, question everything and hold the standard of the Tanakh. There is much to do – and little time to do it.
Actually, i’m glad to see this post, i was a bit confused on how this piece ended as well.
Skip, I thank you for the follow up comments.
I totally concur with you on Luther. I could never be part of a fellowship with his name on it. Both Luther and Calvin were such tragic figures in the hatred they spewed out and in the despicable merciless way they treated fellow believers who happen to do nothing but hold differing opinions than themselves on theological issues. How could they ignore the personal example set by Messiah Himself and the words of the prophet Micah?:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does YHVH require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
(Micah 6:8)
It appears that they failed God’s great test that we keep the weightier matters of Torah first – judgment, mercy and faith (Matt 23:23) First things first!
Of course, Yahshua told us in Matt 23 to not ignore the more minor points of Torah either.
Dawn it is item 168.here
My husband and I were just speaking on this last night.
Messiah says:
Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
I glean from this that all of Israel is to be uniform (on the major points, if there is such a thing) in how they observe Torah. By the time Paul comes along, it seems that the situation has changed with the addition of Gentiles, such that we shouldn’t judge each other on how each walks out Torah outside of Israel.
This is difficult for many of us, as we want to be part of a community, but we also need (it seems to me) a system of authority for how we can walk it out together and avoid the “Well the spirit told me…” syndrome, since we are supposed to be a community. We can say we won’t judge each other, but if we wish to gather as a community, then we need to agree on the more basic things, such as when does a month really begin?
All this leaves me with the miserable feeling that we are indeed “picking and choosing” how we follow Torah and missing the essential ingredient – that we are the body and should be echad.
Of course, I’m one to talk, as I don’t even know any other Torah observant folks in our entire state!
Thanks for this great blog, Skip.
Jen
You are right that Yeshua asked his followers to do nothing more than return to the standard of Torah, as He himself did. But you miss the point with Paul. Paul NEVER suggested that Torah didn’t matter for Gentiles. In fact, the entire discussion of Acts 15 is about this issue. I have written extensively on this (search the web site) as have many other notable scholars. The Church’s teaching that exempts Gentiles simply ignores the facts of Paul’s life and testimony while it re-interprets the text to match its own anti-Semitic foundation (I have also lectured on this in “Formation of the Christian Church”). There is NO difficulty determining who is keeping Torah and who isn’t. The only difficulty is WHY they are keeping it – the same issue that Yeshua raises over and over.
Unfortunately, most Christians are sincerely following the teaching of the Church, not Scripture. They don’t even realize that Torah is for them and that it is a blessing for them. They have been taught replacement theology so long that they haven’t looked for themselves and read the text according to the Christian paradigm. This is a tragedy, but not a sin. It is ignorance. It only becomes a roadblock to what God untimely intends when someone KNOWS what is taught by the Scriptures and still refuses to change.
We are called to distinguish between persons of righteousness and persons who follow the wide path. The problem is that so many truly sincere God-worshipping people are on the wide path through ignorance that it is nearly impossible to show them anything else.
I apologize, Skip. I have reread my post, but I can’t find anywhere that I even remotely implied that Paul “suggested that Torah didn’t matter for Gentiles.” I will try to be more clear in the future.
I was not speaking of Acts 15, which certainly does NOT negate Torah observance for Jew or Gentile. I was speaking about Romans 14. In my understanding so far, it seems that Paul is speaking to levels of Torah observance with regard to eating meat from pagan meat markets and possibly meat offered to idols, and the spirit in which to deal with these differences. This is why I said, “outside Israel”. There are certainly added or at least different complications when one tries to observe Torah in a foreign land.
Your writing about the damage anti-Semitism has done to the teachings of Messiah are well stated. I have had many struggles with understanding who is on the narrow path and who is on the wide one. I have yet to meet a Christian who didn’t think they were on the narrow path. Self-identification, unfortunately, is no test in this. We judge each other within the body on actions only, according to Torah. Can we “cut off” a huge segment of those who believe they are in the body of Messiah because they don’t keep Sabbath? That scares the tar out of me in a bowel ripping way, and honestly, I have yet to come to terms with that. I know that YHVH has winked at ignorance, but even in winking, He still had one eye open.
Does it matter? Yes, because there are those who would come to our house under the guise of friendship, but have taught us in the past that the fourth commandment doesn’t apply to us. And if they are not in the body, I would not even let them in my house or say “good day” to them, as advised by John in his second letter because they teach a false doctrine. Otherwise, I would invite them in and show them what Scripture truly says. Not that YHVH has opened their ears, but at least so we could try.
Jen
Dear Jen,
Sorry I misunderstood your comment on Paul. But even Romans 14 must be read in the context of the original audience. Please see Mark Nanos on this. Paul is NOT giving permission for a relaxed Torah. He is writing to those who think that because they are Gentile believers and not in Israel they have options when it comes to Torah. In other words, he is addressed those who claim to be followers but act in ways that would never be accepted by a Torah-based community. Please read Nanos. So much confusion comes from reading Romans AS IF IT WERE A CHRISTIAN DOCUMENT.
Dear Skip,
You sir, have me at a distinct disadvantage, as I have never had the opportunity to study the Scriptures from a “Christian” perspective, so I can’t relate to your comments regarding that. My husband and I have only been studying for two years, and that almost totally on our own in the secluded mountains of Montana with only spurious internet for guidance from the outside world! I only recently discovered that I should read Romans 14 with the attitude of feeling sorry for those “weak Jews”. How silly! I rejected that notion when I first read it, and will do so again in all caps if I have not been clear enough already.
I have had the opportunity today to read a couple of Mark Nanos’ articles. I am already familiar with some of the arguments, but there are happily some new insights. I thank you for that reference, as I have not read any of his work, and will certainly read more.
I also appreciate the distinction you made about “he addressed those who claim to be followers but act in ways that would never be accepted by a Torah-based community.” as opposed to my understanding which is that people were going to extra lengths to make sure they were observing Torah in the complicated setting of a pagan culture. I will have to study that some more.
Jen
It wasn’t until I cried out to God and asked Him to help me to love Him the way He wanted to be loved that I began to understand Torah 🙂
Amen, Kimberley, I find myself often repeating similar words to those who do not understand my decision to keep Torah. I tell them if they ask God with a sincere heart to want to please Him,He will show them the truth. I am confident in this because I myself poured my heart out to desiring to know the truth and to please Him with my life and God lead me to Torah. But God does not stop there, He lovingly holds our hand to guide us as we strive to walk the ancient path. We find God when we search for Him with all our heart. I now realize This is a continuous state of mind/heart, not just a one time event.
I Can See Clearly Now..
Light is that which reveals.
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What does it mean to “follow Christ?” Not many of us would dare say, “follow me..”- do as I do.. We might be so brazen as to say “do as I say..”- but “do as I do?”
Not so, our Savior. We are to love as He loves- “sacrificially.” What an incredibly high standard He set for us..(that “standard” is holiness) – and He, as “one of us..” -went about doing good! Do we? Do we also “go about (our daily rounds) looking for opportunities to “do good?” There can be very little doubt left.. the mind of Christ is the mind of a Servant. “How may I serve you?” (This, is what servants do..- they serve.)
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Where (on this green planet) did this idea ever come from? Is this what priest does? “lord it over others?” May it never be and “amen.” No, not at all..- This is hardly “the mind of Christ”- who came not to be ministered unto , (to be served) but to minister (serve) others.. Again, – the heart of Christ is the heart of a Servant. And please, “do” add some detail as to how “lording it over others” displays any of the character quality of humility God so values..
There is One (and only One) whose words are these: ~ All authority (all dominion, all power) has been given unto Me, in Heaven AND in Earth.. ~ Did He just say “all authority..?” Why, yes.. – He did. How can these things be?
Let us then “turn again to the clear instructions of YHWH,” – ~ this is My beloved Son, listen to Him.. ~ (Mark 9.7). There we have it. and from His own mother: ~ whatever He says unto you- do it ~ (John 2.5) These are the Father’s spoken words : (Listen) “Listen to Him” ( a voice from Heaven)- after the baptism of our LORD. (Mark 9.7)
We are (enjoined and admonished) to receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls. (James 1.21) Whose word is it? The word of God and The Word (the Living Logos) from God. The word of God, is both written and Living.
Now, “If only.” If only we would pay attention. But not only to “heed” (or listen closely) but also to “hearken” and to put into practice in our daily (everyday) lives what we know to be the will of God (what pleases Him). To be a “doer of the word.” is to be a doer of His will.
His promise (tHis promise) is ours “if..” ~ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you ~ (John 15.7) If we are abiding in Him and His words have found a welcome home within us, would we then ask our Father for anything that would not please HIm?
If we want to know the will of God- it is written in the Word of God. Explore the Book. Study to show your “self” approved unto “who?” “The Light of the world” is not going to leave us or any man in the dark. “If any man (did he just say “any man?”) wills to do His will, – “He (or she) will know..” It shall be made manifest or clear. (John 7.17)
The will of God unfolds as a scroll, day by day, a lamp unto my feet and as a light unto my path. “This” is the day which the LORD has made, – It is His will (the One who made the day) for all “to rejoice and be glad in it.” How does any man know this? “It is written..” ~ rejoice in the LORD,- always, (and again!) I say, rejoice!! We serve a living Savior!
Our clear instructions are these: ~ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His (covenant) love endures forever ~ (Psalm 118.29) What does tHis love look like? I’m so glad you asked!
For ~ This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning Sacrifice for our sins ~ (1 John 4.10)
Whose words are these? ~ I AM the Way-the Truth-and the Life? ~ then “Follow Him.”
~ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..~
Either the bible is God’s word for me or it is not… very stressful indeed.