Ask and Receive

I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. Psalm 119:166

Obedience…such a great concept but hard to follow up on. We all want to be obedient and do the right thing. Sometimes that is not always the easiest thing to do. We have times where we want to do our own thing whether it is right or not.

John gives us these words to remember in 1 John 3:21-23, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

Our obedience allows us to pray to God and receive from Him anything we ask. His response may not be in the way we would expect it or want it to be, but He will respond. How do we get this privilege, though?

We see in 1 John we are to obey God’s commands and do what pleases Him. But what are those commands? We are to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ and to love one another. Believing that Jesus is God’s Son is crucial to living an obedient life for God. If we don’t believe, then we are not God’s children. Loving one another is so important to God. It’s by our love to others that the world will know we belong to God.

The verses in 1 John also tell us that God will give us what we ask of Him if our hearts do not condemn us. That means we are praying in God’s will and in accordance to what He wants for us. Therefore, our desires are His desires.

Take time today to read your Bible and search out God’s desires. Then, be obedient by making sure you have a relationship with His Son, Jesus, and are willing to love others.

Following the Crowd

"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong" Exodus 23:2a

Last week we discussed why it is important to be a Christ follower. We saw that Christ is the Leader we are to follow. The question now is “How do we follow Christ?” Let me share some practical ways to follow Christ in our daily walk.

Choose to follow Christ and not the crowd. Exodus 23:2a says “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” We have so many opportunities to follow the crowd on a daily basis. When we let our lives get out of control, following the crowd seems like the best thing to do. We look for quick ways to make more money, lose more weight or get more done in our days. Quite simply, that is not God’s way. Jesus’ own words tell us in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Choose to make the Bible your manual for living. God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. Commit to reading the Bible regularly to learn more about how God wants you to live. Join a Bible study, study different topics in the Bible, or read the Bible through. If you are faithful to study God’s Word, He will be faithful to show you the way He wants you to live.

Choose to set a Christ-like example. We have many people that we influence every day. We are mothers, wives, daughters, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and much more. If we are dedicated to becoming Christ followers, then we need to let our actions match our commitment. Be careful in all that you do so that your life will point others to Christ. 1 Peter 3:15 gives us this command “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Commit yourself to following Christ. I promise you that you are in for the adventure of a lifetime.