MORE ABOUT CHOICES AND LOVE
Thursday – January 2, 2020, Tevet 5, 5780
Greetings most precious friends, and partners of this Ministry and blog ordained of God and welcome back to the enlightening and empowering (if we choose) Bible Study of the Book of John. Well, the New Year is now in full swing, what will be do with the opportunities today and every day until we go home or Jesus comes to gather us all home? I recently took the featured picture for today near the post office here in Oakland Maine. Notice the steel in the foreground, the rushing inhospitable waters, and the haze in the distance. Many of you reading this blog may feel like things are immovable (unchangeable) in your life, that the rushing waters, the currents of life, are just carrying you along without regard to you, and the future is hazy and uncertain. Well, dear ones none of that is true, it is a deception of the enemy. We have all been there and some are there right now. All things are possible with God, we make the choices of death and life in our lives, and the Scripture gives us the picture of a supernaturally bright illuminated future in Him.
If you are reading this on Facebook please take just a moment and hit the “love” and “share” buttons to encourage us and increase the reach of these teachings. If they are of value to you, they will likely be of value to others. Now let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text in the Book of John reading it aloud.
John 14:21-23 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Today is the first regular teaching of this new year. I will be continuing with the Masters’ definition of love which is doing the commandments. Saying we love Him and not doing what He said are antithetical (hostile, opposing) to each other. Being ignorant or swallowing everything we hear as the Truth are not protections but devices of the devil to get us off course and into his territory. When we chose the ways of the god of this world, we give him the right to raise cane in our lives. When I say being ignorant, I am talking about ignorance by choice due to not studying the Word. Lack of study and meditation leaves us unable to rightly divide the Word of God. If we are pressing into the Word led of the Holy Spirit there will be grace and mercy in our journey.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Acts 17:11 (KJV)
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Do we want the manifestation of God in our lives or do we just want to bump along doing it all in our own strength, our lives devoid of the supernatural? I hope we all got the right answer and want God to be having a very obvious prominent role in our lives. And how does that happen? Obedience to the Word of God. Last year I left off in our study of Psalm 91 to show how obedience to Scripture, love of God, brings the manifestation of God into our lives. Let’s pick up with this today.
Psalm 91:14-16 (KJV)
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
In verse fourteen (14 is the number of deliverance or salvation) we find that when we set our love upon God, He delivers us and sets us on high. Another way to say this is that we have set our obedience upon him and not on the ways of the world, the god of this world, the adversary. Each of us should ask ourselves who we are being obedient to? Believe me we are being obedient to either the Lord our God or the adversary or both intermittently. This is a mixing of good with evil. Remember the Garden of Eden and God’s command that they not partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Are we doing that today? Some twenty-three years ago I hung in the balance with a heart attack that nearly took my life and when I awakened these verses above were in my thoughts (Psalm 91:14-16). I had been studying this Psalm in the weeks and days preceding this event. Do I think this played a key role in my survival? You bet I do!
Daniel 11:32 (KJV)
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
I had set my heart to love, to be obedient to the Lord. I did call upon the Lord that night (and many times since) and He was not only with me but delivered me and my heart is normal today with little evidence of the prior heart attack. The evidence of a prior heart attack is present on medical testing only not in any limitations in my life. God has honored me, is satisfying me with a long, exciting, rewarding life, and showing me His salvation. Our God is so good. Tomorrow will be on the study of “Gifts” and we will return to the Book of John on Monday.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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