I notice today that before Jesus selected the 12 he prayed all night. I didn't remember seeing that in the last passage. Whenever we have a big decision to make we need to spend some time praying about it. I wonder why it was "all night"? Is that how long it took to get an answer? Why wasn't it two days, or a week of praying? Why not an hour? Maybe we'll never know. But if the Son of God can spend a whole night talking to His Father about what to do next, then we should be able to imitate that for our big decisions as well.
This chapter is littered with commands on how to behave...I'm sure there will be time to blog about that in future readings. What grabs me this morning is the last passage.
In the NLT is says "46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?"
and then in verse 49 it says "anyone who hears and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation...." Obedience isn't just a good idea, it's a command. We MUST obey if we want to end up in heaven with Jesus.
Of course, obedience isn't easy, or painless. If you are like me, you don't become obedient in every area all at once. God takes you through different "rooms" of your life and tells you what He wants to happen there. You and I will likely spend our lifetime learning to become more and more obedient. I think Jesus says this to make sure we BEGIN the process. Once you know what you should do, you should begin obeying. The more you know, the more like Christ you should become. That thought takes us back to verse 43 and following where it says "good trees bear good fruit". If you are a Christian, your interest will be in obeying Jesus. If you would rather do what you want, and ignore what Jesus has to say on the subject, then you should consider carefully what foundation you are building on. It would be a shame to work at something your whole life only to arrive at judgment day and find out that you had no foundation, and can't enter into heaven.
Obedience to Jesus above all else!
PR
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