
Day 11 – September 11
Luke 6:43-49 : “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but you do not do what I command?”
To paraphrase/summarize: Jesus calls people to do as he says. If you go to him, listen to his words, AND act on them then you will be well built and able to withstand trials and tribulations. But if you listen but do not act then you will lack the key foundation and when troubles come you will not withstand them.
So the distinction is in the ACTING.
I could read the Word of God all day and if I don’t get beyond just thinking “That’s nice.” then I am missing a major component of who and how He calls me to be.
“From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” — good produces good, evil produces evil. If your heart is full of goodness you will produce good; if it’s full of evil you will produce evil.
To help you heart be full of the good you need to do as Jesus commands — for He is the Way, the Truth, the Light. You need to listen to His words, hear, and heed them. And not only mentally, but in your whole being and all that you do. If you live your life in a way where you are ‘doing for God’ it will reaffirm and reconfirm your faith; you will strengthen yourself and your understanding and you will be as wholly following His command as well you can.
But if all you do is hear the words and what you should do, but you don’t act then the Word will just be words; its roots will not deepen within you. And when the time comes in life when you realize you need to rely on God to get you thru you will likely find yourself weak and not strong for lack of practice living as He has commanded.
May we all be trees that bear good fruit. May we remember to come to Jesus, listen to Him, and act upon His commands.