| (Copyright 2021) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) |
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| Proverbs 4:12 (paraphrased) says that God will open up the way before you, step by step. You don’t need to know what lies two steps ahead of you. Just take the step that you see, and then you will see the next step. That is how God will guide you. Doors may appear to be closed in front of you. But as you approach them, they will open automatically. But they won’t open until you come near them. That is how God will lead you on. So, don’t be hesitant or afraid if you see a door closed in front of you. Take the step God shows you and move forward. “I have put before you an open door,” says the Lord, “which no-one can shut” (Rev.3:8). “If we are to do God’s will each day, we must develop the habit of listening to God every day.” It is written in Proverbs 4:18 that God will make your path shine brighter and brighter. The new birth is compared to the sunrise here and the coming of Christ to the noonday sun. God’s perfect will for you is that you should become more and more like Christ every day of your life, from new birth until Christ’s return. This is the path of the righteous – and along this path, you will get more and more revelation on God’s Word, more and more light on the corruption of your self-life, and more and more wisdom for practical situations that you will face. If you walk along this path, you will never backslide, just as the sun never goes back in the sky. God has called us first of all to be His worshippers – and that means to desire Him alone. You will then see God’s glory just as Isaiah saw it. Immediately, Isaiah saw his own sinfulness too – and so will you (Isaiah 6:1-5). Be a worshipper then and cleanse away the areas of unChristlikeness that God reveals to you, in your life. God will then make you partake of His own nature more and more, every day. When we see the glory of Jesus in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit changes us from one degree of glory to another so that His glory in us increases day by day (2 Cor. 3:18). In other words, if we are submitted totally to the Spirit, the anointing upon our life will be more today than it was a few years ago, and much more than it was 30 years ago. If we are to do God’s will each day, we must develop the habit of listening to God every day. As Jesus said about Mary (Luke 10:42), the one thing we need more than anything else is to listen to His Word. In the very first chapter of the Bible, we read that God spoke His Word every day – and as a result the earth was transformed little by little every day. If we want to be transformed into the likeness of Christ this year, the most important thing we need is to hear and obey God every day. The secret of understanding the Bible is to have an intimate relationship with the Lord first of all. The Holy Spirit can explain the meaning of what He inspired in God’s Word. So, walk with Jesus, like the early disciples did and long to hear Him speak to you. Then your eyes will be opened like theirs and your hearts will be set aflame like theirs. The part of our body that we use the most every day is our tongue. Jesus used His tongue to encourage others, thus making it an instrument of life in God’s hands. He spoke soothing words to the weary that lifted their heavy spirits. And Isaiah 50:4 tells us that it was because Jesus listened to His Father’s voice daily that He had this right word for each weary soul who came across His path. We too can have such a blessed ministry to weary souls around us every day if we develop the habit of listening to God every day. If we reject all speaking of worthless words and choose to speak only precious words in our daily conversation, God will give us His words and make us His mouth – as He made Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:19). —————————————————————————————- Reprinted with permission from: Christian Fellowship Church https://www.cfcindia.com/ —————————————————————————————- |
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