Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”
Our Bible verse for today: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” Luke 6:46 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Accept Him as Savior, and follow Him as Lord.”
Obedience has always been a problem for God’s people. Beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and extending all the way through history to you and me this morning, living in faithful obedience to God’s commands has always been something of a challenge for us.
For the Old Testament Jews God provided detailed instructions which began with the Ten Commandments, and it eventually included the entirety of the Mosaic Law. The Scribes and Pharisees then took what God had given through Moses, and embellished it in extraordinary ways in an effort to give the people detailed instructions to guide virtually every aspect of life. But still, it wasn’t enough. The people still lived in disobedience and were constantly having to offer sacrifices to atone for their sins.
Even in the days when the human Jesus was walking among us, people disobeyed Him. That’s what He was referring to in Luke 6:46 when He asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” It’s no different in our day. There are plenty of people running around professing to be Christians, calling Jesus “Lord, Lord”, but then not doing the things that He says.
This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. As we learned yesterday, one of the things He does in our lives is to convict us of sin. Therefore, when we do stray from acceptable standards of conduct we have our personal mentor and life coach, the One who lives in our heart and who is with us 24/7, the One who whispers quietly into our heart “You’re not supposed to be doing that, you big dummy!” (Or words to that effect). He then guides us to the truth, counsels us, reminds us of what we know to be right based upon our knowledge of God’s Word, and He nudges us back into the center of God’s will.
Sadly, there are many people who profess Jesus as Savior but who do not follow Him as Lord. A real and deep and dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit will help us to avoid that pitfall. The Holy Spirit is the One who draws us to Christ for salvation (we will see this tomorrow), but He is also the One who enables us to follow Him as Lord. I encourage you to nurture your relationship with the Spirit and follow Jesus as Lord.
Oak Hill Baptist Church