Weekly Lesson 21

FOLLOWING THE RULES

There’s an order that we must follow if we are going to be on God’s Team.

We are to read it, believe it, do it. Pretty simple. Let’s go further with our understanding of this order and see how to apply it.
God’s word needs to have an important role in our lives. We need to make an effort to read it daily, really hear it and understand it, and then put it into practice. This is a commitment that we need to make in our lives if we are going to see spiritual renewal in our lives and the people around us. Otherwise, we will not know the directions that God has asked us to follow. Now, a huge part of this is reading your Bible daily. It is hard to set aside time and to make it a priority, but we need to keep working and keep repeatedly trying throughout our lives.

When we read Scripture, we need to make sure we understand it. We have a much better chance of understanding the Bible because we have so much today that can help us with understanding what the Bible teaches. We have people who are older and more experienced than we can ask questions. We have books that have been written that will aide in our understanding. We can look anything up on the internet. We have notes in our Bibles to help. We have devotionals like our Game Plan, and we have our parents and Pastors. It is so important to take advantage of these things to help understand what we are reading.

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

This is the most important thing we can do is to follow God’s directions for something. It would be foolish and pointless to have read the directions and understood them but to throw them aside and do it our way. Yet, we do this all the time with the Bible because we are stubborn and prideful people. We need to put our selfish desires aside and put what God teaches into practice.

Read it. Believe it. Do it! Those are the things that need to be happening in our lives when it comes to Scripture. We need to start by challenging ourselves to set aside time and read the Bible. We need to really hear what we are reading and work to understand it. We cannot be afraid to ask people questions or to search for answers. Then we need to put it into practice.

We should be following directions. It’s a concept that is taught in kindergarten. Following directions is how we learn. It’s how we learn to do things like tying our shoes, adding and subtracting, reading and writing, learning the cheerleader movements, who to block in football or driving a car, etc…

Ezekiel 11:19-21, I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Someone once said that obedience is the practical acceptance of the authority and will of God. It includes both submitting to Him and then expressing that submission in actions, words, and thoughts. Anything short of absolute obedience to God is disobedience. Do you notice what is happening in the above Scripture? It is God doing His part first so that we may then do our part: Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. God has already done His part for us: I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. He has saved us and given His Word to us. Now it is our turn!

Read it. Believe it. Do it.

If you are not following this plan, then you’re not following God’s Game Plan for your life. You can become one of God’s MVP’s if you follow this simple plan!

Are you ready?

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication

Christ Centered Champions

Christ Centered Champions

We are more than champions through him who loved us. Romans 8:37