4 Abide in me (Jesus), and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:4-6
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:21-23
In the above passage, Jesus is warning those who never really develop a relationship with Him, with the Word. He can’t know us and we can’t know Him without being involved with Him, with His Word.
These things I (Jesus) have spoken unto you, that in me (His dwelling place is His Word) ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer (I can’t be of good cheer without learning to apply His Word to my life each day); I (The Word) have overcome the world.
John 16:33
I know first hand the difference that doing His Word every day makes in my life. There is simply nothing like it. The Word is so powerful, but only if I put it into action through faith.
The more I do His Word, the more miracles I’m seeing every day. He really does back up His Word. The rewards of His peace, rest and joy are amazing as we put His Word to work in our lives. Be a believer. Do the Word. You’ll be so glad you did.
To know Jesus, to have a relationship with Christ, I need to be a doer of His Word, I need to be doing Him. He came to set me free with all that He is. Sin, doing things my way, will never set me free from the wages of sin. In fact, faith in Him can’t really grow without putting Him, His Word, to the test.
Do the Word and see the victory It will give you in this life. It will amaze you. And, as always, ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to do the Word. After all, apart from Him, we can’t do it.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].
1 John 5:4 AMP
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22
Thanking and praising God in all things,
Mark
Note: While we may not agree with everything a particular church or Christian group teaches or believes, there are times when we can be blessed by something outside the realm of our current understanding of God.