Follow Jesus
Doing God’s Will – Part 2

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 7:15-23

Key Verse: Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

After Jesus described how to tell the difference between true and false, He goes deeper into authentic discipleship.  In our printed key verse for yesterday and today, we see that many will cry out, “Lord, Lord” but will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  In our world, that would mean: Many will come to church, kneel at an altar and ask Jesus into their hearts.  They may feel bad about their sins (or bad about getting caught).  They may be sincere in that the concept sounds good.  However, once they go back into their world, they never advance in their knowledge or willingness to truly follow Jesus’ teachings.

            The proof of the reality of our relationship with God is stated very simply by Jesus: He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  That is it—the bottom line.  We need not be confused by hand raising, tears, or testimonials of how much someone loves Jesus.  The proof of our love is in our daily decisions; our daily behavior.  When we look at our life, does it line up with the teachings of Jesus?  It’s a pretty simple litmus test.

            As our knowledge develops, our behavior falls more and more in line with Jesus.  God judges us according to our knowledge of His will and how we are responding to it.  Simple?  Yes.  Easy?  No.  It will take the best in us!

Father, your will is good, pleasing and perfect, even if I don’t totally understand it!  I will do your will today.  In Jesus’ name, amen.