OBEYING GOD’S COMMANDS IS A CHOICE WITH OUTSTANDING BENEFITS!

SCRIPTURE:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power 
through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your 
hearts through faith 
(Ephesians 3:16-17a)

MEDITATION:
When he was changed by God, Paul considered his new mission 
as the highest priority in his life.
He wasn’t a “casual” Christian 
who redefined God’s principles to fit his own lifestyle.
Paul realized the full impact of how God had pulled him 
out of the depths of sin and made him a part of His family.
As a result, 
he had a passion for pleasing God and encouraging others to do the same.

In his letter to the Ephesians, we can see his concern that they 
would not just talk about Christ, but that they would 
allow Him to permeate their hearts and their inner being. 
Paul wanted them to 
experience the same relationship with the Lord that he had.
He also wanted them to enjoy the blessings 
associated with meeting together on a regular basis.
“together with all the saints” (Ephesians 3:18)

Paul told them that an attitude of love is the key that opens the door 
to a relationship with the Lord and the receipt of His blessings.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 
may have power, together with all the saints, (Ephesians 3:17b-18a)

Paul wanted the Ephesians to fully understand that an attitude of love 
and a habit of meeting together would provide them with 
a greater understanding of the magnitude of God’s love, 
and a greater capacity for receiving the full goodness of God in their lives. 
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you
may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18b-19)

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that if 
‘together with all the saints’ 
was important enough for it to be recorded in God’s Word, 
then it must be important for any who claim to be followers of the Lord.
Let’s be honest, we have a tendency to do the things we want to do, 
and make excuses for the things we don’t want to do, 
especially when they fail to fit our lifestyles.

For instance, I have heard some say that attending worship services is not 
for them because the church is filled with a ‘bunch of hypocrites’.
That raises a couple of interesting points.
Do we go to church to worship, or to judge those in attendance?
In addition, the bible tells us that judging people 
is God’s responsibility, and not ours.
He sees the entire person and knows their heart,
while all can observe is what we see on the surface.

Secondly, going to church will not prevent anyone from being a hypocrite,
but failing to obey God’s command to ‘meet together’ confirms one’s hypocrisy.
A ‘hypocrite’ is 
“a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings”.

In this example, if we claim to be followers of Christ, but yet we refuse 
to obey His commands to ‘meet together’ and not be judgmental of others, 
then doesn’t that make us hypocrites?

Even if the church happened to be ‘filled with hypocrites’, 
at least they are obeying God by making themselves available 
for Him to change their hearts. 
Look at the difference in attitude of the prayers of two people (one who 
considered himself religious and the other who knew of his unworthiness).
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am 
not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax 
collector. (Luke 18:11)

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. 
He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 
'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' (Luke 18:13)

ACTION:
Have you adjusted God’s commands to fit your own lifestyle?
Are you missing out on being “filled with to the measure of the fullness of 
God” because you have determined that some of His commands are not for you? 
Others can encourage you to stop being ‘religious’ 
and start obeying Him completely, but this is between you and God, 
and He is the One who decides what is right.

Don’t live your life justifying your disobedience of God, but do what He 
commands so that you can acquire a greater understanding of His love for you, 
and avoid hearing Him say to you on judgment day, “I never knew you!”
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your 
name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many 
miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, 
you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:22-23)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for being a partial follower of You. 
Change my heart so that I will no longer be grouped with the 
hypocrites, but will be known by You as a follower who is obedient 
to all of your commands. Help me to adjust my lifestyle to obey 
Your commands, rather than trying to adjust Your commands to fit 
my lifestyle.”