06 Toldot 2024

How does knowing that God is good help you to follow His commandments and the Holy Spirit? 

Therefore, I can trust in God's commandments to help me live the way I am supposed to instead of making up my own rules. Some people say we should follow our own heart, but the heart can be deceitful and even evil. Good intentions do not always end up being good. I might have good intentions for you by feeding you only sweets for your meals. Medicine says that we need a well-balanced diet and that eating a lot of sweets and starchy foods all the time can lead to a person getting sick with diabetes. I know of at least two people who have died from this horrible disease. Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Like I have said many times before, sometimes the heart is right and sometimes the heart is wrong and even evil. 

Because God is good, I have truths for life instead of just observable facts. Facts do not give people the ethical tools for a good life. We need math and science to make things, but they are limited in usefulness. How does knowing how far the Sun is from the Earth help us to treat others right? Often, people are being taught to value facts over how to live life in our culture. Psalms 119:93 NKJV says, "I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life." Real life comes through God.

Because God is good, I do not need to be entertainment driven. Some people revolve their lives around thrills, doing things that excite them, seeking happiness through the things they own, or valuing what they can achieve. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NKJV says, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, 'See, this is new'? It has already been in ancient times before us." If we want a more fulfilling life, put God and His commandments before our frivolous activities. Colossians 3:2 NKJV says, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." I once asked a person if they would be willing to learn more about God and they said they were too busy watching TV. I am not kidding. While some entertainment can be fun, making that a main function of life means that person will have no meaningful accomplishments in life. When I asked a person I know who went to Harvard what TV show he liked to watch, he said he did not have a TV. Instead, he spent his time actually living life and accomplishing things in life.

Some think that being an important, rich, or famous person would lead to a fulfilling life. Psalms 89:47-48 NKJV says, "Remember how short my time is; for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?"  Psalms 49:16-17 "Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him." All the things of this world will come to nothing. Those that keep and teach God's commandments will be honored in the future kingdom. Daniel 12:2-3 NKJV says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."