Am I Really Being Obedient? Let's Do a Self-Check.
WHAT DID MY LORD GOD SAY TO ME THIS MORNING?
My Daily Conversations With God
BLOG & PODCAST SHIFT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
The release time for the blog is shifting. As the Holy Spirit shifts me in my prayer, I shift. The blog and podcast will now be coming out between 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. central standard time. Thank you for adjusting and thank you for your continued support.
When the Scriptural Surprise leads you to Luke chapter 6 in the Bible, it causes you to want to check yourself.
That’s exactly what happened to me in the prayer closet this morning. I worshipped. I praised. I sung. I flipped open my Bible to read and that’s where I landed. I truly believe there are no coincidences in my conversations with God. Everything that He shows me is for a reason and my job is to press into Him to get exactly what He wants me to get.
So this morning, I am reading Luke 6. Turn there with me in your Bible. Come on. Grab your Bible and turn to it so you can follow along because this morning, Holy Spirit had me doing something I used to do back in the day when I had to write a report. See before I developed my gift as a writer, I used to take the copy the book approach. You know what I am talking about don’t you? Don’t act like you never copied out of the encyclopedia JUST AS IT WAS WRITTEN. LOL! But anyway, we have grown from that. Or at least I thought I had. LOL! But this morning…the Holy Spirit had me writing exactly what the Word of God says in Luke 6 and I know exactly why. And it definitely wasn’t for me to violate copyright laws. It was for me to do a self-check. It was for me to write down and access if I was actually being a DOER of the Word verses just a hear or reader of God’s Holy Word!
It felt like one of those exercises we used to have to do in school where you had to write down all the definitions from the book, so that you could then study them and memorize them. But guess what I read in the study notes this morning: The Bible is not meant merely to be study and memorized; it is meant to be believed and obeyed. We are to “be doers of the word and not hearers ONLY” (James 1:22).
Now with that in mind, here’s what I wrote down and each time I wrote another bullet point from Luke 6, I found myself asking this question: Am I REALLY being obedient? Am I am doing this?
I am starting at Luke 6:27, but really you want to read the entire sixth chapter of Luke. The Word of God says this: But I say to you who listen (pause right there and recognize that God is always talking to those who are LISTENING!!!! Don’t miss that.
Okay let’s see what it says I should be doing (Luke 6:27-35):
Loving my enemies? (yes or no)
Doing what is good to those who hate me? (yes or no)
Blessing those who curse me? (yes or no)
Praying for those who mistreat me? (yes or no)
Turning the other cheek when someone slaps me physically or mentally? (yes or no)
Giving my shirt to someone who already took my coat? (yes or no)
Giving to EVERYONE who asks me? (yes or no)
Not asking for my things back when someone takes them from me? (yes or no)
Doing exactly for others whatever I want done for me? (yes or no)
Loving my enemies (wait, wasn’t that already asked? hmmm. It’s being said twice though for a reason) YES OR NO.
Doing what is good? (yes or no)
Lending to others expecting nothing in return? (yes or no)
Being merciful just as my Father God also is merciful? (yes or no) P.S. merciful means forgiving, compassionate, gracious, treating people with kindness.
Okay, you got your answers? If you didn’t answer yes for all of these, then you need to repent and ask God to help you do what His word says to do.
As I kept reading though in Luke 6:43-45, it talks about a tree and it’s fruit. Basically saying that a good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit and a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. You ain’t getting no oranges from a peach tree. Okay? But more importantly, you can identify people who follow God based on what they say and do. This is their fruit. People who follow God do what God says. Period.
And finally, in verse 46-49 of Luke 6, it talks about two foundations. The solid rock foundation vs a foundation that’s not built on anything solid. Now verse 46 really stood out to me because it says: Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do the things I say? Y’all, the Lord is asking us a question. Why do we call Him Lord but don’t do what He say do, like love our enemies or lend without expecting to get it back? We want to call on the Lord in our times of trouble and thank Him for the blessings, but still not be obedient when we blatantly just disregard doing what He says to do (or in some cases, what he says not to do).
Here’s what I wrote down:
If you come to me, hear my words and act on them, that’s how you establish a solid foundation.
But if you come to me, hear my words, but DO NOT act on them, you can expect immediate collapse and destruction on whatever you have built (because you didn’t build it on me, you built that yourself).
The foundation of God’s Word operating in our lives will determine the stability of our future - especially when serious trials come. We have to get that Word on the inside of us and obey it. Because when storms in life come, and they WILL COME, it’s what we do which what we have heard that determines how much of Jesus we experience. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.
I know I said finally earlier but one more thing I want to share with you is Luke 6:38 where it speaks on God’s principle of reciprocity. The verse says: Give, and and it will be given to you; a good measure - pressed down. shaken together, and running over - will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you! That means God’s principle of reciprocity is activated when we minister to the needs of others with the result that He raises up people to minister in return to us in the same area of need. And that’s why we can be obedient and lend without expecting it back, because the Bible says in Luke 6:35 that when we do these things, our reward will be great, and we will be children of the Most High! For HE is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.
Bottomline…YOU BE OBEDIENT to God’s Word. Be a DOER of the Word. Don’t just hear it and not act on it. When the Holy Spirit prompts you to bless someone, DO IT. Don’t hem and haw over it. How would you feel if someone was hesitating on blessing you?
Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Write down what the Word of God says and be honest and ask yourself…Am I really being obedient? If the answer is no, REPENT and ask God to help you obey His word.
P.S. Be sure to press play above & listen to each episode as I always go deeper on the audio version.
YOUR ASSIGNMENTS
What did the Lord God say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
Which one of those questions got a no from you? How are you going to change it into a yes today?
REMINDER: Don’t forget to read the Scriptural Surprise below and see what the Lord says to you about it.
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.
Check out today’s Scriptural Surprise!
Want more from On Assignment by God?
Pray about joining the Patreon OABG Membership to get more content starting at only $5 a month!
If you love hearing my conversation with My Lord God on with this blog and podcast, pray about being a supporter through the Patreon Membership. You’ll get more of my conversation with God on book writing, publishing, entrepreneurship, plus whatever else God gives me to share! I'd love for us to connect to see how God uses us, as we are ON ASSIGNMENT for Him.
ON SALE!!!! GET THE E-BOOK NOW for only $2!!
My Conversations With God - Volume One is an e-book compilation of blogs written by Fon Strong James. This e-book allows you to have a collection of 24 blogs from the early days all in one place. It is the hope that you as the reader will be encouraged, inspired, and even prompted by the Holy Spirit. Dive into the this e-book to see the very beginning of this writing assignment given to the author by God, when He told her one morning during her prayer time to… “share our conversations.”