It’s Not Complicated
Have you ever bought something, maybe some shelving, that needed assembly? You open the box and inside are separate bags of nuts, bolts, pegs, and screws neatly packaged. On top is an instruction manual. There was a time when the manual came in several different languages but now it is no more than pictures with numbers next to them, 1,2, 3 and so forth. How could step 1, step 2, step 3 be complicated?
The truth is, it is not complicated if a person carefully follows each step. Problems only arise when we do not follow each step carefully. We think we got it figured out and just start doing the assembly our own way. I have been guilty of that more than once and had to disassemble a project almost entirely because I did not follow the instructions. I was confident I didn’t need them, and I was wrong. After a lot of time wasted and needless frustration, I started over, this time carefully following each step in order.
The Israelites learned this lesson the hard way. God gave them His written word. This Word from God was like an instructional manual on how they should conduct their lives. In the days before Ezra and Nehemiah the nation had set the Word of God aside and forgot about it. They went about living life “their own way.” That was a huge mistake. It cost them dearly. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah they returned to following God’s Word with amazing results. The lesson is simple.
“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1 NIV
“Follow Jesus Today”
So good Pastor Paul
Awsome!