And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.
—1 John 3:22
We often ask people if they "got" something, particularly when we speak of spiritual matters. "Did you 'get' a breakthrough?" we want to know, or "Did you 'get' your blessing?" Is the idea of "getting" from God biblical? The Bible teaches us about receiving, not about getting. The difference between getting and receiving is significant. To "get" means "to obtain by struggle and effort."
When everything in your life requires effort, life becomes frustrating and exhausting—and that's not the kind of abundant life Jesus came to give us. No, God wants us to live with a holy ease, a grace that keeps us from striving and struggling through life. That doesn't mean everything will be easy, but it means even difficult things can be done with a sense of God's presence and help.
"Getting" puts the burden on us to have to figure out things, to manipulate circumstances, and to try to force situations to work out a certain way. Receiving, on the other hand, means we simply take in what is being offered freely. We don't strive; we simply relax and enjoy what comes to us.
God wants to give us so much more than we can imagine. He is waiting to pour out blessings in our lives, and we need to know how to receive—both from Him and from others. Sometimes God works miraculously to meet our needs, but He frequently works through other people. If we pray for help, then we must let God choose how and through whom He will send it. We should not be embarrassed to be needy, because we are all needy in some way or another. God did not intend for us to be so independent we would never need help.
Trust in Him: Are you struggling and striving to "get" something from God? Stop "getting" and start
receiving. He wants to bless you! Trust God and receive by faith what you have asked for.
Spiritual Judgment
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:14–16
In 1995 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which contains one of the most extensive art collections in the world, held a most unusual exhibit. More than forty paintings, all belonging to the museum, were placed on display in the Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt exhibition. Less than half of them were definitely attributed to the famous artist. The majority had once been thought to be painted by Rembrandt, but later proved through careful research to be either imitations by others or outright forgeries. The museum said, “The purpose of this exhibition is to demystify through educational displays the kind of research that goes on at a museum like the Metropolitan by demonstrating the different approaches art historian and conservators take.”
Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been offering counterfeits to God’s truth—and generation after generation, people continue to “buy” the fake rather than holding to and valuing what is real. The simple fact is that we cannot discern between God’s truth and Satan’s lies without the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who holds up the absolute standard of Scripture, calling to our remembrance what God has actually said. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us discernment and equips us to determine truth from falsehood. Often people will talk about being guided by their conscience or their heart, but those are untrustworthy guides. Instead we must rely on the Word of God as illuminated and applied to our thinking through the Spirit to make wise spiritual judgments.
1 Corinthians 2:14–16
In 1995 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which contains one of the most extensive art collections in the world, held a most unusual exhibit. More than forty paintings, all belonging to the museum, were placed on display in the Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt exhibition. Less than half of them were definitely attributed to the famous artist. The majority had once been thought to be painted by Rembrandt, but later proved through careful research to be either imitations by others or outright forgeries. The museum said, “The purpose of this exhibition is to demystify through educational displays the kind of research that goes on at a museum like the Metropolitan by demonstrating the different approaches art historian and conservators take.”
Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been offering counterfeits to God’s truth—and generation after generation, people continue to “buy” the fake rather than holding to and valuing what is real. The simple fact is that we cannot discern between God’s truth and Satan’s lies without the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who holds up the absolute standard of Scripture, calling to our remembrance what God has actually said. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us discernment and equips us to determine truth from falsehood. Often people will talk about being guided by their conscience or their heart, but those are untrustworthy guides. Instead we must rely on the Word of God as illuminated and applied to our thinking through the Spirit to make wise spiritual judgments.
Today’s Growth Principle:
We cannot follow Jesus as we should if we are not able to discern what is true from what is false.
Stop Getting and Start Receiving
by Joyce Meyer - posted February 12, 2017And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.
—1 John 3:22
We often ask people if they "got" something, particularly when we speak of spiritual matters. "Did you 'get' a breakthrough?" we want to know, or "Did you 'get' your blessing?" Is the idea of "getting" from God biblical? The Bible teaches us about receiving, not about getting. The difference between getting and receiving is significant. To "get" means "to obtain by struggle and effort."
When everything in your life requires effort, life becomes frustrating and exhausting—and that's not the kind of abundant life Jesus came to give us. No, God wants us to live with a holy ease, a grace that keeps us from striving and struggling through life. That doesn't mean everything will be easy, but it means even difficult things can be done with a sense of God's presence and help.
"Getting" puts the burden on us to have to figure out things, to manipulate circumstances, and to try to force situations to work out a certain way. Receiving, on the other hand, means we simply take in what is being offered freely. We don't strive; we simply relax and enjoy what comes to us.
God wants to give us so much more than we can imagine. He is waiting to pour out blessings in our lives, and we need to know how to receive—both from Him and from others. Sometimes God works miraculously to meet our needs, but He frequently works through other people. If we pray for help, then we must let God choose how and through whom He will send it. We should not be embarrassed to be needy, because we are all needy in some way or another. God did not intend for us to be so independent we would never need help.
Trust in Him: Are you struggling and striving to "get" something from God? Stop "getting" and start
receiving. He wants to bless you! Trust God and receive by faith what you have asked for.
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