That It May Go Well With Thee

There was a time when I thought all I had to do was become a Christian and all would go well with me. But I have begun to realize that I reap what I sow.  I think my understanding has increased. For example, if I don't tithe, I don't receive the promise given.  If I don't keep the Sabbath, I don't receive the restoration promised. If I didn't listen to wisdom with my finances, my finances suffered. We still live under grace but if we build our buildings on the sand, they can be destroyed. If we build on the rock, the sure foundation they will stand. God brought blessing upon his people Israel year after year. When King David followed after God with his heart, he prospered. When he disobeyed, he often suffered the consequences of his decisions.  God can bless you with resources, but you can make a decision to squander those resources and they will be gone. If you use those same resources wisely, God can bless them even further. I am saying all this not to say we can work for salvation, we can't. It is by grace, a gift of God, but our lives can be better or worse depending on our use of wisdom freely given by God when we search it out. We can live a reckless life and be forgiven, but we could also live a blessed life and be forgiven.  The principles of God will even bless the heathen if we follow God's plans. I am not using this example to talk about Children and parents today except in a general way to point out how wisdom prevails.  "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.  Exodus 20:12 God promises if children will honor their parent it will go well with them and they will live long. This is a general rule and perhaps we will find exceptions to the rule. As I have read and tried to understand the Ten Commandments, I realize how important they are in living a good life. My most recent search has been on the 4th commandment and I realize I didn't understand it fully. There are blessings that will follow us as we honor and live by God's commands.  We will still go through the valleys and mountain top experiences and God promises to be with us. But I am convinced we can make our lives better by understanding and living by God's laws. You do not have to be a born again Christian to reap the benefits of being charitable. You do not have to be a Christian to reap the benefits of honoring your parents.  If you develop a spirit of forgiveness and that will still be healthy for you even if you are not a Christian. But often we need God's revelation to understand many of God's principles. I remember someone saying one time they put a school book under their pillow in the hopes that they would absorb the knowledge in the book by sleeping on it. It doesn't work that way.  In a conditional promise, you have got to keep the condition to receive the promise.  God gives us the best way to live through his Ten Commandments if we will understand and obey. Just as the fourth commandment was meant for our well being if we learn the principle of the day of rest. If we keep the Sabbath day, we reap the benefit of keeping the Sabbath day. Bill Gates learned that principle and would hide away occasionally to restore himself. Our lives can be better by following the creator's design for us. God bless. LVZ.