Keys to the Kingdom

As I looked out my kitchen window one morning, I spotted that familiar lone dove that’s been around since 2021. Like me, I think she’s a female. Then I watched a small bird beat a worm to death before he ate it. (Silly me, I always thought worms were eaten alive.) Nature was happily doing its thing. Next, I spotted a hawk on the ground with a baby rabbit in its talons. I was not pleased with this nature scene. I thought, “How dare you snatch one of my furry little animals without my permission! You’re on my property and you do that! How rude!”

I then wondered how many times I do things that aren’t pleasing to God? How many times do I just do “whatever” without asking Him first?  God doesn’t care what color of nail polish I choose, but He does care about my life-changer choices. It’s safe to say Christ-followers make too many decisions without consulting God. We treat too many big decisions like they’re nail polish choices — and that will always come back to bite us.

In the Old Testament, Joshua and his leaders made a pact with some foreigners without asking God about it. I’ve always thought this scripture intentionally sends a relevant message to believers today. “When the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves.” When the Gibeonite ambassadors arrived at the Israelite camp, they told Joshua and the men, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.” They lied through their teeth and the Israelites believed them. “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath” (see Joshua 9:1-14 NLT). Because God was omitted from their decision, this pact came back to bite them. God knew these ambassadors actually lived nearby instead of in a distant land, but no one consulted Him in order to make the right decision.

All throughout the Bible, God tells His children to “obey My voice.” He repeats Himself over and over and over, hoping we’ll get it. Believers need to keep His words in the forefront of our heart. Listening and obeying His voice is for our own good because we’re too much of a ding-a-ling to properly orchestrate our lives on our own. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’” (Jeremiah 7:23 NASB). As a good Father, He wants His children to have an abundant life, but there are certain conditions. He will absolutely do His part if we will hold up our end of the deal.

“I hear the words of the Lord and act upon them [obeying them] like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25 AMP). When life tries to beat the tar out of us, maybe it’s because we didn’t ask God for His advice.

The Key: Let’s learn to do life in God’s rhythm and wisdom.

Just a few years ago, health was not an issue.  There were few doctor’s visits, long walks on the beach, morning tennis matches and drives around Mazatlán.  No longer. Some of us have sold our Mexican condominiums and moved back to the states, and some still spend a few weeks there each year.  All of us, however, are slowing down.

Last week, nine of us met in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for a reunion.  Twenty-one originally committed to come, but most dropped out as “things” prevented them from joining the group: grandbabies being born; the failing health of a spouse; home repair issues.  For those of us who made the trip, we knew that it might be our last.

Bruce and Sharon drove from Oregon.  Bruce, a former basketball player and (now) coach, was relying on half of his lung capacity after being diagnosed with lung cancer.  Geoff and Sherrie came from Colorado Springs, Geoff in the middle of several doctor’s appointments with no answer as to why his legs were ceasing to function.  And then there were Howard and Joyce. Oh, my!

Howard turns 90 next month, and Joyce is 88.  When they told us that they were flying into Denver and renting a car to drive the three hours into the mountains, we all had our concerns.  When Joyce texted that they were on the edge of Steamboat, we were relieved.  They were about a mile away on Lincoln Avenue, the street where our rented condominium was located.  They couldn’t find us, even though Shelley and I were standing on the corner, waiting for them to spot us.

Every time Joyce told me where they were, they had passed us.  “I see you,” exclaimed Joyce.  “Shelley has on a white hat.”  No, Shelley didn’t.  After circling our block twice, Howard zoomed right past our intersection.  Joyce spotted us (the real “us,” not the lady in the hat).  We watched Howard make a U-turn in the middle of four lanes of traffic, zip into the handicap parking spot where we were standing, and get out of the car, without putting the car into park or turning it off.  This was going to be an adventure!

I reminded everyone to drink tons of water because of the altitude.  Joyce said that she didn’t like water.  I told her that it didn’t matter.  Altitude sickness was very real and no fun.  On our first day of girl-shopping, Joyce bent over to adjust her shoe and face-planted into a pile of clothes.  From that time on, she drank water.

Even though we began making plans for our next reunion, good-byes were hard.  We had been blessed with a sweet connection-time that might not happen again.  And here’s the saddest part: six of our friends are not Christians.  They are wonderful people, but they have no desire to know Jesus.  When I tell them that I will pray for them, they nod or say “thank you,” but our conversation ends there.  I don’t get it.

The ultimate reunion lies ahead for all of us who believe that Jesus lived and died for our sins. 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (MSG) should get us all excited about what lies ahead. “There will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.”  How is God so easily dismissed?   Even though this Steamboat group understands how precious our time together was (and can’t wait for our next get together), even though they accept Dave and my faith, they reject the reunion that happens after we die…this heavenly banquet where the entire family of God gathers to celebrate the end of Death.  Aging.  Mourning.  Sickness.  Pain.  A broken relationship. Even altitude sickness.

It will be an adventure we dare not miss.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Christian Fruitcakes

Generally speaking, most people have strong opinions about fruitcake. In the late 1970s, the company I worked for sent fruitcakes to their clients at Christmastime. At the end of the season there were a few left, so I would be given one. I still remember the perfect deliciousness of it — I was in fruitcake heaven! Sadly, a few years later, this particular brand was no longer available. I sampled a lot of dry and awful fruitcakes before I finally found one that came close to Colonial‘s Rainbow Fruitcake. When I visit with friends during the holidays that say they don’t like fruitcake, I always respond, “That’s because you’ve never eaten a good one. I love good fruitcake, but I hate bad fruitcake.”

When King David had the Ark of God brought to Jerusalem, it was a splendid  celebration. David and all the people were praising the Lord with all types of musical instruments, and the king was leaping and dancing before the Lord with all his might.  David blessed the Israelites and, “He distributed to all the people, the entire multitude of Israel, both men and women, one bread cake, one date cake, and one raisin cake to each one. Then all the people left, each to his house” (2 Samuel 6:18-19 MEV). This was the first fruitcake party recorded in the Old Testament. Because this special occasion was celebrated with fruitcakes, maybe that’s why we celebrate the birth of Jesus with fruitcakes. (Thankfully, we do a bunch of other things at Christmas besides eat fruitcake.)

I think Christians and fruitcakes are similar in the fact that some are good and some are bad. Not all fruitcakes are alike. The good fruitcakes get a bad rap because of the bad ones. And not all Christians are alike. Many represent Christ well and some…not so much. Jesus said, “If you know Me, you will know my Father also” (John 14:7 NRSA). Jesus represented His Father excellently. How well do we represent Jesus as we go about our daily lives at home, church, work, and play? Are we doing a good job or a bad job? Believers need to search their heart regularly to see if there’s any bad stuff that needs to be eradicated. We don’t want to be a bad representative of Jesus because that will delude and discourage others from coming to Christ. And it makes us look like a nut.

Being dry is one of the main issues that gives fruitcakes and Christians a bad rating. A dry Christian is often due to a lack of faithful church attendance and neglect of personal Bible study and prayer. A dry fruitcake is simply not worth the effort to chew it. Jesus said, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth!“ (Revelation 3:15-16 NLT).

A Christ follower’s highest priority should be to live a Christ-like life. Onlookers need to see our actions backing up what we say we believe. The people we rub shoulders with need to see evidence of our faith and the fruit of the Spirit working in our lives. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are essential and never go out of style. If we come up short on any of these ingredients, we can go to our merciful God to ask for help. He’s a good God who’s never in short supply. When we’re running low on essentials, God’s mercies to us are new every morning.

The Key: It’s OK to be nutty as a fruitcake as long as it’s a good one.  It’s those bad ones you have to watch out for.

Hubby Dave bought a new gizmo from some promotional ad he saw on his phone.  Actually, against my suggestion of buying one to test it out, he bought four because they were “such a great deal.”  Supposedly we will get 200 more television stations with this device.  Really?  My philosophy is that five stations are too many, but 200?

Hubby was excited to see how his new contraption worked, but quickly he realized that a degree in nuclear science is required to fit all the pieces together.  He decided to wait until his future grandson-in-law (with an electrical engineering degree) showed up to see if he had the answer.  He did.  We now have a plunger-looking antenna suctioned to our front door with a cord draped to the back of the television.

Of course, the Amazon description omitted this one, little detail: the television had to be near a window.  Ours is not.  It is, however, about four feet from the front door.  Thus, the most convenient place to attach the plunger.  Hubby says that I’m making a big deal out of nothing.  Our house is “full of cords.”  You know…cords that plug in the refrigerator, coffee pot, blow dryers, etc. (none of which, however, drape across a room and suction to a window or door).  I reminded him of this.

We live in a world of enticements.  There’s always something faster, smoother, cleaner, prettier, easier, quieter, bigger, or more efficient.  Seldomly do they live up to their hype or reveal the problems that come with them.  We know this, but we take the bait, anyway.  It’s no different with sin.

The first time I read in scripture about Satan tempting Jesus to prove he was God’s son, I wondered why Jesus didn’t just send a bolt of lightning to his enemy’s head.  If you remember the story, Jesus had fasted and prayed for 40 days when the enemy appeared and tried to entice Jesus. (I struggle with four hours, much less, 40 days.)  Satan began with a physical temptation, telling Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus had to be hungry, and the tempter knew right where to target Jesus’ weakness.  Jesus responded that man doesn’t live by bread alone but by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Satan focused on the physical, but Jesus focused on the spiritual.

Satan’s next attempt was to transport Jesus into Jerusalem and placed Him at the highest point of the temple (roughly the equivalent height of a 41-story skyscraper).  Satan said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.”  He then quoted Psalm 91:11-12 (“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone”).  Satan used those scriptures out of context because we are not to intentionally put ourselves in danger and expect God to protect us.  Jesus used scripture correctly and quoted Deuteronomy 6:16: “You shall not tempt the LORD your God.”

Satan pulled out his last offer.  He took Jesus to the top of a mountain and “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:8).  In other words, Jesus could have everything he wanted for his own personal power and position.  Once again, Jesus turned to scripture: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10).

The message to us is clear.  We need to know the Bible if we are to ward off temptation.  Trying to take on Satan without scripture’s directive is like ordering television gizmos without checking out the fine print.  Chances are, it will be a lesson we don’t want to learn.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Jack’s Snacks

One evening, while home alone watching one of my favorite movies and eating dry-roasted peanuts, I whispered, “I’ve turned into my dad.” When I was a kid, Dad and I would watch TV in the evenings and he’d always eat popcorn, mixed nuts, or salted peanuts in the shell. He actually had a microwave cart (as an end table) beside his swivel rocker because he stored his snacks in it. Just in the last few years I‘ve adopted his snack  habit (minus the microwave cart). There’s always bits and pieces of our parents in us because that is God’s design. Most of us are younger replicas of our mom or dad, or a combination of both. DNA is powerful and cannot be denied or erased. Jesus said, “When you look at Me you are seeing the One who sent me” (John 12:45 TPT).

When all the disciples were together, I think Jesus may have been saddened or  disappointed with Philip’s statement, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” “Jesus answered, ’Don’t you know Me, Philip? I have been among you such a long time! Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don‘t you believe that I am in the Father? Don‘t you believe that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. The Father lives in Me. He is the One who is doing His work“ (John 14:9-10 NIRV). Like Father, like Son.

While on earth, Jesus perfectly represented His Father in every aspect. All believers have a heavenly Father that’s perfect and awesome in every way. “Since you are children of a perfect Father in heaven, you are to be perfect like Him” (Matthew 5:48 TPT). If we take this verse out of context, then it sounds like a counsel of despair and impossibility. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching on how to treat others (see Matthew 5:43-47). We are to aim at being perfect in how we love God and others. We’ll never be perfect in the sense that God is, but we are to focus on perfecting our love walk.

We are to emulate our heavenly Father rather than the messed-up worldly influencers in our culture. “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6 NLT). It makes sense that if we claim to be a Christian we must surely live like one.

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ” (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT). Maybe this scripture is why Peter Scholtes penned the hymn lyrics, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” All of our behavior is to be characterized by love. Apostle Peter wrote, “Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters” (1 Peter 2:17). If love is AWOL in the Church Body, you can be sure that God is not being imitated.

Many years ago I read the book, “In His Steps” by Charles M. Sheldon. This best-selling Christian fiction novel made a positive impact on my life. The scriptures tell us that Jesus went about doing good. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). God is love and He is good. We are imitating  Jesus when we live our lives filled with love and go about doing good.

The Key: I doubt that God eats peanuts, but we should imitate Him anyway.

An old geezer, bored in retirement, decided to open a medical clinic.  He put a sign up outside that said, “Dr. Geezer’s clinic. Get your treatment for $500; if not cured, get back $1,000.”

Doctor Young, who was positive this old geezer didn’t know beans about medicine, thought this would be a great opportunity to get $1,000.  So, he went to Dr. Geezer’s clinic.

Dr. Young: “Dr. Geezer, I have lost all taste in my mouth. Can you please help me?”

Dr. Geezer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in Dr. Young’s mouth.”

Dr. Young: “Aaagh !!–This is Gasoline!”

Dr. Geezer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your taste back. That will be $500.”

An annoyed Dr. Young goes back after a couple of days, figuring to recover his money.

Dr. Young: “I have lost my memory; I cannot remember anything.”

Dr. Geezer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.”

Dr. Young: “Oh, no you don’t, — that is Gasoline!”

Dr. Geezer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your memory back. That will be $500.”

Dr. Young (after having lost $1000) leaves angrily and comes back in a few days.

Dr. Young: “My eyesight has become weak — I can hardly see anything!!!!”

Dr. Geezer: “Well, I don’t have any medicine for that, so here’s your $1000 back” (giving him a $10 bill).

Dr. Young: “But this is only $10!”

Dr. Geezer: “Congratulations! You got your vision back! That will be $500.”

Moral of story — Just because you’re “Young” doesn’t mean that you can outsmart an “old Geezer.”

There are few nursing homes in Mexico.  That’s because families make tremendous sacrifices to honor the elderly, keeping them in their homes to care for them until they die.  Siblings and husband/wife teams work various shifts so that the aging parent is not left alone. Shopping centers and restaurants reveal the respect shown, as it is common to see children and grandchildren cradling the arms of their aged relatives, helping them out of the car and walking slowly to their destination.  When the elders speak, everyone listens.  Their wisdom is valued.

For 10 years, Jaime has worked as a bartender where we live in Mazatlán. His mother-in-law has lived with his family for 18 years.  Every morning, he makes breakfast for her; they sit together and catch up on what is going on in each other’s life.  Countless times, he has bowed out of morning invitations because of his “special time” with his wife’s mother.  Mexicans believe that God expects them to appreciate the elderly.  Scripture agrees:

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, ESV) Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. (Prov. 16:31)   Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. (Job 12:12)                                                      

  One story is played out in the book of Ruth when Naomi’s husband moved his family from Bethlehem to Moab where he died.  Ten years later, their married, adult sons also died. Naomi opted to move back to her native country. Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law, insisted on accompanying her in spite of Naomi’s protests.  In the end, the Moabite Ruth married the Bethlehemite Boaz, and, generations later, Jesus was born from that union.

I wish I would have done more for my mother before she died.  I certainly had opportunities to do so.  I pray you do better than I did…before it’s too late.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Bad Baby Names

Choosing your child’s name is one of the most-important responsibilities of parents. Children are stuck with their name (unless it’s legally changed) for the rest of their lives. Several years ago, the old-fashioned names were brought back, which was refreshing for something old to become new. All my aunts are now deceased, but here are their first names: Letha, Mildred, Pearl, Floy, Elva, Christine, Ruth, Velda, Delta, Theresa, Ila, and Pauline. I would probably cause parents to have great anxiety if their son married a woman named “Jezebel,” or if their daughter married a man whose name was “Judas Iscariot.”

Judas Iscariot was the greatest pretender. He appeared to be right on the outside (one of Jesus’ chosen twelve disciples) but he became full of darkness and evil on the inside. The other eleven disciples rubbed shoulders with him on a daily basis and didn’t know who he really was. Judas went his own risky way rather than following Jesus. He didn’t allow the light and love of Jesus to penetrate his grasping, greedy heart. He fooled everyone —  except Jesus. The all-knowing Savior was not deceived when He spoke to His followers, “’But some of you do not believe Me.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and He knew who would betray Him.)” (John 6:64 NLT).

Judas had a toxic love affair with money. It’s interesting to note that he was appointed treasurer for the disciples. He pretended to care about the poor, but he was actually covetous of the money spent on the expensive perfume used to anoint Jesus’ feet. Judas said, “’That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.’ Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself” (John 12:4-6 NLT). Apparently, Judas would do anything for money because he became the archtraitor against God’s one and only Son. There’s nothing wrong with having plenty of money, but if the love of money takes precedence over loving God, we’ve got a big priority problem.

Jesus genuinely loved Judas even though He knew what Judas was going to do. Theologians agree that Judas must have been on the left side of Jesus at the table of The Last Supper. The position on the left of the host was the place of highest honor and reserved for the most-intimate friend. How amazing that, if Judas did occupy the seat of honor, it would have been at Jesus’ invitation to do so. Jesus extended His unfailing love, mercy, and grace to Judas right up to the very last minute. Scripture states that, “When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him” (John 13:27 NLT). Regrettably, Judas had yielded to the evil thoughts in his soul and opened the door to the devil. And Satan hit the doorway with destroying power like an EF5 tornado.

Judas pretended to love Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he approached the Son of God and betrayed him with a kiss from hell. Jesus then said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” (Matthew 26:50 NKJV). The reason Judas was able to do these appalling things was because he only knew about Jesus, he never really knew Jesus. I wonder if he would have dropped out of the discipleship classes if he’d not been the treasurer. He later regretted his act of betrayal, however, he did not repent. Sadly, Judas Iscariot didn’t know Jesus well enough to understand that he could ask to be forgiven and receive it.

The Key: No matter what bad things you’ve done, you can be forgiven. Just ask Jesus.

Dave and I were visiting our son Andy where he coaches and lives in Arkansas during the baseball season.  The team has a day off every Monday, and when they are home, the staff get together at the rented home of Nellie, one of the coaches.  Last Monday, we were invited.

The photo shows what greeted us when we arrived.  All of these rudimentary gadgets had a purpose to put on a spread that rivals any barbecue restaurant we have ever visited.  Nellie cooked enough ribs, port roast, chicken wings and brats to feed the entire team, each meat with his secret spices and perfectly timed attention. He smiled the entire time and told me that he loves, loves, loves grilling.

No one was in a hurry, and because the grill was so small, the food was spread out over several hours. Occasionally the score of the Royals’ game was checked, or a phone call from home needed answered, but mostly, we just visited.  The young staff loved talking to Dave about his time in baseball 100 years ago and how things have changed.

At the same time, my granddaughter Mo was in Guatemala with her church group.  They had gone there to help with a pastor’s convention, but she fell in love with the Shead family who are missionaries there.  The eight children are home-schooled and then come up with ideas to create activities.

“I think I’m going to build a tree fort,” said the eleven-year-old girl.  “Want to help?”  For the rest of the afternoon, Mo and her new friend built another fort.  (They already had two.) The children hang together outside and are joined occasionally by the school children on recess who come to their yard to play.  There are no cell phones or iPad or Xboxes.  The kids are encouraged to use their imagination.  They have learned Spanish as well as English and look forward to their Bible study time with their parents.  Mo told me that she loved hanging with this family who didn’t need “things” to make them happy.

In both Nellie and Mo’s cases, simplicity was key.  A dying art.  In today’s culture, too many of us aren’t blessed; we are stressed.  We forget what it is like to do without. Instead, we busy our time being frustrated about what we aren’t getting done.  Proverbs 14:30 (NIV) says this: “A heart at peace gives life to the body.” Pastor/author John Ortberg adds to that proverb. “Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.”

If you’ve ever stressed about stress, you and I have that in common.  In the noisy clamor of life, we flit from one thing to another and don’t give ourselves permission to just do nothing.  Some of us are too busy to pray, the one thing we need to do that offers peace.  Maybe we crave things we neither need nor enjoy, and we buy things just to “keep up with the Jones’s.”  Of course, the Jones’s are doing the same, so we and the Jones’s all spend our days spinning on our competitive hamster wheels, getting nowhere.

It’s no wonder God made his message a simple one.  We are all sinners.  Christ died and was resurrected for our sins.  If we make him our Lord and Savior, we spend eternity in Heaven.  If simplicity is good enough for God, it should be good enough for us.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Figs and Innards

My dad was about ten years old when he went fishing with his brother-in-law, John. While walking back to my grandparents’ house, Dad was bitten by a water moccasin. He   yelled out and Uncle John turned around to see what had happened. He offered to carry  Dad home, but he insisted on walking. By the time they reached the house, the poison had circulated all through his little body. My grandmother quickly killed a chicken and laid the innards on the bite. (The heat from the innards was supposed to draw out the poisonous venom.) After several days of being critically ill, Dad finally recovered. The fang marks on his ankle were still visible when he told me this story.

In 2 Kings 20:1-7, we find an interesting incident regarding a boil. King Hezekiah had an infection from a boil that was aggressive and life threatening. The prophet Isaiah came to him and said, “Get your house in order; you’re going to die.” Hezekiah prayed earnestly  and wept bitterly. God told Isaiah to turn around and say to the king, “God has heard your prayer and seen your tears and will heal you. He will add 15 years to your life.” Then Isaiah told the King’s servants to lay a cake of figs on the boil and Hezekiah recovered.

I wonder if Isaiah’s odd instructions made any sense to the king’s servants. I don’t think  Hezekiah would have recovered if the servants had refused to obey orders. Maybe a fig poultice was a common remedy for a malady back then. Maybe not. Believers don’t have to understand the “why” or “how” to what God is whispering in our heart. Just do it in faith. We need to learn to obey without trying to figure it out in our little pea brain. No matter how smart we think we are, we can never outthink or outsmart God. He’ll never be impressed with our IQ, but He is pleased with simple obedience.

At the exodus from Egypt, God told the Israelites, “’Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.‘ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward” (Jeremiah 7:23-24 NKJV). God expects us to learn His Word and do (obey) what it says…for our own good.

I believe there are times in a Christ follower’s life that God will ask us to do something in order to test our love, obedience, and trust in Him. “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3 NLT). If we fail the test, we simply get to take it again (and again) until we pass it. God doesn’t tempt us (that’s what Satan does) but He will test us every so often. We don’t enjoy tests, but they reveal our spiritual condition. And the purpose of these tests is usually beyond our human understanding.

Also, God possibly tests us so we can see what we’re made of — God already knows, but we need to know. I always taste test my mashed potatoes several times before I set the bowl on the table. This side dish has to have the perfect amount of salt, butter, and milk before it’s moved to the dinner table. God is always trying to help us become more like Him. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8 NLT).

The Key: Believers need to obey because there’s no other way to pass the test.