The Fruit of Obedience

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22)

Look at the fruits of obedience as described in the New Testament: "The house of the obedient man is builded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24).

"He shall be loved by the Father and shall have the manifestation of the Father and the Son, who will come unto him and make their abode with him" (John 14:21, 23).

"He shall abide in the love of Christ (15:10). He is set free from sin and made a servant of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). The Holy Spirit is given to him" (Acts 5:32).

"He is delivered from self-deception and blessed in his deeds (James 1:22-25). His faith is perfected" (2:22)

"He is confirmed in his assurance toward God and given confidence in prayer, so that what he asks is given to him" (1 John 3:18-22).

What does all this add up to? Just that the power of God is at our disposal, waiting for us to call it into action by meeting the conditions which are plainly laid down.

We have a power within us to do what we are commanded to do. What is it we lack? The power? No; the will.

~A. W. Tozer~

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You Can Have What You Want

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10)

There are two kinds of lives ...; the fallow and the plowed...

The man of fallow life is contented with himself and the fruit h once bore. He does not want to be disturbed. He smiles in tolerant superiority at revivals, fastings, self-searchings. He is steady, "faithful," always in his accustomed place. But he is fruitless. The curse of such a life is that it is fixed. "To be" has taken the place of "to become."

The plowed life is the life that has, in the act of repentance, thrown down the protecting fences and sent the plow of confession into the soul. The urge of the Spirit, the pressure of circumstances and the distress of fruitless living have combined thoroughly to humble the heart.

Such a life has put away defense, and has forsaken the safety of death for the peril of life.

God gives us what we want. If you want a little of His grace, you may get it. If you want to be halfhearted, you may. But if you want to be wholly His and have all His fullness, His great heart is just longing to find room and vent for His love.

~A. W. Tozer~