Back to Jer. 7:23

The first part now may be seen in it's proper role...

"Obey my voice and I will be your God and you will be my people."

The first promise is preeminent to the second "Walk in my ways", because life's unimaginable complexity is only fully comprehended by the one who created us..

Obeying His voice, as He answers our questions, as we walk with Him, is what "pray without ceasing" really means.

We all need a "Cluestick"

http://definithing.com/cluestick/

Why? Sure you are well equipped with biblical principles that you trust and apply. You have reaped the promise and it has gone well with you.

It's hard to argue with that kind of success. But. As I mentioned before "Practical wisdom separated from its source, becomes something we begin to trust in".

That is where "We all need a "Cluestick" really becomes an essential truth. Why?

http://www.randolphbrown.com/2011/06/creature-is-not-independent-of-creator.html

The Self-Help Christian Industry

Self-help Christianity emphasizes understanding principles to live by, that are expounded in the Bible. It is a path with a promise... "Walk in my ways and it will go well with you" (Jeremiah 7:23 )

We learn these principles from preachers and teachers that are well taught in the practical wisdom passed down to them. We all have some (practical wisdom) to give if you have been "born again".

The love and hope of the one who trains up his child in the way he should go, as he passes down the lessons he has learned, rarely brings about the hoped for result. Why?

Knowledge puffs up. What does that mean? Practical wisdom separated from its source, becomes something we begin to trust in. We see it as our own. And it is. It is wisdom we have acquired. It is wisdom we have operated on. It is wisdom that has blessed our lives. Because we have trusted it and acted upon it. We are accountable. If a man knows to do good and doesn't do it. That is sin.

If we know knowledge puffs up what are we to do. Your testimony reeks of biblical principles. God has met you where you were at. He spoke to you and made His wisdom known to you. I like to say, "He sharpened your axe". Certainly speak of the wisdom He has imparted...

Oh wait, do you have a testimony of what God has shared with you? Or are you just a student of practical wisdom?

Either way, the first part of Jeremiah 7:23 is what we all need to understand.

"But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘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."

"Obey My voice" is a present tense imperative, progressive verb. You only hear Him in the present "here and now." That is when you should obey.

Christ is the Exemplar!

Present-day Christendom really lives as if the situation were as follows: Christ is the great hero and benefactor who has once and for all secured salvation for us; now we must merely be happy and delighted with the innocent goods of earthly life and leave the rest to Him. But Christ is essentially the exemplar, that is we are to resemble Him, not mere profit from Him.
― The Journals of Søren Kierkegaard

www.relevantmagazine.com/god/15-soren-kierkegaards-most-challenging-quotes#tH9ElbBkyEMZSEup.99

"Whose hearts are fully committed to Him"

I try to understand the meaning to this and I think of Haggai...

2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”

3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.

Spiritual pushups

Take as much effort as physical pushups. Have you ever exercised your Faith?