obedience

God will permit only what we permit. He has given us the right to choose—life or death, blessing or cursing (Deuteronomy 30:19). When God created man He created him in the image and likeness of God. Adam walked and talked with God and knew Him. God never required him to be sick to know Him. Adam never experienced sickness until he changed gods. Adam was the one who made the decision to disobey. He was not forced—he made the decision on his own.

Certainly the wording of certain scriptures, especially in the King James Version, has caused some to wonder if God is the One who inflicts sickness on us. For example, Deuteronomy 28:61 has been translated, “Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.”

This can be difficult because the flesh has its own ideas! But Matthew 5:44 gives us a clear answer.

There is no question that it is God’s will for you to live long and strong on the earth. It’s a promise He makes to His people again and again!

If you’re a believer in Jesus, you don’t have to slowly deteriorate in your mind and body, walking hunched over, suffering from age-related ailments, and living under the care of others. You don’t have to die young!

The Word of God has promised you long life, strength and health all your days. And…He has also told us how.

Some people think it’s too hard to forgive certain offenses, or they believe they have a right to remain angry and bitter. But the truth is—forgiveness is a choice…and it is also a command.

God has two reasons why He requires us to forgive anyone and everyone:

Under the old covenant, the people of Israel were given dietary laws which outlined clean and unclean foods (Genesis 9:2-4; Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 7:23-27, 11:1-47, 17:10-16; Deuteronomy 14:3-21). Not only were these laws protective of their health, but they were also required to be obeyed in order to be in right-standing with God. If they obeyed, they were blessed; if they disobeyed, they came under the curse of the law (Deuteronomy 28).

It’s been said that rules without relationship equals rebellion. That’s the same message we find in Ephesians 6:4, which says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (AMP).

Often people wonder if painful or disruptive events are permitted by God to correct or discipline us.

But how does God discipline His children?

Hebrews 10:38 (KJV) says, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

The Bible is clear that believers are to live by faith. Like many people, you may wonder where faith comes from. Some people may believe that faith comes from tragic experiences in life or it comes from some desperate hope not based in reality, but that’s not what the Bible says.

Jesus said in Mark 12:17, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” In that day, the coin used to pay taxes was the Roman denarius, and it had Caesar’s picture on it. Since it was a government coin and had a government stamp on it, it belonged to the government. What Jesus was saying was, “The coin is Caesar’s; let him have his own.”