A Life Blessed by Love and Truth

It was God’s love and His truth that was His gift to us in Jesus Christ. He took the initiative and loved us and made known the truth to us and made it available to us to become right with God.

Proverbs 16:6a By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,

Our sin was atoned for through the death of Jesus Christ. He took the punishment and penalty for sin that we deserved. We are forgiven through Him and it was His love and His righteousness that we received. Atonement was made for us that we might have the gift of forgiveness and our guilt removed.

Leviticus 14:31 He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.

Jesus was the lamb of God that took our guilt away and cleansed us from our sin.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

As many as will receive the gift of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who died for the world shall receive the gift of salvation, the removal of their guilt and the cleansing from their sin and they will become “at one” with God and become His child and a part of His family. God, the Father, receives those who receive Jesus Christ because of what Jesus did.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

A Life Living in Love and Truth

As you learn to live in God’s love and truth then you will soar in life. Your life will have purpose and meaning and you will experience great joy and fulfillment.

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s love and God’s truth are eternal.

Psalm 117:2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

As you live in His love and truth then you will being living the eternal life that He came to bring to you. You will have eternal values and eternal treasures.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

As you walk in His truth and His love then you will be doing what He has called you to do.

I John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

His commandments are love and truth. If you love Him then you will keep His commandments and if you keep His commandments then you will be loving others as He has loved you. Jesus was full of love and truth and kept His Father’s commandments. He wants us to walk in the same manner as he Himself also walked.

I John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

When you love others then you will not make them stumble nor will you stumble. For this reason there are some activities that are not a right or wrong issue but they are “love” issues because they would make someone stumble. If you love your brother then you will not do anything to make Him stumble. You will restrict your “freedom” out of love for your brother.

Romans 14:15-21 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

If you eat certain foods (that were sacrificed to idols) or drink wine and make your brother stumble then you are not walking according to love. The word “good” in this passage means the highest form of love. If you are not loving your brother then this issue is not just a love issue but has become a sin issue. Even though the activity may not be “sin” for you, the very action has become sin because it is not loving your brother.

I John 3:10b anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

If you are a Christian and belong to Him then the commandment that He has given you is to love your brother. If you keep His commandments then you will abide in His love and His love will abide in you.

 

A Life that Knows the Kindness of God

The kindness of God is truly amazing. His kindness was shown towards us when we were at our worse and it is His kindness that leads us to repent.

Romans 2:4,5 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

The kindness of God has come to us through sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to be raised again from the dead. We can repent of our sins and be restored to a relationship if God or we can be stubborn and keep an unrepentant heart by going our own way. The Lord does not want us to experience His wrath but if we refuse the kindness of God then wrath will be the righteous judgment of God.

Romans 11:22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

The Lord’s instruction to you if you have experienced His kindness is to continue in His kindness. God’s love and kindness is for those who belong to Him and obey Him. God’s wrath is being stored up for the unrepentant person but His wrath is also evident today against all unrighteousness and ungodliness. If you do unrighteousness and ungodliness then you will experience the wrath of God that is poured out on these activities. When you suppress the truth of God, which is written in His Word, then you will do ungodliness and unrighteousness. You will experience pain and destruction of your body and soul.

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Belief and obedience go hand in hand. This is what it means to trust and obey. Trust and obey Him that your soul may live and praise Him. When your soul lives it experiences the kindness and love of God and you will want to praise Him.

Psalm 119:175,176 Let my soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.

All of our hearts are prone to wander and to go astray. We are like sheep and we go astray at times. Pray to Him and He will seek you. Come back to Him and again trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus.

 

A Life with Love is Gentle

What is so amazing about the Lord is that He is so great and awesome, He is mighty and powerful, He is Lord of lords and King of kings and yet, He is also gentle. There is only one place in the Bible where Jesus Christ describes Himself and when He does He lets us know about His heart.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, Matthew 11:28,29a

Not only did He have a gentle heart but He never yelled when He spoke.

He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. Isaiah 42:2

Not only did Jesus have a gentle heart and did not yell at people but Jesus Christ was gentle in His actions and especially in the way He related to those who were hurting.

A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; Isaiah 42:3

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the exact representation of God, the Father, so everything that He says about Himself is who God is.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:1-3a

Whoever knows Jesus Christ will also know God, the Father. He who has seen Jesus has seen God.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; John 14:6-11b

Jesus, the Son of God, and God, the Father are One. The Bible is also the Word of God and is the revelation of who God is. When Jesus Christ came to earth, He was born of a virgin and lived and walked among men and women. He died and rose again. The Word of God became flesh in Jesus Christ. Everything that the Bible says about Jesus Christ is who God is. The Bible is God’s revelation to us so that we might know Him.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

The word “gentle” literally means to condescend. The word condescend literally means to “get down with on the same level”. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as a human being then God literally came down to man on man’s level.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; I Peter 3:18

Jesus Christ crushed Satan on the head when He went to the cross. Jesus Christ fulfilled the promise that God gave to Adam and Eve in the garden. Jesus Christ rendered powerless, the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and Jesus Christ alone can set us free from the fear of death when we receive Him.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14,15

There is nothing greater that has ever happened than God becoming man so we would know that He could understands us, mediates for us and brings us to God.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:17,18

Jesus Christ became like us so that He could save us. Jesus Christ became like us so that He could not only save us from the penalty of sin but also from its power when we are tempted. He understands our struggles and He has given us salvation in Him and through what He has done for us. He has lifted us up and upholds us. It is His “condescension” which is the greatest expression of gentleness for He truly came down to our level and lifted us up from the pit of despair.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your gentleness makes me great. Psalm 18:35

A Life with Love Perseveres

Love does not give up when it wants to quit. Sometimes life can seem overwhelming and the temptation is great to stop trying to do what we need to do. Adam and Eve, in a sense, lost both of their sons at the same time. Cain killed Abel and then he had to leave home. We know that he married for he had offspring and the only girl that was available was one of his sisters. So, that means that Adam and Eve also had a daughter leave home at the same time.

Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Genesis 4:1.2a

Adam and Eve could have given up and not had anymore children. Maybe they felt like a failure. Their firstborn son had killed his brother. Their hearts were probably broken and there was much grief. Sin brings grief, not only to the one who commits the sin, but also to everyone else that feels the impact. There is a ripple effect. The devil wants you to believe that the “action” that you want to do will only affect you. That is not true. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay and hold you in its power longer than you want to stay. Sin brings death. This was never a part of God’s plan for Adam and Eve or for Cain and Abel.

For the wages of sin is death Romans 6:23a

However, Adam and Eve did not allow circumstances to determine their obedience. They persevered in obeying the Lord. He had instructed them to multiply and so they were committed to having more children.

Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Genesis 4:25

Eve had become very humble. Each time that she gave birth she gave the glory to the Lord. Eve realized that she can do nothing apart from the help of the Lord. Adam and Eve could persevere during the dark days because their help was in God. The only way that we will not give up is if our faith is in One who is greater than ourselves.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

We can do nothing good apart from God. We will bear fruit, much fruit, when we learn to abide in the Lord. Even though Adam and Eve lived in a barren land their life became fruitful because they depended on the Lord. When they lived in a land of plenty, in the Garden of Eden, they did not bear fruit because they depended on their own reasonings rather than on the Lord.

To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4:26

In the barren land Adam and Eve bore fruit for eternity because they looked to the Lord. Men began to call on the Lord after Seth was born and a godly line began that eventually brought forth the promised One who would strike the serpent on the head. It is in our humility that we can persevere and bear much fruit and then we will see the goodness and power of God.

A Life that is Helped and Helps

We all need to help and to be helped. We need to help each other stay on God’s path. We need each other and the Lord has provisions for us. There are three layers of relationships that ladies need to help them stay on God’s path and do what is right.

Hebrew 13:7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the outcome of their way of life, imitate their faith.

The top layer are those whom you look up to and respect. If you can have a loving relationship with this person then that is great but sometimes it may be someone you admire from a distance whose life inspires you. However, you definitely need some people in the upper layer who love you and will pray for you and keep you accountable. This person sees your needs and wants to see you grow in the Lord. Find people who are growing in their relationship with the Lord whom you want to be like and you want to go where they are going in life. Be careful who you aspire to be like because you will become like the person you allow to teach you. Choose godly women who love the Lord. Look at the fruit in their lives.

Luke 6:40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

The second layer are the friends that you choose. This layer will love you and want to be with you. Both of you agree that you want to be faithful to the Lord, which means that you want to be faithful to honor your parents or husband, or you both want to be faithful in school or on the job.

Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, unless they be agreed?”

You both want to follow the Lord and you stimulate one another to do that very thing. You will stick with each other through thick and thin, no matter what the circumstances.

Proverbs 18: 24 …there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

You also want your closest friends to be wise people who seek the Lord, fear and respect Him and want to be a disciple of Jesus. A wise person lives each day as though it is his last so that he will be ready to meet the Lord.

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

A fool lives as if there is no God.

Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

Who you choose as your friends is one of the most important decisions you will make in life. Choose right and you will treasure them and you will bless each other. Choose wrong and you will end up in situations you never intended to be and you will go places you never wanted to go. A true friend is more concerned about your relationship with the Lord than your relationship with them.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times,

The last layer is the bottom layer and this layer are the girls or young ladies who look up to you. This layer keeps you on the straight and narrow because you do not want to disappoint them. Often they think that you can do no wrong. Of course you know the truth about yourself but they truly believe the best in you. Also, this layer is important because the Lord tells us to reach out to others and especially to those who can not pay you back. The Lord Himself will make sure that your life is watered if you water others.

Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

The Lord Himself was like this.

Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

If you are missing a layer then ask the Lord to provide and then seek out opportunities to meet people. This principle is seen in life with grandparents, parents and children. Also, Jesus looked to the Father and had the disciples, especially Peter, James and John as friends and reached out to the multitude.

An easy way to remember this is to call it the “oreo” principle. (If you like oreo cookies.) The top layer are those who love you in spite of your faults and the bottom layer are those who love you but do not see your faults. Then the sweet stuff in the middle are your friends who see the good, the bad and the ugly but who love you anyway and who will be there for you. Can it get any better? How is your “oreo” principle?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Life in Secret

There are three things that the Lord says that we need to do in secret. Again, He loves to reward His children when they do what pleases Him so He offers great rewards for these three matters of obedience. The Lord says that He sees in secret and He knows what we do in secret. He says that He will reward us openly. If you read the lives of the great men and women that God has used you will learn that they had their secret life with the Lord. Those who are not faithful in their secret life with the Lord eventually fall just as a tree whose roots are shallow or whose inside is rotten will fall. Your roots must go deep into his Word and into the soil of His love. If they do then your spiritual life will be nourished and you will prosper.

Jeremiah 17:7,8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

First, when you give, you are to give in secret. You are to give to those who can not pay you back. You are to give to the poor.

Matthew 6:3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Second, when you pray, you are to pray in secret.

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Third, when you fast, you are to fast in secret.

Matthew 6:17,18 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Just as roots are not seen but produce the fruit on the tree for all to see, so you too, when your roots go deep with the Lord, the Lord will be glorified by the fruit of your life as you bear His fruit.

John 15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

May your trust in the Lord grow through maintaining your secret life with the Lord through prayer and meditation, fasting and giving.

Psalm 1:2,3 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

 

 

A Life of Prayer

Prayer can be outlawed but it can never be stopped because the Lord made us to pray. It is a human instinct to pray. Sometimes people may get confused as to the One and only True God and so they will pray to a god that they have made, either in their minds or with their hands. However, there is only One God who hears and answers. There is only one group of people that He attends to their prayers.

I Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Don’t get discouraged in your prayers. He hears them and answers them but He is not limited by time. It may just be a matter of time before you see the answer.

Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

We are to ask the Father in Jesus name and He will hear us.

John 16:23 In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.

The Lord wants us to devote ourselves to prayer.

Acts 1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer,  along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Our prayers for the nonChristian should always be for their salvation.

Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

We should pray for our spiritual leaders in our churches and missionaries.

Romans 15:30 Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

Pray for other Christians.

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

Pray for yourself. He cares for you.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Always remember to give thanks in your prayers. He has done so much for us.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

Pray for everyone and especially for your leaders.

I Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

Pray that the Lord will save you from death, not just spiritual death, but death to your soul.

Hebrews 5:7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

If you are struggling in your Christian life then go to one who can pray for you. The Lord has called us to pray for each other.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Finally, the end is near and you want to be found faithful in prayer. Prayer is talking to the Lord. Just talk to Him from your heart. He would rather you pour out your heart to Him then not pray at all or struggle with saying the right words. He knows your heart and He loves you. He wants to hear from you and He will hear you.

I Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

 

 

 

 

A Life that Stays In Love

Everyone wants to stay “in love” with the love of their life when they get married. You may not be married yet and are wondering why this would apply to you. It very much applies to any young lady who wants to and plans to get married. In fact, that is God’s will for most young ladies, but not all. However, what can you do now to help your marriage, if the Lord should choose to give you that gift?

Every older lady who is happily married knows the “secret” to staying in love. It should not be a secret but for whatever reason, not many know it or do it.

Your relationship with your husband will be an expression of your relationship with the Lord. You say you love the Lord? We know that if you are a Christian then you want to love God. A measure of how much you love the Lord is how much you love others.

I John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love  God, whom they have not seen.

Just as God loves because He is love, in the same way, the recipient of your love should not be the source of your love but God should be the source. He can and will love through you.

I John 4:7,8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The Lord loved you when you were unlovable and it changed your life.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Lord wants you to keep yourself in His love. In other words, to stay in love with Him.

Jude 1:21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

The way you keep yourself in the love of Christ is to nurture the relationship and to not neglect it. Over and over again in the Bible the Lord reproves His people for neglecting their relationship with the Lord and slipping into a ritualistic pattern with Him. Most marriages fail because of neglect although nearly all begin with good intentions. Both people just get so busy and before they realize it their love for each other is lukewarm and then cold. Are you ever too busy to spend time with the Lord? Is your love just as fresh as when you first came into that relationship?

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

If you learn to be faithful in your relationship with the Lord then you will have gone a long way in cultivating an intimate marriage. If you learn to love, not based on what you will receive in return, but because the Lord has called you and enabled you to love then you will have learned the secret of staying “in love” with the one whom the Lord has called you to be one with here on earth.

If you are married: Just as the Lord wants you to delight yourself in Him and to want to be with Him, so too, if you are married, your husband wants you to want him. He married you because he thought that you did want him. Do you still delight in your husband just as when you were first married? Do you still get excited about seeing him? Just as God’s love changed your life, so too, your love and desire for your husband can motivate him to be the person that the Lord has designed him to be.

Titus 2:4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,

This word “love” in this verse in Titus means to “be a lover of their husband”, or “to want or delight in their husband”.

 

 

A Life that Is Not Judged Unworthy

The Bible says that we are the ones who judge ourselves. We can judge ourselves unworthy of the blessings of God and even judge ourselves to be unworthy of eternal life. Maybe on the great Judgment Day, the Lord will only be agreeing with the judgment that we ourselves have already pronounced over our lives.

Acts 13:46a Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life,

The hearers to whom Paul and Barnabas were sharing the word of God, repudiated the word of God and thereby judged themselves to be unworthy of eternal life. Repudiate means to “refuse to accept or be associated with” or “deny the truth or validity of”. They were rejecting the word of God and did not want to hear it. When we repudiate the word of God in any area in which He speaks then we are also judging ourselves to be unworthy of the blessing in that area of our lives. For example, if we repudiate what His Word says in the matter of marriage then we are judging ourselves to be unworthy of the blessings of the gift of marriage as He has designed, which is for the husband to love the wife and the wife to respect the husband and the oneness in marriage that God designed. His ways are perfect and marriage as He intended was meant to be a taste of heaven and the sweetest, most loving and harmonious relationship on earth.

Acts 7:39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,

When we repudiate the Lord, which is the same as repudiating His Word, we are unwilling to be obedient to Him. When we repudiate Him and His Word then it leads us back to slavery again. Egypt was when God’s people were enslaved. Obedience to God’s Word makes us free.

John 8:31,32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

It is when we love the Lord and His Word and are obedient to Him and what He says that we experience the blessings of God and the freedom for which He designed. Blessing means happiness. The Lord wants to bless you. He does not want you to be sad and enslaved.

Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

You will find that when you love the Lord and love His Word that you have great peace and great blessing.

Psalm 119:165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.