You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
21 For I
have kept [shamar] the ways [derek] of the
LORD, [Yahovah] and have not wickedly departed [rasha`] from my God. ['elohiym] KJV-Interlinear
21 For I
have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. NASB
There are two categories of people on this planet - believers and unbelievers.
Believers are family of God and are dealt with in accordance with Gods family rules of conduct.
Unbelievers are not family, they are outsiders, aliens, strangers, foreigners, those who reject God, and are dealt with as enemies of God.
Believers have at least three distinct categories into which they might fit - immature believers, growing believers, mature believers.
It is the mature believer that receives the greatest blessing and attention from God. All others are dealt in accordance with various levels of discipline as might be required in order to get them on a track moving toward their spiritual maturity.
Unfortunately too many never get on that track and so they live through their life in various stages of divine discipline until their life requirement is fulfilled here on this earth, and then they are taken out of the world and brought home to God in heaven. There they remain without reward until the resurrection. At least they are saved and will be in heaven forever. The just won't have any reward extras to possess for all of eternity.
Mature believers receive the most attention from God with respect to blessings, with respect to various suffering tests which are used to further strengthen their faith and growth, and so forth.
And they advance and receive blessings because of one reason only. The have kept, 'shamar,' protected, guarded, attended to, taken heed, listened, obeyed, maintained their responsibility to self and to others in their life, have maintained their obligations to self and to the people that are in their life, as well as to their life's responsibilities.
They have run self-checks to see where their faults are and have, or do, make efforts to improve themselves with respect to those things that God expects of them. Namely their responsibilities to self in bible study, their responsibilities to family, spouses, children, relatives, neighbors, fellow workers, and so forth.
They constantly review their own self and let go of criticisms of others, for it is the evaluation of self not others that gains or loses ones blessings.
They look at life's circumstances and when everything is in place such that one should expect blessing but it seems elusive, then they look to Gods timing, purpose, or to their own deficiencies for answers as to why the delay. And they try to make improvements within themselves as defined and expected by God.
So, keeping Gods ways, merely means your day to day attitude and dedication and consistency in your studies as well as you consistent application of all of Gods mandates to your own life.
Not wickedly departing, simply means your consistency or inconsistency in living within the fellowship sphere, which is accomplished through confession.
Moment by moment, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and on and on throughout your entire life, God has placed expectations on you as to every aspect of your life. From major things, to the very minor details of your life, God expects you to persevere in your duties, regardless of how it hurts, regardless of what your circumstances might be, regardless of the burdens, or handicaps, or barriers that you might face, be they small or large.
And though it might be a difficult task at times to maintain and pursue ones spiritual life, it is the pattern, the overall pattern that you establish for your life that counts, and that will result in your overall eternal reward.
Remember that this life is not the final destination of your life, but it is only the journey which began at your spiritual birth, which began when you initially believed in Christ, and continues through your life until God removes you from this world.
It is during this time that God gives you in this life, that you have the opportunity to prepare yourself for the real destination and end of your journey, which is eternity.
So, never quit, never give up, always pick yourself up, always try to maintain your obligations to self and to others as God expects of you, and keep on pushing forward toward your God given goal toward the completion of your life.
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