What Do You Know?

Romans 8:28 starts off by saying, "And we know...". This phrase is full of hope to me because it says that there is actually the ability to have certainty in my life even when things really don't seem to look like it.

Paul wrote this letter (The Book of Romans) to the Roman church fifty-seven years after Jesus was raised from the dead, and Paul was also finishing his third missionary journey at this point. So I'm pretty sure that what he was writing about he had lived out in personal experiences following the Lord. Remember, Paul was beaten, stoned and left for dead on numerous occasions, so we can believe that he had a little bit of knowledge about what he was writing.

While thinking about those three little words, the thought came to me, "What do you know?", which got me to thinking, there is a lot of stuff rattling around in my head at any given time, but it's the stuff that I know that actually helps me to overcome in this life. For instance, I know that Jesus loves me, but do I walk in that daily? Not if I'm whining about how hard things are, because He is the One who said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." So if I find myself whining, then I'm not really operating out of what I know am I?

It's not just what you know that will put you over in this life. It's what you know, and do. In John 5:39 - 40, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees (The guys who were the "play by the rules" police) and He tells them that they are searching the Scriptures looking for eternal life, but all the Scriptures pointed to Jesus and they wouldn't believe Him. So you see, it's not just what you know, but also what you do with what you know. And for me, that is the hardest part, the doing.

One thing though that I love about God, and I try and emulate daily is that He never asks anyone to do anything that they do not have the ability to do. This tells me that I can take "what I know" and turn it into "what I do", and in so doing that I will become the disciple that He is looking for. Get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom of God today!