God's Word Changes LivesSample

IMMOVABLE

Early in his life, my sensei wrote a karate book that would become a bestseller, not surprisingly, since he was not only an excellent practitioner of martial arts but also a gifted communicator.

This would be his only book; he never wrote another one. His reasoning was simple. “You cannot learn karate from a book. You can only learn karate by practicing. Your book can’t help when somebody attacks you with a knife.”

It turns out that he’s not the first teacher who understood that you could only learn by doing. Jesus said the same thing about two thousand years before Nishiyama Sensei did.

By the end of the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded his audience that his faithful followers practiced what they learned. The false teachers can preach similar lessons and perform similar miracles. Still, they will not live the life of his disciples. Their rotten trees will never bear our good fruits.

But we practice what Jesus taught us for more than just identification purposes. We do what he says because these things are true. Because when we obey, our lives are transformed. When we obey, good things happen. And the more we obey, the more we see God’s blessings flowing in our lives.

Most importantly, we can survive our trials and tribulations when we obey. The false prophets don’t like to talk about problems, but they are still a part of our lives. And the only way we survive is by practicing what Jesus has taught us. Reading the Bible will not solve our problems, nor will teaching the Bible. We can only find our refuge by practicing his word.

So maybe you are facing something bigger than you’ve seen before. Don’t be afraid. Pray. Start reading the Bible. But don’t stop there. Practice what you read. And when the wind blows, and when the water rises, you will not be moved.