I said to my son last week when he said he was feeling like a cold was trying to get him, “do you have any Olive Leaf?” He replied that he thought they did, so I told him to take some.
The next time I asked him how he was feeling and he said his throat was sore. I asked if he had taken any Olive Leaf capsules.
He said they have some but he had not taken it yet.
Well, did that not turn into a great teaching moment! So I explained to him….
You know if you have something that you know might help you, and you look at it, just like the Olive Leaf bottle, looking at it will not do a thing for you. You actually have to pick it up, open it and take a couple capsules before anything might happen.
Like God’s Word, the Bible. You can look at it sitting on the shelf or on the table but looking at it will not do a thing for you. You must actually pick it up and open it and start reading it in order to get any benefits from it.
It does not stop there. You can read God’s Word and know God’s Word but unless you actually digest it, like the Olive Leaf, that is take it inside of you and agree with it, believe in it and take God at face value, you receive it, it will still not do anything for you.
You can be a great Biblical scholar and still not have an intimate knowledge of who God is and who He is for you. Knowing something and knowing about something does not necessarily mean it will work for you.
Satan and the demons know God’s Word, probably better than most of us. Satan is a believer, but he is not a Christian, a follower of Jesus – there is a difference. So yes, you can know all about God, His Word and still not be on the right track.
Jesus Christ died on a cross as a sacrifice for all mankind. He bought and paid for your salvation and redemption with His body and blood. Did you know that you can know that but unless you take it a step further, it will not “save” you? In order to be saved, that is to have your name written in the God’s book of life, you must “receive” Jesus’ gift of salvation.
You can know about salvation but unless you receive and reach out and take it, it is like looking at the vitamin bottle on the counter and hoping it works for you.
Jesus’ own words in the book of John 3:3, said that a man must be “born again” to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Just like you have a physical birth, you must have a spiritual birth, that is the taking Jesus’ gift of salvation, receiving it inside of you, believing it.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
There is an action that we must do with the gift of salvation. First we need to confess it, talk about it, share that Jesus is Lord and then secondly to believe in our hearts. To believe something in your heart, you need to know that you know, it is a deep-set belief that is unshakeable. It requires more than reading about it on a page or looking at it on a page, it requires something of you.
Do I allow God access to my life 100% of the time? Will I go where He says go? Will I act when He says act? Will I talk when He says talk – you know to that stranger over there in the salad section of the grocery store……..
Oh that, that uncomfortable thing of living out my faith in a way that others will publicly see me and hear me, that could be an issue, couldn’t it? It is one thing to “know” about God but to be uncomfortable in public, with strangers, even with our family members that could be different. This is how we are called to live as followers of Jesus, it requires one hundred percent being “in”, following His lead, giving Him the true title as our King of Kings. He must lead and I must follow that lead.
How am I with the fact that God will never leave me or forsake me? What I see in front of me that might say otherwise, and this truly has been tested in my world, the past few months.
I must believe and receive that God is who He says He is, the author and perfector of life, the creator of the entire universe, the maker of you and me. When we know this one, I mean really know this one…. Not much can shake us. When we really get this one, we realize that no one can throw God off His throne no matter how loudly they yell, or tell you otherwise. God cannot be surprised or fooled. This fact alone should alleviate all stress and anxiety in your life – does it?
I have a bit of an analogy about politics and Olive Leaf. Much like looking at the bottle of Olive Leaf on the counter is like looking to politics to help you. We put all our hope, our dreams into the hands of politicians to change our life, our country. We form allegiances to a party or a politician. May I very carefully and respectfully add, the Olive Leaf will not “save” you, it might help some symptoms, but it will not save you. Jesus is the only one who has that title.
A political party, or politician cannot save you, oh they might be able to change a few things, alleviate some symptoms, but they cannot save you. Only Jesus can do that.
When we align ourselves and our hearts to anything other than Jesus, including politics it is like staring at the Olive Leaf bottle and praying it will save you from the pestilence without ever opening the bottle.
I am NOT saying politics is bad, or even that we should not care about politics, rather I am suggesting we look at what we have aligned and attached our hearts to, politics, money, people, our jobs, ourselves – we all have something that fights for our hearts attention.
Before I end this blog, I can hear the question: What is Olive Leaf?
Olive Leaf is a herbal supplement that is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal – it is something that I have on hand all the time from the Health Food Store, it is in capsule form and it works! My boys have taken it since they were in school where germ infestations abound!
Olive Leaf and The Bible – two things that can help you if you allow them to by taking them, reading about them, and digesting them. You get to choose: staring at them on the counter or opening the book or bottle.
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