Day 99

We are still looking at the characteristics of those that get the Word deep into their hearts so that their confessions are true. Today, we consider effort. Effort can be defined as "exertion of physical or mental power." We all know what effort is; ever see someone struggle to accomplish something? What you see is a gritty determined focus that will not quit. They have an objective in mind and they won't stop until the objective is accomplished. I remember studying for the Bar Exam. It was 14 hours a day for several months. It occupied most of my waking moments. However, it was the only way to pass; time had to be spent or failure was assured.

The truth is that, for the most part, we all do what we want, i.e. we make time to do the things we want to do. We may be sick enough to keep us from church but not sick enough to keep us from the movies. Our eye sight may make it difficult to read the Bible, but we have no problem reading the television selections for the evening. We may complain that we can't afford to give to the work of God but we have money to eat out or buy new clothes. Do you see the point? We exercise effort to do the things our heart desires.

What about effort to build yourselves up in the faith? 2 Peter 1: 5 says: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge...." Albert Barnes said: "It is the duty of every Christian to make the highest possible attainments in knowledge." We have a duty to use effort to increase our knowledge of God which will primarily come from being in His Word. If you want to know something about someone, listen to what they say. The same applies to God; if you want to know what He says about something, use some effort and add some knowledge to your faith. When you do, your confessions will be true because they are coming from a heart with the Word deeply rooted in it.