Bonnie Hacker

Good Morning, Please join me for a daily scripture break. Proverbs 15:33: “Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.” AND Proverbs 22:4: “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life." Over the next couple of posts, we will examine the topic of humility.  To be steely, godly warriors, we must anchor our lives with the virtue of humility. Let’s begin with definitions. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines humility as “freedom from pride or arrogance.”  That’s perfect! This is a great place to start our discussion. In Proverbs 8:13, it says, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” That’s a very powerful declaration and that’s exactly what we need to do. These two verses, Proverbs 15:33 and 22:4, are linked together.  It is very wise to fear the Lord and HUMILITY is (by definition) the fear of the Lord.  We’ve studied the concept of being a slave to righteousness; humility is one of the most important virtues to cultivate in our Christian journey. So what does humility look like? In Philippians 2:5-8, Jesus models the perfect example for us. The passage says, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" That is the pinnacle of humility.  Now it is crystal clear how important this virtue is and why it is mocked by our society.  Humility is regarded as weakness and bravado is lauded as strength by our cultural norms. When you face a challenge in life or a set of circumstances that represents “soft persecution,” consider this passage.  We’d like to think we are humbled Christians. In James 4:14-16, he asks, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”  To highly regard God’s Will and then “do this or that” is evidence of true humility. If we stop and think about it, we are so deceived sometimes. People hurl insults at us on X, call us names, ridicule us in front of others and we are incensed and ready to vehemently defend ourselves; I'm guilty. Then the Holy Spirit gets my undivided attention.  This is soft persecution; is not even a small trial, compared to Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8). If we are conducting ourselves in accordance with His Will (James 1:2-4, I Peter 1:6-7, Romans 8:28); then continue to strive to be a slave to righteousness.  In these circumstances of “soft persecution", seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and be obedient to His instruction.  We’ve talked about handing over our cares to Him in previous posts. I find great comfort in Matthew 11:29-30, where it says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Jesus tangentially reiterates our assignment as Christians is to imitate His Nature (“gentle and humble in heart.”) I will leave you with two thoughts. First, never mistake humility for timidity or fear.  Secondly, false humility is based in pride and arrogance.  We will continue our study tomorrow. Have a blessed day. Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning, Please join me for a daily scripture break. (It is a little long). James 5:16-18: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” To begin, the context of this passage is important, as the preceding verses were discussing offering prayers for the sick. Offering prayers for one another in the Body of Christ is quite commonplace.  But note the poignant instruction in this passage is to 1. Confess your sins/(repent) then 2. pray.  When you did those two things then the prayer was answered for healing.  Then James recounts the story of Elijah (God’s prophet) who announces a drought upon Israel and he prayed for it not to rain for 3 and 1/2 years.  God honored his prayer then he prayed and the rain came. (I Kings 17-18) Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines being righteous as …"acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin”. A “righteous” person is one who seeks to consistently live their lives in pursuit of holiness, humbly confesses their sins, repents of their sins and earnestly seek forgiveness from the Lord thereby restoring their guilt free state of grace, seeks to obey the commandments of God, and loves God and their neighbor as themselves. I think it is so important to stop and recognize what is being said here.  Ad infinitum, we can dawdle and lament about the decline and deconstruction of Western culture, the de-Christianization of our culture, the relentlessly touted failed atheistic political ideologies as some kind of faux hope to the obvious decline of civilization. To change this destructive course "righteous people must take a stand.”  God didn’t invoke the help of politicians, academicians, so-called subject matter experts, the ultra wealthy or technology gurus to solve these problems.  In today’s passage God asks us (His people who are righteous - in right standing with Him) to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness (this action reaffirms our right standing in the Lord Jesus) and then pray. Please listen.  Too many Christian people just gloss over this and remain focused on what is wrong in their circumstances. I’m guilty of this failing too.  We as the Body of Christ have to get serious about this because God is listening for our prayer and watching for our obedience. He is waiting for His Body to demonstrate the same consistency and faithfulness as Elijah, God’s prophet of old.  Elijah prayed for three and half years for it not to rain (as he was told to do) and then when he followed God’s instruction to pray for rain - Elijah did what God instructed and God answered the prayer.  This brings to mind another scripture that clearly leads us in the right direction. Recall II Chronicles 7:14, it says, "if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Satan’s tactic here is to overwhelm us with a constant barrage of information, bad news of catastrophes from all over the world, ubiquitous wars and deadly crises, etc. All of this in an effort to distract us from what God requires from His people. II Chronicles 7:14 describes a very similar framework as today’s passage: 1. “Righteous” people (the Body of Christ) must stand and do the following 2. As Christians -  we must be humble ourselves 3. Pray 3. Seek the Lord’s face in other words, (confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, seek how and what the Lord wants us to pray through the guidance of the Holy Spirit) 4. Turn from our wicked ways (Repent) 5. THEN God will hear our prayer 6. Forgive our sin (a prerequisite to answering our prayer) 7. God will heal our land (answer our prayers). No one else in our culture can do this but believers. Let’s look at the verse more intently. There are people who would be outraged by my last statement - “No one else in our culture can do this but believers.”  Well, verse 14 begins with IF MY PEOPLE - NOT if everyone, or good people, or law abiding citizens - No!  It clearly says “IF MY PEOPLE” - who are called by MY NAME (just in case there was any confusion); these are the people tasked to follow the instruction outlined in this verse. God asks us to humble ourselves - to acknowledge that we are completely incapable of fighting these demonic forces in our own strength and that we acknowledge it is God alone Who is capable of correcting the chaotic disorder all around us. God asks us to pray and seek His Face. Christians should prayerfully and fervently petition the Lord to hear our confession of our sins - grant us forgiveness for our offenses and ALSO show us though the guidance of the Holy Spirit how and what to pray.  Elijah prayed for three and half years for no rain - (that’s what God instructed). Then Elijah prayed for rain (when God instructed) AND GOD ANSWERED HIS PRAYER. God instructed Elijah on the "how, what, when, where” for this prayer for the sake of an entire nation (does that remind you of anything?). I Thessalonians 5:17 says, “pray without ceasing…”  The Body of Christ must pray continually for our nation.  If we don’t no one else will. Repentance.  The final prerequisite before God agrees to act.  We must remain committed to our relationship with God. We can’t vacillate between the world and God. James 4:4 says, "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” Endeavor to avoid sin and obey the Word of God. With these requirements in place (requirements that can only be met by His People - THEN the Lord can act.) THEN GOD WILL HEAR OUR PRAYER!  Stop for a moment and consider. God hears your prayer when these prescribed conditions are met.  In I Peter 3:7, husbands are given instructions how their wives are to be treated “...so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”  The point is unless we approach God meeting these prerequisites He articulated He doesn’t even hear our prayer (His people’s prayers). LET’S CONTINUE,  GOD HEARD THE PRAYER AND THEN GOD PROMISES TO FORGIVE OUR SINS. THEN GOD WILL (IN THIS CASE) HEAL OUR LAND. The Body of Christ must remain vigilant on a daily basis praying for our country, our families and friends, and communities, the Body of Christ, and the rest of the world.  From these verses James 5:16-18 and II Chronicles 7:14, God requires His people to follow these instructions and then God will move on our behalf.  Elijah had to faithfully pray in order to in God’s timing, receive further instructions from God in order to grant his petition.  Elijah had to be faithful in his prayer life and so do we. I believe it is this faithfulness to God’s instructions that makes the prayer of a righteous person -  “powerful and effective”.  No force on this planet can stop your prayer. We are His children and He loves us but we must be obedient to His instruction. Your political foes, atheistic ideologies, criminals, adversaries,…no one can hinder your prayers - only your disobedience. God is waiting on us - the Body of Christ to "be doers of the Word and not hearers only.” (James 1:22) Let’s pledge today to make this a daily priority - listen carefully to the Holy Spirit for His instructions. For those of you who are already doing this faithfully - thank you. May God bless you and your family. Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning, Please join me for a daily scripture break. Psalm 19:7–11: "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Ever so often, I will hear a comedian or actor lament “God (or ‘religious’ people) doesn’t / (don’t) want you to have any fun.”  What a ridiculous assertion. It isn’t that God doesn’t want you to have fun. God knows “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) - which results in eternal separation from Him. The world doesn’t understand the dangers of sin.  James 1:14-16 tells us, "but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.”  That is the best scriptural explanation of how temptation occurs that I am aware of. So “this fun (also known as sin)” God is warning us about will eventually lead us to eternal damnation. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t believe that but Christians know better. Now, let’s examine Psalm 19. It is a beautiful reflection of the goodness of God and it poetically describes the positive effects of "God’s rules."  Although the world characterizes “the law of the Lord, the statutes, the precepts, the commands, the fear of the Lord, the decrees" as restrictive and oppressive to them, is anyone surprised the Word of God paints a completely opposite portrait of these godly standards?  I learned long ago, whenever God comes on the scene He always brings peace, healing and renewal (it emanates from Him) - as a result, we benefit physically, mentally, and spiritually. Psalm 19 describes the effects of God’s Standards on us. Please reread the passage again. 1. The law of the Lord described as (perfect) - refreshes the soul. 2. The statues of the Lord described as (trustworthy) - makes the simple wise. 3. The precepts of the Lord described as (right) - give joy to the heart. 4. The commands of the Lord described as (radiant) - give light to the eyes. 5. The fear of the Lord described as (pure) - endures forever. 6. The decrees of the Lord described as (firm) - are righteous. Does this sound restrictive and oppressive? Of course not. At the end of our days, these standards will lead us to spending eternity with our Lord (the great reward). What a magnificent God we serve. Amen. Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning, You are cordially invited to join me for a daily scripture break. John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Many of you know the legal proceedings for the person accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk started this week.  It has been almost a year since Charlie was killed.  It seems like a lifetime ago in many ways. Charlie brought God’s hope to young people; a rarity in our chaotic world. Today’s scripture powerfully stands like an erect pillar of strength our God promises us.  I catch myself smiling when I recognize God’s wisdom and defiance in His Word. Conventionally we would normally arm ourselves with physical weapons and/or spiritual virtues that represent might and courage; in order to mentally and spiritually prepare ourselves for a battle.  This verse is so very special. God recognizes the sorrow many of us carry in our hearts surrounding Charlie’s death. Please slowly read the verse again. God tenderly arms us with His Peace as He mocks the world’s hubris.   He instructs us "do not let your hearts be troubled or be afraid.”   I admittedly am saddened by the graphic memories of that day and this impending trial will flood our minds with those horrific images once again but God is deliberately arming us with His Peace, not the world’s understanding of peace. Christians have an obligation to straighten our backs, submerge our minds and hearts in God’s Word, and dutifully put on the Armor of God daily. (Ephesians 6:10-18) We are charged to make a decision of obedience with God’s Grace, prepare, and take action. Please meditate on these foundational scriptures below as they will reinvigorate you. 1. Psalm 55:22, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” 2. Jeremiah 10:23, “ Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” 3. Psalm 119:105, “Your Word is a lamp for my feet,  a light on my path.” 4. II Corinthians 12:9, “ But He said to me, ‘My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” 5. Matthew 21:22, “ If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” 6. Isaiah 26:3, “ You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” 7. Ephesians 2:10, “ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 8. Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” 9. Matthew 11:28, “ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” 10. John 16:33, “ I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.  In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” God’s Peace is a mighty weapon; a weapon of perfection that can not be defeated. Embrace His Peace.  The world would never view peace as a weapon, yet as we obediently accept His Peace our action signifies our complete trust in our Lord. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9) In the coming days, please offer prayers of comfort and strength for Charlie’s family. Have a blessed day. Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning! You are welcome to join me for a daily scripture break.  Please read this very slowly. It’s long, very long.  I divided the post into three sections so you can absorb the “meat” of the message and feel free to read the post over the next couple of days. Proverbs 16:2: “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” Section 1. A reliable ability to honestly assess ourselves eludes most of us.  Let’s take the time and seriously consider if we are actually capable of honestly assessing ourselves.  In this passage it accurately describes our tendency to be very compassionate towards ourselves - letting ourselves off the hook when we deserve judgment. However, here's the jaw dropping reality - in the end, we can almost convince ourselves of just about anything but the Lord will weigh (examine and judge) our motives.  Interestingly, this verse didn’t highlight our evil deeds, our vast knowledge of Him, how long we've practiced our faith, what a good person we are, etc.  No, it is the motive (whether good or evil) found in our hearts that the Lord that will assess to decide our fate - our consequences. Well that’s sobering.  Our secret motives (when we are jealous or envious of a brother or sister in Christ) are completely obscured from every other human being if we choose to hide them. No one can read your mind or heart and the false outward appearance we project to others often conceals the treachery in our hearts.   I know I have often quoted “...you will know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16-20) However, we are all capable of concealing our motives even if only but for a time. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines motive as “ something (such as a need or desire) that causes a person to act.”  The Cambridge Dictionary defines motive as “a reason for doing something.”  I think if these definitions are combined then we can fully comprehend how motives function in our lives.  In Lamentations 3:40, it says,  “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” That’s great advice. Only God can help us render our heart with pure intentions. In Psalms 139:23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Fervently asking the Lord to examine us takes a great confidence and love for God - “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me….”  Wow!  Pause for a moment - are you really prepared at this very moment to ask God to answer this prayer? Here are few scriptures that decipher for us the importance of pruning our hearts: 1.  I Chronicles 28:9, “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and thought.” 2.  Matthew 15:18-19, “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts - murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Section 2. Why does the Lord relegate the responsibility to judge our hearts only for Himself? We find the answer in I Samuel 16:7, it says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." To give you some context - God has rejected Saul as the King of Israel. God wanted David anointed as King by Samuel. This verse also reveals a limitation of our legal system.  We can never ascertain a person’s true motives without their admission - we can infer from circumstances or physical actions but not with absolute certainty, and we can only judge with a reasonableness standard.  Some may disagree but only God is capable of discerning the true condition of our hearts. Here are a few scriptures elucidating God’s right to judge our hearts: 1.  Isaiah 29:13, “The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.’”  I've periodically ask myself, am I practicing a form of religion? 2.  Luke 6:45 says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." 3.  Jeremiah 17:10, “I, the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” When the Lord performs His examination He rewards what He finds good or bad. Section 3. This is what is so important about keeping your heart pure before God.  In Proverbs 4:23, it says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” THIS is the salient scripture with no ambiguity why a pure heart is so vital.  The phrase, “above all else” gives you a red flag to slow down and pay attention closely. Psalms 24:4-5, “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god, they will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.” This passage hints at the condition by which you will receive “blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior” and that is a believer must abandon any “idol” or “swear by a false god”.  What is an idol? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “idol” as “ an object of extreme devotion; a representation or symbol of an object of worship”.  In the biblical sense - an idol is anything or anyone that usurps God’s primacy in your life.  Remember the first three of the Ten Commandments? So our job is to roll up our sleeves and shine a bright spotlight on our hearts. Our goal is to cleanse our hearts of any evil; thus aligning our hearts with God’s Word. 1.  In Matthew 5:8, it says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” 2.  James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” 3.  I John 3:3, “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” Do you ever wonder why people can be so utterly distasteful.  Well, these passages above explain it.  Sometimes, I’m truly bewildered by the abhorrent uncivil behavior of people - vehemently demeaning people they are engaging without remorse or pause on social media. It's fine to disagree - just be aware. Recall Matthew 12:34, it says, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”    To remind you of the context, in this chapter of Matthew, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees regarding the demon-possessed man.  They were testing Jesus and Jesus was extremely angry at the evil embedded in their hearts.  In verse 34, Jesus reveals a priceless nugget of wisdom - “out of the mouth the heart speaks.”  When someone berates your character and competence mercilessly on social media because you have challenged their narrative remember this passage.  It isn’t just true for Pharisees. Alas, this is a sobering message. Do you trust yourself to be completely honest with yourself? Don’t give Satan a foothold.  Cultivating a pure heart takes honesty, determination, consistency, and commitment to the Lord. We can’t honestly to do this without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  Many Christians gloss over this one and give themselves a break.  Don’t take the easy road.  This is one of the reasons the path to heaven is through a narrow gate. I pray God helps all of us to be teachable, humble, and grateful. Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning, Let’s take a daily scripture break together. II Cor 10: 3-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I thought it would be interesting to approach our scripture break in a different format today. If there are any new believers out there, I thought this post may help you craft a comfortable rhythm to your daily devotionals. When I'm studying a passage of scripture I’ll follow these steps to try and gain a clearer understanding of the author’s intention under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Step 1. Read the passage three times slowly. Step 2. Dissect each sentence and formulate a question that will help clarify its meaning. Then search the scriptures for the answers to these questions. Step 3. Identify the items we as believers are tasked to do. Step 4. Identify the blessings God promises if we are obedient. Step 5. Identify how these passages strengthen my Christian worldview. Step 6. Assess what you learned. Let’s examine each step with regard to II Cor 10:3-5. 1. Step 1 - read the scripture three times. 2. Step 2 - Sentence #1 - How does the world wage war? Sentence #2 - What are the weapons we as Christians are to use?  Sentence #3 - What is a stronghold? Sentence #4 - What are examples of arguments and pretensions that oppose the knowledge of God? Sentence #5 - What does it mean to take a thought captive? 3. Step 3 - a. We live in the world, b. We wage war with divine weapons, c. We demolish arguments and EVERY pretension that opposes the knowledge of God, d. We take every thought captive. 4. Step 4 - If we are obedient to these instructions - we will not waste our time falling prey to the deceptions of the world with their failed strategies but live in the light of God’s Word. 5. Step 5 - When we complete Steps 1-4, then we’re positioned to establish and propagate a rightly discerned Christian worldview. 6. Step 6 - Re-read the passage again. Do you have a deeper understanding of the verses? This is one of several techniques I use to study the Word of God. I hope it's helpful for some of you. This isn’t the only way to study the Bible but I find it particularly useful with passages packed with godly wisdom and knowledge. In a few days, I'll share my what I discovered using the technique regarding this passage. Everyone is welcomed to share "their study techniques". Peace and be prepared.

Good Morning, Please join me for a daily scripture break.  Today is Good Friday, a day for somber reflection. Matthew 27:11-54, Please take a few minutes and read with prayerful reflection, the Book of Matthew's account of Jesus’ Passion, Crucifixion and Death. Today, I would like to strongly encourage everyone some time between noon and 3pm, please stop what you are doing. With a moment of silence, prayerfully consider Jesus’ sacrifice - His Passion, Crucifixion, and Death. He obeyed the Will of God and submitted Himself to the cross. He paid the debt for our sins because He loved us.   Please also offer a prayer of thanksgiving and praise for the eternal gift of redemption because there is no other way to enter eternal life with Him except by Him. May God bless you, your family, and our Nation. Peace and be prepared.

Let's pause for a daily scripture break. Proverbs 3 : 7-8, "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." Many of you are experienced bible readers. You are well-acquainted with the many styles of prose in the bible. The Book of Proverbs is replete with poetic prose, allegories, and a specific style of writing using conditional sentences. There are four types of conditional sentences (please explore on your own). That's why it's important study some verses together to ascertain the full meaning of the scripture. For those interested, here's how I approach these conditional passages. You may use other techniques. 1. Identify the verses that are linked together by asking what is the subject of text? 2. Next, I define the "If" clause - what are the prerequisites or conditions of the text? In this text, If I - a. am not wise in my own eyes (practice humility); b. fear the Lord (be reverent in my thoughts and actions towards God); and c. turn away from evil (reject everything God deems as evil). 3. The next step, I define the "THEN" clause. What happens if I meet those requirements? Usually God will announce the blessings or sometimes punishment He gives to those who are obedient or disobedient. In this case, a. I will experience healing in my body; and b. I will experience refreshment to my bones. I keep a journal of specific words or topic studies to glean a deeper understanding of God's expectations. I hope this was helpful. Peace and be prepared.