How important is it?

How important is it to have a relationship with Jesus?  How important is it to be in God's word consistently?  From a Common Christian perspective, what is the benefit?  Are we just talking way off in the future, eternity stuff or are we talking here and now stuff?

Both!  Because a lot of what we do here and now can affect where we end up in eternity.  Let me give you a practical example.  I have been reading Jeremiah lately.  The prophet Jeremiah had told the people that God had said for them to give up and go into captivity in Babylon, that those that stay in Judah or those that flee to Egypt will die.  There are others prophesying that it is OK to stay in Judah or flee to Egypt. 

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Jeremiah 14:14-16(NKJV)

And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 

And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

Jeremiah 43:1-7(NKJV)

1Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words, 

2that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’ 

3But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” 

4So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. 

5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven—

6men, women, children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 

7So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.

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So you have a "he said - they said" thing going on here.  And think about it, to the average person back then, Jeremiah's prophecy made the least sense.  He was telling them to give up and submit to their enemy.  The others were all saying fight on or escape the other way but don't give up to the enemy.  As an average person living your life back then, how would you know who to listen to?  Remember, they didn't all have Bibles at home back then.

Did it make a difference who you listened to?  What were the consequences of listening to the wrong person?  Death!  That's pretty serious.  This is sometimes hard for people to understand but even though we have a loving God,  He warns us that sometimes there are serious consequences to ignoring Him. 

How is this applicable for today?  We are going through historic times right now, in our own country as well as around the world.  We need to be doing all that we can to ensure that we are staying in tune with God's will and God's word.  We need to be able to discern which prophets to listen to and which ones to reject.  And when we realize that there are sometimes real life consequences like life and death, it becomes vitally important that we have the best tools at our disposal to help us discern who to listen to. 

The best chance you have in my opinion is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit to help guide us!