Wednesday February 24th, 2021
Memorize: 1 John 5:3 Contemporary English Versions (CEV)
« We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow. »
Read: John 14:21-24 Good News Translations (GNT)
21 “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.
My Father will love those who love me;
I too will love them and reveal myself to them.”
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said,
“Lord, how can it be that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him,
“Those who love me will obey my teaching.
My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.
24 Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching.
And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.
Message:
God our Father, the creator of the world, always knows what is best for us.
He knows how we should conduct ourselves and live a perfect life.
In the beginning (after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden), man became a free moral agent, doing whatever pleased him. However, because man is a spirit, he began to experience a deep spiritual yearning for his Creator whom he lost connection with, due to the fall.
The Bible says in Genesis 4:26ESV that
« At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. »
However, due to Men’s sinful nature, they could not call upon God effectively on their own terms. To bridge this gap and help man do it right, God gave the Ten Commandments using the Israelites as the initial recipients.
These commandments help us to know the general will of God for us daily.
Jesus gave the basic summary of the commandments in Matthew 22:37-40 NLT:
37 Jesus replied,
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your mind.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.
According to our memory verse, the commandments of God are not burdensome. However, the fallen nature of man prompts people to do everything against God’s will now and again. Jesus said in John 14:21 NIV
« Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. »
The Bible verse above is a great litmus test.
Do you really love God?
You cannot claim to love God if you do not have His commandments in your heart (Psalms 119:11).
You cannot claim to love God if you do not obey His commandments (John 14:15).
If we love God indeed, it will show in our obedience to His commandments which are not grievous, especially when compared to the weight and consequences of sin.
Prayer point: Lord, help me access the grace to obey Your commandments, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Text edited by Naomie
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