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“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15 NASB)
I’ve noticed over the years that the amount I floss directly increases when I know I am going to see my dentist. Don’t get me wrong. I know I should floss, and I know how to…but I still find it hard to keep motivated until my appointment is near. My dentist tells me, “Keith, you should floss more.” I know this, but after a few weeks, I fall off the wagon. I’ve concluded that my obedience to what my dentist tells me is hard when I only see him twice a year.
You know, I’ve noticed the same principle with my obedience to the Lord. I obey Him…
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law ?” And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'” This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'” On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NASB)
Let’s talk about priorities. Who receives your focused attention? What is at the top of your daily list of things to do? According to Jesus, our love for our Lord should occupy our affection, desires, thoughts, and actions. The LORD our God is first, and after that, we should love others…
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV84)
It’s great reading about the life of King David in the Bible. While he came from humble beginnings, and seems to have been the “runt of the litter” among his older brothers, God made him into one of the greatest warriors and kings of all time.
Why did God pick this unassuming shepherd boy to become king? The Bible says that God saw something within David’s heart––a desire to love God.
David learned to trust God even more than himself or worldly powers. He took the leap of faith required to have a meaningful relationship with God. It was the ideal Father/Son relationship.
After years of respect, love and obedience to his Father, David was finally established as King of Israel. He…
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (Romans 3:23 NASB)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NASB)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)
While I was in college, I sold books door-to-door one summer as a way to earn some money. It was a hard job. We had been trained to deliver a sales pitch at every door. As a Christian, we have been given an assignment from God to deliver a message (found concisely in the three verses above). That message is to…
“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40 NIV84)
Luke clearly distinguishes between the objective of teaching and discipleship. When I was in college, chances were if I had an 8 am course on the other side of campus, I would buy the “Cliffs Notes” and rarely show up for class except for the exams. Why? Because my objective was to gain a mastery of the material, not to mirror any professor. Some of us take a “Cliffs Notes” approach to our faith. We buy, and even study, the Bible, commentaries, and other books about our faith. We may even gain a certain mastery of the material. But,…
In chapter one of Multiply Francis Chan says, “Love for God and obedience to Christ cannot be separated.” That is a bold statement by Chan, but one that is backed up by Jesus’s own words in John 14:15. There, He says to His disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Our love for Christ is demonstrated by a lifestyle of obedience to everything Jesus has commanded. Neither Chan nor Jesus is talking about a life of sinless perfection. We know that only Jesus could perfectly fulfill every part of God’s holy law. However, we see that genuine love for the Lord Jesus will necessarily result in a sincere (albeit imperfect) walk of faith-filled obedience to Him.
Does…