Love the Lord, Keep His Word


Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
(John 14:23)

“If anyone loves me,” Jesus said, not limiting or excluding anyone from any race, creed, color or national origin, from coming to him. His arms are wide open to all who wish to experience the greatest love they will ever know. Since turning my life over to him, I have never felt alone again. He is always with me, through tests and trials. Through the highs and lows of life he is just a quick prayer away. His will for me is to rely on him for my every need. He goes before me through his Spirit, and if I let him, he makes my way straight. I need him every day. His Word sustains me, his Spirit protects me, and his love is warm and enduring. Whenever I fail him, his patience is never ending.
Because I love him, I am compelled by my desire to please him by obeying his commands. I’m not even close to being where I want to be in that respect, but I still try every day to faithfully follow Christ. Among other things, he has commanded me to serve my fellow man. That is my mission in this life, to help anyone I can. I do that through support of certain missionaries from around the world. I assist with a ministry at church to help our membership when they need our help. I didn't become a Christian, so I could shut myself away from this wicked world and just read my Bible.
I am also commanded to make new disciples, baptizing them into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I can’t do that if all I’m doing is sitting in a church pew on Sunday, and nothing else. I can’t do that if I never share my testimony with anyone. I can’t do that if I don’t show Christ’s love with the most unloved people I meet. I am not the one who saves them, only the blood of Jesus can do that. It’s my duty to plant the seeds of truth in the hearts of unbelievers and let the Lord do the work on their hardened hearts. Then, I must come along side and disciple them toward Christian maturity.
The Father loved me before I loved him. However, his love for me now is like that for an adopted son. Now that I am a child of God, His Spirit lives in me. The Holy Spirit is the quiet voice whispering to me whether I've done something wrong. He is my guide through life. If I am listening, he will keep me from slipping up before they even happen. He helps me pray to the Father when I can't find the words. He helps me to perceive the meanings of difficult to understand passages of scripture. I will be eternally grateful for Jesus being willing to die for me, even though I didn't deserve it in the least.




Lord God, we praise and glorify your name. You provided us a way to be redeemed to you by giving us Jesus. We will be eternally grateful for your gesture of love and compassion. Give us an unwavering desire to follow the path of righteousness you have laid out in your Word. We have given you our hearts and welcome you to come in to lead us in our daily lives. The commands that Jesus gave us (Matthew 22:37-39) before he ascended to you are what guides us today. To love you, Father, with all our hearts, souls, and minds; and to love our neighbors as ourselves. You are the greatest example of love, so we cannot expect your Spirit to live in our hearts if we do not have love for you or our neighbor. The presence of your Spirit gives us the desire to share the good news with the lost souls all around us. Help us to avoid our natural inhibitions that make us afraid to talk about Jesus to the unsaved. It’s in his precious name, we pray. Amen!
Location: Lyndonville, NY 14098, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotional for May 12 - May 18

Image
To all my readers: I am changing this blog to a weekly format. I am being forced to do it this way because this blog site is saying my blog is too short to continue publishing. I purposely try to keep it short so you will have time to read it every day. I hope you will understand and keep reading. Thank you, Brad Hopkins May 12 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) Meditation Before I was saved, I worked in a very competitive environment. Many of my co-workers were very jealous of the accomplishments of others. I have to confess; I too would get that green-eyed feeling if I didn’t get promoted when I thought I deserved it. Outwardly, I showed a happy face. I would congratulate the person who was recognized or promoted, but inwardly I was terribly envious. I received as many promotions as most in my career field, but I couldn’t rejoice for others because of jealousy and covetousness. I didn’t know how to deal with grief s...
Read more

Preach the Word

Image
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2) Meditation I used to think it was only the pastors job to preach the Word of God. I’m not a preacher, so it didn’t occur to me to share the gospel. However, this verse does not say, “Preachers, preach the word.” Whether you realize it or not, we are all ministers of the gospel. We have been charged with the awesome task of telling everyone about Jesus and why he went to the cross. When Jesus gave the “Great Commission,” to make disciples of all nations; he wasn’t just talking to his own disciples. He was speaking to every one of us. There is no other mission or calling more important than that for us. Even if we go to church every Sunday, but do nothing else, we’re not in the game; we’re just spectators. Jesus doesn’t want fans, he wants followers. Whether we’re in church or somewhere else, we’re responsible t...
Read more

Think About Heavenly Things

Image
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) Why have I spent so much time filling my mind with garbage? I’ve read unclean jokes or off-color cartoons and shared them on social media. I used to go to movies or watch things on television that are detestable to the Lord and thought nothing of it. My baser instincts are to gravitate toward the impure offerings of our entertainment industry. How can I, as a Christian, live a righteous life if I’m continuously feeding on the poisonous filth of this world? Instead, I should look for and promote the things that are wholesome and good. My money and time have power if I, as Christians, refuse to support the immorality that Hollywood puts out. If my ticket money, along with other Christians, is used to support good family entertainment, the fat cats in ...
Read more