John 15:10-12… “IfyoukeepMycommandments, youwillabide in Mylove, just as I have kept My Father’scommandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, thatMyjoy may remain in you, and thatyourjoy may be full. 12 This is Mycommandment, that youlove one another as I have lovedyou.” (NKJV)
We see throughout the Gospels, that Jesus was always obedient to the will of His Father in heaven…even obedient to the point of His death on the cross…Philippians 2:8… Jesus’ obedience to His Father brought Him great joy…and we see Jesus urging His redeemed children to find this same joy through obedience of Jesus’ commandments to abide in His love…
The proper sequence and reason for justification by God’s grace, makes all the difference in truly understanding the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ… I would urge anyone who believes they are good enough to get into heaven, or that they can earn their own way into heaven by doing good works in the name of the Lord…to go to www.Godsmanforever.com and type 10/09/2013 into the search window for a day’s writing titled… “Important Teaching – By Christ Himself”…
But once we become Christians, redeemed by God’s saving grace…how can we find joy in being obedient to the Lord ?? In our own flesh, we as human beings typically won’t find any joy when forced to be obedient to those who oversee us… I know in the flesh, I still don’t like to be told what I have to do… But Jesus tells us in the opening scripture, that if we remain filled with His love(“abide in Mylove”), we will also be filled with His joy, so that our joy may remain full… (“thatyourjoy may be full”) My friends…keeping Jesus’ commandments as His redeemed child, should never be though of as hard or difficult… The apostle John pens this, in…1 John 5:3… For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. AndHiscommandments are notburdensome. (NKJV) Just like Jesus always lived to please His Father…as a child of God, our hearts desire should be to please the Lord with everything we say and do… No one will ever please the Lord by living in the flesh…Romans 8:8… We will please the Lord when we learn to Walk in the Spirit, in submission to the revealed will of God… Galatians 5:16… Isay then: Walk in the Spirit, and youshallnotfulfill the lust of the flesh. (NKJV) We will be pleasing the Lord when we walk worthy of our calling as a Christian…Ephesians 4:1-3…I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseechyou to walkworthyof the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (NKJV) We will be pleasing the Lord when we are able to show love to those who are screaming in our face with rage…Matthew 5:43-44… While these acts of love would be impossible in our own strength…God makes them possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, that God has given to every believer as their lifelong Helper…John 14:26… We can find joy by keeping the Lord’s commandments, through abiding in His love… But this godly joy will only be achieved through humble submission to God, as we acknowledge through absolute faith and trust in the Lord that His way is the only way to experience the truth that shall make us free…John 8:32… Heavenly Father, I pray that Your Word would open the eyes of those who are still living in rebellion to Your will for their lives… I pray Lord, that all of us would be able to experience Your love “which passes knowledge; that you (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God” (From Ephesians 3:19)… I pray Lord, that we could all find this fullness of joy through abiding in Your love, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen… Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
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