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Love Brings Obedience!!

Being able to obey what God asks of you comes from your heart. When you begin struggling to obey God, that is a clear indication that your heart has shifted away from Him. Some people claim: "I love God, but I'm having difficulty obeying Him in certain areas of my life." That is a spiritual impossibility. Let's read what Jesus said:

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." John 14:21

You might be thinking that this is a pretty harsh statement to make. Is Jesus telling us that if we don't keep His commandments that He won't love us or come to us? Again, let's read what Jesus says:

"He who does not love Me does not keep My Words, and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."

God will not reward rebellious people. If I were to ask you, "Do you love God?" you might easily respond, "Yes!" However, if I were to ask you, "Are you obeying God?" would you answer yes just as quickly? I want you to know, I would be asking you the same question! Genuine love for God leads to wholehearted obedience. Let's use an example, if you told your spouse that you loved them at certain times but struggled to love them at other times, your relationship would probably be in jeopardy. That's the way many of us assume our relationship with God is. We assume that God is satisfied with occasional love or partial obedience. He is not.

Obedience without love is legalism. Obedience for its own sake can be nothing more than perfectionism, and that leads to pride! Many conscientious Christians seek to cultivate discipline in their lives to be more obedient to Jesus. As helpful as spiritual disciplines can be, they can never replace your love for God! Love is the discipline! God looks beyond your moral lifestyle, and beyond your church involvement and focuses His penetrating gaze upon your heart.

Has your worship to God become empty and routine? Maybe you've lost your motivation to read God's Word? Are you experiencing spiritual lethargy? Is your prayer life reduced to a ritual? Friends, these are symptoms of a heart that has shifted away from loving God. Return to your first love. Love is the greatest motivation for a relationship with God and for serving Him.

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.'" John 14:23

May God richly bless you today!!! H Trent.

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