The Daily – If You REALLY Love Me…
If you really love Me, you will obey My commands. – John 14:15 (amplified)
This is far more profound than we may realize. Obedience is how we show our love to the Lord. I may step on some toes here, but to be perfectly honest with you, if we are living in willful sin and choosing to ignore God’s Word, we are walking a very dangerous line. Yes, He loves us and will forgive us for all of our sins. Yes, it is true HE will NEVER leave us. However, I must reiterate…we are walking a very dangerous line when we choose to disobey God.
…work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling, self-distrust, with serious caution, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ. – Philippians 2:12 (amplified)
We should never assume that just because we accepted Jesus in our hearts that we can just live a life in sin and then quote mercy, grace and forgiveness Scriptures. There are also many verses that make me want to be more aware of my choices!
And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good –God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments. – Matthew 19:17 (amplified)
Freedom in Christ does not mean license to sin. It means we are FREE FROM the SHACKLES of sin! It means we now have the power and ability to OVERCOME sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts. – 1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)
When we do sin, and we will, we must repent and bring it before the feet of Jesus. Repent means to turn from it. So, repeating the same sins over and over again is a sure sign of a disobedient, unsubmitted life. However, I believe our heart is what God essentially judges. God loves us profoundly, and He is compassionate to our struggles. Sadly, many Christians mistake that for a “green light” to do as they please. THAT, my dear sisters is the dangerous line I am talking about. When you KNOW what you are watching, listening to and participating in is wrong…
Do not be deceived, deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at, scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside. He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. – Galatians 6:7 (amplified)
We must be on constant watch. We should live our lives to please the Lord…NOT man or self!
Let’s look at the different Biblical promises of obedient living v/s disobedient living
Disobedient Living Consequences
Unanswered Prayers/Inhibits God from Hearing Us
We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him. – John 9:31 (amplified)
Shows that We Do Not Truly Love the Lord
Jesus answered, If a person really loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him. Anyone who does not really love Me does not observe and obey My teaching. And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine, but comes from the Father Who sent Me. – John 14:23-24 (amplified)
Brings Judgment to a Nation!
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you were more turbulent and raged against Me more than the nations that are round about you and have not walked in My statutes, neither have kept My ordinances, nor have done according to the ordinances the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations. – Ezekiel 5:7-8 (amplified)
Sinful Living Leads to Death
For the wages of sin is death… – Romans 6:23 (KJV)
Destined to Stumble
And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give men offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve God’s Word, as those who reject Him were destined to do. – 1 Peter 2:8
More Risky than You May Realize…
Now the practices of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit, factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies, Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 (amplified)
Promises of Obedient Living
Shows God We Love Him
The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him. – John 14:21 (amplified)
We Will Receive the Crown of Victory!
No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of civilian life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down). – 2 Timothy 2:4–5 (amplified)
ASSURANCE that Jesus Dwells IN Us!
And this is His command: that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in) the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us. All who keep His commandments [who obey His orders and follow His plan, live and continue to live, to stay and] abide in Him, and He in them. They let Christ be a home to them and they are the home of Christ. And by this we know and understand and have the proof that He really lives and makes His home in us: by the Holy Spirit Whom He has given us. – 1 John 3:23-24
Doing His Will Secures our Dwelling in the Kingdom of Heaven
Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. – Matthew 7:21
Eternal Life
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered and, making Him perfectly equipped, He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him. – Hebrews 5:8-9 (amplified)
PEACE!
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. – Isaiah 26:3 (amplified)
Healed Land
If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14 (amplified)
We need to live lives of obedience. The fruit of our lives is what will differentiate us from false profits, religions and worldly lusts. Our lives are a living testimony…right or wrong!
Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the sickly decaying, worthless tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear excellent fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits. – Matthew 7:15-20
This is a powerful passage! I don’t know about you, but I certainly do NOT want to be cast into the fire! Let us each walk out our salvation with fear and trembling and never forget the price that was paid for it!
A few final Scriptures to ponder…
My son (daughter), give me your heart and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways. – Proverbs 23:26
Who can we trust more with our hearts than Daddy God?
A fool despises his father’s instruction and correction, but he who regards reproof acquires prudence. – Proverbs 15:5
I know I do not want to be a fool! How about you?
But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. – Matthew 7:14
It is hard to live obediently. There is no doubt about it. However, it is the ONLY road that leads to LIFE!
And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and deed), and he was called God’s friend. You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God) through what he does and not alone through faith. So also with Rahab the harlot–was she not shown to be justified by good deeds when she took in the scouts and sent them away by a different route? – James 2:23-25
Doing right IS a part of it. There is CLEARLY a DOING involved. It is not only getting saved…our “works” are involved. Our choices are involved. Salvation is so much more than a prayer! It is a lifestyle. PLEASE get this! I urge you to pray about it and seek God’s Face in the matter…
If you really love Me, you will obey My commands. – John 14:15 (amplified)
Let’s Pray;
Daddy God, Your Word is powerful and convicting. Help me never be so comfortable in my Salvation that I walk away from obedient living. Let me never choose my flesh and worldly living above Your Will and Word. Let me never be right in my own eyes, but always seek YOUR Will in every area of my life. Let me never choose my way, but always seek YOURS. Help me to live an obedient life and please convict me strongly when I am even thinking of stepping off the narrow path. I want my life to reflect YOU. I want the peace, joy and assurance that it brings. Thank you for helping me and walking WITH me every step of the way! In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!
Homework:
I have included some passages to help you dig deeper into this very important study. I hope you do not take this devotional lightly. I believe with all my heart it is a crucial message…especially in the carefree, blatantly sinful days we live in!
- 1 Samuel 15 (see how disobedience affected Saul’s life)
- Genesis 2:25-3:7 (see how sinned changed the word)
- Philippians 3:8-17
- Deuteronomy 11:1
- Philippians 2:12-15
- Deuteronomy 11:13-15
- Proverbs 30:11-13
- Proverbs 13:1
- Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
- 1 Corinthians 11:1-34
- Job 36:11
- John 12:26
Memorize: To the pure in heart and conscience all things are pure, but to the defiled and corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are defiled and polluted. They profess to know God and be acquainted with Him, but deny, disown and renounce Him by what they do; they are detestable and loathsome, unbelieving and disobedient and disloyal and rebellious, and they are unfit and worthless for good work of any kind. – Titus 1:15-16 (amplified)
Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved