BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If you love Me, keep My commands”
(John 14:15)
MEDITATION:
This instruction from Jesus is not complicated or hard to
understand, is it? The questions we should ask ourselves are,
“Am I a ‘want-to-be’ Christian?”
“Do I have a desire to be fully committed to the Lord?”
Have you ever said to yourself,
“One of these days, I’m going to give up my selfishness
and start living the kind of life the Lord expects of me.”
There are many Christians who have difficulty surrendering their
will and allowing the Lord to have control of their lives. We want
to be in control and that conflicts with what the scriptures tell us
we must do, if we are followers of Jesus.
So, what do we do? Too often we modify the commands we have
been given to better fit our lifestyle. Our selfish nature will just
not let us totally commit to the Lord. Why? Because Satan is still
in control of a portion of our lives.
As an example, God’s ideal is for those who are a part
of His family to come to His house for worship and praise.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
encouraging one another—and all the more as
you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:24-25)
He even warns us that as the last days approach, some will
‘give up meeting together’. He also gives us the reasons why
He expects His followers to ‘meet together’. When believers
come together in His house, it is so that we can,
‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds’
Why is that important? First of all, it is important because it
is important to our heavenly Father. Secondly, it is important
because ‘love’ and ‘good deeds’ are attributes of Jesus Christ.
If we want to be more like the One we are following, then we
need to mimic His characteristics, wouldn’t you agree? If we
aren’t trying to be more like Him, can we call ourselves His
followers?
God wants all believers to be more like His Son, and His house is
one primary place where He expects it to happen. When believers
meet together, it is a time for encouraging each other. One way we
can encourage each other is, by worshipping the Lord and singing
praises together. This cannot happen if our worship is restricted to
a silo we have built for ourselves.
There are many who say they love the Lord, but they have modified
His expectations to blend with their own lifestyles. Is that really an
expression of love for Him? It isn’t, is it? In essence, it’s an attitude
that says,
“I’ll do some of the things Your way,
but the rest I will do my own way”
Think about this as a comparison. If we want to learn how to
play some sport, or play a musical instrument, or develop some
natural talent, we would want to be around others who are good
at them, wouldn’t we?
For instance, if it is baseball, even though we know they are
having practices (a place where we can be mentored, coached.
and encouraged to be the best we can be), we have decided that
practice is not really for us. We have chosen to adjust the coach’s
requirements to fit our own desires.
Rather than developing our skills, and getting encouragement
and coaching we need, we have decided that we will bypass the
expected requirements of all other team members and just show
up at game time.
That wouldn’t work, would it? Others would know that we had
not worked on improving our skills and we are not considered
to be a part of the team effort. Instead of contributing something
positive, we have caused problems and distractions.
It is the same way, when we either modify or ignore what God
requires and expects from those who belong to Him. We can’t
allow our personal preferences to take precedence over God’s
will, and expect to receive encouragement for developing ‘love’
and a desire to do ‘good deeds’, like Jesus has shown us.
When we obey His commands, to ‘meet together’, it gives spiritually
mature believers an opportunity to mentor us, but more importantly,
we become part of God’s ‘team’ as we express our love for Him through
our actions, and not just by our words.
Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in
Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly,
‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
(Matthew 7:21-23)
Why does He call them ‘evildoers’? Because they have ‘done evil’
by changing God’s expectations to fit their own desires. Instead
of following His instructions to prove our love for Him, we have
chosen our own form of worship, with our own rules.
ACTION:
So, ask yourself,
“Am I a want-to-be, or a will-be Christian?”
Just quoting scriptures or posting ‘religious’ comments on social media
does not impress God, because He looks at the heart and measures our
love for Him by our obedience. Obeying God’s will is serious business.
When we love Him as we should, we will not be classified as ‘evildoers’
who change His expectations to fit our own selfish lifestyles.
Our time on earth is short when compared to eternity, so we shouldn’t
be an ‘evildoer’ by assuming that we can structure our worship in our
own way and ignore God’s ideals which are outlined in His Word. This
devotional may be God’s way of reminding each of us that we have some
changes to make if we want to be obedient and express our love for Him
according to His ideals, and not ours.
Of course, sometimes there might be extenuating circumstances (such as
medical conditions, illnesses, debilitating injuries, pandemics, etc.) which
can inhibit our meeting with other believers at the church, but these things
should not prevent us from worshipping the Lord, and connecting with
other believers regularly.
My wife was recently diagnosed with an affliction that has caused her
to avoid crowds and requires constant supervision and caretaking from
me. However, we continue to listen to the sermons from our church and
several others through social media. We also have remained ‘connected’
with other believers through prayer assignments and lessons the Lord
provides for me to share with our group, using social media as well.
If we fail to listen to, or watch sermons through other available venues,
we are left to our own interpretation and application of God’s Word.
The reason we need to be ‘mentored’ through those God has called is:
We will hear all His instructions, including the ones
that seem difficult, or cause us to leave our ‘comfort zone’
Ask anyone who is involved in physical training or therapy and they
will tell you that the uncomfortable pain we feel initially is part of
the process that will improve our physical condition. We have all
heard the phrase, “No pain, no gain” and if we are involved in any
physical conditioning, we know it is true; we cannot improve unless
we go through the ‘pain’ of improving.
It is the same with spiritual training, right? If we don’t participate
in the things that are challenging, how can we expect an increase in
our spiritual maturity? We all have blind spots that can be cleared
up by input from others.
When thinking about God tasking us with something that requires
leaving our ‘comfort zone’ consider this.
God may want you to teach a bible class, but you
don’t like being in front of a group of people. Do
you think God would call you to do something you
are not equipped to do? That doesn’t sound like a
loving Father, does it?
But God doesn’t work that way. He calls us to serve using the
abilities He has given us (abilities that we might not realize we
have). However, He has promised us two things that will help
us when we choose to accept and obey His call for us.
One is the Holy Spirit (who is our Helper), and the other is a
‘spiritual gift’ (a special ability designed specifically for each
of us and what the Lord knows we are capable of achieving).
If we aren’t willing to obey Him and leave our ‘comfort zone’,
we will miss out on discovering the value of the gifts He has
given us.
And, of equal importance, we will also miss out on allowing God
to increase our spiritual maturity, and our closeness with Him.
If we aren’t developing and growing our relationship with the
Lord, means we might hear Him say to us at the Judgment,
“I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer!”
Ask yourself this question:
“Am I on God’s team and obeying His rules, or am
I ‘skipping practice’ so I can fulfill my own desires,
and establish my own rules for living righteously?”
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and all that is
contained within the scriptures. Forgive me if I have chosen
to worship my own way instead of obeying Your will and Your
expectations of me. Help me to be honest with myself and admit
it if I am selfishly worshipping my own way. Show me that when
I am not obeying Your will, I am not expressing my love to You,
or other believers. I want to obey ALL Your commands and stop
being someone who chooses to only obey the ones I like, and the
ones which fulfill my own lifestyle and desires.”
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