CONFIRMING OUR FAITH IN THE LORD

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works 
I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, 
because I am going to the Father. 
(John 14:12)

MEDITATION:
If you ask someone if they believe in Jesus Christ, 
most would say, “Of course I do”.
It is easy to say we know ABOUT Him, 
but it’s quite different to say we KNOW Him.

Whenever we compare our belief in Him to His words, it is easy to see that
some who claim to believe in Him are not proving it through their actions.
Jesus said that those who believe in Him 
will ‘do the works He has been doing’.

What works would that be?
Obeying the Father and doing whatever He wants Him to do.
In particular, we should be sharing the good news as Jesus did.
That means that our lifestyle and words should be pointing others to the Savior.

Whenever we claim to believe in Christ, but our actions and lifestyle 
does not support our claim, then we not only fail to point others to Him, 
but we probably cause others to be uninterested in Him
because they don’t see a commitment of faith in us.

Obedience to the Lord’s commands is an overall attitude 
and not a list of things to do and not do.
When our attitude is right, we will have a desire to do the good things 
and avoid doing the wrong things.

What creates a right attitude of belief and faith in the Lord?
According to the Words of Jesus, it is a byproduct of our love for Him.
“If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15)

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. 
The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will 
love them and show myself to them.” (John 14:21)

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. 
My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make 
our home with them. (John 14:23)

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. 
These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the 
Father who sent me. (John 14:24)

We can make excuses and justify our wrongful actions as much as we want to, 
but ‘obeying His teaching’ is the true measurement of our faith in, 
and love for the Lord.
Satan wants to convince us that the words of the Lord are just some vague 
guidelines and as long as we are ‘kind of close’ to them, then we are okay.

He also want to persuade us into believing that 
avoiding the things that displease the Lord is all that is required of us.
But the Lord tells us plainly that our faith 
includes ‘doing the works that He did’.

This includes things like loving others, praying to the Father often, 
obeying His commands (which includes worshipping with other believers 
and serving Him), encouraging others, intercessory prayers for others, 
sharing our faith, etc.

ACTION:
Faith in the Lord is not a smorgasbord where we can choose 
which of His commands we like and which ones we choose not to obey.
True faith means sincere and total commitment.
Those who truly love the Lord will obey all of His commands, 
including those which require a change in our normal routines.
We cannot love the Lord and have faith in Him 
while still clinging to the things we know displease Him.

For instance, let’s say that before we surrendered to Him, 
we enjoyed sleeping late on Sunday mornings, and our lifestyle included an 
attitude that the weekends were made for us to do whatever we want to do.
After all, we worked all week so we deserve this time for ourselves.

That’s not total surrender is it?
Nor does it show a love for the Lord and an obedience to His commands.
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)

Committing to the Lord does not take the joy out of living, 
but rather it creates a joy of a different type, 
which includes an unusual peace that the world fails to offer us.
When we love the Lord, we give Him first place in our lives without question.
We enjoy worshipping and serving Him above everything else.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gift of salvation. Help me to 
realize what surrendering to the Lord encompasses. Forgive me for 
selfishly holding on to the things that prevent me from doing the 
works He did, and the things that keep me from obeying His commands. 
I pray that You will show me the peace and joy of sincerely submitting 
to the Lord so I can overcome the lies of Satan.”

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