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| 1 John 4:7 - Treasures of the Bible Illus. |
TO CHEW ON: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." - 1 John 5:3
In a class I'm taking at church, we're doing spiritual gifts inventories. I sat down with my questionnaire last night and tried to honestly answer and score myself on 137 questions with "Consistently - 3; Most of the time - 2; Some of the time - 1; and Never - 0."
Sad to say, I found myself answering many with 1 and 0—things I probably should be doing, His commandments, that I seldom or never do.
No doubt that's why today's verse jumped out at me from this 1 John reading. It tells me I show my love for God not so much by the way I proclaim it in song during a praise time, or by what I say to others and myself about my feelings toward God, but what I do of complying with His wishes—His revealed will expressed in the Bible and pressed home to me by the Holy Spirit.
- God wants our obedience to be attentive and wholehearted - Deuteronomy 26:16; 32:46.
- It determines our real success and prosperity - Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 7:23.
- It is better than sacrifice - 1 Samuel 15:22.
- It assures us a place in God's kingdom - Matthew 7:21; Luke 8:21.
- It is our duty - Acts 5:29; 2 John 1:6.
It seems John even anticipates our groans under the should of it for he continues: "And His commandments are not burdensome."
Why not? Because we're "born of God," children of a new race that overcomes the world (and our selfishness) through new life brought about by faith in Jesus as God's Son. May God continue to change and mature me—all of us His kids—as we grow in faith and increasingly demonstrate our love through obedience.
PRAYER: Dear God, please continue to convict me toward greater love for You through obedience. Please mature me as Your child. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
