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Touching lives with the truth of God's Word.

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Location: Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Thursday, March 15, 2007

HOW OBEDIENCE RELATES TO LOVE

The night before Jesus' crucifixion, He reminded His disciples of the connection between love and obedience. Jesus said "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me" (John 14:21). In God's mind loving and obeying Him are inseparable. May I say we are to have the same mindset.
Question! what commands are we to obey? Jesus said that the Law and the Prophets are summed up in two commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37,39). Through consistent study of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will reveal how to live out these commands, and provide us with the power to obey. Every time we submit to the Spirit's leading, we are saying "I love you" to God. When we let go of selfish attitudes and put someone else first, when we show forgiveness instead of anger, when we demonstrate a thankful heart in the midst of hard circumstances, we express love for our Lord. But if we live in conscious, deliberate disobedience to Him, Jesus says we do not love Him. You thank about that.