Today's Passage - 1 John 5:1-3

1 John 5:1-3   Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome...     According to John, "this is love for God: to obey his commands."  Very often we want to love God more, but we forget the fact that one who loves God also obeys God's commands.  I used to believe that God is a feeling; when I feel like it, I can love, but without the right feeling, I can't love.  But now I understand that true love is obedience.  When Jesus was on the cross, what was his feeling?  When He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He said to God three times: "Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me."  According to His flesh, Jesus didn't want to be nailed on the cross, but He then prayed: "Yet not my will, but your be done."  When Jesus obeyed, what He did on the cross showed His love.   Every step in our life, God often uses our obedience to increase our deepest love for Him.  In my own spiritual journey, I've discovered that each time I obeyed God while in an important transition, I found myself loving the Lord even more.  Jesus also said, in John 14:21, that "he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."  Are you eager to have God show himself to you?  Are you eager to love God more?  There is only one way - Obedience.  You will find yourself loving the Lord more and more, and He will show himself to you more and more.  When you obey the Lord, it's not necessarily going to be painful.  We often think that obedience means suffering, but that's not necessarily true.  You will really suffer when you disobey the Lord, because you will keep on struggling and keep on asking God why.  Under such circumstance, you won't have true peace and joy; however, when you obey the Lord, you will have true peace and joy in your life, and then you will find spiritual power coming out from your life.    Pray with Pastor Tong    Lord, we love because you first loved us.  When we saw how obedient you are on the cross to the point of giving your life, we know that is a real action of love manifested through your obedience.  Please help us to be determined to obey you in our daily life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!           Support Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Expansion Project

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