Today's Passage - John 15:9-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 15: 9-10   "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love."                  The Lord Jesus mentioned another kind of "abiding"; that is to remain in His love. The Lord said, "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love," in other words, love and obedience are closely related: only through obedience can we manifest that our love is genuine. Pastor Edward Miller shared this testimony during the Argentina Revival. The Lord commanded a sister to attend a large gathering, and God told her, "I'll speak to the congregation through you!" Initially she thought herself just a nobody, and no one would invite her to preach, then what would she do over there? But she went there out of obedience.                  Getting there, she asked the brother in charge if she can have some time to deliver the message on stage, that brother replied, "We have people covering every session, if you really want to serve, we have dishwashing chore in the kitchen, and do you want to serve there? At the beginning she hesitated, "Lord, you send me here to preach, why does it become doing dishes?" She struggled for an instant, but she obeyed, and willingly she obeyed.                  The wives share this experience; there is lots of clattering and clanking when the husbands are doing the dishes unwillingly. Because she loves God, this sister willingly washed the dishes. She was singing her praises while doing it; the brother in charge saw everything. The day before the end of the meeting, he gathered his co-workers, said, "I see the anointing of this sister when she did the dishes. Let us give her a chance to come to speak at the podium!" Therefore in the morning of the last day, they let her preach on the podium. Once she got up there, suddenly the Holy Spirit filled the entire gathering; everyone's heart was being touched by the Lord's spirit!                  Brothers and sisters, do you really love God? Sometimes God wants you to learn the lesson of obedience. Though you do not see the road ahead, and you do not understand Lord's ways, but once you obey, the Lord will increase the love of God in you. Recalling the previous ways, I realize that when I choose to obey God in every juncture of life, my spiritual life will grow suddenly, and my love of God will also suddenly increase! Every little obedience counts, hallelujah!  Do not ignore it even if it's trivial. Ask God to give us the willingness to obey, to glorify God's name in everyday life!                                      Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, you obey the will of the Father, such that love can manifest among us. We ask you to help us follow your example, until the people around us can understand, and enjoy your abundant love. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!