The measure of our Love!

 
The Measure of Our Love: John 14:15-24


Sometimes I felt convicted about falling short of Jesus’ expectations. It’s easy to say, “Lord, I love You,” but there have been times when I’ve used those words while resisting something He was trying to impress upon my heart. The old adage is true: actions do speak louder than words.
The measure of our love is obedience to God’s commands and principles.
Halfhearted commitment can look pretty good to others, but the Lord knows the difference. We may lift our hands in worship, serve vigorously, support missionaries, teach Sunday school, and even say all the right words.... but unless we’re following God’s commands from His holy Word... the most we’re showing Him is lukewarm affection. Works don’t prove anything. Loving the Lord means obeying Him.
This is gonna sting but it is God's Word: if you do not obey the Word, you do not love God.
The Lord told Joshua to meditate on Scripture day and night (Josh. 1:8). I need to be in the Bible.

Devil's accusations or Spirit's conviction?

"How can I tell the difference between the devil's accusations and the Holy Spirit's conviction?"

Every Christians is faced with the choice of walking by the Spirit or by the flesh on a daily basis. The moment you choose to walk according to the flesh, the Holy Spirit brings conviction because what you have just chosen to do is not compatible with who you really are. If you continue in the flesh, you will feel the sorrow of conviction.

"How do I know which kind of sorrow I'm experiencing?" you may ask.

"The devil's accusation and the Spirit's conviction both make me feel sorrowful." Determine whether your feelings reflect thoughts of truth or error, and you will identify their source. Do you feel guilty, worthless, stupid, or inept? That's a sorrow provoked by accusation because those feelings don't reflect truth. Judicially, you are no longer guilty; you have been justified through your faith in Christ, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. You are not worthless; Jesus gave His life for you. You are not stupid or inept; you can do all things through Christ. When you find lies lurking beneath your feelings of sorrow--especially if your feelings persistently drive you into the ground--you are being falsely accused. To disarm the sorrow of accusation you must submit yourself to God and resist the devil and his lies.

But if you are sorrowful because your behavior doesn't reflect your true identity in Christ, that's the sorrow according to the will of God which is designed to produce repentance. It's the Holy Spirit calling you to admit on the basis of 1 John 1:9, "Dear Lord, I was wrong." As soon as you confess and repent, God says, "I'm glad you shared that with Me. You're cleansed; now get on with life." And you walk away from that confrontation free. The sorrow is gone, and you have a positive new resolve to obey God in the area of your failure.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the "tough love" of Your Holy Spirit in bringing me to repentance when I sin.

Walk in the Spirit... is it easy? Welllll... let's see!

John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit

What does it take to be the selfless, loving Christian we desire to be? What do we need to do to stop our selfish, worldly pursuits to do deeds of loving service to God and others?

I think you have to KNOW your identity in Christ. You can't love like Jesus loved until you accept you are in Christ, His divine nature is united with your spirit.

Second, you must begin to crucify daily the old sin-trained flesh and walk in step with who you are: a child of God whose spirit is filled with God's Spirit.

The fact that the Holy Spirit lives in us and that we can live according to His leading is an awesome... but many people don't get it. The problem isn't new. Nicodemus was a lsmart man, but he couldn't understand life in the Spirit. So Jesus told him, "the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going, so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). Trying to reduce life in the Spirit to a formula is like trying to capture the wind.

Someone said of walking by the Spirit: "I think we need to pull in the oars and put up the sail!" I like that. When we walk by the Spirit, we stop striving and struggling. We are no longer driven; we are led. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14). When we come to the end of our resources, we discover His.

Prayer: Father, help me to set aside human and worldly resources today so I may walk in the strength and adequacy of Your Spirit.