Today’s sermon could not have
smacked me more in the head then I could have myself. Today Pastor Steve spoke
of John 14 and the “Last Words” . John 14:12 “Very
truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the
Father”. And this weeks
word if JOY! Okay Lord I get the
hint… I love the way He make things obvious. The verse for today is John
15:10-11. “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. I have told you this so that my
joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Once again I love that as I have
been struggling the past few weeks with experiencing God’s pure joy, and
allowing the worries and the weight of this world get me down, God comes along
side me and gives me a gentle nudge to remind me of His LOVE!!
The past month or so it has been
hard to focus on God, I feel that I have been sucked into the things of this
world; being consumed with “getting skinny”, “looking cool” and of course “fitting in”. The path to obeying Christ is no
mystery. He highlights two commandments, and both focus on love. Love God with
all your heart, soul and mind and second love your neighbor as yourself.
Reflecting on the past month, when I am not following God’s commands and not
reading His words, my joy is dismal. Jesus’ desire is for us to be filled WITH HIS JOY!! There is great blessing in doing
what God has asked, and what He has asked of me is simple…LOVE HIM, LOVE MY
NEIGHBORHS. In fact I would be so bold to say
that God, mandates us to LOVE!!
Pastor Steve
left me with these challenges:
1. If
God is in me, there ought to be LOVE coming out
of me. (Of course because God is love).
2. Obedience
in the only proof of LOVE
3. Jesus
promise we will not be alone and He promise to continue to reveal himself
through His Spirit.
4. The
more I walk in LOVE, the more I understand who
God is and what HE is doing.
Number 4 is my favorite; (no lie that’s the one that really
got smacked me in the face). Jesus offers us a simple prescription. TAKE HIS LOVE and GIVE
IT BACK. In exchange, He blesses us with joy.
Thank you Lord for loving me, even
as I fail to do as you have called. Please help me to LOVE ALL, in the mist of
difficulty. Teach me your ways of LOVING people.
