I John 5:3
I John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”
This past Sunday, the sermon was on Christian growth, and this verse was included in the sermon notes. Our minister added that the only part of the Bible you truly believe is the part you obey.
A single friend of mine signed up one time for one of those online matching services. She said she is a Christian whose faith is very important to her, and she was looking for a man who is a Christian whose faith is very important to him.
They found several matches for her, and almost all of them had profiles that talked about Jesus and how important he is in the men’s lives. But their profiles ended by saying they’re looking for a woman “for intimacy.”
I suppose that for a lot of people, the Bible’s commands to save physical intimacy for marriage sounds downright burdensome, but the burdens that come from disobeying these commands are even greater: Disease, pregnancy, child support payments, broken hearts, and even the risk of a knock at the door twenty years later by someone who says, “I’m your child.”
We show our love for God when we obey the hard commands, not when we obey the easy ones. For me, the command not to lie is easy--I never lied well as a child, so I’m not even tempted to do it as an adult. The harder ones for me are parting with big chunks of cash (that would be tithing) and carving out time to spend with the Lord, when I don’t even have time to get to the grocery store most days. So these are the areas in my life that I need to examine continually.
What are the commands you struggle to obey? If the blessings of obeying the Lord in these areas aren’t enough to persuade you to obey, try looking at the burdens of disobedience. Better yet, work on cultivating your love relationship with Him so that your love will grow and obedience will follow.
Brenda
This past Sunday, the sermon was on Christian growth, and this verse was included in the sermon notes. Our minister added that the only part of the Bible you truly believe is the part you obey.
A single friend of mine signed up one time for one of those online matching services. She said she is a Christian whose faith is very important to her, and she was looking for a man who is a Christian whose faith is very important to him.
They found several matches for her, and almost all of them had profiles that talked about Jesus and how important he is in the men’s lives. But their profiles ended by saying they’re looking for a woman “for intimacy.”
I suppose that for a lot of people, the Bible’s commands to save physical intimacy for marriage sounds downright burdensome, but the burdens that come from disobeying these commands are even greater: Disease, pregnancy, child support payments, broken hearts, and even the risk of a knock at the door twenty years later by someone who says, “I’m your child.”
We show our love for God when we obey the hard commands, not when we obey the easy ones. For me, the command not to lie is easy--I never lied well as a child, so I’m not even tempted to do it as an adult. The harder ones for me are parting with big chunks of cash (that would be tithing) and carving out time to spend with the Lord, when I don’t even have time to get to the grocery store most days. So these are the areas in my life that I need to examine continually.
What are the commands you struggle to obey? If the blessings of obeying the Lord in these areas aren’t enough to persuade you to obey, try looking at the burdens of disobedience. Better yet, work on cultivating your love relationship with Him so that your love will grow and obedience will follow.
Brenda
posted by BreadBakers at 12:23 PM
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