Tag Archives: if you love me

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE FAMILY BUSINESS – 21

Bible Study, ,

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine the CEO of a large company, on the eve of a long trip overseas on business, gathering his entire staff around him, including janitors and cleaners, to give them instructions on running his enterprise while he is away. 

How will he ensure that his company will continue to flourish during his absence? Will he install CCTV cameras throughout the building to monitor their behaviour? Will he employ security guards to watch their every move and report on their actions?

Jesus is the CEO of God’s great eternal business enterprise, His kingdom on earth. He has a representative to whom He has delegated the task of administering the kingdom until He returns, His own “other self”,   the one just like Him…the Holy Sprit. 

What was Jesus’ method of ensuring that His ministry would continue exactly as He had initiated it?

None of the above, according to the world’s way even if it were possible! Jesus required one condition that would ensure the continuation of His business during His “absence”…our love for Him. He promised to give us one overseer to keep His business on track until His return…His Spirit in us. 

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How unlike the ways of the world! No CEO requires his staff to love him as the guarantee of their faithfulness. No CEO promises another person, with the same goals and modus operandi exactly like his own, to help them run his business efficiently during his absence because they love Him!

Jesus promised His people that relationship…the love-bond between Himself and us and our response of love to Him…is all that is needed to keep us in union with His “business plan”, extending God’s rule in the hearts of His people everywhere. More than that, He promised never to leave us to carry out the task alone. He would replace His own physical presence with His counterpart, the Holy Spirit. 

For Jesus, God’s kingdom is much more than the Father’s business in which we are His “employees”. The kingdom of God is a family business in which we all have a share.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our faithful involvement in spreading the good news of the kingdom and ensuring that its citizens adhere to its constitution, also guarantees God’s provision for us, His co-workers.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things (our everyday needs) will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This “family business” of the kingdom means that we are all in it together. There’s no place for private interpretation of the constitution, personal ambition, conflicts, or differences of opinion.  We are one, we have one CEO, Jesus, one Administrator, the Holy Spirit, and we are all subject to one authority. 

When we keep these facts in mind, our role in the spread of God’s rule in people’s hearts and in our faithful living and teaching the principles of God’s rule, Jesus said that we would no longer be orphans, homeless waifs. We are sons…those who, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are intimately and personally involved in the family business of the kingdom. 

To be continued…

WHY DID JESUS COME?

Christian Life, ,

“Is this why Jesus came?” I often ask this question when I see the religious shenanigans that go on in churches here and in other countries. Did He really come to set up a religion more ornate, elaborate, and more full of rituals and revelry than we already have in the world?

I love the latest series of “Voetspore” on TV, the second in a series of travels through South America. The first in the series took the travellers south from Uruguay to the southernmost tip of South America.

The current series is taking the team north, again from Uruguay, through Bolivia, Peru, Equador, and Columbia. How often, on their travels through great cities in South America, do they marvel at ornate churches of every size, shape, and colour. Some have already stood for centuries but all represent a brand of so-called Christianity that is far removed from Jesus’ purpose for coming into this world.

Our travellers have witnessed ceremonies, festivals, services, etc, that represent their hosts’ brand of religious faith that is far removed from the truth.

Why DID Jesus come? On one occasion,

‭Matthew 22:35-36 NIV‬
[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

‭Matthew 22:37-40 NIV‬
[37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Unfortunately, these commandments didn’t work for most of God’s people. Their sinful nature drove them in the opposite direction. All 613 laws of the Old Testament couldn’t teach them to love God and each other as He required.

So, Jesus came, not to change God’s law but to take all 613 laws, stuff them inside five little words, model them in the life of one person, Himself, then empower them by His Spirit inside every believer to direct them to do His will.

The Old Covenant commandment was,

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
[37] ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as your yourself.’

Jesus reduced it down to…

“Believe in (love) me , and love one another.”

The rest of the New Testament flesh out these five simple words.

Believing in Jesus means obeying His teachings.

‭John 8:31 NLT‬
[31]” Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. “

‭John 14:15 NLT‬
[15] “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

What else did Jesus command?

‭John 13:34 NLT‬
[34]”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

There we have it! Time and again, New Testament writers repeated Jesus’ commands just to ensure that their readers stick to the plot and do not stray from Jesus’ blueprint for the church, BELIEVE IN ME AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Everything we do, as the church, should feed into these two commands.

‭1 John 3:23 NLT‬
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Romans 13:8-10 NLT
[8] “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. [9] For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.”

Now, I ask you, if Jesus is the head of the church and the church is His body, why are the Head and the Body pulling in two different directions?

Everything the Holy Spirit says and does in us is to direct us towards obedience to Jesus’ commands. However, to many so-called believers, egged on by prosperity and faith preachers, the body’s goal is to get all its material and sensual needs met.

So, how do we deal with this anomaly?

As individuals and as a church (a local branch of the worldwide body of Christ), we must test our lives by this question, “Is this why Jesus came?” If we can answer that our believing and doing enhances our obedience to Jesus’ commands, we are on the way to maturity.

‭Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT‬
[11] Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ….
[15] Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. [16] He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

Surely, all the rest is gobbledegook!

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE

Christian Life, ,

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15, NIV).

These are the hallmarks of the believer – according to Jesus. In the last precious hours with His disciples, He appealed to their love for Him as the reason for their obedience. What did He mean?  Was He simply setting up a new set of rules in place of the old ones, the ones His people failed to obey anyway? I don’t think so.

Firstly, let’s scrutinize the life of Jesus since He is the pattern God set for us to follow. It was the love relationship between Himself and His Father that controlled His life. Every temptation He went through was a test of His willingness to trust His Father’s love. How did this work out in practice?  Jesus valued the Father’s love for Him so much that He refused to say or do anything that would betray that love. He trusted what God said and He honoured and valued what was important to God. He managed His life in such a way that He brought delight, not heartache to His Father.

Wow! If you think about it, it makes a whole lot of sense. What would happen if we took His example and His plea seriously? What if you and I valued our relationship with Jesus so much that we would treasure what is important to Him and manage our lives, our decisions and choices in such a way that we do not break His heart? This would mean that we would value relationships on every level more than our own selfish wants. We would treasure and care for people and not things. We would use words to heal, not to hurt and kill. 

What if we taught our children this kind of “obedience”. It is easy to punish them when they break the rules. But what if we taught them to value our relationship with each other so much that they would not want to break our hearts? So much of our relationship with our children deteriorates into a power struggle. We cannot control our children’s behaviour. We demand; they rebel. We punish, they rebel even more. What if, instead, they learn that, whatever they might do, we will love them?  What if love becomes the standard in our homes and whatever they or we may do, we protect that love?

Why should we obey Him? Since He has our best interests at heart, He knows that disobedience is detrimental to us as well as offensive to Him.  The standard is before us, Jesus is in us. The only thing that stands between us and making it happen is the choice we make. God’s grace is in plentiful supply to help us do what we choose to do. This is God’s heart. Will you choose to value Him so much that you will do what He desires, to be a delight to Him and not a heartache? This is really loving.

Keep My Commands

Christian Life, , ,

KEEP MY COMMANDS

If you love me, keep my commands (John 14:15).

The fourth requirement of a disciple is obedience.

The concept of “keeping” the commandments means much more than obeying them. In Hebrew thought, to keep meant to remember and preserve as well as observe. To preserve meant to uphold and to keep intact. Israel was to live as a community.

The commandments or “Torah” – God’s teachings or instructions for living, were God’s constitution to preserve the community. It had a two-way focus – their attitude towards God and their attitude towards one another. By being faithful to God’s teaching, they were not only preserving their own lives but also the well-being of the entire nation.

Jesus gave His disciples a “new” commandment on the eve of His death – ‘that you love one another as I have loved you.’ This commandment was not new in the sense that they had never heard it before. Love for one another was embedded in the greatest commandment; to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and to love their neighbour as themselves. All 613 commandments in the Torah fleshed out the greatest commandment by practically applying it in all the circumstances of their lives.

Jesus drew the attention of His disciples to the greatest motivation for observing and upholding God’s commands – love for Him. His mission included the revelation of the true nature of God – not the rigid disciplinarian they had recreated Him to be, but a loving and gracious Father who set boundaries around their lives so that they could live safe, happy and free lives within those boundaries.

Unfortunately, the religious “Gestapo” had set up their own boundaries which were so unrealistic and restrictive that the people groaned under the weight of ridiculous rules. Fear of failure replaced real love for God. Some tried in vain to appease Him by rigidly sticking to the letter of the law. Others gave up and lived lawless lives. Jesus offered rest to those who were tired of trying to carry the burden of the religious yoke. His yoke, He said, was easy and His burden was light.

What was His yoke? Summed up in one word, His yoke was love.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13: 34-35)

When He spoke those words to His disciples in the upper room, He swept aside all petty manmade and irrelevant rules and focused on the heart of God – love. If love directed their lives instead of religion, they would observe, preserve and uphold what God wanted them to do in every circumstance and situation. They would not have to run to the book to find out what to do. They would worship God alone and contribute to the unity of their community at the same time.

Why did Jesus call love a “new” commandment? It was not new in the sense that Jesus had thought up something that had never been known. It was “new” in the sense that He was calling them back to God’s original intention. We could use the word “renewed” instead of “new” In the religious climate in which they lived, heart and motivation were buried under a load of rules. Jesus called them back to what God had created in the beginning – people who related to and loved Him as their Father.

But that’s not the end of the story. It’s all very well commanding us to love one another, but how do we do it when our basic nature is selfish and greedy? Jesus made a promise to His disciples and to all who follow Him that He would give them the Holy Spirit to live in them and to transform their hearts so that they would have the power to obey Him. The Holy Spirit would replace Jesus’ presence on earth as His “other self”, one exactly like Him who would lead them into truth, reveal Jesus to them and remind them of His teachings.

It can’t get better than that! Jesus actually living within, working in us, transforming us into His image, teaching us how to be true sons! The Holy Spirit enables us, as we respond in obedience to His promptings, to follow, learn, imitate and obey our rabbi in a process of ever-increasing maturity. What other so-called “god” can do that!

Obedience to our Master is not an impossible and beyond-our-reach demand. Jesus would never ask us to do what He does not empower us to obey. After Pentecost, His disciples lived out His command to the extent that, in spite of intense persecution, the church grew because people were attracted by their love.

Nothing is impossible for us to obey with the Holy Spirit within. The same Spirit who empowered Jesus, lives in those who believe in Him.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

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http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

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