Tag: Commands

Posted in Abide, Abiding in jesus, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

Friends

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based on the LGG study, Abiding in Jesus, w5d2

Read and SOAP: John 15:13-14

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15:13-14

Truly loving others, by “laying down” one’s life, means “abiding” in the love of Christ (John 15:8–11), in a consistent, moment-by-moment approach.

bibleref.com

I love the double layer of these verses. First comes the reminder of just how great the love of Jesus is. Then, the excitement and blessing of hearing Jesus say, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Who wouldn’t want a friend like Jesus? Oh, friends, may we be friends like Jesus to the lost and hurting world around us. May we truly love others by laying down our lives and abiding in the love of Christ in a consistent, moment-by-moment approach.🦋

When we abide in Jesus, we are connected to Him in such a way that His love can now become our love. True love isn’t passive; it’s a choice to give of ourselves in ways that cost us something. It might be our time, attention, or our resources. Real love, the kind that Jesus commands, is sacrificial. It’s the willingness to lay down our lives for the sake of someone else.

Loving others this way is both a privilege and a challenge. It’s a privilege because it’s how we reflect Jesus to the world, showing the beauty of His love. But it’s also a challenge because it calls us beyond comfort and into places of surrendering and service. That’s especially tough for us who live in an age of “entitlement,” where everyone seems to be obsessed with their own rights and their own well-being.

When we abide in Christ, we may ask Him to make our dry hearts be so filled with His love that we can overflow with love to those around us. This is how we remain in His love — by letting His love move through us to bless and uplift others.

The more we abide in Jesus, the more our lives reflect His love in action. We become more patient, more compassionate, and more willing to give even when it’s hard. And in that giving, we discover the joy and purpose of living a life that glorifies Him. Aiding in Christ means loving as He loved — faithfully, selflessly, and with a heart that desires to obey.

From today’s Love God Greatly Journal entry/p149

-Echoing the prayer of the Love God Greatly team, may Jesus help us to abide in Him every day so that His love can flow through me to others. May we learn to love with a heart that gives and serves. Amen –

The More We Know

Both today’s devotional and Scripture indicate that the more we abide in Jesus, the more our lives reflect His love in action – let’s listen again to Teach me to Abide. Oh, that it might become a song that is repeated often in our mind and heart and flows from our lips.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Psalm 119, Quiet Time

Joy in His Commands

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Scripture: Psalm 119:137-144

I grew up in a home where going to church was a Wednesday and Sunday habit, prayers were prayed, and God’s Word was taught and instilled in us. I am forever grateful for this part of my childhood. The foundations that were laid are priceless and counted as a treasured gift from the Lord. However, as I was reading this passage today – the thought hit me again of how easy it is to become so familiar with the Word and even with God through the eyes of others that we can find ourselves caught up in a religion rather than a relationship with God. We wake up one day to find ourselves living off of the beliefs and the truths we’ve heard preached, only to realize that they lack the joy and substance that come from a life spent with God.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a great gift to grow up in a godly home and to be familiar with God and His Word from infancy, and to place your faith in Him at a young age – but at some point, we must make it our own faith and build on the knowledge we have been given by searching out the Scriptures as the Bereans1 did and by building a relationship with God through Christ that leaves us able to say of our God the same beautiful truths that the Psalmist declared – by belief and experience – he knew and trusted God and found his joy in God’s commands – so much so that he became filled with indignation when others, namely his enemies, disregarded God’s Word.

Read the passage again, noting all of the declarations the Psalmist makes about the Lord. He sees God as righteous and His regulations as fair. He proclaims God’s laws to be perfect and completely trustworthy. He reveals that his love for God’s promises is based on the fact that they have been thoroughly tested, most likely throughout the course of his own life. He doesn’t just assess the Word of God but makes particular note of the indignation he feels because his enemies have disregarded God’s Word. My favorite acknowledgment and assessment comes in verse 143, when he talks of the joy he finds in God’s commands – even when the stresses and pressures of his life weigh him down.

O Lord, you are righteous,
    and your regulations are fair.
138 Your laws are perfect
    and completely trustworthy.
139 I am overwhelmed with indignation,
    for my enemies have disregarded your words.
140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested;
    that is why I love them so much.
141 I am insignificant and despised,
    but I don’t forget your commandments.
142 Your justice is eternal,
    and your instructions are perfectly true.
143 As pressure and stress bear down on me,
    I find joy in your commands.
144 Your laws are always right;
    help me to understand them so I may live.

Psalm 119:1137-144 NLT
Living Out the Journey (personal application)

How about you? How would you describe God and His Word (laws, commands, instructions, regulations)? Do you see them as fallible, fair, righteous, perfect, and trustworthy? Or do you doubt and question them? Are they so precious to you that you are offended or riled up when others disregard them? Do you strive to understand them, remember them, and live them out – or are they just in one ear and out the other until the next time? Have you experienced God’s peace and the joy that comes from His commands, even when life is pressing in on you? – I’m not trying to weigh you down with questions, but rather just simply hoping to share with you the encouragement that God pressed on me as I read the words of the Psalmist. – Know who God is, find delight in His Word, and if you don’t know or see God as the Psalmist described Him – search the Word – ask God for the understanding of who He is and the truths of His Word. Seek Him with all of your heart, and I promise you – He will be found –

The More We Know

You will find me when you seek me … While these prophecies and promises are specifically related to the people of Judah and Israel, the principle that God will draw near to those who draw near to Him is a universal truth (James 4:8a). But we have to draw near to God on His own terms—with clean hands and purified hearts (James 4:8b) that only God can provide by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9). While Jeremiah’s letter recorded the words of God for the exiled people of Judah, readers today can benefit from recognizing that the same God who said, “You will find me when you seek me with all your heart,” has also told us that we can draw near to Him and He will draw near to us (James 4:8) and that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

gotquestions.org/Jer 29:13

Seek and you will find… The heart of Jesus’ point is that God is listening, paying attention to His people, and ready to give them good gifts. What a remarkable truth! The God of all creation cares so deeply about His children that He hears them when they pray. Even better: He answers. This also speaks to those with doubts and questions about faith. Those who lack faith, but pursue truth, will find it in Christ (Mark 9:24; John 14:6).

Bibleref.com/Matthew 7:7
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/03/14/know-these-truths
Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Set Apart - Living a Life for God's Glor

Governed by God or the World?

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based on the LGG Study, Set Apart – Living a life for God’s Glory

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6 / SOAP Psalm 1:1-3

How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand in the pathway with sinners,
or sit in the assembly of scoffers.
2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;
he meditates on his commands day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;
it yields its fruit at the proper time,
and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts.

Psalm 1:1-3

Are you more influenced by God or the world? Or, to phrase it as Bibleref.com puts it – are you “governed by God” or by your “evil passions”? Our focus passage reveals the life of one who chooses to walk in the ways of God but to fully appreciate the depth of how blessed this person is we must also explore verses four through six.

The Godly

governed by God

  • Blessed
  • Pleasure
  • Meditation
  • Strong/firm
  • Fruitful
  • Successful
  • follows after God – not the wicked
  • Does not “stand with sinners”
    • “those who choose to do wrong”
  • Is not joined “with scoffers”
    • “those who mock God, or the righteous, or oppose whatever is virtuous”

The Ungodly

governed by self/evil passions

  • Wicked
  • Sinners
  • Scoffers
  • Worthless
    • “the husks of grain that are tossed into the wind and blown away”
  • Under judgment
    • “sentenced to eternal punishment”
  • Excluded from the blessing
  • Facing destruction

Choosing to Live Under the Influence of God

The choice seems like a “no-brainer” but in reality we all deal with, or at the very least have battled, the desire to follow our own passions whether they are good or bad. God’s Word makes it clear, as seen here in this Psalm, that choosing God is the far greater choice, offering benefits in this life and in the one to come, as Paul wrote to TImothy in 1 TImothy 4:8. When we choose to live under the influence of God we choose immeasurable blessing but when we choose to live under the influence of our own evil passions we are headed for destruction.

As we saw in the previous post, meditation on God’s Word is part of living under God’s influence. His Word is actually what leads to the all that the Psalmist lists as the outcome of the godly life. For it is from His Word that we know His blessings and we find pleasure, strength, fruitfulness, and success when we follow after His Word. It is His Word that protects us from the sins that seek to entangle us and from the paths we should not follow or from sitting in opposition to God’s virtuous ways.

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

Romans 8:6

Because meditation on God’s Word is central to the application of the Godly life it is important to what meditation means in this context. It is not an emptying of the mind but rather it is a filling of the mind with Scripture,1 It requires more than a quick 15-minutes a day. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying a quick read of the morning or before bed or even at lunch isn’t a wonderful and profitable thing but truly filling your mind with Scripture demands more than just quickly reading or listening to it. It means thinking about it, dwelling on it, learning more about God, self, and others from it, and practicing it in all of life – in Christian surroundings or in the darkness of the world. It means Sunday to Sunday, at work, at home, in the neighborhood, with friends or family, when your kids are around and when they’re not. It means morning , noon, and night living with an awareness of the Word and living out its wisdom.

Today’s Prayer

Father, help us to align our lives – our time, our company, our words, and our choices – with Your ways rather than the world’s. When we encounter the wicked surround us with Your protection but also cause Your grace and mercy to flow out from us toward them, as we remember that before You saved us – we too were numbered among them. When we are in the paths of sinners makes us lights and beacons of hope so that they might turn from their evil passions to Faith in Christ. When we find ourselves in the company of those who mock Your Word and ways may we be quick and lovingly bold with the Truth of Your Word and silence their scoffing. And Father, please guard us from attitudes of hate or unkindness toward those who follow their own passions rather than You – help us not to see ourselves as better than them but as blessed by You as the Psalmist so eloquently describes.

The More You Know

Walking in the Spirit or the Flesh

1Meditation defined: Worthwhile meditation does not require a person to empty his or her mind. Scripture does not support the idea of self-emptying in meditation—godly meditation means filling the mind with Scripture. To meditate on Scripture involves pondering what the Bible teaches about God’s character. It involves thinking deeply about what His Word teaches about ourselves and others. As we meditate, we cherish the promises and precepts we find in the Bible, we heed its commands, we confront our sins and confess them, and we conform our thoughts to God’s thoughts. Bibleref.org/Ps 1:2

Posted in Bible study, From Broken to Restored, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

The Power of God’s Word

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based on Love God Greatly, From Broken to Restored / w3d3

Scripture: Nehemiah 6:10-14; Psalm 119:9-16 / SOAP Psalm 119:10-11

With all my heart I seek you.
Do not allow me to stray from your commands.
In my heart I store up your words,
so I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:10-11

In the continuing story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, the enemy is proving to be relentless – using a variety of tactics. This required Nehemiah and those working on the wall to be continually on guard, and not just physically but mentally. Because of this guardedness – Nehemiah was able to “recognize” the attempted trick to get him away from the wall in our passage today. Verse twelve says that he recognized that the man he was talking to and the invitation/suggestion the man made was not from God. Nehemiah knew the man was trying to scare him and have him sin by entering the temple – because Nehemiah knew God’s law and teaching. He understood that there were rules about who could enter and how that was to happen.

In our SOAP verse today we see how this knowledge and guardedness plays out in the lives of believers still today. Note how the Psalmist both poses and answers a crucial question for those who belong to God and want to “maintain a pure life” as we have been called to do. The question: “How can a young person maintain a pure life?” The answer: “By guarding it according to God’s instructions, or commands as many translations say. The Psalmist then seems to clarify that these instructions/commands come from God’s Word, and that he hides these words in his heart in order that he might not sin against God. Don’t miss verse fifteen though, for here he gives the rest of the formula for being able to recognize whether something or someone is from God or not. He doesn’t just guard his heart, he doesn’t just remember God’s commands – he meditates on God’s Word and he focuses on God’s behavior. In other words the Psalmist was intentional – and we must be too.

He hides God’s words in his heart in order that he might not sin against God.

Psalm 119:11

We may not be able to commit to memory every word in the Bible but we can read it and listen to it taught – again and again and again … until we know His voice from the world’s (Jn. 10:27) and recognize godly behavior or requests from the ungodly ones. Keep in mind this is a lifelong growth of faith and pursuit of holiness but as these begin to happen life changes, decisions are different, love and grace and mercy are richer and fuller – both when received and given away. God’

Reflection on Today’s Journey

When you receive counsel or instruction, how can you make sure it aligns with God’s Word?

Going Further

Remember you can find more insight at LoveGodGreatly.com

How to memorize the Word of God https://www.savortheword.org/

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Love With Your Whole Being

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Today’s Reading: Matthew 22:34-38; 2 Peter 3:18

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question Jesus again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:34-38

When asked what the most important commandment is, Jesus answered with the Word of God. – He pointed those trying to trick Him and all who were listening to God and what they would recognize as coming from God through Moses.

““Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, … Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
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Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The same words God gave Moses to teach the people of Israel, Christ now gives to the people as the first and greatest commandment. Both the father and the son called the people, and by extension- all those who would believe in Christ, to remember that the LORD was their God and that they were to love Him with everything they had – heart, soul, mind, and strength – their whole being.

We could stop there and let that be the devotion, for we can never be reminded enough of this first and greatest commandment. However, as I read the title again in the devotional journal of our study I was left wondering why on earth they had titled it, “Praying for Your Children and the Next Generation.” So, now I’m staring at my SOAPed up passage, the highlighted words and the notes in the margin and I’m not seeing anything to do with prayer or the next generation – BUT – what I do see is the passage I jotted down from Deuteronomy and I went back to it and there, in the context of that passage, was the answer.

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3 Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Clearly these commandments, that were eventually summed up into the one that Christ gave to the Pharisees, were meant not just for each of us individually but for us and our children, and their children, and all the generations to follow. So important were the words God had given to Moses that they were meant to be passed on to their children, written on their door posts, and spoken of day and night, at home or on the road. Surely if they are that important they are meant to be a consideration of our prayers … prayers that we would love the Lord our God with all of our being, prayers that we would be faithful to teach our children and grandchildren about the commandments and how Christ summed them up, and prayers that our children and all the generations to follow would know and love the LORD our God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Lest you find yourself even for a moment wondering how it could be that important – consider this reminder – only a few generations after Moses the people of Israel no longer acknowledge God as the LORD nor did they know the wonders He had done for them.

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. 13 They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.

Judges 2:10
Prayer: Response to God’s Word

Father, this world we live in looks and sounds much like the description found in Judges chapter 2. In our country and around the world we see and hear people who have grown up not knowing You. They do not acknowledge You as Lord or remember the great things that you have done. They do evil in Your sight. Many who have grown up in the church have abandoned You and have gone after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. Change their hearts oh God, let them know You and Your love and may they be moved to love You with all of their being. Call Your people to live out Your command through Moses – to love You with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Help us to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to this command that Jesus summed up as the greatest of them all. Keep us faithful to repeat them again and again to our children, to talk about them when we are at home and when we are on the road, when we are going to bed and when we are getting up. May they not just be written and kept in places where we can see them but may they be written and hidden in our hearts as a light to guide our feet and as a lamp for our paths.