"My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." 1 John 2:1-6 NIV
Not too many weeks ago we celebrated Easter. We spent this time recognizing that Jesus died on the cross. A painful death that he suffered for you and for me. He died to pay the cost for our sins... for the sins of the world. We then celebrated that he arose from the dead on the third day. He arose and walked this earth again for a short period of time before ascending into heaven to be with God the Father.
Because Jesus died for our sins "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous". Jesus goes to the Father on our behalf. He speaks for us and understands us... sometimes better than we understand ourselves. Jesus is able to shed light on us so we are better able to see the light in Him.
However, in order for this light to shine we must obey God's commandments. Without obedience there are lies and dishonesty. We see in our daily lives with our friends and family how lies and dishonesty affect our relationships. Where there are lies and dishonesty there are only broken relationships filled with distrust and fear. Why would it be any different in our relationship with God?
It is only through obedience that we find the love of God. It is only through obedience that we stay in a right relationship with God.
Not too many weeks ago we celebrated Easter. We spent this time recognizing that Jesus died on the cross. A painful death that he suffered for you and for me. He died to pay the cost for our sins... for the sins of the world. We then celebrated that he arose from the dead on the third day. He arose and walked this earth again for a short period of time before ascending into heaven to be with God the Father.
Because Jesus died for our sins "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous". Jesus goes to the Father on our behalf. He speaks for us and understands us... sometimes better than we understand ourselves. Jesus is able to shed light on us so we are better able to see the light in Him.
However, in order for this light to shine we must obey God's commandments. Without obedience there are lies and dishonesty. We see in our daily lives with our friends and family how lies and dishonesty affect our relationships. Where there are lies and dishonesty there are only broken relationships filled with distrust and fear. Why would it be any different in our relationship with God?
It is only through obedience that we find the love of God. It is only through obedience that we stay in a right relationship with God.
9 Thoughts Shared:
Obedience is such a difficult trait at times, especially when we think we "know it all". Thank you for sharing your thoughts today.
You're so right about this! What a difference it makes when we surrender to obedience in our lives and relationships! Thanks for sharing!
Blessings,
Tracy
I so want to be obedient. It's something we must choose daily, sometimes even hourly! Thanks for visiting! :)
Great reminder! Surrender, and obedience...two great words, yet hard Godly concepts to live out!
~Sandy @ Jesus and Dark Chocolate
Amen, Melanie!
One truth that has been resonating with me lately is, "delayed obedience is disobedience."
Blessings and thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate your thoughts on obedience. How easy it is to make our children repeat "children obey your parents" and yet quite more difficult to surrender my heart full of junk. Last night I realized I had been in a hard place for about 3 weeks. Things that weren't even me were coming out of my mouth. My husband and I had prayer last night and I have a renewed hope today that the Lord will allow his spirit to overflow in my heart.
obedience, that is the key! I never realized how hard it was to obey until I had kids and have to constantly be on them about obeying the 1st time, without arguing or complaining about it.
And that is how we should obey our Lord also, the 1st time, without grumbling, complaining, or arguing. In light of what He did for us, without a bit of complaining, but with joy, we should be eager to obey!
Oh, what God shows us about our relationship with Him through our children!!
Thanks for your kind words you left on my post earlier! Have a blessed day!
AMEN! Our society teaches us to "push the blame" on someone else. We MUST realize that our relationship with our LORD is no different than that of our other loved ones as far as the "relationship" goes. How can we love our husbands if we don't spend time with them? How then could we expect to TRULY KNOW AND LOVE GOD if/when we don't spend time with HIM? It's all about putting HIM first and following the direction of the Holy Spirit. Nobody else can do it for us.. We MUST be obedient to stay in fellowship with HIM. (What fellowship can light have with darkness?)
2 Corinthians 6:14
[ Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers ] Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
You're ALWAYS such a bright light, my sister! It's a JOY to visit you here. (I'm out of "slump" - PRAISE JESUS! It's so good to be back online and catching up with all of you!)
LOVE YOU!! =-)
that is so true. dishonesty really affects any relationship. i just thank god because he can fix things for me. i mean, there's hope in Jesus for nothing is impossible with Him.
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