"And how can we be sure that we belong to Him? By obeying His commandments. If someone says, "I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God's word really do love Him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did." 1 John 2:3-6
Today's passage is one that contains a lot of great guidance for us as we seek to learn how to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God, our Father. It contains two major themes: obedience and living in God (or in fellowship with God). Let's first look at obedience.
It is the desire of God's heart that we be completely obedient to His word, His will and His way. By living a life of obedience to Him, we separate ourselves from the world and set ourselves apart to live a godly life...for He has created us in His own image and wishes to help us grow in righteousness every single day. We show our love for God by being obedient to Him. And we should because this Almighty Powerful God loves you and I enough to have us here this very moment. His mercy and grace are awesome expressions of His patient love for us as we seek to become more like Him through obedience to His expectations for us. So why do we have such a problem with obedience?
Well, there's this problem we all have...a disease within called sin. And that sin runs counter to everything that God desires for us. Sin knows our weaknesses and Satan knows how to exploit those weaknesses to lead us into falling short of the mark and failing in our quest for obedience. We are tempted to do things that would draw us farther and farther away from the One who can give us the power within to resist. And resist we must if we're going to succeed in proving we belong to God and love Him. But how do we fight off the dark forces that know how to entice us toward failing and falling?
The key comes in the second theme from today's scripture: living in God. The guidance is clear: in order to live in God, we "should live our lives as Christ did." Jesus lived a sin-free life. He was the model of perfect righteousness and thus modeling ourselves after Him will naturally lead us from the darkness of sin to the light of holiness...and living in God. In living a sin-free life, Jesus still came under attack just like you and I do. The difference is that Jesus didn't surrender to temptation but rather pulled out the greatest weapon available to combat Satan's advances: the holy scriptures. Read Matthew 4 and see what I'm talking about. Every time Satan attempted to tempt Jesus, Jesus used a piece of scripture to deny the temptation. He did this to show us that we too can be just as successful...we just need to know the Bible to know what scriptures to use in whatever circumstance we might be in. That's a big reason why bible study through this journey together is important. Throuh it, I pray you will be arming yourself more and more to fight off Satan's advances on you. And if you can't think of a scripture when you're challenged by a weakness, deny the weakness in the name of Jesus and see if you don't immediately gain a sense of strength and liberation from that temptation. Satan cannot stand to hear the name that is above all other names and flees at the very mention of our Savior. Stay close to Jesus and you can stay far from Satan. Stray from Him and you'll be easy prey.
Question: Have you been obedient to God's will, word, and way today? How about in the last week? Last month? Do you truly belong to Him? Do you show you love Him by your obedience? Are you living as Jesus lived so you can truly say you are living in Him?
If your answer to any of these questions is no, there is good news. You can start fresh right now. Pray to God for His guidance and help. Ask for forgiveness for your failures. Renew your pledge of obedience and then make good on your promise. Then, start to live as Jesus lives so you can live in God.
In doing all this, you will watch your life change in a way that will bring you more joy and peace than you can ever imagine. Together, let us march ahead fervently seeking the One who wishes nothing but the best for us. He gives us His all, let's give Him ours in return. He loves us unconditionally. Let's love Him likewise. And He is faithful beyond measure toward us. Let's show Him we place our faith and trust in Him as well.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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