DEVOTION - TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011

“ABIDING, OBEYING, LOVING”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

We've been looking at a few of the "givens" when it comes to God's will. These are things that we absolutely know for certain to be His will because His Word tells us they are. Now we come to what may be the most straightforward "given" in the entire Bible…abiding.

On Jesus' final night with His disciples, just hours prior to His arrest and crucifixion, He left them with some parting instructions packed with power and significance. At the top of the list was this: Abide in Me. The term "abide" literally means to "dwell in oneness with," and in this particular case it speaks of the believer staying connected to and utterly dependant upon Jesus.

So we know that it is always God's will for us to abide in Christ, but how does this work, exactly? The answer is found a few verses later:

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love…" (John 15:10 NKJV)

Abiding in Christ happens as we obey His commandments. But how do we obey His commandments? Again, He goes on to give the answer a few verses later:

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NKJV)

We abide in Christ by obeying Him, and we obey Him by loving one another with the same agape love with which the Lord loves us. It's the Holy Spirit who pours agape love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). And all of this is under the umbrella of God's will.

It's always the will of God for us to abide in Christ and to obey Him by loving one another. May He fill us with His Spirit, who makes this a powerful reality.

Think about it…

What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?