December 20, 2023 NOT BURDENSOME
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
John 14:21 “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
The word ‘commandment’ has a negative connotation to some. The culture in which we live values the freedom and the right to do whatever one wants to do; to cast of all restraints. However, such a view has led to tragic, unexpected circumstances-such as addictions, crime, lawlessness, broken relationships, depression, and the list goes on. The commandments that God has given were given that we might experience and discover life as it was intended to be lived. I want to make the point that the commandments of God are good. Common sense tells us that we have to have rules; you cannot play any game without some rules; rules free us to play the game. Think of the commandments we find in the scriptures as pointing to our new identity we have in Christ. For example; we are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The new heart that God has given us wants to love our neighbor. When we read a commandment in the scriptures, we should see it as a red flag, telling us what our new nature is like. If we want to be truly free, then let us embrace every command God has given; let us die to ourselves and live as unto the Lord. Instead of thinking we cannot keep His commandments or questioning whether we want to obey a particular commandment, let us adopt an attitude of wanting to obey every word of the Lord. I know that we at sometimes fail to keep His word, but when that happens, let us confess it and turn back to a spirit of keeping His word. Life to the fullest is found in obeying the words that God has spoken; our motivation for keeping His commandments is not to earn His love or approval, but we keep His commandments because that is how He designed us to live.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Blessings, Buddy
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
John 14:21 “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
The word ‘commandment’ has a negative connotation to some. The culture in which we live values the freedom and the right to do whatever one wants to do; to cast of all restraints. However, such a view has led to tragic, unexpected circumstances-such as addictions, crime, lawlessness, broken relationships, depression, and the list goes on. The commandments that God has given were given that we might experience and discover life as it was intended to be lived. I want to make the point that the commandments of God are good. Common sense tells us that we have to have rules; you cannot play any game without some rules; rules free us to play the game. Think of the commandments we find in the scriptures as pointing to our new identity we have in Christ. For example; we are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The new heart that God has given us wants to love our neighbor. When we read a commandment in the scriptures, we should see it as a red flag, telling us what our new nature is like. If we want to be truly free, then let us embrace every command God has given; let us die to ourselves and live as unto the Lord. Instead of thinking we cannot keep His commandments or questioning whether we want to obey a particular commandment, let us adopt an attitude of wanting to obey every word of the Lord. I know that we at sometimes fail to keep His word, but when that happens, let us confess it and turn back to a spirit of keeping His word. Life to the fullest is found in obeying the words that God has spoken; our motivation for keeping His commandments is not to earn His love or approval, but we keep His commandments because that is how He designed us to live.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Blessings, Buddy
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