God reminded me this morning of something we talked about last night in our James Bible study. It was that we are to submit to God and not allow the world to sway us to do things out of obedience. How can we do this? John explains in I John 4 that we are to love God with our whole being and He will direct our way in life. In the New King James Version verses four through six read:
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The more we walk in obedience to Him, the more He will show through us. His love will ooze out of us in a mighty way when we are filled with His Holy Spirit. We cannot allow people of the world to steal the joy He gives us by their words, actions, or attitude. That can be very difficult at times. People who hurt or use us on purpose are ones who need us to love them with His love the most. But we cannot do that when we live in the flesh. We must live in the Spirit to follow His commands found in Matthew 22:37-39.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
I John 4:7-11 tells us why we are to live with His love. God sent His only Son to die on the cross for us to live. That sacrifice is why we are to love Him. It is why we should desire to love Him. Verses twelve through sixteen read:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son asSavior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Woo hoo! I love the knowledge that His love abides in me! I know the only way for this to be is for me to be living a life in Him not the world. I must repent daily and ask Him to cleanse me so He can fill me with His Holy Spirit so His love will ooze out of me. It is then, and only then, I can stand each day in His empowerment and not be afraid of anything that comes my way. Verses eighteen and nineteen read:
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Woo hoo! This is exactly why God gave me II Timothy 1:7 to hold onto prior to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in Doc's body. His love is greater than C. His love is greater than chemo. His love is greater than the unknown. Plain and simple. His love is greater. Woo hoo! When doubts come into my mind about this situation, I need to remember fear is of the flesh and not of the Spirit. I must walk in obedience to the Spirit to be empowered to stand in His love and not in fear. Matthew Henry writes:
Obedience and good works, done from the principle of love, are not like the servile toil of one who unwillingly labours from dread of a master's anger. They are like that of a dutiful child, who does services to a beloved father, which benefit his brethren, and are done willingly. It is a sign that our love is far from perfect, when our doubts, fears, and apprehensions of God, are many.
I do not want God's love to not show through me. I do not want God to be disappointed in me. I do not want people to see me living in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. Therefore, I must stay living in obedience to His will. When I fall apart due to circumstances, He understands. But I cannot stay there. I must pray and allow Him to fill me with His Spirit so I can walk in His will. He has His reasons for not healing Doc yet. We may never know what they are but that is not important. What is important is for us to stay in full relationship with Him so He can empower us to do what He desires of us. I believe there are people watching our response to our situation to see if we will continue to be strong in our faith or cave into the enemy. I have said all along this path, I refuse to give into the enemy and I continue to stand on that. He will not win. God always wins when we walk in the Spirit. Woo hoo!
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your love that surrounds us so greatly! Thank You for cleansing me today so I can be filled with Your love in abundance! Thank You for laying on my heart to love others with Your love! Thank You for Doc feeling better this morning after such a nasty night! Thank You for the good news from Peggy's mother's heart procedure yesterday! Thank You for our group meeting again since the holidays! Thank You for Mr. Fran who continues to seek Your will! May You be his strength and protection! Thank You for my time with Mr. Gavin as we talked about what it means to be a Christian! Lord, You bless us in abundance in so many ways and for that I am grateful. You put people before us to encourage us which I am so thankful for. I know there are people all over the world praying for us and I am grateful to feel those prayers. You are so awesome! Lord, I also pray for Michael and his family today with the death of his uncle. May You be their peace in this time of loss. Thank You for being My Lover! Amen.
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