John 14:23-24
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. "
These words are direct and simple. When we follow Jesus, we are pleasing God, and we are inviting Him to dwell within us. He will "make his home" with us. If I carry this thought further, I should ask if I am keeping myself as a comfortable dwelling place for God. Is everything in order? Are there things I need to clean up? We know God does not expect us to be perfect, but am I doing the best I can do?
Holy Lord, I am so thankful for your teaching and your guidance each and every day. I pray you find my heart to be comfortable and true to you. Please continue to show me the way. Amen
Becky, transforming
Well as you can see, I posted Friday’s verse instead of Thursday’s. I’ve been a day ahead of myself all week!
Thursday April 20th, 2023
John 14:23-24
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
I certainly cannot ignore the above scripture. Jesus said that only those who love me will keep my word and my father will also love him. The world we live in today does not encourage a closeness to God. The noise, the trash on television, the corruption on the internet, the foolishness on the radio, stressfulness at our job…
John 15:15
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the father told me.
Friend! What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. . . . If we read all the words to that song, we see that this is the kind of relationship we should have with God. To consider God as a friend is awesome. He is always available, you can tell him anything, and he brings comfort and peace. Hopefully, I follow his example and I’m that kind of friend myself.
Prayer: gracious God, thank you for your friendship. It sustains me. Amen