Those Who love Jesus

John 14:23 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.”

In surveys of Christians, the fourteenth chapter of the book of John was found to be the favorite chapter. I was not surveyed, but if they had, I’d say that it my favorite chapter also and was far before I heard of this survey. The promises of the Lord Jesus come one after another and they are true blessings for the born-again Believer/Disciple. The bible verse above has always filled me with joy, security and peace. It will forever be a solid and sure directive to live-out the teaching of the Holy Scriptures in my life daily and walk in the indwelling Holy Spirit, which was promised just a few verses earlier in this same chapter.

 John 14:15-17 “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Both of these great verses in John chapter fourteen begins with an “if’, indicating that there is a choice involve here and the proof of that choice is reveal in whether or not we keep the Lord’s teachings, statutes and commands found in His Holy Word. The amazing promises of God are ours in our transformational dedication, devotion and desire for Jesus, lived out in our obedience to Him and His Word as our living standard.

The contrary is true and produces opposite promises to those who chose to oppose and disobey the Lord’s teachings, statutes and commands found in His Holy Word. We cannot love God and reject His commands in the Word of God. Someone may say that I am reading that into these verses and passages above, but Jesus made this point clear in the every next verse and that these words were directly from our Creator Father God Himself.

John 14:24 “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.”

Love, joy and peace are things that everyone desires, but they come from a loving relationship with the Lord that is the natural outflow of the child of God, who has confessed and repented of their sin, accepted the free gift of eternal life in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, had their spirit regenerated and reconciled with God and live a life of obedience; following, learning, growing and maturing in this journey to the ‘promised land” of Heaven.

In Christ, Brian.