{"id":444,"date":"2017-07-16T07:22:58","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T15:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=444"},"modified":"2017-07-16T07:23:13","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16T15:23:13","slug":"devotion-john-1415-love-is-shown-by-what-we-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=444","title":{"rendered":"Devotion John 14:15 Love Is Shown By What We Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 14:15 <\/strong>\u2013 \u201cIf you love me, keep my commands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 A definition from Thayer\u2019s Greek Lexicon and quoted by Strong\u2019s Concordance is \u201cA conditional particle which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n

If means something that is to be found out in the future.\u00a0 \u201cIf you go to the party\u201d is a question which means you may go to the party and you may not.\u00a0 \u201cIf you finish the marathon\u201d is a question which means you may or may not finish the marathon.\u00a0 Here \u201cif\u201d speaks of a potential to happen or not to happen.\u00a0 The condition applies to \u201cwhosoever, whatsoever, whomsoever\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Here the \u201cif\u201d is relating to a person.\u00a0 A person who potentially loves Jesus.\u00a0 What Jesus is expressing with the single word \u201cif\u201d is that a confession of love of Jesus by a person is not yet established as true.\u00a0 It has the possibility of being true, and a possibility of not being true.\u00a0 He is saying that whether or not someone loves Him is conditional. It is something that will be found out.<\/p>\n

What is it conditional upon?\u00a0 How does one show that one really loves the Lord?\u00a0 By both action and inaction.\u00a0 By action, if we keep the commands of Jesus, our actions, how we live our lives, will be in obedience to the teachings of Jesus.\u00a0 By inaction because if our lives are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23<\/strong>) it is indicative that God is not having an effect upon our lives.\u00a0 If there is no change in action, there is no change in heart, if there is no change of heart, there is not submission to God, if there is no submission to God, then one is not His child.\u00a0 Jesus gave a strong teaching in Matthew 25:31-46<\/strong> concerning this truth. He plainly taught that the people who love Him, who have Him within their heart, will reveal their love of Him by the acts of love that are expressed by them.\u00a0\u00a0 Those who do not do the acts of love that Jesus Himself would do, do not love Jesus.<\/p>\n

So what has Jesus commanded?\u00a0 Let\u2019s think about what He said was the greatest commandment.\u00a0 The commandment that covered all commandments.\u00a0 The commandment to love.\u00a0 He said in Mark 12:28-31 <\/strong>that loving God with all that we are and loving others as much as we love ourselves are the two greatest commandments.\u00a0 In fact, in Matthew 22:40<\/strong> Jesus said that all the law depends on \u201cThe whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 Whether or not we murder, or steal, or gossip, or are sexually lascivious, or any other sin, depends on how much we love Jesus.\u00a0 Yet what the preceding verses also show is that not having the action of love when it is needed, shows a lack of love.\u00a0 Withholding good from those whom we can do good for, is a lack of Godly love within (Proverbs 3:27<\/strong>).\u00a0 Certainly we agree that, from His love, God did not withhold good from us.\u00a0 So if we have His love within ourselves, then we will not willfully withhold showing love for others (James 1:27<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The love of God is not passive.\u00a0 It is full of action and all who bear the name of Jesus know that the love of God brought forth action that gave the gift of salvation to all who are called and who are desirous to receive it.<\/p>\n

If we know that Jesus is God.\u00a0 If we understand and treasure His sacrifice for us that fully provides eternal peace with God, then we will obey Him.\u00a0 Remembering we are talking about God, not men.\u00a0 If we love God, if we acknowledge who He is, we will obey Him.\u00a0 And what did Jesus reveal to us as the highest calling of love?\u00a0 To love God first, foremost and above all.\u00a0 Also to love our neighbors.\u00a0 Let us fulfill 1 John 4:7<\/strong> \u201c\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 In doing so, we obey Jesus and show that we be know and belong to God, as is related in 1 John 4:8 <\/strong>\u201cHe who does not love does not know God, for God is love<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love Jesus and show it by obeying Him.\u00a0 His high calling to us is one of love.\u00a0 Let\u2019s obey Jesus and love God with everything that we are and love each other endlessly.\u00a0 By doing this, we reveal that we are God\u2019s children.\u00a0 That we are God\u2019s very own family!\u00a0 Praise God!\u00a0 We have every reason to love as God loves because He has greatly loved us!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

Love necessitates action.\u00a0 Lack of action reveals lack of love (assuming action is allowed). Let\u2019s obey Jesus, it will show in how much we love.<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/strong> – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/strong> – But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/strong> – He has shown you, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 14:15 \u2013 \u201cIf you love me, keep my commands.\u201d \u201cIf.\u201d\u00a0 A definition from Thayer\u2019s Greek Lexicon and quoted by Strong\u2019s Concordance is \u201cA conditional particle which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place.\u201d If means something that is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1709,1968,1974,1963,814,1969,7,552,1961,1967,1971,1700,8,100,13,1964,93,101,94,1525,1975,1390,1973,20,1966,1965,88,17,1962,1970,1960,526,445,1972],"class_list":["post-444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-action","tag-commands","tag-desirous","tag-experience","tag-future","tag-galatians","tag-god","tag-greatest","tag-greek-lexicon","tag-inaction","tag-indicative","tag-james","tag-jesus","tag-john","tag-love","tag-marathon","tag-mark","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-neighbors","tag-obeying","tag-party","tag-passive","tag-peace","tag-possibility","tag-potential","tag-proverbs","tag-psalm","tag-strongs-concordance","tag-submission","tag-thayers","tag-treasure","tag-understand","tag-withholding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=444"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":446,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444\/revisions\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}