“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ‘This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:10-12 Living a life of obedience, love, joy, and more love brings fullness to one’s life. Read Luke 1:26-56. What are expressions of obedience, trust, love, and joy? Do you see from this passage of scripture? We have a hard time telling the difference between the words…
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Filled With My Joy
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:10-12 How much do you love our Lord and Savior? Does your life show it? Today, we will focus on the result of having steadfast obedience for Jesus out of our tenaciously abiding love for Him. Have you ever put abiding and obedience together to be filled with joy? I sure haven’t. Let’s look at the following verses: John 4:31-34, Philippians 2:5-11, and Hebrews 12:2. What can we learn from these verses about the connection between obedience and joy from the life of…
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Remain In His Love
“just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:10-12 How much do you trust God? Do you ever feel like you are stepping off the ledge when He asks you to do something that is not you? Let’s read Hebrews 4:14-16 and 5: 4-9. How does Jesus help us hold firm to what we believe? What did Jesus face? What difference might it make to consider Jesus facing a struggle with similar roots? What is the invitation given in Hebrews 4:16? What is offered after the invitation? In chapter 5:4-9, how does this show the humility of Jesus and His…
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Obey My Commandments
When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, . . . John 15:10-12 How do you feel about being obedient to God and what He asks of you? Do you clench your jaw a little or a lot?? Well, let’s dive in a little about this today! When Jesus said, obey my commandments, you remain in my love, He wasn’t/ isn’t putting us behind jail bars. He was putting up guardrails to keep us from going off the cliff! Keeping us from falling away from His love. Obedience to Jesus keeps us in the staying power. It keeps us on the road to…
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Jesus The True Grapevine
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1-3 How much do you know about vineyards? I know nothing about vineyards. In ancient times it was common in Palestine to have vineyards. The people would even ornately the temple with grapevines. In the Old Testament, God used the vine as imagery to describe Israel. Read Psalm 80:8-9 As we know, the Israelites became a wild vine because they wandered away from God’s covenant relationship with God. God makes a few comments, referring to His people as the vine and being planted. Look at verses Jeremiah 2:21 and Isaiah 5:1-2. When we are not abiding in God,…
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Ruth: Part Two
Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you/ For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me. Ruth 1: 16-17 In Ruth 2:13-16, what do we learn about Boaz? He comforted Ruth. God does the same thing for us. God speaks kindly to us and comforts us. Ruth goes home and shares about her day with Naomi. While Ruth…
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Deborah: Part Two
And he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 Our abilities do not limit God’s power. Our talents are also not what’s makes us usable to Him. Deborah was a woman who was faithful, available and trusted in God. If we would yield to God, let His power work through us, We could be just as usable for God’s kingdom. From Judges 4:6 -7, what do we learn from Deborah concerning the details of God’s plan…
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Rahab: Part One
Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. Joshua 2:1 Rahab was a harlot or, in other words, a prostitute. She grew up in a pagan Canaanite culture of Jericho. This culture worshipped Baal and other idols. Joshua was the new leader when we first hear about Rahab. How and why did the spies meet Rahab? Read Joshua 2:2-7. What do we learn from this passage? The king of Jericho learned that spies of Israel were there. He…
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Eve: Part 2
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 We don’t take warnings or truth very well. In fact, seldom do I meet a person who handles truth and warnings very well. We don’t stop to really think about the consequences. Our choices will affect others. Whether it is good or bad, it affects others. Being affected by other choices can be directly or indirectly. Through Eve, we learn that talking to Satan and walking with God do not go hand in…
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Advent Day: Twenty – Four
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 This Christmas, what are you expecting? What do you want out of Christmas this year? Of this past year, what is one thing you have learned? One thing I have learned is to love and love with the overflow of God’s love. Matthew 22:35-44 says this, “And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with…