this is LOVE

"And this is love: that we walk according to His commands."

2 John 1:6

When I was younger I thought that the way to get to Heaven was by being morally good and obeying the 10 Commandments.

I am so glad the Lord showed me the truth - I CANNOT EARN MY WAY INTO HEAVEN.

IT IS BY FAITH ALONE!!!

As much as I consider myself to be a "good person", I still break God's laws and still deserve my punishment - Hell. As the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death..."

We are given the GIFT of salvation by God - not because we deserve it - but because HE LOVES US! "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!" - Romans 5:8

This is the part where my Sunday School kids typically ask me "Then, how come we have to obey God and the Commandments?"

The Commandments were given to us for two reasons:

#1. To show us our need for a Savior! "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law." - Romans 7:7 It is our standard for right and wrong.

#2. They give us a way to show our LOVE for Him. We don't have to obey the Law but when we've been saved and the Holy Spirit takes His place in our hearts we will WANT to obey the Law. We won't see our salvation as just a "get out of hell free card" but rather, as a means to really have a RELATIONSHIP with Him. If we love Him and want a healthy relationship with Him we should obey His commands.

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This is the part where I get honest.

I haven't been obeying God's commands. Here's just one example that I touched on last week...

I've put other things before Him. Entertainment, "rest" (really it's laziness), housework, television, friends and most of all - myself.

This morning, for the first time in a LOONG time, I turned off the television and got on my knees. I wept and asked for His forgiveness. I also asked Him to help me see and understand what He has to say to me as I read His Word.

The book of 2 John was put on my heart and that's where I read from today. I will read and re-read this book for a little while now. I know what I what I have gained from this reading just today is just the tip of the iceburg - God has SO much more He wants me to know!

There's so much more that He wants you to know, too!

I have challenged myself to do two things -

#1. Get up 30 minutes earlier that I have to so that can spend intentional time with Him.

#2. Read intentionally. John MacArthur has a great system for reading and understanding the Bible - he reads a book (or if the book is long - a section of it) everyday for a month - researching and mediating upon it. I am going to do this with the book of 2 John. It's not an accident that this book was laid upon my heart today.

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I am so glad that the Lord doesn't give up on us - especially me! I love Him with everything in me but I am SO easily distracted by the things life throws my way. He is SO good and faithful!