Friday, January 14, 2011
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Obadiah and Revelation 8-9
sever the roots of our sin so that it will not return. In order to achieve this, we must repent
of the heart that produces the fruit of sin. Sin is self-motivated. The love of God, on the
other hand, seeks not its own 1 Cor 13:5.
God wants to change us from being people who are motivated by our own selfish desires to people who are motivated by the love of God, flowing in us and through us. It all starts with loving God. How can we love God?BIBLE IN A YEAR: Obadiah and Revelation 8-9
SCRIPTURE READING
Many people, when they repent of sin, deal only with the fruit, not the root! We want tosever the roots of our sin so that it will not return. In order to achieve this, we must repent
of the heart that produces the fruit of sin. Sin is self-motivated. The love of God, on the
other hand, seeks not its own 1 Cor 13:5.
John 14: 15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. (NIV)
Upon reading this scripture, most of us think that God is saying “if you love me, you will
PROVE it by keeping My commands”. But this isn’t really the essence of what God is
saying. What God is really saying is “if you fall head over heels in love with me you will
be ENABLED to keep My commandments”. It’s a relationship, not a law! If our hearts are
rooted in intense love for Him then keeping His commandments is not burdensome but a
delight! So the question now becomes: How do we fall in love with Him and stay in love
with Him?
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Think about your own relationship with God, in what ways have you been motivated byselfish desires (they could be wanting him to just “zap” our bodies, marriages,
finances, etc.) instead of being motivated by growing in love for God
(treating Him more like a genie than a God). Repent as necessary.
2. Ask God to reveal to you what you are seeking. Are you seeking earthly things (success,
pleasure, comfort, entertainment, recreation etc) or are you seeking things that are
above? Where is God on your priority list? Often your priorities are reflected in where
you spend the majority of your time and energy.
3. Thank God that He has designed us to be in relationship with Him. Pray that you will
obey Him out of love for Him instead of out of duty.
