Abide:  Week 6 Devotionals

Authors:  Seth & Emily Little

Monday, November 9, 2009

Love Is A Verb (Seth)

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.”  Jn. 14:23

The Christian band DC Talk once released a song entitled Love Is a Verb. The chorus went something like this: “I don’t care what ya say. I don’t care what ya heard, because love, love, love is a verb.”

It’s not uncommon for the word love to be used in a variety of ways and contexts. We are quick to say how much we love a food or a gadget. We think of a parent saying to their child, “I love you.” We hear of people falling in and out of love as though it's a trap door on a darkened stage. What is love? Is it a feeling or an emotion? Is it an experience to be had? No. Love is a verb. It indicates an action, and I think that’s what Jesus had in mind when he said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (Jn. 14:23).

Jesus pairs up two concepts that we wouldn't necessarily expect go together: love and obedience. We think he’s giving a cause-and-effect, but could he actually be defining love for us? I imagine Jesus saying, “Loving me means taking action. If you want to love me, obey me. When you obey me, you are loving me.” Our love for Jesus is made manifest in our obedience to him.

This may seem a simple thought, but given the weak, emotion-driven, action-less connotations I tend to give the word love, it’s good to be reminded, “Love is a verb.”

Take a few minutes to reflect on the relationship of love and action in your own life. Ask the Lord to reveal how you love him, how you love your friends, how you love your family members. Does your love take action, or does it stop at only words? Is your love for Jesus made manifest in obedience?

Tuesday, November, 10, 2009

Joy Unending (Emily)

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:11

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people’” (Luke 2:10). “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…” (Galatians 5:22) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

These are a few passages of Scripture that speak of joy. Understanding the kingdom of heaven brings joy. The good news is great joy. Even in difficult circumstances, there can be overflowing joy. Joy comes from walking with the Spirit. It was future joy that motivated Jesus to go to the cross. In John 15:11, Jesus tells us that his joy can be in us and that our joy can be complete.

Joy can be defined as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.” I won’t speak for anyone other than myself, but often, I find that my joy is based on what I am experiencing. If everything is working out exactly the way I thought, then I am filled with joy. However, when I find myself in circumstances beyond my control and difficult, I have “lost” joy.

If we can come to understand the truth that is found in John 15:11, then our lives will truly be transformed. Joy comes from knowing what we have in Jesus. He is “exceptionally good and satisfying.” He never changes. Our joy comes from him and is made complete in him.

God spoke a significant word to me several weeks ago, and it was “joy in the journey.” Life will continue to have ups and downs, but as Christians we have access to joy unending. We can’t always change the journey, but we can choose joy!

Ask the Lord to reveal to you where your joy comes from. Then choose to believe the truth found in John 15:11. Meditate on what it looks like for the joy of Jesus to be in you and for your joy to be complete.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

To Obey Our Friend is Our Joy (Seth)

“You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends…” John 15:14-15

My fondest memories of elementary school are from my fifth grade year. My teacher was Mrs. Watters. She loved her students, and we knew it. To this day I can give Emily three squeezes on the arm to silently say, “I love you.” I learned it from Mrs. Watters. She maintained a high standard of excellence in the classroom, and she didn’t believe in recess! Still, Mrs. Watters commanded more than our compliance. She commanded our love by loving us. I still remember her pausing at my desk to give me three squeezes before moving on to the next student.

That year in fifth grade turned out to be one of my most successful in elementary school. I went above and beyond the basic requirements for the class, and I took home a few awards at the end of the year to celebrate. Why? Because I work well in disciplined environments? Yes, but that’s only part of it. I think it had a bit more to do with love than discipline (and godly discipline is certainly loving). I wasn’t just a student to Mrs. Watters; I was a friend. We had relationship. While she was my teacher, there was no doubt that she loved me, and out of that understanding was borne a zealous desire to do what she asked. It was my joy to obey Mrs. Watters!

Do you see where this is going? Jesus calls his disciples friends, not servants. We liken Christian obedience to a servant fearfully obeying a demanding master, inaccurately viewing the Lord as the “hard man” of Matthew 25:24. Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love… I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (Jn. 15:10-11). Obedience to the Lord Jesus is the loving response to being his friends, and it is our complete joy to obey. Hear him say, “Come and share in your master’s happiness!” (Mt. 25:21,23).

NOTE: Do you wonder, “How can I obey Jesus and be his friend? I don’t obey my other friends.” Not every friend is a peer. Mrs. Watters was my friend and teacher, and Jesus is both our friend and Lord. Our obedience is due him because of his authority as Lord, but to obey him as our friend is our joy!

Consider someone you love. Does it bring you joy to please them? How do you receive the words of Jesus, “You are my friends if you do what I command”? Do you think of the joy he offers you as his friend, or do you shrink back in disbelief that he could even view you as such a friend? Ask the Lord to give you a revelation of the truth of his love. Ask for grace to love and obey him to receive the complete joy he offers.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Commanded to Love (Emily)

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."  John 15:12

The first question that comes to my mind upon reading this verse is, “How did Jesus love people?” Loving his disciples meant calling them out of what they were currently doing and into following him. It cost the disciples everything – even their lives in the end – to follow Jesus. Jesus loved the people he came in contact with by meeting their needs, both physical and spiritual. He healed those who were sick, cast out demons, and fed thousands of people who were hungry on several occasions. When Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well, his love was revealed to her as he brought what she thought was hidden into the light. These are just a few examples of how Jesus loved those that were around him.

Now, how do we love each other? If we follow the example of Jesus, then loving each other looks like challenging others to live for what matters in eternity, meeting both physical and spiritual needs and being able to discern the true need and speaking the truth in love. Earlier in the week, it was said that love is a verb and not a feeling. Love for others reveals itself in action.

In my experience, I have found that it is not always easy to love others in this way, but I am convinced that loving others leads to deeper intimacy with Jesus and with the people we are called to walk with. Not only that, but when we love each other, unbelievers take notice and are drawn into what we have.

Think about how you can love the people God has placed in your life the way that he loves you. What does it look like to love your family, your friends, your neighbors and your coworkers well? To find out more about what the Bible has to say about loving others read the following verses:

John 13:34

Romans 12:10

Ephesians 5:2

1 Thessalonians 3:12

1 Peter 1:22

1 Peter 4:8

1 John 2:7-10

1 John 3:23

Friday, November 13, 2009

On the Inside (Seth)

“Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  Jn. 15:15b

When I was in school I got a job at a coffee shop. Since I had no previous experience in a coffee shop, I was hired at the base level. I had a small, specific role to play so I played it. Time and experience brought a promotion to supervisor, and I was given a set of keys and a charge to manage the store’s operations. As a base-level employee, I didn’t care a whole lot about the business because I didn’t have the full picture in view. I wasn’t on the inside. When I was promoted to a supervisor the manager let me in on all the details of the business and trusted me to care for it as he did.

This is the picture that comes to my mind when I hear Jesus say that we aren’t called servants anymore but friends (Jn. 15:15). He calls us friends because he’s invited us to join the Father and him in the inner circle: the place of trust! A servant wouldn’t be allowed in that chamber. It’s only for those on the inside, the friends.

Jesus said, “…everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn. 15:15). Do you think there is any limit to that which the Father has made known to Jesus? Neither is there a limit to that which Jesus makes known to us!

Do you believe that God trusts you; that he’s invited you into his circle of close friends through Jesus? How does such a truth affect the way you live?

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Greater Love (Emily)

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  John 15: 13

In The Message this verse reads, “This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.” Up to this point in my life, I have not had to physically give up my life for another. However, I am learning that this laying down of one’s life happens continually in the context of loving others through dying to your own desires, your rights, your reputation and your feelings.

As an early childhood teacher, I ask my students to continually think about their classmates before themselves. It is something that must be learned. Children do not naturally want to share toys or let a friend go in front of them or wait for their turn. Essentially, I am teaching them to lay down their lives for the people around them.

God requires this same lesson of us. We must learn to die to ourselves, and this is a difficult lesson to learn, especially in a society that focuses on self! But choosing the way of the cross is required of us as believers. Laying down our lives for others looks like sacrificing something you want to support a missionary, saying “I’m sorry” when you are convinced you are right, standing up for what is true when it isn’t popular or choosing to believe the best when you don’t feel like.

I think it is safe to say that most of us will not actually be faced with the reality of giving up our lives for another. Let us not forget as believers in Jesus, we are recipients of someone dying in our place so that we might have life. If we are not willing to die to ourselves daily so that others might experience life, then I am not sure that we would be willing to offer our own lives in place of another.

Ask God to show you a practical way that you can lay down your life for a friend.