“As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”
(John 15:9–11, NIV))
Would this scripture be saying, “If you don’t obey the commands of the Word of God, you will not have God’s love anymore? And, your joy will not be a full cup?
thedailylily.com 
That’s how it reads to me.
And John 14:15 says, “If you love me (Jesus), you will obey what I command.” So, it seems not only will we forfeit God’s love for us, we will not have God’s love in our hearts to be able to love Him or love others with His love. It is very sad so no wonder no joy.
Perhaps it means, ‘if you don’t obey the commands of the Word of God, He may still love you…(because the scripture says that God so loved the world that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins.)…so God may still love us but what good will it do us? The Holy Spirit may be grieved over our behavior and try to draw us but in the end, it is we who must choose. If we choose to disobey, then our Loving Heavenly Father will not go against our wills. He will allow us to have our own way and that is not HIS WAY, which is humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God and OBEYING. So He may love us but He will have to let us go. That is why while we still have breath on this earth we still have a chance to repent of our sins and obey the Word of God, the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The parable that Jesus told of the boss-man who hired laborers at different hours during the day. Even when it was an hour before closing, he hired them to go into the work area. But when pay time came the boss gave the same amount of pay to each man. The early morning hires started grumbling about that as being unfair. They had worked the whole day and the later hired men got the same pay . Jesus said…the Kingdom of heaven is like that. The first shall be last and the last shall be first but Jesus said He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. So we all have the same chance to make Him Lord and obey HIM! We can start right now repenting and obeying the Lord’s commandments.
I think the Lord holds out His love to us till our last breath on this earth. But we make the decision where we’ll spend eternity. Some of us better grab onto the caboose of Ezekiel’s wheel.
“and your joy will not be a full cup” Very TRUE!! If we refuse to obey the Lord and or put Him off because we want to do our own thing, we may think we are happy doing our own thing. But worldly happiness is fleeting and elusive. Up one day and down the next. But the overflowing cup of joy that the Lord offers us is a continual refilling despite problems or crises or messy situations or troubles. We all have those but they who trust in the Lord have an inner joy that brings them through because we know Who our ROCK is and upon Whom we can rely. So those who ignore the precepts of the Lord or do them half-heartedly may think they are OK but they don’t know what they’re missing….the full cup of Joy.
I am thinking it is the kind of love that God loves us with when we obey Him.And, we love Him with. He must have a very special kind of love for very special people. A mutual love for one another.
“Phileo’ is a love which consists of the glow of the heart kindled by the perception of that in the object which affords us pleasure. It is the response of the human [soul] to what appeals to it as pleasurable…”
“agapao ….. to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same… to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of … often of the love of Christians towards one another;…”
What other way could we possibly show Him that we love Him if we do not obey Him?
“there’s no other way but to trust and obey to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey” That song says it all.
TRUST & OBEY
When we walk with the Lord, IN THE LIGHT OF HIS WORD
What a glory He sheds on our way
When we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
(ref.) Trust and obey for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey___(Simmis & Towner)
When I read about the rules that God handed down to his people when they were traveling all over the desert which were so detailed and set up boundaries for the people. If only they had followed them, their journey would have been completed in a short period of time. Almost none of the people who originally left Egypt got to go into the promise land. They had decided their own boundaries were better. They failed to obey and did not get to set foot into the promise land. If this was true in the old testament perhaps it is true for us New Testament believers. So perhaps if we wonder around in the desert of this world and don’t listen to how God tells us to live our lives and we do it our way we won’t get to step into the promise land either. Oh perhaps those chosen by God refused to love God and therefor he chose to discontinue the relationship or he chose to let them do it there way with no prize in the end.
Michael Card writes on this passage, vs. 9-10 by saying, “Jesus asks us to obey (and later to love) as He has obeyed the Father. He always provides the perfect pattern for our actions. If He obeyed, so should we. His life was a demonstration that it can be done.” Card goes on to comment on verse eleven, “It is important to note that the previous instructions are not an occasion for sullen dedication but for joy.”
Card makes some great points on the whole chapter of John 15 for our edification. He says, “vs. 26, The picture Jesus has just painted is one of the disciples being alone in a hostile world. They would need comfort.” He says, “Jesus could always point to Himself as the pattern for for our actions. The perfect Exemplar. We were to love the way He loved, forgive the way He forgave, pray the way He prayed. After three long years at His side Jesus had never failed to perfectly live out everything He ever said. I had never known anyone with this kind of authority, the authority that came from a life perfectly lived.” Yet, we see “…that Jesus was hated by the world and we would be hated too.” And, keeping with the great promises of Jesus, we would have a comforter.
Thank you, Michael Card for reminding me that the Book of John is a “Parable of Joy.”
Join us and worship with Michael:
“It is important to note that the previous instructions are not an occasion for sullen dedication but for joy.”…(.a quote from above).
This is truly the GOOD NEWS. Being obedient to the Master’s commands and precepts should not be glumsville, poutsville, grim, melancholy and sad. If we are obeying the Lord then we know He is pleased with us. And if we know He is pleased with us, then, what is our problem? We should be leaping for joy, at least in our hearts, when we are instructed by the Lord in any capacity and we willingly obey. Now the flesh might gripe and complain but we are not to pay attention to our flesh. It will give us the wrong attitude every time when it comes to choosing between what the Holy Spirit is saying and what our flesh desires. Of course, we might listen to the flesh if it needs nourishment, or rest or some kind of relief from pain or need of medicine, but not much more!
Then let us run the cousre with joy….like Jesus Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…with joy and resolve….but not resentment,
i was just listening to Michael Card’s song on the link Sara posted. The song was JOY FOR THE JOURNEY. And one lyric stood out, especially. Michael sings….” And FREEDOM for all those who OBEY! ” That is a wonderful promise from the Lord. Thank you Michael, too, for those thoughts of joy for the journey and the freedom that comes from being obedient to the Lord God Almighty.
Recently, because of the end of the winter season, I had been picking up a lot of broken branches laying on the ground. Under the maple tree, were maple branches, under the cherry tree, cherry branches, under the willow, willow, and so on. Yet, even though each branch bore the likeness and name of the tree it lay fallen under, it would never produce, leaves, roots, flowers, or fruit because it had been separated from the the living parent tree, disconnected from the life flow. The storms had weakened and severed those branches and changing winds had blown them to and fro. No longer were they remaining in the tree and thus had become useless.
Reading in John 15, especially vs 5-8 about the Vine and branches brought these scenes of branches to my mind with the reminder that it is only in remaining connected to Jesus our Source that there is Life, joy, fruit.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Referencing Debi’s above comment, John 15: 5-8, …If you are connected to Jesus Christ you will bear much fruit. This says to me, little hearts will be dancing all aglow. I think the real key to these scriptures would be found in verse 8. If you are in Christ Jesus, you will have the power to pray in Jesus Name. This will bring glory to the Father, which is bearing fruit. see vs. 16
“…weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning”
(Psalm 30:5, NLT) Did you find Joy when you got up and greeting the refrigerator for your juice? Was joy waiting at the coffee pot!
How did you greet Joy when Joy greeted you this morning? Questions and reminders for myself…..
I rejoiced! I sang! I danced! I wrote about Him on here and in my journal. I told all that gave me an ear! Great God He is! And, He, Jesus Christ, the Lord, more than deserves for my mouth, actions and being to Praise Him. Let all God’s creation praise the Lord.
Jesus was a wonderful role model for us. Jesus demonstrated countless acts of obedience to God. (Footnotes: NLT 15:10 Just as Jesus deominstrated His love for the Father by obeying His will(14:31), Jesus’ disciples exhibit their love through obedience to him.) Obedience is the action behind the words “I LOVE YOU JESUS”. Without the action it’s just words floating into space.
Got that right CF. No action no love….
‘words floating into space’ as chickenfarmer writes, reminds me of meteorites floating in outer space… disconnected, purposeless that when drawn into the earth’s atmosphere burst into a fireball and crash somewhere.
How sad that someone can spend their life creating disconnected words that may be a promise or intent of action spoken but never produced. Words that lead others astray or are deceptive. Or cause others to want to place their hopes on them until they find out, when they burst into flame and disintegrate, that all they were were falling stars.
Most interesting, Debi.. Seems like if we find ourselves so disconnected from God, church and others we need a respite.
Thinking about your remedy, Sara, ‘respite’ for disconnection and considering one definition for it, ‘a pause from exertion; interval of rest’.
It seems to me we can have lots of activity (ies) that seems good to us and/or lots of vacation(s), but still not have entered the rest of God that produces a productive connectedness to ‘Him, to church, to others’.
We have to abide in the Vine of Jesus (to remain in a place; to accept or submit to) or we are not connected. If I cut off (disconnect) a long, flowing, flowering grapevine branch and put it in a vase of water, it may look pretty for awhile but those flowers won’t produce grapes and the vine will probably rot in the water eventually.
In contrast, this is what Jesus says to do: ” Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
And if we want something other than empty, floating words coming from our mouths and hearts I would think we would need God’s respite.
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:9-12
As said above and in the MEMORY LANE BLOG, “weeping may endure for a night, but Joy comes with the morning light. That morning light is the dawning of a new attitude, a refreshed spirit. As the French proverb says “Joie de Vivre”…the joy of life that God promises to all of us who love Him and obey. We have to choose that every day, every day. It is available to us who let the Lord encourage us, refresh us. “Casting all our cares on Him for He cares for us.” (1Pet. 5:7)
Debi, we can be connected to the vine and shrivel. Is that not true? We can be a well and still be dry!
Sara, that’s a good point! Yes, we can be connected and still shrivel.
For example, there’s a wilt disease of grapes that can affect just a portion of the vine. The agricultural website I looked on said this about them:
“Wilted leaves normally remain attached, and fruit clusters at the base of affected canes dry up.”
Often a weak vine (or stem of it) is a susceptible plant. Plants can be weakened through stress, injury, malnutrition or attack by disease carrying insects. We can be weakened and become susceptible to attack or damage also, so it seems we must be vigilent and active in maintaining our faith, trust and obedience to the Lord to ward off the shriveling wilt.
Reminds me of a scripture form Hebrews 10:38-39:
“But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
And 2 Peter 2:17 has this to say about a dry well: “These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
So, looks like lessons from the vine and well are stay vigorously attached and stay full of water.
Yes, I think I mentioned to you and MG this week about some counseling I heard about for this type of thing, So many times we need help from others that could help us see and heal but run from it. There is a scripture that says always learning but never coming to an understanding….I think we would find it in II Timothy 3:7 “…are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.”
We have been saying in many spots here that reading with no (healthy) action except to pass words back and forth is not showing healthy fruit even if it hangs on the vine. We must dwell and therein lies the truth. We think dwell means drifting all over the place with our words, thoughts and actions. Oh, maybe it does, I should look it up in the dictionary.
Interesting this blog is about Joy. I think we read and sing, I am abiding, dwelling in the vine. And, then we shout what do we get from that, love, joy, peace, He has made them mine. HUM! All very interesting to me….Maybe practice is one of the most important words in the divine life.
Sara, some definitions of dwell I found were: to make one’s home; reside; live; to abide; to remain; to continue; to delay; to linger.
This doesn’t sound like drifting all over the place.
Yes, Debi, as I said so many times we need help from someone that is skilled in the area to maintain or to acquire such a high calling. And, of course, above all, willing!
Having sought the Lord one night when we had all agreed to pray for one hour I believe this is what the Holy Spirit quickened to my heart and I wrote it in my journal.
I wanted to share this with you as we have been writing and learning about ‘rest and respite’.
I asked the Lord to tell me what He wanted to say to me and not just what I wanted to hear or a gimme, gimme prayer.
“I love you, You are My servant, My love-slave, My friend. I so desire that you obey Me. Will you focus on Me? I have a million things to tell you but you won’t listen. I want to tell you what I want to say and not just what you want to hear: Too many thoughts; too much tongue Sit here! Quiet, quiet, quiet.
The rest and respite (I have for you) is the ceasing from being assailed with thoughts, running across your mind. Thoughts here, there. Disconnected train of thoughts. I want to give you a respite from your thought life…a respite from your thoughts and your tongue. You will gain a rest and a respite from the ebullience of inconsequential thoughts and thinking, futile exercises in your thought-life.”
This is indeed good news. It will do me well to look for that “rest” as prescribed in Hebrews. There is a rest in the tongue…speaking the Word rather than wagging, wagging. I see a picture in my mind of a dog panting, panting, his little tongue sticking out wagging a mile a minute. Then I think of the Psalm…” As the deer panteth for the waterbrook, so my SOUL Panteth after THEE. ” That’s the kind of panting I must be about with my tongue…panting after the LORD, breathless to hear every Word.
Now I must put it into practice. Who would want to resist this loving correction, the promise of love, peace and REST, RESPITE in the LORD?
MG, It is refreshing to hear how one hears, listens and carries out such a high calling. It sounds like the fragrance after the rain.