RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL
THE FELLOWSHIP OF LOVE .
Monday, February 5th .
Pastor Chris
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23).
In the verse above, the Lord Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him….” This prompts a question: “Didn’t the Father already love everyone?” John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”*_
When He said the Father would love the one who keeps His words, He wasn’t talking about the general love of God, but love that produces fellowship. The Father would take notice of you and have special fellowship with you if you love Him. If anyone has this profound love for the Master, He says, “…we (the Father and the Son) will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
This wasn’t going to be a visit; rather, He meant the Father and the Son would set up their headquarters with and in you. I discovered this many years ago, and it made a deep impression on my spirit. I couldn’t get away from the phrase, “…make our abode with him,” because I understood what it meant. It’s a glorious communion; an inseparable oneness with divinity. You’re in Him, and He’s in you; you’ve become His operational headquarters, while He becomes your dwelling place.
This is what sets you apart in life—your fellowship with the Lord in love. You love the Lord passionately, and He’s all that you seek. Your love for Him is the reason you pray, fast, study the Word, win souls, and do the things you do. It’s the reason you’re in every church service and committed to the things of the Spirit.
God’s greater blessings are only experienced by those who are in this class, those who are in fellowship with Him by love, and not by law.
CONFESSION
Blessed Father, you’re my life, and all that I seek. In you I live, and move, and have my being; you’re my peace, my refuge, and my strength. I abide in you, just as you abide in me, and I’m bearing fruits of righteousness, walking in your greater blessings, in Jesus’ Name.
FURTHER STUDY: John 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
1 Corinthians 1:9 God [is] faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: Matthew 25:1-30,
Exodus 29-30
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Acts 15:22-31,
Job 42