50 Days with Jesus in the Upper Room

Day 1 – Wednesday, February 14th, 2018

 

Today’s Assignment – Read John 13-17

 

1. As you read, circle the names given for Jesus, for God the Father, and for the Holy Spirit.

 

2. Write down questions that come to mind as you read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Quote: “Beginning in chap.13, Jesus moved completely away from public ministry to private ministry with those who had received Him. Chapters 13–17 were spoken by Jesus as a farewell on the night of His betrayal and arrest to communicate His coming legacy to His followers (chaps. 13–16) and pray for them (chap. 17). The cross was only one day away.” – Dr. John MacArthur

 

 

This Week’s Memory Verse: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that  His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”- John 13:1

 

 

 

So?…..What’s it to me? – As a result of today’s study I will….

 

The Litmus Test for Love

Scientist are on the brink of making available a ground breaking test. According to the online newspaper The Daily Mail “A medical test to detect ‘true love’ will be available in by 2028” . Imagine that, a simple test to tell if you are really in love or not. California based neuroscientist Dr. Fred Nour says that “The painless test will work by detecting the presence of potent ‘love’ chemicals in the brain using an MRI-type scanner”. He goes on to say that “While most people will use the test for ‘fun’, others will use them to avoid marrying the wrong person or finding out if their relationship is worth the hassle.” (For the full article see : http://www.dailymail.co.uk /sciencetech/article-5386123/Test-reveal-youre-love-just-faking-it.html#ixzz575I8uYrn) Modern science, what will they come up with next?

In this crazy world we live in wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a test that could determine if we still love our Lord or if we’ve lost that love? After all, we know that the Ephesus Church lost its first love and because of this Jesus says to them in Revelation 2:4 – “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” We also know via our Lord’s word’s that “….because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12). Furthermore, Paul point us to us that during the perils last days people will be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” (2 Timothy 3:4)
Jesus gives us a very simple test to determine if we actually love God and actually love Him. No, it’s not seeing if we have a gushy feeling when we speak their names. It’s not how many times we get to church or how much money we give. It’s not even wearing Jesus apparel or jewelry. Here’s the simple litmus test from the mouth of Jesus to us “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21). A verse later we hear Jesus again: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (John 14:23–24)
It is so simple it is profound. I can’t say that I love the Lord unless I obey His commandments. It’s not ambiguous. It’s not hard to understand. The real test of my love for Him is my obedience to His commands. Obedience = I love Him. Disobedience = I don’t.
This week as we celebrate Valentine’s Day we don’t need to wait until 2028 to know if the Lord is the real love of our lives. We need only to ask ourselves if we are obeying Him. This is the real litmus test of our love. Nothing more md nothing less.

Pastor Dave Watson