John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (KJV)

 Are you following the plan?

If you want to know how to sew, you learn from a skilled seamstress. If you want to cook well, you learn from a superb chef. If you want to be successful in spiritual warfare, build a relationship with and learn from the One who already won the victory. The Lord has provided a simple formula to do that. 

1. You build a relationship with Jesus if you love Him.
2. You show you love Jesus if you accept His commandments and obey them. 
3. You obey His commandments because you believe in Him.
4. As you demonstrate your belief in and love for Jesus, the Father will love you. Also, Jesus will love you.
5. Jesus will then reveal Himself to you, and you will connect to Him in a greater way. 
6. By connecting to Jesus in a greater way, you follow Him and His instructions in faith. You learn to live as He lived, fight as He fought, and win as He won.

That is the formula. 

John 14:12 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, and follows me in faith, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father. (AMPC, edited)

The formula and the scripture are simple enough to state, the “obeying my commandments portion” is often where the struggle comes in. The Pharisees added 248 commandments and 365 prohibitions to make sure they kept the 10 Commandments. It didn’t work. The thing you have to do is love God “more.” More than fulfilling your own wishes and desires and more than the satisfaction you get from taking a risk or following your heart. 

1 John 2:15-16 Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible. 16 For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance—none of these things come from the Father but from the world. (TPT)

Allow the Holy Spirit to let you know when you are violating the will of God. Stop making excuses and decide you are going to keep God’s commandments because it is what He desires of you. If you truly want to win in this warfare, you will do what God desires, with no sense of obligation. You won’t need the additional 248 commandments and 365 prohibitions. You will have your heart pure before God, be honest and confess when you sin, and allow Him to cleanse you, instruct you, and guide you to victory. 

Please agree with me as I pray. Then ask the Lord what your prayer should be and wait for His response:

Father, thank You for the simple plan to connect to You and be victorious. I am grateful there is no great mystery surrounding how I can develop into the person You ordained for me to be, nor how I can be victorious over the enemy. I confess there are struggles sometimes because I want what I want. I repent for allowing my wants to cause me to stray from the path You set for me. I know as I continue to seek You, love You, spend time in Your presence, submit to Your correction, and obey Your commands, the things that keep me from being like You will continue to fall off. You are purifying me like the refiner’s fire in the time I spend with You. I have to continue taking ownership of my wrongs and my issues. Not only do I have to confess when I have done wrong, You are teaching me to tell You what I did and why it was wrong. In return for my obedience, You cleanse me, draw me, and show Yourself to me. The benefit gained by abiding by Your word is Your manifested presence in my life. Therefore, when I stray, I know I am giving up on being one step closer to the me You died for. I am sorry I did not realize this a long time ago. To have more of You and to be close to You is my one desire…

Ask the lord what he wants to say to you about today’s devotional and journal it here: