Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience

[Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience]( Current Teaching Series [Awesome Relationships]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience]( By Rick Warren — 08/09/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “You are my friends if you do what I command” John 15:14 (NLT) Jesus said in John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (NLT). You can’t say you love Jesus and then go live like the devil. You can’t say you’re a Christian and then keep living a self-centered life. You can’t say you’re a follower of Jesus and then pick and choose the verses that you want to listen to and ignore the ones you don’t. Jesus says you’re his friend if you obey him and his commandments. Why do Christians obey God? Nonbelievers get this wrong all the time. They say, “I don’t want to be a Christian, because I don’t want to obey God. You believers obey him out of guilt or fear or obligation, and I don’t want that for my life.” But why do we really obey God? Because he loves us! He wants the best for us. He loves you like nobody else will ever love you. The Bible says the only reason there’s love in the world is because God is love. We don’t obey God out of fear or guilt or obligation. We obey God out of love—because he loved us and saved us. When I was a kid in high school, a guy came up to me and said, “You’re restricted.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Because you’re a Christian. You can’t do any of the fun stuff the rest of us do.” I looked him in the eye and said, “I could take all the drugs I want to take. I could get stoned all I want to get stoned. I could drink all I want to drink. I could go to all the parties I want to go to. I could go to bed with as many women as I want. But here’s the difference: Jesus changed my want to.” I didn’t want to do those things then. I don’t want to do those things now. They are cheap, phony thrills that give a temporary kick to life, but then they kick back. They may look like freedom, but they don’t last. They lead to despair, not dignity; they end in depression, not delight. Jesus said, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me . . . When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:9-11 NLT) God doesn’t want you to obey him because you’re afraid of him. He doesn’t want you to obey him because you’re scared of punishment. God wants you to obey him because of love. It’s his love that leads to true joy. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - When have you obeyed someone (perhaps a parent, teacher, or boss) out of fear? When have you obeyed out of love? What were the differences in those relationships? - As you’ve grown in your love for God, how has he changed your desires? - How have you experienced joy through loving obedience to God? The post [Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get the Relationship Scripture Cards when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( God created us for connection and has so much to say about relationships in his Word. Keep those verses at your fingertips with Pastor Rick’s collection of Relationship Scripture cards. Each of the 52 eye-catching, full-color Bible verse cards is beautiful to look at and slips easily in your purse or pocket, making them convenient to carry and simple to memorize—so you always have God’s Word when you need it most. Easily access verse after verse of encouraging Scripture that helps you develop life-giving relationships filled with joy and purpose. Perfect for gift giving or for yourself. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Awesome Relationships. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Fighting for an Awesome Marriage Message 2: Fighting for an Awesome Family Message 3: Making Friends for Eternity Message 4: What Destroys Relationships and What Builds Them Message 5: Finding the Love of Your Life Message 6: Becoming Best Friends with God [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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