18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:18,19
Part 1 elaborates on a spectacular promise of answered prayer and how we access them. This is about our identity and the relationship our identity has to Jesus. Accepting God’s decisions and following His commandments is not for the faint of heart, but is far better than one foot in an one foot out. I don’t like that I have lost friends because of my faith. I don’t like some of my children and a relative or two believe I am intolerant and close minded because I am Christian.
I am given the free will choice to bear fruit that will last or not. I am given the free will choice to ‘ask in His name’ or not. If you were appointed to be the Arkansas State Police Chief, yet broke state laws on a regular basis you would not be much of a policemen. If I accept God’s appointment yet deny, avoid or consciously break His laws and commandments I would not be much of a Christian, yet this is the place many professed Christians reside.
The lines are clear when you accept His appointment. Do I believe His Word or do I blow in the wind with every changing world views? Do I believe there is constant and dependable truth or am I swayed by popular thought? There really is no middle unless you deny that Jesus is who He said He was and render His words unimportant. The world and those that bend their beliefs to the world will HATE you if you do not side with them, but as John said, the world hated Jesus first. Why should I expect it to be different for me if I am truly His disciple?
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