“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love” (John 15:9).
Continue is an action word. We ought to show love to other people and continue to do it throughout our lives. Through our words and our actions, love is the mark of God’s hand on our lives. It shows with whom we keep company.
Notice that Jesus didn’t make a distinction between the love of God and you. So don’t let religious people get you down in the dumps by spreading their condemnation on you; no matter what you do, God loves you just as He loves Jesus. Think about that!
There is no distinction between God’s loving Jesus and Jesus’ loving you. It’s all the same love, flowing from the throne of God, going through Jesus, into you and out from you to others.
Those others then turn to God and give back the love that He began. That’s how love continues to flow on the earth. Jesus said that!
Love changes things on the earth. Why? Because it is connected to God. There is no other source that love can come from but Him.
First John 4:8 says that God is love. Love is not just a part of Him, it literally is Him!
This is why He commands us, “Continue ye in my love” (John 15:9). We must keep His love flowing to others in this earth.
Love is your calling in life. It’s my calling in life. It was Jesus’ calling in life too.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”